HAVING quit top-flight football at just 23, the player once considered the best young talent in Australia has arrived in Brisbane hoping to revive his career.

Former Australian under 17 captain Kaz Patafta was so good that he was signed by Portuguese giants Benfica as a 16-year-old.

The playmaker was also so highly thought of that then Socceroos coach Guus Hiddink included a teenage Patafta in his Socceroos' train-on squad for the 2006 World Cup.

But by the time he retired in 2011 following a disastrous season with the Newcastle Jets, "you wouldn't have given two-bob for him", according to Brisbane Roar coach Mike Mulvey.

However, Mulvey wants to see what a 25-year-old stronger and perhaps wiser Patafta has to offer after rediscovering his love for the game via a stint with Canberra FC in the second-tier NPL competition.

News_Rich_Media: Tara Rushton and Mark Rudan preview Melbourne Victory's A-League clash against Brisbane Roar.

"He phoned me two days ago and I said to get himself here Thursday morning, seven o'clock sharp and he was here this morning," Mulvey said on Thursday after Patafta's first session of a two-week Roar trial.

"He was a very talented young player, went to Benfica and then it seemed to fall away for him after that. He didn't really make a name for himself.

"He needs a chance, we're going to add to our squad in January, so we'll have a look at him."

Among Patafta's fans included former Roar boss and current Socceroos mentor Ange Postecoglou, who he coached in national youth teams.

"If I broke it down, the most technically gifted player I've coached would be Kaz Patafta," Postecoglou told the FourFourTwo website in 2007.

"We went to (the under 17) World Cup and he looked totally comfortable on the ball and I was constantly amazed with the things he could do."

News_Image_File: Despite his reputation, Patafta failed to establish himself in the A-League.

Patafta also had talents off the field, spending part of his sabbatical from football on the Gold Coast studying law.

He returned to his hometown of Canberra, where he established the Ontong Patafta Bernal Football Academy with former national under-20 skipper Shaun Ontong and ex-Socceroos defender Andrew Bernal.

It was Bernal who initially approached Mulvey about offering Patafta a trial.

"It's cost neutral … there's no promises on either side," Mulvey said.

Apart from the Jets, Patafta has also played A-League football for Melbourne Victory, who the first-placed Roar meet on Saturday night at AAMI Park.

With second-placed Western Sydney losing 3-1 to Wellington Phoenix on Wednesday night at Pirtek Stadium, the Roar can move seven points clear at the top of the ladder if they can beat the Victory on Melbourne soil for the first time in more than five years.

"But that's not the focus. The focus is on us and playing well," Mulvey said.

"Our training session on Tuesday was the best session we've had in three months.

"We go down there full of belief and confidence. We're looking forward to a good spectacle."