Brett Michael Emerton is a retired Australian professional footballer who played for Sydney Olympic, Sydney FC, Feyenoord Rotterdam, Blackburn Rovers and the Australian national team. He is the third most capped player for Australia. Able to play as a wide midfielder or defender, Emerton was known for his "speed, ball control and creativity."
Emerton was a member of the Australian national team that lost out on the final place in the 2002 World Cup finals in Korea and Japan when Uruguay beat Australia over two legs in November 2001. He played in the team that comprehensively beat England 3–1 at the Boleyn Ground in February 2003, scoring the final goal to seal an impressive win.
Emerton played in both legs of World Cup play-off against Uruguay in November 2005, when the Socceroos qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, the first time that Australia had reached the finals of the World Cup since 1974, and was named in the Australian squad for the World Cup finals. He was in the starting line-up for all three Group Stage games against Japan, Brazil and Croatia as Australia qualified for the second round. However, he received two yellow cards against Croatia, was sent off in the 87th minute and subsequently missed the Socceroos' second round match against Italy.
