The next Bozza? James Overy’s (almost) unprecedented rise from Man United to the Socceroos

3 months ago 23

Only one man has walked the same path as teenager James Overy did this week, from the Manchester United youth set-up straight to the Socceroos.

His name is Mark Bosnich.

Like Overy, Bosnich received his first international call-up before he had played a senior game for United. It was January 1990 – two years before England’s first division became the Premier League, and just eight months after they lifted the FA Cup, the first of many trophies they would go on to win under Alex Ferguson.

Bosnich was not long at the club when then-Socceroos coach Frank Arok named him in his squad for a clash with touring Russian side Torpedo Moscow; yes, this was back when the Australian national team still played friendlies against club sides, which were not counted as fully-fledged internationals.

Bosnich came off the bench in the 81st minute, replacing starting goalkeeper Bob Catlin, as the Socceroos lost 2-0 in front of a crowd of less than 7500 at the old Sydney Football Stadium.

He was only 18 - the same age as Overy – and felt a little intimidated, but drew confidence from his experience rubbing shoulders with United’s big dogs.

Mark Bosnich is still the only Australian to have represented Manchester United.

“When you get called up to train with the first team – I did it quite regularly – it’s such a buzz,” Bosnich said on Stan Sport’s Added Time. “You’re [training] with some of the very, very best, so it improves you out of sight.

“It also gives you that feeling that if I go and play for the Socceroos … everyone gets nervous, but it’s the way you deal with those nerves. You can always fall back on, ‘That’s OK, because I’m training with Bruno Fernandes. I’m training with [Bryan] Mbeumo. I’m training with [Matthijs] de Ligt. I know if I can do it against them, I can do it here.’”

If Overy gets on the pitch in Saturday’s (1.30pm AEDT) friendly against Venezuela, he will become the seventh-youngest Socceroo in history – trumping Bosnich by one day.

Which brings us to the one major difference between them, aside from position and, probably, personality: Bosnich would not play a true ‘A’ international for another three years, while Overy is playing for a spot at next year’s World Cup.

James Overy in action for Manchester United’s Under-18s.

Coach Tony Popovic made that clear this week when he said all players who feature for the Socceroos before then – and even those who don’t, but sufficiently impress him enough at club level – are in with a genuine chance of selection.

Overy, who turned 18 on Sunday and signed his first professional deal with United in July, was the youngest member of the Young Socceroos squad that went to last month’s FIFA U-20 World Cup. Before and since, Ruben Amorim has brought him in for occasional training sessions with the club’s Premier League stars, which suggests the manager has seen something special in him.

“We have good contacts at Man U,” Popovic said.

“We know what he’s doing at training. We know how much he trains, how much he trains in the first team. He’s getting games in the under-18s, the under-21s. I just thought: he’s worth having a look at, and let’s see.”

The key, Bosnich said, is managing the expectation and spotlight that will naturally be placed upon Overy simply because of the status of the club he is contracted to – particularly at a time when there are no Australians in the Premier League.

This masthead has been told Overy is unlikely to be made available to media during this international break, at Popovic’s request.

That’s a classic move Bosnich has seen before, and been subject to himself.

“I watched very closely how Alex Ferguson handled Ryan Giggs, and I saw it with myself and Ron Atkinson at Aston Villa,” he said.

“The more you can protect him from the press at a young age, the better it is. You’re young … it’s everything you’ve dreamed of, but you’ve just got to be careful, because there are some people who want to trip you up. Popa knows about that, how to protect him.

“I’m really excited. There’s nothing wrong with getting excited. Let’s just watch and see what I’ve heard he can do.”

So could Overy “pull a Bozza” and make his United debut shortly after making his Socceroos debut?

Bosnich has good contacts at Man Utd, too, and, having consulted with them, he believes Overy is a realistic chance of being blooded this season – especially since, as a right-winger converted into a right-back, he fits into Amorim’s 3-4-3 system like a hand in a glove.

“I do. I really do,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, I really think that he might get the opportunity.”

If he can, he’ll join Bozza in an exclusive club of two.