BOSNICH: THE KEEPER WHO THREW IT ALL AWAY £42,000 a week but he never plays
HE EARNS £42,000-a-week but this morning Mark Bosnich is staring into the abyss of what was once a career full of promise.
The Australian star was tipped to be one of the greatest keepers the game had ever seen having played for three of England's biggest clubs — Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa.
But instead of gracing soccer's greatest stadiums with his breathtaking natural talent, Bosnich is more likely to be seen in London's trendy nightclubs and bars, accompanied by former Gossard model Sophie Anderton.
The pair live together in upmarket Knightsbridge and Bosnich revels in the fact that he can live the London high life — even though he's only made seven first-team Chelsea appearances in the last 18 months.
Anderton has a history of dabbling in drugs and alcohol and in 1998 was found collapsed after bingeing on cocaine, champagne, vodka and the date-rape drug Rohypnol. Although she denied taking drugs her then-fiancé, millionaire Robert Hanson, paid for her to attend a US detox clinic for six weeks at £500 a day. Shortly afterwards she landed a 12-months drink-drive ban.
Anderton then found a new partner, Tareq Sahama, who was arrested in the same year on suspicion of possessing cocaine.
And former Bros pop star Matt Goss revealed how Anderton snorted cocaine when they were on romantic dates together and would lie to him about giving up drugs.
He said at the time: "Within 48 hours of meeting her she had taken drugs when I was with her in a club. She became erratic and strange. I just had to walk out and leave her."
Controversy has always surrounded Bosnich's career and choice of partners. After starting his career in England at Manchester United, he married an English girl in 1990-but the marriage only lasted two years and Bosnich was off-loaded to Aston Villa.
Just as the Australian began to look the part, he hit the headlines for a shocking challenge on German striker Jurgen Klinsmann.
The German was left unconscious after the duo clashed in a league match between Aston Villa and Tottenham in 1994.
Bosnich may have escaped with a booking at the time but the Football Association fined him £1,000.
The fall-out from the clash was to have even worse repercussions two years later when Bosnich reacted to baiting from Spurs fans by aiming a sickening Nazi salute in their direction.
A written apology did little to appease an angry nation as he said: "I was astonished to be booked, let alone to raise the effect it later generated.
"I am very sorry if I offended anybody, no offence was ever intended, only comical mimicry."
But Bosnich was at the centre of more lurid headlines in 1998 when he was pictured in a seedy bedroom romp with former Villa team-mate Dwight Yorke and two women.
The women had no idea they were being secretly filmed and Bosnich was seen in a skirt, laughing and pointing at the camera. At one point he appeared to be whipped by one of the girls with a belt. Unbelievably, worse was still to come — this time on the day he clinched a dream move back to Old Trafford in June, 1999 and on the eve of his wedding to ex-model Sarah Jarrett.
The Australian international took his celebrations at his stag night too far and assaulted a photographer outside a strip joint.
At 7am the next morning he was arrested and Sir Alex Ferguson had to bail him out so he could go and get married.
Bosnich was blasted by Ferguson but he promised to turn over a new leaf, saying: "The manager made it clear that that kind of incident should never happen again. I would have to be pretty slow on the uptake not to know clubs of United's stature have high standards which I must adhere to.
"I live in a way where I don't try to think too much, I just act, and that has transferred itself into my life on the pitch."
But the dye was cast on his United career and he never really earned Ferguson's trust.
After making just 35 appearances in his 18-month spell at Old Trafford his contract was terminated by mutual consent and he joined Chelsea on a free transfer in January, 2001. Bosnich signed a three-year contract and hoped it would re-ignite a career that had promised so much but delivered so little.
However, it took him nine months to make his first appearance for the Blues in the 2-0 UEFA Cup defeat at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Bosnich was only in the side due to injuries to Carlo Cudicini and Ed de Goey and he only managed another six appearances before he was struck down with a groin injury in a game at Everton.
He has been sidelined ever since — and must now contemplate the possibility of never gracing the Premier League again.
© NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD, 2001
HE EARNS £42,000-a-week but this morning Mark Bosnich is staring into the abyss of what was once a career full of promise.
The Australian star was tipped to be one of the greatest keepers the game had ever seen having played for three of England's biggest clubs — Manchester United, Chelsea and Aston Villa.
But instead of gracing soccer's greatest stadiums with his breathtaking natural talent, Bosnich is more likely to be seen in London's trendy nightclubs and bars, accompanied by former Gossard model Sophie Anderton.
The pair live together in upmarket Knightsbridge and Bosnich revels in the fact that he can live the London high life — even though he's only made seven first-team Chelsea appearances in the last 18 months.
Anderton has a history of dabbling in drugs and alcohol and in 1998 was found collapsed after bingeing on cocaine, champagne, vodka and the date-rape drug Rohypnol. Although she denied taking drugs her then-fiancé, millionaire Robert Hanson, paid for her to attend a US detox clinic for six weeks at £500 a day. Shortly afterwards she landed a 12-months drink-drive ban.
Anderton then found a new partner, Tareq Sahama, who was arrested in the same year on suspicion of possessing cocaine.
And former Bros pop star Matt Goss revealed how Anderton snorted cocaine when they were on romantic dates together and would lie to him about giving up drugs.
He said at the time: "Within 48 hours of meeting her she had taken drugs when I was with her in a club. She became erratic and strange. I just had to walk out and leave her."
Controversy has always surrounded Bosnich's career and choice of partners. After starting his career in England at Manchester United, he married an English girl in 1990-but the marriage only lasted two years and Bosnich was off-loaded to Aston Villa.
Just as the Australian began to look the part, he hit the headlines for a shocking challenge on German striker Jurgen Klinsmann.
The German was left unconscious after the duo clashed in a league match between Aston Villa and Tottenham in 1994.
Bosnich may have escaped with a booking at the time but the Football Association fined him £1,000.
The fall-out from the clash was to have even worse repercussions two years later when Bosnich reacted to baiting from Spurs fans by aiming a sickening Nazi salute in their direction.
A written apology did little to appease an angry nation as he said: "I was astonished to be booked, let alone to raise the effect it later generated.
"I am very sorry if I offended anybody, no offence was ever intended, only comical mimicry."
But Bosnich was at the centre of more lurid headlines in 1998 when he was pictured in a seedy bedroom romp with former Villa team-mate Dwight Yorke and two women.
The women had no idea they were being secretly filmed and Bosnich was seen in a skirt, laughing and pointing at the camera. At one point he appeared to be whipped by one of the girls with a belt. Unbelievably, worse was still to come — this time on the day he clinched a dream move back to Old Trafford in June, 1999 and on the eve of his wedding to ex-model Sarah Jarrett.
The Australian international took his celebrations at his stag night too far and assaulted a photographer outside a strip joint.
At 7am the next morning he was arrested and Sir Alex Ferguson had to bail him out so he could go and get married.
Bosnich was blasted by Ferguson but he promised to turn over a new leaf, saying: "The manager made it clear that that kind of incident should never happen again. I would have to be pretty slow on the uptake not to know clubs of United's stature have high standards which I must adhere to.
"I live in a way where I don't try to think too much, I just act, and that has transferred itself into my life on the pitch."
But the dye was cast on his United career and he never really earned Ferguson's trust.
After making just 35 appearances in his 18-month spell at Old Trafford his contract was terminated by mutual consent and he joined Chelsea on a free transfer in January, 2001. Bosnich signed a three-year contract and hoped it would re-ignite a career that had promised so much but delivered so little.
However, it took him nine months to make his first appearance for the Blues in the 2-0 UEFA Cup defeat at Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Bosnich was only in the side due to injuries to Carlo Cudicini and Ed de Goey and he only managed another six appearances before he was struck down with a groin injury in a game at Everton.
He has been sidelined ever since — and must now contemplate the possibility of never gracing the Premier League again.
© NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS LTD, 2001
