Two heroes of the game at an international level come in at numbers seven and eight.
With time ticking away between seasons seven and eight of the Hyundai A-League, we here at footballaustralia.com.au thought we would go retro and take a look back at some of the best the league has had to offer over the years.
We slotted Glen Moss and Danny Vukovic at the bottom of the top ten and today we continue the countdown to number one with two more keepers.
8. Mark Bosnich
Arguably Australia-s greatest ever goalkeeper, the former Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa star and Qantas Socceroos custodian did it all in a glittering career that was also dominated by his own personal demons and controversies.
Confessing in 2004 he once took up to 10 grams of cocaine a day and his infamous Nazi salute in 1996 the lowlights in a string of indiscretions throughout his career.
Despite the lows there were overwhelming highs and at his best ‘Bozza- was one of the greatest glovemen the game had ever seen, but a self-confessed cocaine problem ultimately led to his downfall and an inglorious exit from Chelsea, long before that club really began to dominate in the EPL.
Returning to Australia to get his life back together he soon picked up a contract as a ‘guest player- with Central Coast Mariners to stand in for the suspended Danny Vukovic, and famously saved a Steve Corica penalty against Sydney FC on his return to action.
While he wasn-t in the best shape when he returned to Australia and played for the Mariners, on sheer ability alone, Bosnich has to be on this list.
You don-t play for two of the greatest clubs in the world and win an FA Cup, Cup Winners Cup, Premiership and World Club Championship without having some outstanding talents and Bosnich had those in spades and even showed them at times for the Mariners.
7. Mark Paston
Hero to All Whites fans the world over after a brilliant 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign there is no doubting the quality Paston possesses within his 194cm frame.
Unfortunately, that quality hasn-t really translated to the Hyundai A-League where despite some truly heroic efforts between the sticks, especially throughout the latest season, Paston and the Phoenix have really failed to excel.
The fact that they have not is hardly Paston-s fault and had he played more often, one gets the felling the Nix might have been a better side, but the fact of the matter is two broken legs in recent seasons have kept his time on the field down and kept the gifted shot-stopper well down on this list.
The views in this article are those of the author and not Football Federation Australia
