Scott McDonald loving second coming with Western United after years plying trade in England, Scotland
After a distinguised career playing overseas, Scott McDonald is finally back in Australia and loving life in the A-League as he leads the line for newcomers Western United.
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It should have been the perfect postscript to a distinguished club career — the Aussie striker who fell out of love with football and became a TV presenter but put his scoring boots back to save an old friend from relegation.
But when you rediscover football, it can be even more addictive the second time around. No wonder Scott McDonald doesn’t want the second coming of his career to end anytime soon, with Sydney FC the latest defence in his sights in the colours of Western United on Sunday.
In April, McDonald had revealed to News Corp Australia the disillusionment with football that led him to quit the game and take up a role presenting football for BBC Scotland.
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Remarkably, he kept those duties going even when former teammate Gary Caldwell persuaded him to come out of retirement and join Partick Thistle’s battle against relegation from the Scottish Championship — winning that battle thanks to his seven goals in 13 games.
Now, at 36, he’s part of Western United’s first season in the A-League, though after 20 years living in the UK, the Victorian actually feels a bit alien back “home”.
“I probably consider myself a Brit now more than an Aussie, because I was away for so long,” McDonald said.
“Culturally I’m a Brit, though you never lose where you're from.
“It’s been a huge year, all of it. It was an amazing period, going into Partick with an old teammate for three or four months. I made some really, really good friends in a short space of time.
“It was hard to leave the media role behind. I loved doing it and still have ambitions in that direction. I get a real buzz off it and like to think I do a decent job analytically.
“I was presenting on a Friday night up to about 9.30pm then nipping home, playing (for Partick) the next day, scoring a goal, winning the game … everything was roses!
“That’s the only way you get away with it. If we’d been losing games, the fans would be asking questions.”
But McDonald also knew it was the right time to leave, especially with the chance to satisfy the long-held aim of playing in Australia.
“That’s why I'd retired because I'd never had that opportunity, apart from (an offer from) Western Sydney a couple of years ago, and Motherwell wouldn’t let me go then,” he said.
“So when Western United came calling, full credit to my wife. She said, ‘Let’s go and have a new adventure as a family’. Enjoy it, that’s the only thing she asked of me.
“Enjoy and embrace the moment, don’t get caught up in the crap because that’s why you finished the first time.
“You mature and realise there’s more to life. You have children and you're building a family.
“Everything else, it’s still important and it’s your job, but you learn not to take it around with you. The baggage weight lessens, you learn to train your brain a lot better in positive ways.”