From curling the ball into the “top bins” in his backyard, to now dominating in the Isuzu UTE A-League, Jordan Bos has had quite the rise to stardom at Melbourne City and now, the Socceroos – which all started at home. Watch the full KEEPUP Studios feature below.
Anyone who grew up loving football would tell you that your backyard doubles down as a personal theatre of dreams.
Whether it was with a set of real or makeshift goals, this was the place to let your imagination run wild and recreate magical moments from some of the world’s best – where instead of your hero scoring the winning penalty or free-kick – you were the one in their shoes.
Most professional footballers would also tell you it was the place where they honed their skills and made valuable improvements in their overall game away from the training field.
Jordan Bos is no different.
Enjoy KEEPUP Studios’ Jordan Bos feature here.
Before he was one of Melbourne City’s brightest young stars and the latest to represent Australia at the highest level – he was just a boy with a dream, a wicked left-boot and a goal in his backyard with a twist.
“My dad bought this big goal and put towels in the top bins. We’d just curl it in, out the back,” he said.
As shown as part of this week’s KEEPUP original, in a homemade backyard clip from when he was younger, Bos dribbled the ball, did some step-overs and fired it right into the top corner – which are clearly outlined by the towels on either side.
His idols as a kid were Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben and you can see why. The step-overs, the ball mastery and the strike; all elements of what made those two such captivating and exciting players.
He was particularly fond of Robben, whose signature move was cutting in on his left from the right-flank and causing all sorts of havoc.
There’s an element of deja vu when watching that clip from yesteryear too.
In fact, it’s almost a mirror image of his tremendous goal against Perth Glory earlier this year where he replicated a similar motion in the lead-up before smacking the ball into the top corner.
Incredibly, this time it was on his non-preferred right boot.
At the time, it looked almost seamless and something he had done a million times before. Now, with the clip at hand, the proof is in the pudding.
The towels worked a charm.
His football journey started in Melbourne’s west at Hoppers Crossing Soccer Club, where he in fact learned the ins and outs of the game from his dad, the same person who helped him develop that wicked eye for goal with some creative innovation in their backyard goal.
“My football journey started here (Hoppers Crossing)… when I was about five years old,” he said.
“Back then it was just once a week with some of the lads, then went on to under nines, under tens, and that’s where I started loving the ball. So moved on to Point Cook after that for a couple of years, and then to the state team and ended up at Melbourne City Academy and just worked through the ranks there.
“My first coach was actually my dad. He was the hardest one of them all, to be honest. But he was good coach and he knew what he was talking about, he used to play in the day as well.
“So he just pushed me here at the club and at home as well. So I couldn’t couldn’t get away from it.”
And it was those lessons at home and at junior level that have helped him into the player he is now.
“We also used to juggle the ball a lot, on the street with my younger brother Casey,” he said
“When I’m playing in a game, playing how I play I think it’s just innately from when I played when I was younger. It’s just instinctive now, because all of the trainings back then.”
Bos’ rise to stardom has been rapid – but it was a rocky beginning.
In his debut early last season against Adelaide United, he lost the ball en route to Ben Halloran scoring a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Coopers Stadium.
However, since then, Bos has gone from strength to strength. After a strong finish to last campaign, where he impressed in limited opportunities, the 20-year-old left-back has not only established himself in City’s XI but as one of their most important and valuable players.
After modelling his game on Messi and Robben as a junior, Bos has looked to mirror Canada and Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies’ overall game and you can see why – particularly with his proficiencies both in attack and defence.
Today, that fateful night at Hindmarsh feels like an eternity ago.
“So far, playing for the first team at Melbourne City, it’s been a bit of a roller coaster,” he said.
“First game don’t even want to think about it, might have cost us it’s a goal but I think I’ve turned it on a little bit. But yeah, there’s always ups and downs when you’re playing professional just soccer in general or any sport to be fair.
“So just have to get back to it and pick yourself back up.”
Bos’ form at City has made him one of the top performing left-backs in the Isuzu UTE A-League and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. In March, he earned his first Socceroos cap, coming on against Ecuador as a second-half substitute in his home town of Melbourne.
Now, it’s just a matter of what’s next for Bos, who has his eyes set on a “dream” move overseas at some point in the future.
However, he will never forget where it all started.
“Playing here at Hoppers Crossing acted as a stepping stone to where I am now,” he said.
“Hopefully in the next couple of years, I go overseas. That’s my dream so hopefully I keep pushing and keep proving myself and maybe, get a call one day and head over there.”
