EXCLUSIVE: After meeting Mark Viduka recently, Socceroo boss Pim Verbeek slipped in to Liverpool FC for a meeting with teenage Aussie keeper – and Greek FA target - Dean Bouzanis.
Sources in Liverpool have confirmed that Verbeek spent half an hour with Liverpool’s talented 17-year-old Aussie glovesman last week.
In their chat, Verbeek discussed upcoming Australian national team and Olyroos matches. It’s understood that although Verbeek did not give any commitment to Bouzanis, the discussion was positive.
“Dean’s on the radar now and the discussion with Pim was good,” says a source in Liverpool.
Verbeek’s stopover at Anfield could prove a masterstroke for the future of Australia’s goalkeeping stocks. Many believe teenager Bouzanis could be part of the Socceroo set up post the campaign for South Africa 2010.
Some experts have described the 191cm former Carss Park and Sydney FC talent as the most exciting goalkeeping prospect since Mark Bosnich began his career in the early 1990s.
Verbeek’s meeting was also very timely. By the end of this week, the Greek FA will need to confirm Bouzanis’s name for their U/19 squad’s three European qualifiers in late May.
Bouzanis is currently first choice keeper for the Greek youth team. He has already played three times for the Greek U/19s in recent months due to his dual citizenship.
And to heap on the pressure, the Greek FA will fly Bouzanis’s father and his agent Terry Palapanis to Europe in May for a further chat.
The last two weeks have been difficult for Bouzanis, a former Sydney FC squad keeper, as he’s been unable to train due to glandular fever.
He would’ve had plenty to ponder while confined to his sick bed.
In their chat, Verbeek discussed upcoming Australian national team and Olyroos matches. It’s understood that although Verbeek did not give any commitment to Bouzanis, the discussion was positive.
“Dean’s on the radar now and the discussion with Pim was good,” says a source in Liverpool.
Verbeek’s stopover at Anfield could prove a masterstroke for the future of Australia’s goalkeeping stocks. Many believe teenager Bouzanis could be part of the Socceroo set up post the campaign for South Africa 2010.
Some experts have described the 191cm former Carss Park and Sydney FC talent as the most exciting goalkeeping prospect since Mark Bosnich began his career in the early 1990s.
Verbeek’s meeting was also very timely. By the end of this week, the Greek FA will need to confirm Bouzanis’s name for their U/19 squad’s three European qualifiers in late May.
Bouzanis is currently first choice keeper for the Greek youth team. He has already played three times for the Greek U/19s in recent months due to his dual citizenship.
And to heap on the pressure, the Greek FA will fly Bouzanis’s father and his agent Terry Palapanis to Europe in May for a further chat.
The last two weeks have been difficult for Bouzanis, a former Sydney FC squad keeper, as he’s been unable to train due to glandular fever.
He would’ve had plenty to ponder while confined to his sick bed.
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