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THE finely sculpted racehorse-quality legs of Sydney FC striker Dwight Yorke carry the hopes of billionaire Frank Lowy and every other football fan in Australia.


The Tobago-born footballer has become a talisman for Mr Lowy's A-League, which kicks off tonight with the first round.

Under Mr Lowy's leadership, the newly created Football Federation Australia has managed to lift $15 million from the Australian Sports Commission's wallet, while an estimated $35 million has been invested in the seven Australian and one New Zealand team to contest the competition.

His pull has drawn Hyundai, Telstra, Qantas and Coca-Cola as sponsors. Names including adman John Singleton, Liberal Party stalwart Ron Walker, Art Gallery of NSW director Edmund Capon, businessman Brian Schwartz and Hollywood actor Anthony LaPaglia have put their weight behind the venture.

But there are no guarantees and when Mr Lowy, founder of the Westfield property empire, launched the league's $10 million advertising campaign earlier this month, he practically begged people to attend the games.

More than anything, Mr Lowy hopes Sydney sports fans will turn up in droves to see Yorke, the 33-year-old who just flashes a smile when asked about pressure.

"All the preparations have been done, all the talking is over and it's now time to stand up and be counted," he said after training at Sydney FC's home ground, Aussie Stadium, ahead of Sydney's first game against Melbourne Victory on Sunday.

 "I'm not at all feeling pressure. I get paid a lot of money to do something that I totally enjoy, so its important I'm prepared mentally and physically and I'm just putting the final pieces together so on Sunday there's no excuses."

After playing for 16 years in England, Yorkie, as his teammates know him, enjoyed rock-star status and saw his private life raked over by the tabloids on a regular basis.

He partied as hard as he played, scoring for Manchester United, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers. Off the field he fathered a child with topless model Jordan and appeared in an on-camera orgy with Australian player Mark Bosnich and two women.

A base salary of $2.2 million over two seasons would make the average AFL player blush, but the bling ends there. Sydney FC management have denied he has been given a $220,000 Porsche and the use of a $1.25 million Elizabeth Bay bachelor pad.

Instead he has a sensible apartment in Ultimo with an extra bedroom for when any of his nine brothers and sisters visit, or his mother, who he is expecting at Christmas.

And the wheels? Yorkie currently gets to training in an all-wheel-drive Hyundai Tucson, provided by the A-League's main sponsor. (Hyundai might be upset to hear there is no way he'll be photographed with it.)

Again, he just flashes that smile at all the speculation and interest.

"I take these things in my stride - with my West Indian background I'm a very laid-back type of guy," he said.