Soccer: The A-lister of the A-league

Dwight Yorke is the most celebrated active footballer to visit these shores since who knows when.

The European Cup-winning former Manchester United striker is part of a Sydney FC squad hotly favoured to pour more misery on the Knights at North Harbour Stadium tonight.

While the Knights languish, soccer is hitting the mark across the Tasman led by Australia's qualification for next year's World Cup finals in Germany. But Yorke's class and glamour appeal are also at the cutting edge of this renaissance.

The 34-year-old Yorke was due in town late last night, arriving a day later than his team-mates after zipping back to England for Christmas.

Here's a potted history of an effervescent character who has experienced just about everything in football, from banging in goals to getting on the wrong side of Sir Alex Ferguson - with a fair dollop of tabloid headlines in between.

* Yorke has struck international football gold in the twilight of his career, with the Trinidad and Tobago side he leads making that country's first-ever World Cup finals appearance. With a population of 1.2 million, the Caribbean nation will be the smallest at next year's tournament in Germany. It is in England's group, meaning Yorke will face old team-mates such as David Beckham. Yorke "danced around the hotel room" when he heard England were in the same group.

* Yorke had quit international football four years ago after coaching problems. United manager Ferguson once tried to stop him playing for his country, saying it would never qualify for the World Cup finals.

"... that wasn't the point. Trinidad and Tobago is my country and I'm the main man there," said a defiant Yorke at the time.

* Yorke unsuccessfully tried to contact Beckham after T and T beat Bahrain to qualify.

"I've tried to phone him, but he's changed his mobile number," Yorke reckoned.

* Yorke was "discovered" by Aston Villa when they toured T and T in the late 1980s. Ferguson broke the English transfer record when he signed him for more than 12 million from Villa in 1998, a signal the United boss was serious about regenerating his successful club.

* Yorke scored 135 goals in 400 club appearances for Villa, United, Blackburn and Birmingham. His most famous front-running partnership was with Andy Cole at United. He played in the 1999 European Cup final against Bayern Munich, one of the greatest games in history. United scored twice in injury time for the stunning 2-1 victory which completed a treble of titles for the season.

Yorke won three consecutive English premiership titles, finishing joint top goalscorer in the premiership during the treble- winning season, but his post-United career was less glorious.

* Manchester United's legendary captain Roy Keane reckoned: "Dwight had enjoyed a fabulous [treble winning] season - in 51 appearances he scored 29 goals and led the line superbly, setting up countless scoring chances for others.

"Sadly for him and us, success on the field led to excess after hours. At this stage he was still able to be a player and a playboy, but the clock was ticking for Dwight."

* Yorke had a wild image - a night-clubber and party boy whose mates included the notorious Australian goalkeeper Mark Bosnich. The pair featured in a raunchy video with some ladies.

* His brief relationship with the chest-enhanced model Jordan (32EE) was another headline-grabber. Yorke disputed paternity of his ex-girlfriend's son Harvey, born in 2002, until a DNA test proved he was the father. The pair had broken up before the birth of Harvey, who was born permanently blind. Jordan recently married try-hard pop singer Peter Andre.

* Yorke eventually lost favour with Ferguson, whose decision to scrap retirement plans helped end the player's career at United in 2002. Yorke had stated he was savouring the prospect of a fresh career with Ferguson gone. When Ferguson announced he was staying, a United team-mate famously said: "That's you f*****, Yorkie." And he was. But as Yorke has since stated: "I can hold my head up high - I did a great job there."

* A stadium in Tobago is named after him, and his mates include Trinidad cricket legend Brian Lara.

* Yorke made it to Sydney under the A-league's rule which allows a star player to sit outside the A$1.5 million ($1.6 million) salary cap. He turned down a A$4 million offer from Qatar, with an enthusiastic reception from the Sydney press and public helping persuade him to try the A-league.

* Despite international commitments, Sydney captain Yorke has played in 12 of 15 matches, scoring five times from 21 attempts on goal.

* The renowned striker now plays in the midfield for his country, a trend which might continue with Sydney FC. He played deep during the recent World Club Championship, partly because the club had acquired 38-year-old Japanese football legend Kazu for a short stint.

* ... and finally. The really big news. Australian PM John Howard invited Yorke to a game of golf last month, which Yorke accepted. Which, from the PM's point of view, is a safer bet than asking out one of the crazy league stars right now.