Bosnich Coming Back, Better but Hopefully not Bigger

By: Daryl | October 7th, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcYMq61y4xY

Remember Mark Bosnich? ‘Course you do. The Aussie keeper had a Premiership career encompassing Manchester United (twice) Aston Villa and Chelsea. Things went south for Bozza in 2002 when he tested positive for cocaine, Chelsea sacked him and he was banned from football for nine months. He hasn’t played since. But now he’s back, training with QPR and hoping to play professional football again.

Recently fired QPR manager John Gregory gave him the chance to join the club after five years out of the game, and Bosnich swears he’s back in shape. QPR goalkeeping coach Ed de Goey (his former rival for the Chelsea keeper jersey) says that when Bozza joined QPR “he was much overweight and fat.”

But he’s apparently lost 13kg since the summer and is now just 2kg away from his former playing weight. Also in his favour, he’s only 35, which isn’t too bad for a keeper. And if you compare the man in the video with the man in this photo then you have to say job well done. But can a 35 year old really make a sensational comeback? I remember Stan Collymore making similar claims abou returning to professional football not so long ago, and that never materialized.

“What I have noticed is that the majority of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League and the Championship are older goalkeepers,” said Bosnich. “with the exception of Peter Cech and the ones who are performing week in week out consistently are people like Edwin van der Saar and David James. People like that are all around my age so age is no barrier. If I can get back to anywhere near the shape I was in, I’m confident I can play in any league.”

Worth mentioning that at no point did James or Van der Saar go on cocaine binges or drop out of football altogether for half a decade, but you’ve got to admire his optimism. Apparently Bosnich has already played for QPR in a behind closed doors friendly against Barnet, where he kept a clean sheet. I genuinely hope we see him playing professional football in England again. And let’s face it, bottom of the Championship QPR couldn’t be doing much worse right now, so why not give him a go?