1980

John Margaritis took over and he was quick to add players to the squad, signing Branko Buljevic from Heidelberg and Vince Bannon from Frankston City. Arthur Xanthopoulos and Billy Rogers were lured out of retirement and although the team made the Semi Final of the Ampol Cup, all eyes were on a massive improvement in the league. This occurred, with the club finishing a very respectable third, with Buljevic scoring 10 goals. Further highlights included a 5-0 win against Blacktown City and a 4-1 win over Marconi Fairfield, with Cummings netting a hat-trick. Margaritis’ efforts were recognised as he was crowned the NSL Coach of the Year.

Final League Position:	3rd out of 14 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Second Round (1-2 against Heidelberg United)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-1 against Preston)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-1 against Croatia)
Top Goal Scorer:	Branko Buljevic (10)
President:	Sam Papasavas
Coach:	John Margaritis (26 games)

 

1981

South added Steven Wooddin to its list as it further improved its standing in the league, this time finishing in second place, four points behind Sydney City. The experienced Alun Evans, who had starred with Aston Villa and Liverpool previously, showed his worth by contributing 14 goals in the league championship, including a hat-trick in the 5-0 thrashing of West Adelaide Hellas. Other highlights included a 1-0 win over Wollongong and a 4-1 win against APIA Leichhardt. The league success did not carry on in the National League Cup, with South crashing out in the first round.

Final League Position:	2nd out of 16 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	First Round (0-2 against Heidelberg United)
Top Goal Scorer:	Alun Evans (14)
President:	Sam Papasavas
Coach:	John Margaritis (30 games)

 

1982

Striker Charlie Egan was signed from Frankston City and he showed his worth by scoring 21 goals in the league season. After four consecutive losses, Margaritis was released. The controversial Tommy Docherty was lured from England to take charge for an eventful five months. After the club finished in sixth place the Englishman was sent packing. Despite the disappointment in the league, South won the Ampol Cup and managed to record big wins against Brisbane City and Canberra City (4-0 in both matches).

Final League Position:	6th out of 16 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	First Round (0-0 against Heidelberg United, 4-5 on penalties)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Champions (2-1 against Heidelberg United)
Top Goal Scorer:	Charlie Egan (20)
Presidents:	Sam Papasavas and Leo Anezakis
Coaches:	John Margaritis (13 games), Tommy Docherty (13 games), Mick Watson (4 games)

 

1983

Former Socceroos coach Rale Rasic took over and he rebuilt the side, signing Oscar Crino, Ken Murphy, Doug Brown, Bobby Russell and John Yzendoorn. The newcomers, along with Davidson, Steve Blair and Egan, were the foundations of a great side that was destined for success. Unfortunately, despite the enormous talent at Rasic’s disposal, committee problems overflowed onto the field, with the team not settling well. Thus after 13 rounds, Rasic was sacked. New coach Len McKendry came in and stabilised the side, lifting it to fourth on the ladder, only three points behind champions St George Budapest. Highlights included Brown’s 16 goals (which was the highest in the entire league) and Egan’s 12 goals, plus a 4-1 win against JUST, a 4-0 win against Preston and a 6-2 win over Canberra City. Youngster Oscar Crino won the Sam Papasavas Award for the NSL Under 21 Player of the Year. At season’s end, champion players Buljevic, Campbell, Evans and Wooddin all departed from Middle Park.

Final League Position:	4th out of 16 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (1-3 against Heidelberg United)
Ampol Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-2 against Green Gully)
Top Goal Scorer:	Doug Brown (16)
President:	Leo Anezakis
Coaches:	Rale Rasic (13 games), Len McKendry (17 games)

 

1984

After seven seasons of trying, South finally secured first position in the National League. However for the first time in the NSL, the Minor Premier was not declared the champion unless it also won a finals series. With its talented side, South powered through the NSL Southern Division finals series, defeating rivals Melbourne Croatia 3-2 in the Semi Final and Heidelberg United 4-2 in the Final in front of a crowd of 15,000. This meant that to be declared NSL Champions, South had to defeat Sydney Olympic (Northern Division winners) over two legs. South beat Olympic 2-1 in both legs for a 4-2 aggregate win and as a result was crowned NSL champions for the first time. Further highlights included the introduction of youngster Ange Postecoglou into the senior team, winning the Buffalo Gold Cup, Brown’s 22 goals in the league (the highest individual haul in the entire league for the second consecutive season) and the 10,000+ crowds against Croatia, Heidelberg and Olympic throughout both the season and the finals series.

Final League Position:	1st out of 12 teams (4-2 aggregate win over Sydney Olympic in NSL Grand Final)
NSL Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Champions (3-1 against Melbourne Croatia)
Hellenic Cup Placing:	Champions (2-0 against Yarraville Glory)
Top Goal Scorer:	Doug Brown (22)
President:	Leo Anezakis
Coach:	Len McKendry (32 games)

 

1985

Len McKendry resumed the reigns as coach again as South went chasing back-to-back NSL championships. Like the previous season, South powered through the regular season with its talented side, finishing on top of the Southern Division and recording memorable wins in the process. This included a 4-2 win against West Adelaide Hellas, a 3-0 win against Preston and a 4-1 win over Brisbane City. However, consecutive defeats in the Southern Division finals series against Brunswick Juventus and Preston saw South knocked out of contention for being crowed Australian champions for the second consecutive season. Despite this, Egan and Brown again were among the top goal scorers, with Egan scoring 21 goals (and being the leading goal scorer in the entire league) with Brown scoring 10. At season’s end Crino, captain Yzendoorn and coach McKendry all left the club. Crino departed for Anorthosis of Cyprus, whilst Yzendoorn and McKendry went to Brunswick Juventus.

Final League Position:	3rd out of 14 teams (4-4 against Preston, 4-5 on penalties, S.D preliminary final)
NSL Cup Placing:	First Round (0-1 against Preston)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Third Round (1-2 against Morwell Falcons)
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Top Goal Scorer:	Charlie Egan (21)
Presidents:	Leo Anezakis and Jim Diamantaris
Coach:	Len McKendry (24 games)

 

1986

John Margaritis returned as coach but did not experience his past glory with the club like he had previously as a player and as a coach. Richard Miranda joined the club from Brunswick Juventus, Davidson returned from Nottingham Forrest in England and young gun Steve Tasios joined from Heidelberg. After a few rounds of the season, Danny Crainie joined the club from Scotland. The team did not start well, failing to get out of the sectional round of the Buffalo Gold Cup, being knocked out of the Docherty Cup in the third round and crashing out of the NSL Cup in the second round. To make matters worse, the team finished in seventh place in the league, their worst position since 1979. Despite this, there were some memorable results throughout the season, including a 5-0 win over Green Gully, a 0-2 win over Preston away and a 4-3 home win against Preston at Middle Park after being 1-3 down in the second half. Bobby Russell provided a further highlight by winning the Rothmans Medal for NSL Player of the Year.

Final League Position:	7th out of 12 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Second Round (1-2 against Croydon City)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Third Round (2-3 against Caulfield City Ethnikos)
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Failed to progress from the sectional round
Hellenic Cup Placing:	Runners-up (1-3 against Northcote City)
Top Goal Scorer:	Danny Crainie (6)
Presidents:	Jim Diamantaris and Chris Christopher
Coach:	John Margaritis (22 games)

 

1987

New coach Brian Garvey was brought to Middle Park from Heidelberg and he quickly set about bringing in players to help get South back up to the top of the league once more. Paul Wade and Danny Wright arrived at the club and improved results occurred immediately, with South reaching the Final of both the Buffalo Gold Cup and the National League Cup. While the club improved its standing in the league from the previous season, it was only marginal as the club finished in a disappointing sixth position. Highlights from the campaign included Wade’s 8 goals in the league, Egan’s 5 goals in the Buffalo Gold Cup competition, as well as a 3-0 win against Sunshine George Cross and a 4-1 win against Marconi Fairfield.

Final League Position:	6th out of 13 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Runners-up (0-1 against Sydney Croatia)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Quarter Finalist (0-2 against Melbourne Croatia)
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Runners-up (0-2 against Melbourne Croatia)
Top Goal Scorer:	Paul Wade (8)
President:	Chris Christopher
Coach:	Brian Garvey (24 games)

 

1988

Garvey adopted a youth policy and as a result recruited youngsters Paul Trimboli, Paul Foster, Peter Tsolakis, Bruce MacLaren and Harry Micheil while Egan, Stuart Stevenson, Crainie, Miranda and Garry McDowall all left. This move worked a treat as the results improved enormously, with the side doing very well in every competition it was involved in. South won both the Ampol Cup and Docherty Cup and reached the Semi Final of the NSL Cup. However the biggest improvement was in the league, where the youthful South side finished equal with minor premiers Wollongong but had to settle for third place due to an inferior goal difference. Inexperience cost the side in the finals series, where after a narrow 1-2 defeat to Sydney Croatia in the Qualifying Semi Final, South was knocked out by Marconi Fairfield 1-2 in the Minor Semi Final at Olympic Park. However, the young side had every reason to be proud of its achievements throughout the season. The NSL recognised these efforts, with Paul Wade winning the Rothmans Medal as NSL Player of the Year, Garvey winning NSL Coach of the Year and Trimboli being awarded the Sam Papasavas Medal for being the Under 21 Player of the Year.

Final League Position:	3rd out of 14 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-1 against Brunswick Juventus)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Champions (3-4 against Croatia, who forfeited after fielding an ineligible player)
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Champions (3-1 against Preston)
Top Goal Scorer:	Ange Postecoglou, Paul Trimboli (8 each)
President:	Bill Georgantis
Coach:	Brian Garvey (28 games)

 

1989

South was expected to build from its performances the previous season and achieve greater success. Despite keeping the same youthful side from the previous season, as well as adding the experienced Mike Petersen to the midfield, the club finished the league season in a very disappointing eight place. However there were many positives in the Cup competitions, as South replicated its performances from the previous season, finishing Semi Finalists in the NSL Cup and winning both the Ampol and Docherty Cups. One of the highlights of the season was in round 11 of the league season, when the club celebrated its 30th birthday by beating old rivals Heidelberg United 4-1 at Middle Park in front of 16,000 supporters. At the conclusion of the season, Garvey was replaced as coach by world footballing great Ferenc Puskas, who was entrusted with the responsibility of guiding the club into the 1990s. Paul Trimboli was crowned the Under 21 Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

Final League Position:	8th out of 14 teams
NSL Cup Placing:	Semi Finalist (0-2 against Adelaide City)
Docherty Cup Placing:	Champions (1-0 against Altona Gate)
Buffalo Gold Cup Placing:	Champions (3-0 against JUST)
Top Goal Scorer:	Paul Trimboli (10)
President:	Bill Georgantis
Coach:	Brian Garvey (26 games)