Premier League legend Gus Poyet has revealed he was close to signing with Melbourne Victory in 2005 - but turned down the A-League club as the Uruguayan knew he would fall in love with the Australian lifestyle.
The decorated former Chelsea and Tottenham midfielder is on local shores ahead of Jeonbuk Motors' quarter-final, second leg Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League Two showdown against Sydney FC at Allianz Stadium on Thursday night.
Poyet, 57, is the head coach of the South Korean outfit.
After launching into a scathing assessment of the AFC for what he deemed some baffling recent decisions, Poyet recalled how he could have played alongside the likes of Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat in a Victory jersey.