Manchester United (1988–1991) Bosnich was born and raised in
Liverpool, southwestern Sydney. His
Croatian immigrant father was born in
Blato,
Korčula,
Croatia, and migrated to Sydney in 1959 and his mother is
Australian-born to Croatian immigrants. He attended Casula Primary School and later Liverpool Boys High School. Bosnich played for
Sydney Croatia youth team before moving to England. In 1989, at the age of 17, he joined
Manchester United on a non-contract basis and made his debut for them in a
First Division fixture against
Wimbledon on 30 April 1990. He only played two more games for Manchester United before his registration with the club was cancelled on 30 June 1991. Bosnich had been in England using a student visa and when this expired in July 1991, he then returned to
Sydney Croatia briefly in the
1991–92 season. He returned to England signing for
Aston Villa on a free transfer on 28 February 1992.
Aston Villa (1992–1999) Bosnich did not claim a regular place in the Aston Villa first team until the
1993–94 season. In the
League Cup semi-final against
Tranmere Rovers that season, he dramatically stopped three shots in a penalty shoot-out. Villa won the final, against his former club, Manchester United. In March 1994 Bosnich saved two penalties against
Tottenham Hotspur, one from
Darren Anderton and one from
Nick Barmby, to help secure a 1–1 draw. These were his fourth and fifth penalty saves from open play that season.
1994–95 was Bosnich's first full season as Villa's first-choice goalkeeper, but it was a disappointing season for the club as they narrowly avoided relegation. Bosnich was one of the few players to be retained by new manager
Brian Little following
Ron Atkinson's dismissal in November 1994, as the bulk of Atkinson's team was sold off to make way for a new side.
1995–96 was perhaps the best season of Bosnich's career. He was now widely acclaimed as one of the best goalkeepers in the
Premier League, as he helped Villa finish fourth in the league and win the Football League Cup final at
Wembley with a 3–0 triumph over
Leeds United. In 1996, Bosnich was fined £1,000 and censured by the FA after he was found guilty of misconduct by upsetting fans of
Tottenham Hotspur (a club with a large Jewish following) with a
Nazi salute. Bosnich spent three more seasons at
Villa Park before his contract expired and he joined Manchester United on a free transfer. He had played 207 times in seven and a half years with Villa.
Return to Manchester United (1999–2001) Bosnich was signed for Manchester United in the 1999 close season as successor to
Peter Schmeichel, signing on a free transfer after his contract at
Villa Park expired. During the season, he picked up a
Premier League title medal as United were crowned champions by an 18-point margin. That season Bosnich started 23 league games,
Raimond van der Gouw started 11 and
Massimo Taibi started 4. Highlights of this season were saving two penalties in January 2000; one from
Necaxa's
Álex Aguinaga in the
2000 FIFA Club World Championship to secure a 1–1 draw, and the other from Middlesbrough's
Juninho to help secure a 1–0 win. He also played a key role in Manchester United becoming the first English team to win the
Intercontinental Cup in keeping a clean sheet against
Palmeiras of
Brazil, in Tokyo. He had one season as United's regular goalkeeper, but then they signed the French World Cup-winning goalkeeper
Fabien Barthez in June 2000. Soon after, Bosnich found himself as third-choice goalkeeper. Newly appointed
Celtic manager
Martin O'Neill made an offer to loan Bosnich for the
2000–01 season, but he decided against the move and decided that he would try to regain his place in the Manchester United first team. He had also fallen out of favour with the national side, losing his spot to
Mark Schwarzer. With hopes of a first-team return fading, Bosnich was linked with Chelsea. In
Alex Ferguson's autobiography released in 2013, he called Bosnich a "terrible professional". Bosnich responded to Ferguson, saying, "The fact remains that I was the only player he signed twice at Manchester United. I'm honoured to be mentioned. He's entitled to his view and I'm entitled to mine."
Chelsea (2001–2002) Bosnich never played a first-team game for United after the arrival of Fabien Barthez, and on 18 January 2001 he signed for
Chelsea on a free transfer. Problems with his fitness and injury meant his debut did not happen until the following season in a
UEFA Cup tie against
Hapoel Tel Aviv. Bosnich was earning
A$130,000-a-week (approximately
£45,500-a-week) at Chelsea. He was injured in a league game against
Everton in November 2001 and this proved to be his final appearance for the club. His career reached rock-bottom in September 2002 when he failed a drugs test and was subsequently sacked by Chelsea and banned from football for nine months.
Exile and return (2002–2007) The suspension scuppered a move to
Bolton Wanderers in the newly introduced winter transfer window. Bosnich was keen on the idea of moving to the Reebok Stadium and the player's agent admitted that dialogue had taken place but
Sam Allardyce remained coy about his interest. In the autumn of 2004, Bosnich spurned an opportunity to return to football with
League One side
Walsall, who were then managed by
Paul Merson, who had played alongside Bosnich in his final season at Aston Villa. Bosnich developed a $5,000-a-week cocaine addiction and became a
recluse. Bosnich took up to of cocaine a day. At one stage, he almost shot his father with an
air rifle, thinking it was an intruder in his home. His father convinced him to quit the drug. In early 2007, former Chelsea teammate and QPR goalkeeping coach
Ed de Goey gave him inspiration to come out of retirement. By July 2007, Bosnich started training at
Queens Park Rangers' training ground in an attempt to initially get fit, with the view to play professionally again. During the summer he lost and claimed to have regained most of his reflexes. In September he kept a clean sheet in goal during a friendly behind closed doors against
Barnet, which QPR won 2–0.
Australia Bosnich returned to Australia in 2008 after many years living in London. Bosnich was confirmed to be the starting goalkeeper for the
Central Coast Mariners for their pre-season cup game against
Sydney FC on 27 July 2008. Bosnich kept a clean sheet including saving a penalty by Sydney FC's
Steve Corica before being substituted in the 80th minute to a standing ovation by both sets of supporters. On 19 August 2008, Bosnich signed a seven-week guest player deal with the Mariners. Bosnich made his
A-League debut with the Central Coast Mariners on 31 August 2008 in a 4–2 away win against the
Queensland Roar at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Once Mariners first-choice goalkeeper
Danny Vukovic had served his suspension, Bosnich did not play again for the Mariners. On 31 May 2009, it was announced that Bosnich had signed to play for
Sydney Olympic for the remainder of the
NSW Premier League season. Bosnich suffered a hamstring injury and he ended his playing career to focus on his television commitments. On 22 October 2010, it was confirmed Bosnich would temporarily join the
North Queensland Fury as an interim coach for the fixture against
Newcastle Jets, in the absence of
Franz Straka and
Stuart McLaren, who had been banned from the touchline for two games. However, Bosnich was not allowed by the
FFA because he did not have a coaching license. ==International career==