Smeltz told TWG:
:: Why he isn't planning to return to Venezuela any time soon;
:: The birth of his daughters changed his life;
:: His heart bleeds for his former team-mates at Perth Glory;
:: He's been in love with the game forever;
:: What he's thinking of doing when his playing days are over.
TWG: Football has taken you to a lot of different places. What's the best place you've been to?
SS: To be honest, Australia is home, and while you do see some fantastic places when you're away it also makes you realise how great Australia is and in the end you always want to come home. You realise how good this place is to live and play football.
Yes, there have been some unique places I've experienced, and with the (New Zealand) national team there have been some strange places I've gone to. But in terms of the best place I'd have to say home, Australia.
TWG: Is there a place you've been to that you wanted to get out of as quick as possible?
SS: One that sticks in my mind was with the national team, quite a few years ago. We had a friendly game in, of all places, Venezuela, and getting in there was a nightmare and getting out was even worse. When we were leaving, no flights were booked or something was wrong with the booking anyway, and we were all left sitting at the airport.
Some of the guys were sitting there for 24 hours waiting for flights to be booked so we could all get home to our individual clubs. When I finally got home, three days later, I fell crook from being in Venezuela. I'd caught what I later found out was a parasite in my stomach. It was a horrible trip - one to forget, that's for sure.
TWG: Lost a bit of weight with that one, did you?
SS: I did. It was awful. When I got home I went to see the doctors and did all these tests and they said they would call me if there was something significantly wrong. I didn't think anything of it but a day later I got a phone call from the Health Department of the UK - I was playing over there at the time - and they were pretty concerned.
They gave me stuff to fix it up. They were more concerned about my wife, who was pregnant at the time. They definitely didn't want me to be passing it on to her, but fortunately that didn't happen.
TWG: What about all of those teams you've played for, have you had some crazy team-mates?
SS: There's always a couple in each team, I think, and that's good because it keeps the banter going in the team. When you've got people who are really different it makes it interesting. It would be a pretty boring world if we were all the same. People with a really different dress sense, or a different sense of humour, it all comes out in the team environment and you can have a few laughs.
TWG: What is the best thing that's ever happened to you in football?
SS: Probably just being able to play the game. It seems pretty simple but you look at your career and you realise you've done this all your life. There are ups and downs with it all but at the end of the day you have to pinch yourself when you realise you've been able to keep playing a game that you loved as a kid and I'm able to support my family as a result of it. I think that's pretty special.
TWG: And what is the best thing that has ever happened to you in life?
SS: That would be my two daughters. When they came into the world they changed my life and the way I looked at the world. The way I went about my football as well, they really helped me get on the right track and I've never looked back since they were born. When you're away with the team there's nothing more special to think of than being able to get back to see the kids.
TWG: Did you know you have scored the most hat-tricks in A-League history, with four? Do you remember them all?
SS: I did read that somewhere. I don't know if I remember them all but that's a pretty nice record to have. I certainly remember a lot of my goals and I think in two of those games I actually scored four. I'm a striker, so I try to remember them.
TWG: Archie Thompson is three goals ahead of you on the all-time A-League goalscoring list. Are you keeping track of those figures?
SS: No, not really. I watch all the games and you obviously know what goes on. I know where I am, with my goals. In the last few years a lot of media has brought that up, that Archie and I are sort of competing against each other but I don't think that's the case.
I just think we're both competitive footballers who like to go out and do the business every week, which is try to score goals. Archie has been fantastic for this league and I'm certainly trying to go out and do my stuff as well.
TWG: What are your tastes in music?
SS: I don't tend to put my CDs on when one of the boys says let's have some music, because mine has got a whole range of stuff on there. My wife has even put stuff on there for the kids, so if they put one of mine on it would get a few laughs. I like a bit of R&B and that sort of stuff before a game. I'm pretty easy-going musically. I do love music and I certainly love listening to something before a game. It helps me get up for the match.
TWG: Do you play any other sports for fun?
SS: I don't play any other sports regularly. I dabble in a few things. My girls are right into tennis, so I enjoy having a casual hit of tennis every now and then. I like my tennis. I'm always competitive with anything I do - the boys had go-kart racing a couple of months ago and I managed to do win that.
TWG: If you could go anywhere in the world to see a major sporting event, what would it be?
SS: I wouldn't have minded being in Vegas last weekend for the big fight between Mayweather and Pacquaio. I would've loved that. I love my boxing, so that would have been something special to see. I read that some of the celebrities paid massive money to be ringside at that fight. It was unbelievable, the figures that were mentioned.
TWG: I presume you've still got mates at one of your old clubs, Perth Glory. Are you feeling for the players there at the moment?
SS: Yeah, I do feel for them. I've got mates there but I deliberately haven't spoken to them about the situation yet because I know it would be a touchy subject and something they would want to move on from and forget. If I was still there and that had happened I wouldn't be happy, that's for sure.
You work hard all-pre-season and then go all season and on the edge of the finals you're in a really good position and it's all wiped away. It's one of the worst stories I've heard in football for a long time, that's for sure.
TWG: When you eventually finish your career, how do you think you would like to look back on it?
SS: I'm proud of the career I've had so far and I certainly think there's plenty more to come. I've achieved quite a lot as an individual, in this league. I've been to a few different teams and won awards but I haven't been in a team that has won the league so I'm getting pretty excited about the possibility of doing that this season.
When my career I think is over I'd like people to remember what I've done - the length of time I've been in the league and what I've achieved, and being consistent all the way through.
TWG: And what about post-playing, which could be five years away depending on what you want to do. Have you got any ideas at this stage?
SS: I've got a few ideas. Football has always been in my life, from ever since I was young, so it would be crazy for me to want to get involved in anything else. I've already gone down the path of doing my (coaching) badges and I could head in that direction after I finish playing.
I'm also looking at starting up in the near future with a football-related business. I can't say too much about that at the moment but I'm looking forward to it.
TWG: So is it fair to say that when you're listening to the coach, you're not just listening for the present but also in terms of what you can take on-board for the future?
SS: Yeah, absolutely. I've got a pretty good memory and I've worked with a hell of a lot of different coaches at club and national team levels. Every coach is different and I like to think I've taken the best I can from each coach. I'd try to blend what I've learned with my own style as a coach.
I'm always looking to the future as well as what I'm concentrating on now.
