Alastair Clarkson, the pugnacious coach of Hawthorn in the Australian Football League, was at the centre of one of Australia's biggest corporate deals, but didn't know it.

As Clarkson's Hawks run around the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday night, in a knock-out final against the Adelaide Crows, watching their beloved Hawthorn from the stands will be Swisse Wellness chief executive Radek Sali, chief financial officer Michael Da Gama Pinto and Goldman Sachs investment banker Adam Gregory, who led the $1.67 billion sale this week of the vitamins group.