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Dependable Schwarzer set for Socceroo milestone

DOHA - Having equalled Australia’s appearance record in the Asian Cup semi-final against Uzbekistan, goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer will become the outright record-holder in Saturday’s final against Japan.

The 38-year-old veteran currently stands level with former centre-back Alex Tobin, after donning the gold and green of his country for the 87^th time in the Socceroos’ 6-0 thrashing of the Uzbeks.

It was the fourth clean sheet that Schwarzer has managed to keep in five games at the Qatar tournament, with Koo Ja-Cheol’s goal in the 1-1 group stage draw against South Korea the only strike that has beaten him to date.

Australia now stand on the verge of their first ever major international title and Schwarzer’s consistency between the sticks has been an integral feature of their path to the final.

The Fulham shot-stopper pulled off several key saves as Australia edged Bahrain 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals, drawing warm praise from German coach Holger Osieck.

“We know the quality that Mark has to offer to the team and I’m happy to have him there,” said Osieck.

“He had an excellent performance and made some good saves, especially in the second half. He kept us in the game and we must give him credit.”

Schwarzer said it was “a fantastic honour” to match Tobin’s record, having played alongside the former Adelaide City stalwart in the early days of his international career.

“He was a great player for the Socceroos and I made my debut in the national team when he was playing, so there’s a bit of history there as well between the two of us,” said Schwarzer.

Born in Sydney in October 1972, Schwarzer joined hometown club the Marconi Stallions at the age of 14 and made his professional debut during the 1990-91 National Soccer League (NSL) season.

He made his international debut in a World Cup qualifying match against Canada in Edmonton in 1993, before moving to Germany a year later to play for Dynamo Dresden and then Kaiserslautern.

In 1996 he arrived at English side Bradford City, but it was a move to Middlesbrough in 1997 that was to prove his making.

In a nine-year spell on Teesside, Schwarzer made 367 league appearances for the north-east club, establishing himself as one of the most consistent performers in the Premier League.

In 2008 he joined London side Fulham and played a key role as they reached the final of the 2009-10 Europa League, where they lost 2-1 to Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.

Strongly linked with a move to Arsenal during the 2010 summer transfer window, he remained at Craven Cottage due to manager Mark Hughes’s reported reluctance to let him leave.

Schwarzer remains on course to become the first Australian player to break the 100 caps barrier, and the fact the 2015 Asian Cup is taking place in his homeland may motivate him to prolong his career even further.