Mark Bosnich ready for Sydney Olympic challenge

The significance of the acquisition will not be lost on a slightly older generation of football fans and followers, who witnessed Bosnich?s meteoric rise in England that saw him play for Manchester United, Aston Villa and Chelsea, becoming one of the world?s best goalkeepers.
Forever remembered by Australia fans for his outstanding performances during the Socceroos? ill-fated and somewhat mythical qualifying campaign for the 1998 World Cup, the shot-stopper?s pedigree is unquestioned ? he is, quite simply, one of Australian football?s finest ever talents.
His has not always been an easy road to travel however and an extended period out of the game took the man affectionately known as ?Bozza? to what he describes as a ?dark hole?, the depths of which neutral observers such as those present at his unveiling as an Olympic player will never understand.
He has emerged though with a renewed sense of purpose, to give something back to the game in Australia ? the country he speaks with such a passion for ? and in the meantime, to prove himself capable of another A-League stint and perhaps even a European move.

Benefiting from the Bozza renaissance is of course Sydney Olympic, a club who will use this acquisition as proof that their proud roots and constant ability to acquire the brightest of stars would not be out of place in the FFA?s proposed second-tier national competition ? the B-League.
For now though, he remains a state league player and no doubt the federation, its fans and the club will be humbled by his presence.
It is one that will be hard to miss, as evidenced by his charismatic unveiling at the Civic Hotel on Pitt Street.
The adventure continues for me,? Bosnich said. ?I?ve really got a reinvigoration for life; I?ve got this coming up, State of Origin tomorrow and the Ashes in three weeks!
?So hopefully the body will hold up.
?I?m quite confident it will and I?m in good hands.?
At the age of 37, Bosnich has no doubts that his decision to return to the pitch is the right one as he looks to earn himself a professional contract ? whilst helping out his new club along the way.
?I wanted to take counsel from a lot of old friends in football and there wasn?t one person I spoke to who thought it was a bad idea.
?So I would like to use it as a springboard but I don?t want to be disrespectful to Sydney Olympic because without them I wouldn?t have this springboard.
?I want to help them and I want to win.?
The feeling appears to be reciprocal, with Sydney Olympic Head Coach Nick Theodorakopoulos delighted to have in his squad a genuine superstar and larger-than-life personality.
?I welcome Bozza, as he is affectionately known, to a very famous Australian club and I just hope that [everyone] understands that this is a big signing for this level of competition and I hope this is a stepping stone for Bozza to get back to where he belongs; either in the A-League or a European club to play out the rest of his career,? Theodorakopoulos said.
?Other than experience, he?s larger than life, as you just saw he?s in total command of you people on the other side of this table and if he can control so many of you journalists and people then imagine what he can do to a back four or a back five.
?I?m relishing the fact that I have someone of this calibre in the dressing room and I know the players are looking forward to working with the player.
?On Friday he came to the training session and he requested to see the goalkeeper.
?He went into the dressing room and called Sam Emmanouil, the young ?keeper and said ?I?m not here to take your spot, I?m here for the club, I hope you learn and whatever you need off me for the duration I?m here and after the duration of my commitments here, you contact me.?
?To me, without prompting Bozza, that showed exactly what character this country has when it comes to football.?
Club Secretary and General Manager Nick Kambounias considered the acquisition of Bonsich within a rich player history at Sydney Olympic, famous for having produced and housed talents from both Australia and abroad.
It is a history that clearly still carries with it star pulling power and the arrival of yet another big name is perhaps proof of the club?s efficacy and legitimacy of their push for inclusion in the proposed B-League.
?From Sydney Olympic?s stand-point, this is another example of the club?s ability to bring in major players, which in turn enhances the sport,? Kambounias said.
?In the past we have brought out Glasgow Rangers great David Provan, Liverpool legend Ian Rush and in more recent times, Australia international Nick Carle and Jordanian international Siraj Al-Tall.
?We also have a history of producing some of the great names to grace football?s world stage such as Brett Emerton, Nick Carle, Ned Zelic, Chris Kalantzis and Jason Culina.
?We have been keeping a close eye on developments regarding the proposed B-League and are already structuring the club with interest from investors to make a serious application.
?The signing of Mark Bosnich is another example of how serious we are.?
Bosnich also took the opportunity to herald in a new era not only for NSW Football but for the game in Australia generally, speaking about the importance of honouring and respecting the contribution of clubs such as Olympic to the development and history of football in Australia.
He continued, ?There is also a massive swell of opinion coming from you guys, I can feel it like a massive tidal wave, a tsunami, that the fact that we took soccer away from its ethnic roots was the right thing to do at the time but we shouldn?t forget out pioneering roots and in Sydney Olympic we had one of the founding clubs of those roots.
?I was talking with Les Murray before the press conference about it; there was in this country before, something called ?Old Soccer? and what we have here in ?New Soccer?.
?I think it?s very important that we knit the two together in the best way possible.
?I know there?s a lot of rivalries and in some instances a lot of bridges to be made up.
?But if we want this game to go forward, it?s gone the right way because we had to Australianize it.
?I know it ripped the heart out a lot of ethnic people that had come to this country but it?s very important we don?t forget our roots and there?s no reason we can?t work together for the good of Australian soccer because we all know the potential that there is here for Australian soccer and that if we did all work together, like we have done on a few occasions in the past, we?ve seen the end result.
?If anything, in my opinion, anything that the people in this country put their mind to can do.
?They have more ability and talent to do things and they realize.?
From a personal perspective, Bosnich is grateful for the opportunity provided to him not just by Olympic but by a generous football community.
He continued, ?One day I will perhaps be in a place where I am able to talk about where I was once but it?s not the time to talk about that now; the Sun rises for me now and the Sun sets!
?I?m very thankful to the Central Coast for giving me that opportunity initially and for putting life back into these old limbs.
?My mindset when I first came over here was that I came out of a dark hole, probably darker than all of you will ever realize and ever know.
?I was a day-by-day prospect and that?s why I?m thankful to everyone; you have all been so nice to me since I?ve come back and it?s humbling and hard for me to take because I?m not use to people being that nice without wanting nothing in return.
?My main concern after that was happening was that I had to put something back into the Australian game.
?I believe that everyone says you owe yourself in life but I also believe you owe to people who help you to get to where you are.
?I have that affinity as well for England because it gave me everything as well but while I?m here in Australia, the place of my birth and of so many experiences, where I grew up and learned my soccer really up until 16, I think I should try to give as much back as possible.?
The respect is most definitely mutual.
-By Chris Paraskevas