Brett emerged as a potential star of Australian soccer from his teenage years as a winger with speed, ball control and creativity. His debut match for Australia was in 1998 against Chile and he would become a stalwart of the Socceroos with 97 appearances in the green and gold to date. Brett began to scale the heights of world football in the early 2000s. After a solid performance as captain of the Australian U23s at the Sydney Olympics he was signed by Dutch giants Feyenoord and joined them in 2000.
- Status: Pending1997 and 1998NSW U21 Player of the Year.
- Status: Pending2002Oceania Footballer of the Year.
- Status: Pending2011Football Federation Australia's grassroots ambassador.
Beginnings
Brett was born in Bankstown Hospital and attended Macquarie Fields High (a selective and comprehensive high school). His first soccer club was Macquarie Fields Gunners junior where he was taken by his father as a five year old. Highly regarded as a junior with the teams Gunners Soccer Club, Macarthur Rams and Sydney Olympic his pace and work ethic out wide has always been Emerton's biggest asset and it was this power football that earned him immediate success in Europe.
Achievements
In 2000 Emerton left Australia as a 21-year-old for a three-year stint in The Netherlands playing for Feyenoord before transferring to English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers where he has spent eight years. Brett is a regular in the Socceroos side, and was an important player in qualifying for the 2006 and 2010 World Cup.
Post Representation
Brett is a current member of the Socceroos and continues to promote the game of soccer widely.