Category: News

South Melbourne FC wishes to confirm that Bojo Jevdjevic has joined the Club as Goalkeeping Coach ahead of the 2014 National Premier League season. He replaces Rob Graskoski, who joined former SMFC Technical Director Mehmet Durakovic at Malaysian Super League club Selangor FA over the summer.

Bojo Jevdjevic is a name known to many South Melbourne fans due to his goalkeeping for several opposition sides playing against South both in the National Soccer League and the Victorian Premier League over the years. He played in the VPL for Springvale White Eagles, Heidelberg United and Altona Magic and represented Gippsland Falcons/Eastern Pride and Sydney Olympic in the NSL. Ironically, he was in between the sticks when Gianni De Nittis headed Fernando De Moraes’ cross past him for the winning goal in South’s 1-0 victory over Altona Magic in the 2006 VPL Grand Final at Lakeside Stadium.

Jevdjevic is delighted to be joining the Club, adding that “South is a fantastic club and arguably the biggest club in Victoria who I have many special memories of from playing against them. It is great to be a part of the club and am really looking forward to working with the young goalkeepers this year”. He will work closely with goalkeepers Jason Saldaris and Chris Maynard to try and emulate Peter Gavalas’ Goalkeeper of the Year status that the now retired custodian achieved in 2013.

SMFC Coach Chris Taylor was excited to have Jevdjevic arrive at Lakeside Stadium, adding that “Bojo is an excellent addition to our coaching ranks. He comes with a great reputation as both a goalkeeping coach, and as an outstanding goalkeeper in both the VPL and NSL. He will no doubt be a great mentor for the goalkeepers at South Melbourne”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Bojo Jevdjevic to the Club and wishes him well for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the addition of 19 year old Kobbie Boahene and 15 year old Andy Kecojevic to its senior squad ahead of the 2014 National Premier League season.

Boahene is formerly of the Australian Institute of Sport and Melbourne Victory Youth and has impressed throughout the pre-season with his blistering pace and ability to beat defenders on both the right and left wings.

After catching Chris Taylor’s eye at a youth training session, Kecojevic’s elevation to the senior squad will provide South with another option in the forward half. He has impressed the coaching staff with his abilities and attitude for such a young man. Previously he represented the National Training Centre and also played for Springvale White Eagles.

Boahene and Kecojevic have both found the back of the net during the pre-season and will add even more youth to an already young South squad that has only two players over 25 years of age, those being Dimi Tsiaras (29) and Tyson Holmes (26).

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “it is quite exciting to see these two young talented players make the transition to the senior squad. It will be an incredible experience for young Andy, who at 15 years of age, wil be training with the senior team. It will be a steep learning curve, but this will tremendously benefit his development. We have been quite impressed with Kobbie’s pace and skill, and are hoping to see him replicate these terrific performances during the season”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes both Kobbie Boahene and Andy Kecojevic to the senior side and wishes them the best for the upcoming season.

Click here to purchase your 2014 Membership

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce the renewal of its partnership with Beachcomber Cafe for another season, with its logo proudly featuring on the back of the playing shirt for the 2014 National Premier League season. This marks the third year of the partnership between Beachcomber Cafe and South Melbourne FC.

Located at the St Kilda Sea Baths, Beachcomber goes beyond expectations of a casual cafe experience. Spectacular beach side views, a sprawling outdoor dining area and a gourmet menu mean this restaurant showcases St Kilda’s food culture at its best. Delicious meals are served with a touch of the Mediterranean and set in the perfect location with its uninterrupted view of Port Phillip Bay. In addition, Beachcomber Cafe is open from morning until late in the evening, and is perfect for a morning pit stop, a lazy afternoon or to watch the sun set over the water.

Beachcomber Cafe has hosted many South Melbourne FC events such as the Jersey Presentation Nights, Most Valuable Player Award, Junior Presentation events, as well hosting the live broadcast of both World Cup qualifiers between Greece and Romania late last year.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis commented “we are excited to be announcing that Beachcomber Cafe has renewed its partnership with the club for the third year in a row. We hope the partnership continues to be a long-standing relationship between both organisations. I ask all South fans and members to get behind our sponsors, and assist the organisations that are committing their support for this great club”.

The 2014 SMFC Jersey Presentation event will be held at Beachcomber Cafe. Details for the event will be released shortly.

Click here to visit the Beachcomber website.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to confirm the signing of Andrew Mullett ahead of the 2014 National Premier League season.

Mullett arrives having played at Dandenong Thunder and most recently Oakleigh Cannons and Melbourne Heart Youth and will link up with former coach Chris Taylor at Lakeside Stadium. He will also link up with former team mates Iqi Jawadi, Tim Mala, Nick Epifano and Matthew Theodore. As a young left-back, he will provide another steady defensive option following the signing of Michael Eagar over the summer. Mullet had an outstanding 2012 with the Thunder, playing every minute of every game but was cruelly sent off in 54th minute of the Preliminary Final and subsequently missed playing in the Grand Final win over Oakleigh Cannons. Taylor will be expecting another solid season in 2014 from a player with plenty of potential.

SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikoussis was delighted with the signing, adding that “Andrew joins what is a strong squad for the upcoming inaugural NPL season. He benefited greatly from participating in the Foxtel National Youth League, and we are looking forward to seeing Andrew on the park with his defensive skills”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Andrew Mullett to the Club and wishes him the best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC is excited to launch its 2014 membership campaign ahead of the inaugural National Premier League Victoria season.

The campaign will retain the WE ARE SOUTH MELBOURNE membership slogan from last season that proved to be a huge success with our members, sponsors and the thousands of fans who love our great Club.

South Melbourne FC continues to be one of the most iconic and famous football clubs in Australia, with a long list of great players, honours and successes over its 54 years.

Our membership packages in 2014 aim to be inclusive to all in the South Melbourne FC family, allowing everyone to be a member as well as remain connected to the Club.

With the launch of the new National Premier League competition as well as the exciting FFA Cup announcement, there is no better time to become a South Melbourne FC member, and be a part of what promises to be a new and exciting phase of Australian football.

The Blue Access Pass in 2014 is a merger of the previous South Gold and Season Passes, providing all fans with a cheaper alternative to attend SMFC home matches as well as enjoying the benefits associated with being a financial member in 2014. For only $120, you will receive entry to South Melbourne FC’s 13 National Premier League home matches (a saving of $75 if you paid at the gate at every home match during the season), as well as benefits ranging from a limited edition scarf to weekly exclusive news from the Club.

For the first time in 2014 we are also incorporating a FREE membership for our thousands of online followers. This gives an opportunity for anyone around the world to become a member of South Melbourne FC, as well as receiving limited membership benefits that the general public will not be privy to.

Memberships can be purchased online by visiting www.wearesouthmelbourne.com.au as well as by calling the Club office on (03) 9645 9797.

Please note that any membership package purchased prior to our first home match will need to be collected on one of the match days at Lakeside Stadium.

Go South!

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that is scheduled to play against South Shepparton SC for the Shepparton Cup.

The matches will take place this Sunday, February 23rd and will see four matches take place throughout the day.

Game times are as follows:

Under 11 – Kick off at 11am
Under 14 – Kick off at 12pm
Under 16 – Kick off at 1.15pm
Seniors – Kick off at 3pm

All games are to be played at McEwan Reserve, Brauman Street, Shepparton.

South Melbourne FC has limited vacancies in its NPL Squads for Under 9, Under 10, Under 11, Under 12, Under 13, Under 14, Under 15, Under 16 and Under 18.

Please contact Matthew for trial details on matthew@smfc.com.au.

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that Leigh Minopoulos has returned to the club for the 2014 NPL Season.

Minopoulos is formerly a South Junior & Youth player who has returned to the club after a very successful spell with Werribee City in State 1 in 2013. In a stellar season the fast and very dangerous striker managed to score 14 goals, (31 goals in the last 2 years) as well as winning the club’s best and fairest award. It is because of this that he became one of the main reasons as to why Werribee were promoted.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Andrew Mesourouni said “we are delighted to welcome Leigh back to the Club. He is a South Melbourne boy and has followed the Club from a young age. He will further strengthen what is an excellent squad for the coming season”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Leigh Minopoulos to the club and wishes him the very best for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the return of former goalkeeper Jason Saldaris to Lakeside Stadium for the 2014 season.

The Western Australian was signed before the 2012 season to act as an understudy to Peter Gavalas and he made his debut in the 2-1 victory over Malvern City in the Fifth Round of the Dockerty Cup on Sunday 29 April 2012 at John Cain Reserve. His next (and last) appearance for the Club was in the 5-2 win over Heidelberg United in what was a dead-rubber final round Victorian Premier League match at Olympic Village on Sunday 16 September 2012. In his many matches for the Under-21s in 2012, Saldaris developed a reputation for being a very good shot-stopper and his defenders had him to thank for denying several goals to opposition forwards.

Following the conclusion of the 2012 season, Saldaris spent some time training with AEK Athens , while also being third choice keeper Perth Glory . He then returned to captain his former W.A. State League side Perth Soccer Club, playing alongside a 2006 South VPL Championship player in Antonio Naglieri.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said “we are delighted to welcome Jason back to the Club. He was quite a popular player during his first stint with the Club, and are looking for him to continue his excellent form this season”.

South Melbourne FC welcomes Jason Saldaris back to the Club and wishes him the very best for the 2014 season.

Photo by George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne FC is delighted to advise its partnership with Kieser Training for the 2014 football season. Keiser Training will be the primary provider of medical services for the Club.

Kieser Training is a network of Physiotherapy, Rehabilitation, Strength and Conditioning centres focused on delivering the best possible outcomes for customers. Their programs provide long term solutions to musculoskeletal problems, as well as enhancing day to day performance and quality of life. Kieser Training has five centres located around Melbourne with a sixth centre to be opened in Geelong early in 2014.

As part of its partnership with South Melbourne FC, Kieser Training will be working with the club’s senior squad in three key areas:

Prevention – over the next few weeks, they will be screening of all senior squad players to identify those at risk of injury and to put into place programs to ensure they are available for all games. They will be using not only the Kieser Training technology but will also use a unique movement analysis technology from DorsaVi, which has recently been adopted by Manchester United.
Physiotherapy –providing physiotherapy services for the club both at training and on match days.
Performance – where players have a deficit in strength and conditioning they will have access to their world-class facilities in South Melbourne in order to improve their performance.

The partnership with Kieser Training will extend to all paid up SMFC members and players enabling access to their facilities at rates normally reserved for its existing members. Furthermore, Kieser Training will be spending time with the junior teams to help educate them on injury prevention, injury management as well as when and how to introduce strength and conditioning programs for junior athletes in a safe and professional environment.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Managing Director Tony Smith said, “Kieser Training is delighted to be involved with the South Melbourne FC, arguably Australia’s most successful football club. In late 2012 we launched our Clubs and Communities Program in order to extend our services to select sporting clubs, schools and local community groups and the relationship with South Melbourne FC is the latest example of this program. South Melbourne FC joins the ranks of other leading clubs with which we have relationships including Melbourne Rebels, Melbourne University Cricket Club in the Premier League, Target Trek cycling team in the National Road Series as well as numerous other clubs. With Teniele Holmes as Medical Services Co-ordinator and James Cole as Senior Physiotherapist we are looking forward to helping the club achieve great results in 2014”.

SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis said to smfc.com.au, “we are very excited to be announcing our partnership with Kieser Training, as they will be working closely with our playing squad to provide an extensive range of services which will assist with injury prevention and recovery, as well as training and match day requirements. The level of medical attention and servicing will be second to none, and will provide the players with a great advantage”.

For all media enquiries, please contact SMFC General Manager Peter Kokotis on (03) 9645 9797.