South Melbourne FC

The South Melbourne FC is an Australian football club based in South Melbourne, the district south of the center of Melbourne. The club won in the 1980s and 1990s, four Australian championships and took 2000 as the winner of the Oceania Club Championship at the Club World Cup in Brazil in part.

History

The association was created in late 1959 by the merger of two local clubs Hellenic and Yarra Park Aias, both of which were founded in the early years of the decade. However, since the association was not a newly created play area available, he entered into a connection with South Melbourne United, was the sports grounds in Middle Park, near the present location. The existence of this association can be the first show in 1933. The driving force behind the merger of three clubs, the then President of Hellenic, Theo Marmaras, who held the office of president in South Melbourne Hellas to 1972.

The association, which is recognized in particular by the Greek -born population, began in 1960 when the First Division North and got a master immediately to the Victorian State League. In 1962 the club won the state championship for the first time and could this success over the next 15 years, six times repeat ( 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1976). 1977 a nationwide Australian division was created with the National Soccer League for the first time, was qualified for the South Melbourne as one of four teams from Victoria.

South Melbourne initially had problems to establish themselves in the new league and ended the season in 1979 as Table. In the following seasons you could fix in the top group and won in 1984 after No. 1 in the regular season and the play-off round and thus the first Australian Championship. This success could only repeat in the 1990s.

In 1989, the former Hungarian footballer Ferenc Puskás world class has been committed as a coach, as head coach of the Melbourne 1991 led to the second national championship in his second year. 1996 had the club to change its name since the league authorities tried by the deletion of national designations from club's name to increase the interest in the general population in the sport. The new name of South Melbourne Lakers met neither the fans nor the U.S. basketball team the LA Lakers on enthusiasm and such a short time later it was decided already is simply to call South Melbourne Soccer Club.

The former South Melbourne player Ange Postecoglou led the club in 1998 and 1999 as a coach to two more championships, the last two national titles before the dissolution of the NSL in 2004. Through the subsequent victory in the Oceania Club Championship 1999 qualifying you for FIFA Club World Cup 2000 in Brazil. There Gama, the team was defeated in the three group matches Manchester United, Necaxa and CR Vasco da with two goals difference.

After setting the national league, the club returned in 2005 under the name South Melbourne Football Club back in the Victorian Premier League and won after a season of restructuring in 2006, the seventh championship in this league.

For the season 2010/11, South Melbourne applied for a free second A-League license next to an established Melbourne Victory. Competitors were the multi-millionaire and former Vice President of the Australian Rules Football clubs Carlton FC Colin DeLutis, and the businessman and horse breeder Peter Sidwell, whose Melbourne Heart finally got the contract for the A-League license. South Melbourne continues to play in the Victorian Premier League.

Stadium

South Melbourne plays at Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park which is known by the there has been held since 1996 Australian Grand Prix Formula 1. The origins of the stadium go back to the year 1878. over many decades was the surrounded the home of Australian rules football clubs South Melbourne FC the early 1980s to sydney and since then is known as the Sydney Swans. in the 1930s found themselves once 41,000 viewers to take a Australian Football game between South Melbourne and Carlton. The stadium, which was temporarily quite run down, in 1995 named stage after a car tire distributor Bob Jane and summarized in that era around 18,000 spectators. From about 2010, the stadium was at taxpayer expense virtually rebuilt and now also serves as the senior athletics stadium Melbourne. The now corresponding one of a deep blue, IAAA requirements eight-to ten-lane career surrounded lawn now meets even the most stringent FIFA standards. The wide oval can hold up to 15,000 spectators these days. For about 7,000 of these seats are available.

Known player

Damian Mori, the scorer of the Australian Erstligafußballs and the national team, who also once ableistete 1997 torfreie six games in the German Bundesliga, began his career at South Melbourne. Branko Buljevic, Jack Reilly, Peter Ollerton and Jimmy Mackay, all participants in the Football World Cup 1974 in Germany, also once played for the club. The stick hard former captain Kevin Muscat spent the early 1990s, a few years at South Melbourne and from thence to his nearly a decade -long career in England.

2002 South Melbourne FC drew the balance of the 42 years of its existence and announced its team of the century, the "Team of the Century ." This was finally immortalized by the painter Sydney's Dave Thomas in the style of Australian beer commercials of the 1930s in an oil painting that adorns the serving team headquarters these days.

Team of the Century

• Michael Petkovic
• Mehmet Durakovic
• Alan Davidson
• Steve Blair
• Ange Postecoglou
• Paul Wade
• John Maragritis
• Oscar Crino
• Jim Pyrgolios
• Paul Trimboli
• Jim Armstrong

Dugout

• Peter Laumets
• John Badford
• Takis Mantarakis
• Boulis Kambouropoulos
• Mike Petersen

Coach

• Manny Poulakakis

Achievements

• Oceania Club Championship: 1999
• Master of the NSL: 1984, 1990/91, 1997/98, 1998/99
• NSL Cup Winners: 1989/90, 1995/96
• Master of the Victorian Premier League (or State League ): 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1976, 2006