As Leigh Broxham becomes the first player to play 350 times for one A-League club, Michael Zappone pays tribute to a man for all seasons.
It was a sunny day early in Season One of the A-League Men’s competition in 2005.
Melbourne’s Olympic Park, better known for football classics in the 1990’s, suddenly had a new lease of life with the advent of a shiny national football competition.
New teams, new faces and new fans and gave us a renewed sense of hope that football in this country, forever an underdog, was embarking on something special.
I was commentating on the game for a Melbourne radio station, alongside former Socceroo and South Melbourne legend Paul Trimboli. As is the norm when receiving the team sheet, journalists and commentators alike run through the list to ensure there are no unexpected names. On this day there was one. Leigh Broxham.
I was sure I had seen him setting up cones, picking up warm-up tops and setting up the bench in previous weeks. And I wasn’t wrong.
As the legend goes, the teenager was brought into the senior squad by Ernie Merrick. The wily manager had Broxy at the Victorian Institute of Sport program and saw something special in the young man. And it wasn’t just about his football ability.
Ernie was right, and in a way it’s entirely appropriate that a figure who would bleed Victory’s shade of dark blue started out undertaking such mundane tasks. As we have come to learn over the past 17 years, Leigh Broxham has been there and done it all.
It’s like the story of the CEOs who started out in the mail room or sweeping the factory floor. No job has been too big or too small for Melbourne Victory’s cult hero on his way to 350 appearances – the first player in the competition to reach that landmark in the livery of just one club when he takes to the field against Western United on Wednesday.
He has now spent more than half of his life as a player at the club, extraordinary in itself.
He has played under every Melbourne Victory Manager during that period: Merrick, Durakovic, Magilton, Postecoglou, Muscat, Kurz, Brebner and Popovic. That, of course is just counting the permanent ones and it’s some list. He’s found a way to work and thrive under them all. Each time having to prove himself, and each time making himself indispensable through his sheer utility.
I refer to him as a cult hero because I’ve been lucky enough to witness the whole journey and seen the highs and lows that football throws at you. He has endeared himself to everyone he’s played and worked with.
I’ve lost count as to how many hats he’s worn. At one stage, for instance, he was the club’s unofficial, in-house DJ. It became a tradition at the end of season Victory Medal that DJ Brox would get his music collection out – quite conceivably on CD, it was that long ago – and he would get the fans going on the dancefloor. As a part time hobby, he loved it.
On the park he has been fullback, centreback, midfielder, jack of all trades, problem solver, utility. But most of all someone you can rely on. Leigh Broxham is a leader.
He had to shoulder some of the tough times. I remember a clash at Marvel Stadium on Australia Day. Alessandro Del Piero was strutting his stuff for Sydney FC and they led Melbourne Victory 3-0 at half time. I had pre-organised an interview with Broxy as he was walking off at half time. As I made my way towards him, cameraman in tow, he just looked at me. “Zappa, what do you want me to say? We are 3-0 down at half time, at home, against one of biggest rivals in front of one of our biggest crowd.”
But the good times have been plentiful. Four championships, three premierships, two FFA Cup wins and two Victory Medals. Reward for hard work, good character and maximised ability.
One of the most memorable moments should be shown to every young Victory player who walks through the door at the club. Notably it came in another Melbourne v Sydney contest, this time a Grand Final at a sold out AAMI Park. The result that day was very different and Broxy, befitting the occasion, scored a goal for the ages and sealed the title in front of his adoring fans.
So 17 seasons in, he is still there. Doing what he has done all of his career, being Brox. About to hit 350 appearances and counting.
For the Leigh Broxham story isn’t over yet. There aren’t many players in any sport that dedicate themselves to one club for their whole career, let alone the majority of their life.
That’s what we have in Leigh Broxham. Let’s celebrate it. Marvel at it. As he fits in across the park without fuss, you might think he is the epitome of a typical footballer. But Leigh Broxham is one of a kind.
