(Remy Davies is a Victory fan, freelance writer and BPL contributor.) 

Tonight's Asian Champions League match between Melbourne Victory FC and their old foes from Japan, Gamba Osaka, will be Kevin Muscat's last game on Australian soil.

Muscat's decision to retire coincidentally occurred at a period of transition in the Melbourne Victory football club, as several key figures were sacked, including foundation manager Ernie Merrick. It was Merrick, of course, who fittingly launched the 15 year-old Muscat's career at Sunshine George Cross in the old National Soccer League. 

Muscat's illustrious but controversial career lasted a decade in the United Kingdom where he cultivated his talent and character at Crystal Palace, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Rangers, and Millwall, and after ruffling a few feathers he returned home to see-out the remaining six years of his career at Melbourne Victory.  

Loved by many and possibly hated by even more, Muscat was a flawed hero. His fiery passion which actually instilled his team with the (much cliched) 'winning mentality', often also led him into controversial incidents. And while it is widely acknowledged that he is the nicest of people off the pitch, he has been criticised for unsporting behaviour on the pitch. 

From his studs-on-shin incident in season one of the A-League against Sasho Petrovski to the more recent and brutal tackle on the Heart's Adrian Zahra. In the A-League alone Muscat courted controversy, and that's not taking into account previous incidents abroad. 

But the man will be remembered for different reasons by the large numbers of Victory faithful, as one of the idiosyncrasies of football is the phenomenon of irrational partisanship, a tendency to overlook 'minor' flaws. 

And why not? Melbourne Victory fans will remember the two goals he scored in the 5-0 rout of Sydney FC in season one, or maybe the penalty against Adelaide in the opening game of season two which set the course for the first championship. 

Or they'll remember the intelligent defending of Muscat's play, the many times he'd stop an almost certain goal. Or his passes which had a knack for creating goals.  

In the Melbourne Victory fan's view, the only thing more delightful than seeing Carlos Hernandez line up for a free-kick, was seeing Kevin Muscat put the ball down on the spot to put away the almost certain penalty goal. He never missed ... well except for the crucial time when he did miss in the 2010 Grand Fibal - and he became the laughing stock of the light-blue city and YouTube followers. 

Maybe the Victory fan looking back will remember the more comical events such as when John Kosmina grabbed Muscat by the throat after being knocked over on his plastic chair as Muscat tried to retrieve the ball. 

Or they'll have more personal memories such as when Muscat shouted the whole bar at the matchday pub in Adelaide just this last season. 

So while his place in Australian football history will surely be contentious, and even though it is largely agreed among fans that his decision to continue on playing in the 2010/11 season was detrimental to the Victory campaign, he will leave a lasting legacy at Victory and will be sorely missed by the club faithful.

They will be more than happy to overlook his shortcomings; he will always be the man to whom they chanted 'Super, Super Kev' - no matter if he had just scored a goal or committed a bad tackle.