Category: News

Monday, 22 October 2012 8:04 PM

South Melbourne is pleased to announce that its end of season Theo Marmaras Medal Gala Night will be held at the Austral Ballroom at 417 High Street Northcote on Saturday 24th November.

The highlight of the evening will be the announcement of the Most Valuable Player Award who will receive the Theo Marmaras Medal.

As part of the evening, a sumptuous three-course meal, with beer, wine and soft drink will be provided. It promises to be a memorable night as we draw the curtain on the 2012 Victorian Premier League season.

Tickets for the event are $95, so do not miss out on what promises to be a memorable evening. Tickets are strictly limited, so we recommend you book your place by contacting the SMFC office on (03) 9645 9797.

Thursday, 18 October 2012 10:06 AM

South Melbourne FC is saddened to learn of the passing of former player Bill Hasapis, who played for the Club between 1972 and 1974.

Mr Hasapis represented South during its 1972 and 1974 Victorian State League Championship winning seasons. He was an integral part of the 1972 side that beat George Cross on goal difference to win the title. He missed a fair amount of 1973 but then returned to play his part in the 1974 Championship winning side that won the title by four points over George Cross. He played with some of South’s greatest players, including Jim Armstrong, Jim Pyrgolios, John Bedford, Steve Walker and Mike Mandalis just to name a few.

South Melbourne FC President Leo Athanasakis remarked that it was “a great shame to learn of the passing of a two-time Championship winning player in Mr Bill Hasapis. He left his mark in the rich and illustrious history of our great Club by contributing to the 1972 and 1974 State League Championship teams. Bill was presented a replica of his playing shirt by the club at the 50th Anniversary Gala Ball in 2009. On behalf of the entire family at South Melbourne FC, I send my sincere condolences to Mr Hasapis’ family and friends in this difficult time.”

Monday, 15 October 2012 9:24 AM

South Melbourne FC is delighted to announce it has appointed Marcelo Koslowsky as its new Technical Director for its ambitious Youth Development Program.

Marcelo Koslowsky has devoted himself to player development, with over ten years extensive experience in youth development in both Portugal and Brazil. Marcelo holds a Bachelor of Physical Education from Lutheran University (Brazil) and a Masters in Sport Science from the University of Porto (Portugal).

During his studies in Portugal, he gained invaluable experience at FC Porto, where he worked in training methods and structuring teams. Koslowsky joins South Melbourne from the Fragata FC Academy in Brazil. As Football Coordinator, he oversaw the development of players between the ages of 11 to 20, and assisted with the establishment and management of the academy. The Fragata FC Academy is owned by Brazilian footballing legend Emerson, and has existing partnerships with European football clubs. Previously, Koslowsky was a member of the Technical Coordination coaching staff at Gremio Football Porto Alegrense.

The new Technical Director will oversee the implementation of the football curriculum with training methods focused on players understanding the dynamics of play through the evolution of their skills as both an individual and collectively as part of the team. Training methods and curriculum will be the same as the approach taken at Fragata FC Academy, as well as the methods of youth development at FC Porto of Portugal.

To assist the Technical Director, a team of full time primary coaching staff will train and implement the football curriculum. All primary coaching staff will hold UEFA or FIFA equivalent to B or C coaching licences. Participants in the intensive SMFC Youth Development Program will be a part of the FFA youth development pathway and have the opportunity to participate in the Australian Premier League.

For all media enquiries, please contact Tom Kalas on (03) 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au

Tuesday, 2 October 2012 11:21 AM

South Melbourne FC is saddened to learn of the passing of former goalkeeper Harry Vamvakas (pictured second from right in the above picture). Mr Vamvakas was an inaugural member of the first South Melbourne Hellas side that competed in 1960 in the Victorian Metropolitan Division 1 North (modern-day equivalent being State League 1). The side easily won promotion into the Victorian State League (now the Premier League) by winning every single game except for a 3-3 draw with Corio and won the League by 11 points over second-placed Moonee Ponds.

Mr Vamvakas was also a member of South’s 1964 Victorian State League Championship winning side. That season he rotated the goalkeeping with Panayiotis Tsitsos and Sam Kagioglou but still made his contribution as South beat George Cross to the title by a single point to win its second VSL Championship (following the 1962 triumph).

Speaking to smfc.com.au, South Melbourne FC President Leo Athanasakis offered his condolences to Mr Vamvakas’ family and friends. “It is sad to learn of the passing of a former player of our Club, especially due to the fact that Harry Vamvakas was also an inaugural player in South’s first ever season in 1960. We are forever grateful for the contribution that he made to the Club and we are so pleased that he attended the Club’s 50th year Gala celebrations in 2009 to accept his award for playing in Championships for South. On behalf of the entire Club, I wish to offer my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Mr Vamvakas.”

Friday, 28 September 2012 9:19 AM

SMFC has limited places available for our trials from October – December 2012 and is inviting players that wish to be part of our new Junior Program in 2013 to register on line on our website.

SMFC have put together an ambitious program designed to promote the development of our young players. The program is put together by our new Technical Director, Marcelo Koslowsky who is the only coach in Australia who has a Masters in Football Development from the University of Oporto in Portugal. His credentials include being a Director of Football Development in Gremio FBPA Football Club in Porto Alegre, Brasil. More recently, he has been holding the role of Director of Football for the Emerson Academy – Fragata in Pelotas, Brasil.

To reserve your spot in the trials and to have an opportunity to represent SMFC in 2013, please register for the trials on line on our website. For further information, please contact Harry Gatsoulis on 0458 813 837

Wednesday, 26 September 2012 2:58 PM

A unique opportunity applies to any footballers aspiring to play Senior football with the Oceania Club of the Century. SMFC is accepting registrations for the trials to our U21 Team.

Trials will run between October – December 2012 at our Albert Park facilities. This is a unique opportunity to be part of SMFC’s new program which is designed to develop and promote local footballers to Senior football.

The program is put together by our new Technical Director, Marcelo Koslowsky who is the only coach in Australia who has a Masters in Football Development from the University of Oporto in Portugal. His credentials include being a Director of Football Development in Gremio FBPA Football Club in Porto Alegre, Brasil. More recently, he has been holding the role of Director of Football for the Emerson Academy – Fragata in Pelotas, Brasil.

To reserve your spot in the trials and to have an opportunity to represent SMFC at a Senior level, please register for the trials on line on our website by clicking here.

For further information, please contact Harry Gatsoulis on 0458 813 837.

L to R, Enrique Santos SMFC Assistant Technical Director, Peter Kokotis SMFC General Manager, Andrew Mesorouni SMFC Youth Director, Emerson 2002 WC Winner and Head of Fragata FC, Mauro Fragata FC Football Director and Harry Mesorouni from SMFC

Thursday, 20 September 2012 9:39 AM

South Melbourne FC wishes to advise its members and corporate partners that it will be holding an Information Session on Wednesday 17th October at 7pm in the President’s Room at Lakeside Stadium.

The agenda for the evening will be to inform the Club’s stakeholders and discuss the following issues:

1. Social Club redevelopment
2. SMFC Youth Development Program
3. National Competitions Review

This Information Session will provide members and corporate partners the opportunity to be informed of the recent developments of the above agenda items, but also the opportunity to ask questions as well.

Tuesday, 18 September 2012 8:08 AM

It was an extraordinary day at Lakeside Stadium on Sunday, as football showed once again what a valuable role it can play by helping those less fortunate in the community.

South Melbourne FC organised and hosted the inaugural Lakeside Charity Cup which saw participation from all age groups from clubs including Green Gully, Beaumaris, Sporting Whittlesea, Lights United and the South Eastern Piranhas.

Each club had nominated a charity it would be playing for, and the winning prize money of $5,000 would be donated to that winning charity.

South Melbourne was playing for the KOALA Kids Foundation, an organisation that provides assistance to children suffering from cancer and support for their families. KOALA Kids was formed in 2006 as a program funded by the KOALA Foundation (Kids Oncology And Leukaemia Action).

The action on the park was intense, as players from all age groups put in outstanding performances to help their nominated charity.

In the end, South Melbourne emerged the winner on the final day. On hand to present the Lakeside Charity Cup to the winning club was Bruce Mildenhall, Chairman of the State Sports Centres Trust, Alannah Gottschalk from Parks Victoria, Amanda Mandie from KOALA Kids, SMFC Youth Development Director Tom Kalas, and SMFC President Leo Athanasakis.

Amanda Mandie from KOALA Kids foundation was delighted that South Melbourne had won the inaugural Lakeside Charity, and said “congratulations on South Melbourne’s initiative holding the inaugural Lakeside Charity Cup and our warmest thanks for selecting KOALA Kids as South Melbourne’s charity. KOALA Kids is in its seventh year and the $5,000 that you presented us will go a long way to providing lots of small things that make a difference to the lives of children and young people with cancer and their families.”

SMFC Youth Development Director Tom Kalas speaking to smfc.com.au said “winning tournaments, trophies, and championships is an important part of what we do at South Melbourne. However to win such an event for the benefit of a charity and for children a lot less fortunate than ourselves is an achievement second to none. Teaching our junior players the importance of contributing to community is an important life lesson that will hopefully become ingrained as they move into adulthood. We hope to stage another Lakeside Charity Cup next year and have already been approached by more clubs to take part, both local and interstate”.

South Melbourne would like to congratulate and thank all the participating clubs and players, along with all the volunteers who contributed to the successful and worthwhile event.

Monday, 17 September 2012 12:12 PM

By John Kyrou (Photo by Cindy Nitsos)

South Melbourne FC completed its Victorian Premier League season with a straightforward 5-2 victory against traditional rival and bottom-placed Heidelberg United at Olympic Village on Sunday afternoon. A double from Shaun Kelly and singles from Matko Budimir, Baggio Yousif and Tom Matthews won the game for South and ensured that the Blues finished the season in sixth place, a mere one point off fifth spot and a place in the 2012 finals series.

South went into the game on the back of the heartbreaking 1-1 draw against Bentleigh Greens at Lakeside Stadium last Sunday afternoon. The draw meant that South could not make the finals mathematically and with the Bergers already relegated, rendered Sunday’s derby meaningless in terms of the League standings. Nevertheless, South wanted to finish the season on a high and defeat the Bergers for the second time in the League this season. With Dimi Tsiaras suspended and Glen Trifiro out with an ankle injury, coach Peter Tsolakis decided to also rest several senior players and replace them with younger players. This saw Matko Budimir, Andrew Cartanos, Baggio Yousif, James Karvelis and goalkeeper Jason Saldaris all start for the Club, with Karvelis and Saldaris making their League debuts for South.

South opened the scoring after 20 minutes when Shaun Kelly flicked Joe Keenan’s corner on for Budimir to head home for his first South goal. The away side held the lead until the 33rd minute when Devon Bonne was put through on goal by Kristian Sarkies and slotted past Saldaris. South took a two goal lead in only a matter of minutes as Kelly firstly headed past Chris May with the assistance of the goal post in the 38th minute and then volleyed home in the 40th minute after Cartanos’ initial shot was blocked and rebounded for him. Heidelberg got back in the game right on the halftime break thanks to Sarkies’ second assist of the game when his free kick on the right was powerfully headed home by Arthur Papadopoulos.

Tsolakis introduced Trent Rixon early in the second half as the big striker played for the first time since his ban following being sent off against Richmond on 20 July. He combined up front with Steve Burton and set the Englishman up to fire a shot that beat May but not the crossbar. South finally wrapped up the three points when Norton put Yousif through on goal and the youngster slotted past May for his first goal for the Club. Matthews also scored his first goal for the Blues only minutes later when he popped up at the back post to tap into an empty net following some good lead-up play from the left side. Captain Steven O’Dor and Fernando De Moraes were given some game time in the final twenty minutes as South cruised to victory and ended their season on a high. Green Gully’s defeat of Northcote meant that South finished the season only a point behind fifth-placed Northcote, showing just how costly Scott Bulloch’s 92nd minute goal was for Bentleigh against South last Sunday.

The Under-21s also finished their season strongly by defeating Heidelberg 7-0.

FINAL SCORE: HEIDELBERG UNITED 2-5 SOUTH MELBOURNE (HT: 2-3)

Goal Scorers:
0-1: Matko Budimir (20′)
1-1: Devon Bonne (33′)
1-2: Shaun Kelly (38′)
1-3: Shaun Kelly (40′)
2-3: Arthur Papadopoulos (45+3′)
2-4: Baggio Yousif (68′)
2-5: Tom Matthews (72′)

Heidelberg United:
1. Chris MAY (GK), 2. Arthur PAPADOPOULOS (13. Abbut DIB 70′), 4. Nassim COURAIL, 6. John BOUNIS, 8. Zane SOLE, 9. Kristian SARKIES, 10. Nick MARINOS (19. Abdul AHMED 88′), 12. Kamal IBRAHIM, 14. James MOUTSAS, 15. Pavle DURKIC, 18. Devon BONNE

South Melbourne FC:
21. Jason SALDARIS (GK), 2. Tom MATTHEWS, 7. Joe KEENAN, 11. Bradley NORTON, 12. Steve BURTON, 13. Luke BYLES, 17. Matko BUDIMIR (4. StevenO’DOR 69’), 19. Shaun KELLY (9. Trent RIXON 51’), 20. Andrew CARTANOS, 23. Baggio YOUSIF (15. Fernando DE MORAES 69’), 25. James KARVELIS

SMFC Man of the Match: Shaun Kelly
Venue: Olympic Village
Date: Sunday 16 September 2012

Friday, 14 September 2012 11:00 AM

On the final episode of the 2012 season, John and David analyse the heartbreaking draw last week against Bentleigh Greens, as well as preview the upcoming game against Heidelberg United.

Click here to download episode 10 of southRadio (MP3) – Right Click and Save As

Click here to download the show directly from iTunes