I LOVE goalkeeping. I’ve spent the last 10 years playing the position.

I’ve watched with great interest as Buffon and Casillas grew from teenagers of great potential into genuine stars of the game. I despaired at how drugs and attitude prematurely ended the career of our own Mark Bosnich. I don’t think there was a better player during the 1990s than Peter Schmeichel.

Amongst all the debate over whether the first 10 signings matched the glorious promises of Palmer and Bleiberg, I’d almost forgotten how excited I am about Gold Coast Utd’s inaugural signing. When Jess Vanstrattan arrived by helicopter two months ago, I knew one of Australia’s great talents would finally get a chance to prove to us how good he is.

Many of those of us old enough to legally drink were first introduced to Vanstrattan during the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand. Kedwell-Vanstrattan, as his shirt of that tournament read, was a star of the team that finished runners-up to Brazil. Conceding just five goals in the six matches played, and more than one goal in a match just twice, Vanstrattan was critical to the defensive strength that carried the team to the final.

Some members of that team have since disappeared completely (think Aaron Goulding, Louis Brain and Joseph Di Iorio). Others have kicked on to bigger things (Jade North, Scott McDonald and Josh Kennedy are now all Socceroos). Vanstrattan sits somewhere between the two groups. After 3 matches in the NSL with Northern Spirit, a big move to Italy followed. There his career seemed to stagnate, with just 11 appearances in 7 seasons.

But despite his lack of first team action, Vanstrattan had not fallen into obscurity and indeed by 2007 Italy’s Old Lady came knocking. Juventus saw enough in the Aussie to make him one of Gianluigi Buffon’s understudies. The club wanted to sign him permanently, but Verona only allowed a season-long loan and at the conclusion released Jess only for GC United to pounce.

As a goalkeeper, Vanstrattan’s lack of first-team opportunities during his early 20s is not such a concern as for outfield players. Typically, until the age of 25 the true worth of a goalkeeper isn’t apparent. They tend not to peak until their 30s. Vanstrattan at 26 is just entering the most important part of his career. And having worked through the reserve leagues in one of the world’s best goalkeeper-producing countries, plus learning from the best goalkeeper in the world, is the perfect preparation for this stage of his development.

All the raw talent was evident to those watching in 1999. During the penalty shootout against Brazil, Vanstrattan reached 3 of the 5 attempts. He only kept one of them out, but the reflexes were there. The leadership, determination and composure were there. Now Vanstrattan has the chance to prove he’s added the strength and technique to complete the package.

Australia’s goalkeeping ranks on the surface seem strong, but no-one other than Schwarzer stands out as a genuine world class talent. Federici, Vukovic and Velaphi have a lot of potential but have a lot of learning ahead of them. Brad Jones and Nathan Coe need to prove themselves more regularly. Galekovic and Theoklitos are good but not great. Bouzanis, as I understand it, is lost to Greece permanently. There is a genuine opportunity for Vanstrattan to leapfrog all of them into the Socceroos. And having players at GC United of Socceroos quality is exactly what the club needs.

GC United promises to build an attacking, creative team. A risk of such a ploy (and the folly of Bleiberg’s Queensland Roar side) is the susceptibility to cynical counter-attacking long balls over the midfield. In these situations a good goalkeeper can be the difference between an entertaining 2-2 draw and a comprehensive 2-0 victory. Luckily, the club has just such a keeper.

And after nine years of waiting, I can’t wait to once more see him in action.