Ace shooter Smeltz hits his goals

Last updated 05:00 07/02/2010

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THERE were times when Shane Smeltz was a nobody, battling the cold, the fatigue, and the small change of a journeyman's lot in the nether reaches of English football. He remembers those times as if it was yesterday. These days, Smeltz is a somebody.

About to play for his country in this year's World Cup, the A-League's most potent goalscorer, living the dream back in his home town of Gold Coast, where he used to push shopping trolleys to supplement his meagre income as a would-be footballer.

The good times have come late for the competition's man of the moment.

Smeltz, 28, scored more goals [12] than anyone else while in the colours of Wellington Phoenix last season. This season he's done even better – obliterating the record books with 19 goals in 23 games.

A professional career wasn't handed to him on a plate, unlike many of his peers. It makes him a coach's dream – determined, and desperate. Attributes which are obvious in every game he plays. There's always been pace, and power. Now there's a softer touch, better game awareness, and a sixth sense in front of goal.

The fact that Gold Coast are the 10th club of a nomadic career underlines how difficult the road to acceptance has been.

Nowhere was the journey tougher than in England, where he had two-and-a-half years of character-building with Mansfield Town, AFC Wimbledon and Halifax Town before family reasons drew him back to the A-League two years ago. A career seemingly heading nowhere was resuscitated by a two-goal haul for New Zealand in a friendly match in Wales in May, 2007, and he's hardly looked back since. Unless you ask him, nicely.

"To be honest I look back to my time in England with fond memories," he says. "I didn't realise it at the time, but I realise now how much it helped my game, how much it helped me as a footballer. It was tough – to try and earn money, to try and survive.

"I went over there without any leads, and at first I stayed with my good mate [former Adelaide City keeper] David Scarsella. He knew an agent, and the next thing I know I'm down in London, trialling with West Ham, training with blokes like [Teddy] Sheringham and [Sergei] Rebrov. But I wasn't ready to play at that level, no way. So pretty quickly, I was dropping down the levels.

"You've played in the NSL, you've scored a few goals, and you think you're a footballer. But pretty soon, you realise just how many footballers there are out there.

"It was cold, it was a grind, but it toughened me up. I was scoring a goal every two games for AFC Wimbledon, thinking I was doing well, but nobody was picking me up.

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"I was making just enough to make ends meet. But even though I wasn't really getting anywhere, it was giving me confidence inside. Coming back to the A-League, it was the first time I found myself in a professional environment, so I guess things have happened pretty late for me. But it's given me perspective.

"Going through what I've been through, feeling a bit of pain, you want to make sure you don't let it slip."

Opposing A-League teams have been paying the price for that steely resolve ever since. With the avalanche of goals has come – in relative terms – a small fortune. And the fame.

"You go to the shops, people recognise you, they want to have a chat, but it's nice," he says. "I enjoy that side of things, to be honest. I played for years and years without any recognition, so I see it as a privilege."

Last season that privilege extended to the game's highest individual honour, the Johnny Warren Medal, and this year the All Whites striker is set to sample the game's highest collective honour, playing in the World Cup.

Is he pinching himself? "It keeps getting better and better, I must admit," he says.

Certainly if strikers thrive on confidence, then Smeltz is in the zone. So does he feel like he's going to score in every game he plays?

"No, not necessarily," he says. "But if I do get one, then I'm after the next one.

"It's a feeling that's developed as time's gone on. It's a combination of things, I treat myself more like a professional, and now that I've got a bit of respect, it makes things a bit easier. I've got teammates who believe in me, and coaches who believe in me." - Sydney Morning Herald

GOAL BY GOAL THIS SEASON

1 against Brisbane, August 8, 2009

2 against North Queensland, August 15, 2009

3 against North Queensland, August 15, 2009

4 against North Queensland, August 15, 2009

5 against North Queensland, August 15, 2009

6 against Adelaide, August 21, 2009

7 against Sydney, September 5, 2009

8 against Sydney, September 5, 2009

9 against Perth, September 13, 2009

10 against Perth, October 18, 2009

11 against Sydney, November 7, 2009