While it may be a bit premature to say that Oliver Bozanic should already book his flights to Rio, he is certainly making all the right noise at his new Swiss club FC Luzern.
With four goals in two games it seems that Australia has a genuine box to box, goal scoring midfielder in the wings.
These sorts of displays will certainly get Holger’s attention and will remind Mariners fans that a back to back grand final will be hard without this young star.
In his three seasons at the Mariners, ‘Ollie’ formed a formidable midfield partnership with Michael McGlinchey and co. and was often the unheralded star of the team. However we could all clearly see the sort of talent he possessed.
Last season we did not get to see the best of Bozanic due to injury, but
Bozanic in his three seasons racked up 13 assists and three goals in 70 league appearances playing in his left midfield role. He scored a memorable double against the Brisbane Roar in the 2010/11 season, endorsing his clear box to box midfield credentials.
We can’t forget that Bozanic was signed by English Premier League side Reading as an 18-year-old, clearly revealing the talent that he boasted from a young age.
Whilst never cracking the first team, he was loaned out to several lower league clubs, such as Woking and Aldershot Town, appearing regularly and producing more goals and assists.
Reading released Bozanic in 2010, and Graham Arnold was in no hesitation to swiftly snap up the gifted midfielder in need of regular game time. Arnold who worked with Bozanic during his appearances for the Olyroos knew what kind of talent the youngster possessed.
Arnold spoke highly of the former Under 23 captain and in early 2013 stated, “We certainly know what he is capable of, and at 24 we are convinced Ollie’s best form is yet to come. He’s a player with big ambitions and goals for himself.”
This was no doubt true, with Bozanic signing for his new club FC Luzern this year, his goal of once again playing in Europe was accomplished. As Arnold points out, at 24 he is on the verge of hitting his footballing pinnacle, and it is evident early that Bozanic has made the right career move.
Holger made it adamant that regular game time is a prerequisite for selection for Rio next year, and signing for FC Luzern will ensure that this will be met for Bozanic.
Not only has Ollie started in both Swiss Super League games, he has scored an incredible four world class goals. You only have to see the highlights of them down below to see that he is on the verge of something big.
Ollie Bozanic can join the likes of James Holland, Tommy Oar and Robbie Kruse, in youngsters making a wise choice in their big European moves.
Finishing runners up in the Swiss Super League in 2012 and with one domestic title and two Swiss Super Cups, the club is certainly a credible outfit.
Playing further up the field for FC Luzern, in almost a second striker role, Bozanic has been described by local journalists as an ‘offensive specialist’ and that he has the ‘quality to play a formative role in the league.’ This is certainly encouraging press from the locals, who seem incredibly impressed with young Ollie.
We can only hope that he remains injury free and continues to have a dominant season that will see him on the plane to Rio.
Bozanic can join the likes of Mile Sterjovski, Scott Chipperfield and Ljubo Miličević, who all made a name for themselves in the Swiss competition, ranked as the 14th best league in Europe in 2011.
Adrian
Guest
Stefanov (The Swiss League is better than the A-League) ?????? why is it better then HAL??? take FC Basel out, and the Swiss league teams are full of Swiss players...are you saying swiss players are better then Australian players??...why is a league full of swiss players better then a league full of Australian players Oliver Bozanic look like a star , playing in swiss league
Adrian
Guest
why isn't any body talking about, how a ave CCM A-league players, move to euro league and killing that league :) playing in Euro land, is not about the league, but which team you're playing for in that league ..if you're playing for FC Basel, then your playing in a top Euro team, a team that would finishes somewhere between 8th and 4th in English Premier League each year Oliver is not playing for FC Basel, but for Luzern, a team that be ranked 5th or 6th team in the 10 team Swiss Super League (HAL 10 teams league to :) ) i would say, that 2012-13 CCM team was a little bit better team then the 2012-13 FC Luzern, which is why Oliver found the jump so easy (also, Oliver 24 years old, perfect age to leave A-league Anybody know, what money CCM got for Oliver ?
realfootball
Guest
Interesting... a player who isn't even a starting 11 player at CCM now starts in Switzerland.
Jack
Guest
+ 1 I agree completely .player to look at from Europe not in the set up who are realistic for Brazil. Leckie Bouzanic Lowry Herd( simply as he plays epl and two manager s have thought his good enough). It says in August we have a friendly vs Indonesia on our Wikipedia page would this be for HAL guys? Surely it's time to give these European fringe players a crack ?
whiskeymac
Guest
Good to see someone on the Aussies abroad sections doing well, a bit of a rarity even when the season is in full euro swing.
AZ_RBB
Guest
speaking of Robbie. he got a few minutes in a friendly for Bayer Leverkussen earlier in the week. a little concerned about how much game time he'll get this season but being at a club like Leverkussen should push him to new heights.
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
Good to see Leckie off to a good start in Germany also scoring for FSV Frankfurt in Bundesliga 2.Hopefully he can stay injury free and have a big season for Frankfurt.He's still got time on his side and remember this is a league Robbie Kruse couldn't get a game in at the same age.
Brick Tamlin of the Pants Party
Guest
Well he wouldn't be able to just waltz through the guts of an opposition defence at International level like he did for the second goal that's for sure,a real study in ball watching that from Zurichs defence!.Both tidy finishes though.
Phutbol
Guest
Is it just me or do all the players in both those higlights packages look really young? like very early 20's or younger... Not that this is a bad thing but it does make me wonder what the standard is really like over there...
Aljay
Guest
Shaun, as someone who has seen him play live that frequently, what do you think of a move to number 10? Seems to have worked in the short-term. Did Arnold have him in the wrong place?
Stefanov
Roar Pro
I have stated it is early days, but to have such a promising start is very encouraging. The Swiss League is better than the A-League and if he is getting REGULAR game time in this league that is the key. If he warms the pine then he is worse off than an A-League player, but for me starting in this league is a step above the A-League. I think this new role suits him and he will continue to excel. I thought he was far more consistent than Amini (who has gone missing) and Montgomery...but Rogic was well above him, however he does have talent. We can only see what 2013 does for his career.
fadida
Guest
+1
Aljay
Guest
Agreed fadida, just because he plays in Europe does not mean he is any better than the guy who played for CCM for the last 3 years. Sure he was injured last season, but fans who saw him week-in, week-out never called for him to be included above players like Milligan, Mooy, Antonis or Garcia. His success will show some A-League clubs are not that far behind smaller European teams. Just don't start me on James Holland excelling in the Austrian league.......
Aljay
Guest
I picked this article coming in June, see my comments here: http://www.theroar.com.au/2013/06/20/what-awaits-the-socceroos-in-brazil-2014/. Its a standard Aussie response to anyone getting game time in Europe. Good on Ollie for a positive start to his new club and it makes you wonder if Supercoach Arnold had it wrong by playing him as a 6 for 3 years rather than a 10. Nevertheless we have all seen him many times in the A-League and while he is a solid, tidy midfielder his play has never demanded immediate selection. If he had stayed at CCM I doubt he would have been selected for either the EAFF or the All-Stars and noone would have said a thing. I would love to be proven wrong, but he is the next Neil Kilkenny, not the next Tim Cahill. Sure he was injured last year, but prior to that he has been outshone in the CCM midfield by McGlinchley, Amini, Rogic, Montgomery and Griffiths. I'm happy to see him move to Europe and succeed, but just as we are learning with James Holland, just because he is getting game time with a European postcode does not mean he is one of our best 23 players.
Stefanov
Roar Pro
Well they play either a 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-4-1 formation and Bozanic sits just off the striker, they must rate him highly giving a new signing such attacking freedom. Formations of their games. http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/fc-luzern-fc-zuerich/index/spielbericht_2320006.html http://www.transfermarkt.com/en/fc-aarau-fc-luzern/index/spielbericht_2319998.html
graham
Guest
Cheers Two decent headers His second game was very impressive in terms of goals. I wonder how his general play is
Stefanov
Roar Pro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjShC1ORqwo Enjoy!
Stefanov
Roar Pro
graham
Guest
Anyone have highlights from his first game?
fadida
Guest
Fine goals, no denying :) The question still remains though, a player that wasn't even on the radar of the NT (mind you Holger's radar has some serious interference), moves to "Europe" and makes a great start to his time there. Is he suddenly so much better than the (very good) player we watched here? Or are we assuming that because he plays in a league better than the A-league, but certainly not in Europe's elite, that he is automatically a better player? Switzerland isn't the Bundesliga, or even the Dutch league. That he was a junior at Reading means bugger all. Dean Bouzianous (?sp) was at Liverpool, as was Nicky Rizzo. Name dropping European clubs doesn't automatically make a player better than if they were at CCM or MV. Jedinak is at Palace but many of us have long preferred MV's Milligan. Eurosnobbery. There's some young guy at Stoke, (STOKE!), who is now being whispered as being a possible solution to our CB crisis, all based on a vague association with the EPL. Now I'm not saying he can't come into the reckoning, but I think we need a bigger sample size of games than 2!.