Flourishing Oliver Bozanic rewarded with another Socceroos call-up

Saying goodbye is never easy, not even on the back of consecutive 6-0 embarrassments. “It was actually Holger (who) came down and spoke to us after (he was sacked), which was pretty hard to see,” says Oliver Bozanic of the Australia coach’s departure in Paris last month.

“It was very hard thing for someone to stand up and say that sort of stuff in front of the team. [But he] was very good [about it and] wished everyone luck and to do well at the World Cup. He ended it on a great note for himself.”

At that stage, the 24-year-old Bozanic had more first-hand experience of a national coach being shown the door than he did of senior international matches. But that first cap came just a few days later, when he was subbed on in the 3-0 victory over Canada.

Osieck was criticised for relying on too many ageing stars, and there may have been a touch of symbolism in the timing of Bozanic’s debut. Yet his inclusion in the squad - along with other selections, such as that of Mitch Langerak in goal against France - also signalled a shifting in Osieck’s attitude towards generational change.

Either way, it was the latest achievement in a break-out year for the former Olyroos captain. After helping the Central Coast Mariners finally take out an A-League championship in April, Bozanic was picked up by Swiss club Luzern, where he immediately scored a bagful of goals, including two classics against Zurich, and was named Player of the Month.

Now he’s been given the chance of a second cap by Osieck’s replacement, Ange Postecoglou, who announced his inaugural squad on Wednesday, ahead of the Socceroos clash with Costa Rica in Sydney later this month.

The other debutant from the Canada match and another who harbours a World Cup dream, Jackson Irvine, was not so fortunate, and those hoping the new coach would run a broom through the squad will be disappointed. The retired Mark Schwarzer, now 41, has made a more significant contribution to bringing down the average age of the squad than Postecoglou, who has stuck pretty closely to the Osieck model.

At least for now. There is a wave of young Australians like Bozanic starting to get noticed in Europe, and Postecoglou’s reputation would suggest they’ll be given plenty of opportunities between now and Brazil. All of them were teenagers when Australia made their dramatic return to the World Cup in 2006, and many of them developed under the tutelage of Postecoglou or Graham Arnold. Or in Bozanic’s case, both.

Postecoglou was his coach in the national youth team - and his tormentor at the Brisbane Roar. “They were always very difficult games when we played Brisbane. They were always pressing. The ball possession was unbelievable. They always moved the ball from side to side and then created great opportunities. And it was always about great forward passes and good movement off the ball, so it will be great to see an Australian (national) team playing like that.

“He’s a great coach and as everyone has seen over the last few years he’s proved how good he really is, technically and tactically. So I’m sure he’ll do a great job. I didn’t have a lot of time under him (in the national juniors), but with the A-League clubs, (he’s) proved that (his) style of football works.”

It’s under Arnold that Bozanic really developed. The former national coach (and long-time assistant) has helped turn the Mariners into a serious exporter of budding talent. Last season’s other alumni include 21-year-old Mat Ryan, now the first-choice keeper at Belgium’s Club Brugge, and 20-year-old Tom Rogic, a regular on the Celtic bench. Both are part of Postecoglou’s squad. Another of the Mariners’ recent young graduates, Mustafa Amini, is a work in progress at Borussia Dortmund.

Yet for all he learned on the Central Coast, it’s the move to the Alps that has turned Bozanic into a goal-scoring machine. “When I played at the Mariners, I was more defensive last season, a defensive holding position, and now I’m more attacking, as a number 10 or a number 8, so I’m already more forward in the game and can get into the box and have opportunities to score.”

The goals have been harder to come by in recent matches, for both Bozanic and his team-mates. They fell from title contention to fifth with last weekend’s loss at Sion, where fellow Socceroo Dario Vidosic is enjoying a prolific return to Europe. The two Australians, who sit equal fourth on the list of top scorers, go head-to-head again on Monday morning (Australian time)in a Swiss Cup tie, before flying home to join Postecoglou and the rest of the squad.

Scott Chipperfield cemented his place in the Socceroos from Switzerland, and Bozanic says with the right form, they should be able to do the same. “It’s a good league to be in and there are lots of opportunities to play in the Europa or the Champions Leagues if you play well. It’s a great opportunity to be playing here.”