Category: News

Sunday, 27 April 2008 7:29 PM

By George Kouroumalis and John Kyrou | Photo by Paul Touliatos

South Melbourne will be looking to build on its huge win last weekend when it travels to Altona on Monday night in a highly anticipated Round 10 clash.

This will be a very difficult assignment for South as the club has lost every match at Paisley Park since returning to the Premier League competition in 2005.

South coach Michael Michalakopoulos will be keen to keep the same starting line-up that destroyed Fawkner 6-2 at Bob Jane Stadium last Sunday.

Captain and inspirational leader Dean Anastasiadis will be called upon once again to start between the sticks. Anastasiadis will need to be fully focused against a potent and dangerous Altona attack in order for South to get anything from the game.

Anastasiadis’ defence will once again be lead by Steven O’Dor and Sam Poutakidis, with both players needing to play their part in thwarting any potential attacking forays forward. Joining these two in the back four will be Shane Nunes and Adam Van Dommele, who have both cemented their starting positions in recent weeks.

In the midfield, Rama Tavsancioglu will once again be assigned the defensive midfield role, a position that he has excelled in since being given the role a fortnight ago. He will provide South with experience in the central area as well as a player that will support his back four when needed. In the more attacking midfield roles, South will once again go into the game with Bill Natsioulas and Goran Zoric in the wider positions, whilst Fernando will be in the centre and providing the front two with constant support. The Brazilian was in sublime form against Fawkner, scoring once and acting as a provider on numerous occasions in a vintage display. He will be keen to continue this good form on Monday.

Up front, South will once again go into the game with Gianni De Nittis and Nathan Caldwell in the starting line-up. Both players earnt their starting positions after having superb games last weekend. De Nittis excelled in his new number 9 shirt and won the man of the match honours in a two-goal display, whilst Caldwell scored his second goal of the season against Fawkner and looked to be gaining more confidence.

Whilst South will be going into the match with some confidence, their Altona opponents will be no pushover. The Magic possesses one of the most talented squads in the Foxtel Cup, with the Vlado Tortevski-coached side having the services of the most consistent and dangerous striker in the state in Michael Curcija. The 30 year old is well known by South fans, having played six seasons for the blues in the NSL, amassing 143 games and scoring on 59 occasions. So far in 2008 he has scored 7 times and will no doubt be looking at adding more to his total against his old club. Curcija will be partnered up front with the elusive Henry Fa’Arodo, who is also a proven goal scorer at VPL level and will be one of the key players in the opposition line-up that South will need to shut down.

In the star-studded midfield area, Altona will go into the game with new recruits Pece Siveski and another ex-South player in Carl Recchia. Both players joined Altona in the summer and so far have combined together exceptionally well in the centre of the park.

Leading the defensive unit will be journeyman Con Anthopoulos, who also joined the Magic in the summer and is another former South player. Anthopoulos will provide the Magic with a calm and collected defender that is capable of playing a role in shutting down any attacking South foray. He will be joined by the very highly rated Doug Milardovic and another former South defender in Steven Laurie in a well-regarded back four.

With such an experienced, dangerous and highly rated opponent, South will need to be on their game to take anything from Paisley Park. A win by South will see them push up the table and be in sight of the sixth-placed Magic that currently sit 6 points above South. Kick-off is at 8.30pm.

Altona Magic vs South Melbourne FC

When: Monday, April 28th
Where: Paisley Park, Altona
Kick-off: 8.30pm (Under 21s at 6.30pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Goran Zoric, Bill Natsioulas, Gianni De Nittis, Fernando De Moraes, Nathan Caldwell

Altona Magic
Bojo Jevdjevic (GK), Stiven Mrkela (C), Con Anthopoulos, Steve Laurie, Doug Mladenovic, Henry Fa’Arodo, Carl Recchia, Michael Curcija, Pece Siveski, Agim Sherifovski, Pece Cergovski

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 8 (includes finals)
South Melbourne : 3
Altona Magic : 5
Draw : 0

Last Meeting

When: Saturday, 18 August 2007
Where: Paisley Park, Altona
Score: Altona Magic 1 defeated South Melbourne 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Loss, Win
Altona Magic: Win, Loss, Win

Wednesday, 23 April 2008 10:26 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back to 1999. South Melbourne had won its third National Soccer League championship in 1997/98 and were aiming for back-to-back championships, something the club had not achieved in the NSL.

In 1998/99, South began its title defence reasonably well and the club continued to maintain a strong home record as well as grind out results away from home. As a result, South consistently remained in the upper regions of the NSL ladder, along with its main challengers for the season in Sydney United and Perth Glory.

South was due to play Perth Glory on Sunday March 8 at Bob Jane Stadium in a round 23 clash. However thanks to an error in the Soccer Australia fixturing, the match had to be postponed to a later date due to the Formula One Grand Prix taking place in Albert Park over that weekend. The new date set for the match was Wednesday March 31.

The timing of this mid-week fixture against Perth could not have been any worse for the two clubs. Both were pushing for a top two finish on the ladder to enable a double-chance in the finals series. Perth had just come off an extremely difficult 2-2 draw against Sydney Olympic in very hot conditions at Perth Oval and had to travel across the country to face South only days later in cool, wet Melbourne conditions. South were not much better off, having come off a demoralising 1-0 loss to newcomers Northern Spirit at North Sydney Oval in front of 16,543 fans. The blues had to face a very strong Perth side mid-week before backing it up with another game the following Sunday against the Brisbane Strikers. Perth were fortunate to have a bye following their fixture with South.

Such a big match for two of the most outstanding teams for that season deserved a huge crowd. The experts weren’t sure how many would show to lend their support due to the cold and wet period that Melbourne had experienced leading up to the mid-week fixture. However the fact that the Easter break and school holidays were approaching meant that it was also possible that the turnout would be healthy. South’s supporters have always been well known for making their entrance at the last minute and thus even until minutes before the scheduled start of the Perth game the eventual attendance could still have been anything.

However the South supporters rose to the occasion and they poured through the Bob Jane Stadium turnstiles in huge numbers to show their support for their team. The attendance was recorded as 11,861 which was an excellent turn-out and showed the passion of the blue and white army on the terraces. What was in prospect for the fans was a clash between two teams that had built their reputations on their respective prolific attacks that wore down their opposition by outscoring them rather than out-defending them.

Although the Glory were only in their third season of competition in the NSL, they had shown themselves to be leaders both on and off the field. Even though South had only lost once at home in two seasons, Perth had belief that they could get a result at Bob Jane Stadium. In the corresponding fixture the season before, South had jumped to a 3-0 lead before Vas Kalogeracos scored a hat trick to earn Perth a shock 3-3 draw. These fighting qualities were what Glory coach Bernd Stange was after again.

The first half saw an unusual South performance, with the players resorting to playing the long ball instead of retaining possession and playing the short pass. Perth was playing a very smart game and was dangerous when hitting South on the counter attack. The Glory had also spotted a defensive mis-match down their attacking right hand side and they set about exploiting it. In the 36th minute this was achieved when Robert Trajkovski moved onto a long ball sent forward by Scott Miller and from the right crossed to Alastair Edwards, whose flick shot flew past Michael Petkovic’s near post and into the goal to give the Glory a 0-1 lead.

Perth began to get on top of South and the home support was not liking the fact that their team were possibly on their way to a first home defeat in the 1998/99 campaign. What was more frustrating for the supporters was the fact that South continued to persevere with the long ball option right until half time. However the positives going into the halftime break were that the Perth team would surely tire in the second half after such a long and demanding trip and that if the tactics could be switched around then South were a big chance to get back into the match in the second half.

Coach Ange Postecoglou made changes, encouraging his players to cease with the long ball and start playing their normal game of keeping possession of the ball and waiting for the right opportunities to arrive. Postecoglou knew the possession game would take its toll on his players but he also knew it would mentally and physically drain the Perth side even more. In the 70th minute, Postecoglou made two vital substitutions in George Goutzioulis and John Anastasiadis, who replaced Steve Panopoulos and Michael Curcija respectively. Even though Anastasiadis had not been regularly playing for South leading up to the fixture, Postecoglou felt that the veteran and club legend was experienced and deadly enough in front of goals to have an immediate influence on the contest.

The move was ingenious and was a decision that resulted in making this game one of the classic South matches. Just over five minutes had passed after the substitutions were made when a pass from midfield found Goutzioulis in space. He played the ball to Anastasiadis, who shrugged off the attention of Paul Strudwick and fired in the equaliser past Tony Franken to spark wild scenes on the terraces. The change of tactics and the introduction of fresh players had worked and with 15 minutes left there was still plenty of time for the home side to get a winner.

South needed just over a minute. From the re-start, the ball was turned over and ended up with Paul Trimboli. The captain decided to take a shot himself from just outside the area. The ball crashed off the crossbar and back into play to David Clarkson, whose header across the face of goal found Vaughan Coveny steaming in at the near post. With Franken in no-mans land, Coveny headed the ball into the back of the net to complete a remarkable comeback for the home side, with two goals in just over a minute. The fans who had packed into the ground were beside themselves with joy. The loud and passionate chanting and scenes of madness during the goals showed just why the Bob Jane Stadium was such an intimidating venue to visit and why nobody was able to beat South there.

The full time whistle sounded and South had completed a memorable and important win. The 2-1 result put South firmly in the top two with three matches to go in the season. South also remained undefeated at Bob Jane Stadium throughout the entire season, which had not been achieved before and has not been equaled since. A league loss to Sydney United at Edensor Park a fortnight later was a major blow to South, who finished second in the league behind them. However history shows that South beat their Sydney rivals over two legs in the Major Semi Final to set up a Grand Final re-match in Melbourne, where a 3-2 victory gave the club back-to-back titles. Perth finished a very credible third and went one step further the following season, making the 1999/00 Grand Final.

Many South supporters agree that the match known as the ‘2-1 Wednesday night game against Perth’ was the beginning of a fantastic sporting rivalry between two of the biggest and best Australian football clubs and one of the most memorable South matches in the last 10 years.

Round 23, 1998/99
Wednesday, March 31, 1999
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Referee: Brett Hugo

SOUTH MELBOURNE 2-1 PERTH GLORY
(Anastasiadis 76′, Coveny 77′) (Edwards 36′)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Michael Petkovic, Steve Iosifidis, Fausto De Amicis, Nick Orlic, David Clarkson, Steve Panopoulos (George Goutzioulis 70′), Vaughan Coveny, Paul Trimboli (Jim Tsekinis 84′), Michael Curcija (John Anastasiadis 70′), Goran Lozanovski, Robert Liparoti.
Coach: Ange Postecoglou

PERTH GLORY:
Tony Franken, Robert Trajkovski, Scott Miller, Gianfranco Circati, Paul Strudwick, Craig Deans (Jamie Harnwell 46′), Gareth Naven, Michael Garcia (Slobodan Despotovski 80′), Alistair Edwards, Vas Kalogeracos, Con Boutsianis (Troy Halpin 63′).
Coach: Bernd Stange

Tuesday, 22 April 2008 10:05 AM

By George Kouroumalis

 

Many people in the Victorian football world would be quite familiar with the surname Alatsas, but on this occasion it isn’t the commentator and host of the Victorian Football Show that people are talking about. Instead they are talking about his daughter Heleena, who has impressed everyone involved in the WPL with her performances in the last few years.

Heleena was an integral member of the highly rated Heidelberg United Women’s setup that captured the WPL crown in 2007, but with South Melbourne being promoted to the Premier League in 2008, Heleena took the opportunity to come on board and sign on with the club she has been supporting all her life.

Heleena is a highly rated player in her own right and has already provided South with an experienced and hard working player to lead a relatively young and inexperienced side through a tough year back in the WPL.

We caught up with Heleena to see how she is finding life at SMWFC and to discuss the challenges that she has faced when switching clubs over the summer.

How are you finding life at South Melbourne?

HA: “Well as to be expected with the promotion back into the Premier League, there have been quite a few changes in regards to the Women’s team at South. A new coach was appointed to take on the challenge of securing the promotion – Morris Mihailidis, and after a couple of months of pre-season training he’s managed to put together a team that in my opinion has plenty of talent and the potential to be very competitive this season.

The team at the moment is fairly young in comparison to some of the other WPL teams and some might say lacking in experience, but we’re all very focused and have shown great signs, especially in the last few weeks, that we are a side not to be underestimated.”

How has the team performed in this early part of the season?

HA: “So far this year the results unfortunately haven’t been too great, but I’m sure spectators would agree that we’ve been fairly unlucky, and the results in most if not all the games, haven’t truly represented the way we actually played! Last week many would have probably predicted a bigger score line against Box Hill, I think we definitely silenced a few people by going 1 nil up early in the game and taking it to them for the whole 90 minutes. The result in the end, for me, was irrelevant and was overshadowed by the heart and standard of football that we displayed, it was one of those games that makes you proud to be a part of a team!

As the ladder stands at the moment, we have lost to teams who haven’t dropped points yet and we were very competitive in all games, so that being said, if we continue to play the way we have been, I’m sure we’ll pick up some more points in the rounds to follow.”

How difficult was it moving from Heidelberg to their big arch rival in South Melbourne?

HA: “Changing clubs is always going to be challenging. I’ve been fortunate now to play for two of the most historic Victorian clubs with years of tradition behind them.

I guess wearing the South jumper just means that little bit more as I am playing for the club that I have followed for most of my life. ”

What are your aims for the rest of the season?

HA: “The next few weeks for us will be interesting. The league is definitely becoming closer and I think this is now showing on the park. I’m confident that we’ll pick up some well deserved points and who knows, we may even cause a few upsets while we’re at it.”

Any final words?

HA: “I urge all South fans to come and watch us this Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium against the Casey Comets. With the senior mens side playing on Monday night against Altona, everyone can come along on the Sunday and cheer the girls on for hopefully our second win of the season.

Also on Friday the 9th of May, we are hosting Keilor Park under lights at Bob Jane Stadium. The restaurant will be open for everyone who attends. The reserves kick off at 6.30pm, the seniors kick off at 8.30pm and it promises to be a great night.”

South Melbourne thanks Heleena for her time and wishes her and the women’s team all the best for the upcoming game against Casey on Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium

Monday, 21 April 2008 8:50 AM

By George Kouroumalis

South Melbourne has issued a warning to the rest of the Foxtel Cup teams by producing an outstanding display of fluent and attacking football against the Fawkner Blues on Sunday to run out convincing victors 6-2.

The crowd, which included club legend Paul Trimboli and former Carlton AFL captain Anthony Koutoufides, ventured to Bob Jane Stadium with the expectation that South would get the three points that it so desperately needed. With both teams sitting on six points and both at the foot of the league table, it was imperative that the home side won the fixture.

South were instructed by coach Michael Michalakopoulos to attack from the outset and the players adhered to the instructions immediately.

In the second minute, a well worked move down the right hand side of the park culminated in veteran Sam Poutakidis launching a low cross into the area. With mass confusion in the Fawkner defence, an opportunistic Gianni De Nittis latched onto the ball before sliding the ball into the arms of Pasi Schwalger in the Fawkner goal.

With South in an attacking mood, two long-range efforts by Fernando in the 8th and 11th minutes tested Schwalger, with the big keeper thwarting the Brazilian maestro on both occasions. Fernando had a great opportunity to score in the 15th minute, when some classic interplay between him and Nathan Caldwell saw the Brazilian dart past a couple of stagnant defenders before hitting a swirling drive that dipped but floated wide of the goal at the last minute.

South were dominating play and in the 20th minute Fernando turned provider by peeling off the right hand flank and accepting a switched ball from De Nittis. Fernando then launched a low and solid drive into the six yard box, where Caldwell was waiting. With only Schwalger to beat, Caldwell mis-timed his shot, barely making contact and allowing the keeper to capture the ball with ease.

Thankfully for the home fans, South went a goal ahead only three minutes later. A swinging corner found Shane Nunes waiting at the back post. With all the time in the world, the Western Australian headed an inch-perfect ball across the goal and into the path of De Nittis, who had the easy task of tapping the ball past the helpless Schwalger and into the back of the net.

South was in control and playing good football and went looking for a second goal to establish some breathing space. That goal nearly came in the 31st minute, when a storming run and cross by Poutakidis found Caldwell in the area. With the header from Caldwell seemingly goal bound, an amazing and quite acrobatic reflex save by Schwalger forced the ball past the post and prevented South from doubling its lead.

Against the run of the play, Fawkner leveled the game in the 42nd minute. A lapse in the South defence allowed for an innocuous ball forward to find the feet of the well positioned Joseph Youssef just inside the area. With no defender putting any pressure on him, Youssef turned well and hit a superb strike past Dean Anastasiadis and into the back of the net.

Stung by the equalizer, South went forward immediately and went ahead again just before half time, scoring a goal that was almost identical to the opening goal. Anastasiadis had initially mis-kicked a back pass but South managed to get itself out of trouble and move down the field and win a corner. The corner was swung into the far post and once again into the path of the free Nunes, who hit another solid header across the goal and into the path of De Nittis, who again tapped the ball past the helpless Schwalger.

South came back out after half time wanting to finish the game off as a contest. This was achieved in the 52nd minute when a lovely ball from midfield was played into the path of De Nittis, who had broken away from the Fawkner defence. With Caldwell to his left, De Nittis hit a lovely horizontal ball into the path of the hard working striker, who only had keeper Schwalger to beat. Unlike the opportunity he wasted in the opening half, Caldwell calmly slotted past Schwalger and into the back of the net.

South continued to press forward to punish Fawkner and had a fourth goal in the 59th minute. A sublime flick-on by Caldwell reached the oncoming Bill Natsioulas inside the area. With no defender tracking his run into the area, the midfielder had time to take one touch before slamming the ball past Schwalger, who had yet again been exposed by the poor marking of his back four.

By this point South felt like they could do no wrong and launched attack after attack, sensing that a fifth goal was imminent. This arrived when Fernando stepped up to take a free kick in the 70th minute, after the Blues had committed a foul just outside the area. He curled a low free kick past the outstretched Schwalger to send the crowd into raptures. Substitute Ricky Diaco played a part in the goal by getting in front of the goal and faking a touch to confuse the big Fawkner keeper.

The party atmosphere at Bob Jane Stadium continued in the 82nd minute, when a sublime through-ball by Natsioulas found Diaco in space just inside the area and with no defenders anywhere near the South attacker yet again. Diaco composed himself, took a touch and curled an excellent strike around the keeper to put the sixth goal on a crowded South Melbourne scoreboard.

With the game well and truly won, Fawkner’s Jason Principato popped up with three minutes to go to head home a cross at the back post to give his side their second goal of the contest. It was a calm finish by Principato, who had worked hard all game up forward without any reward. However this day did belong to South, giving their coach Michael Michalakopoulos a memorable first win as senior coach.

South must capitalise on this win when it takes on high-flying Altona Magic next Monday night at 8.15pm at Paisley Park. South has not picked up a single point at Paisley Park since returning to the Foxtel Cup in 2005 and will need to re-produce the form shown against Fawkner in order to get a positive result.

Friday, 18 April 2008 1:52 PM

By George Kouroumalis & John Kyrou | Photo by Alex Louziotis

After two consecutive losses, South Melbourne must re-group against the Fawkner Blues at Bob Jane Stadium on Sunday, in a game the club simply has to win.
After a change in coaching personnel, the first chance for a fresh start resulted in an improved but extremely wasteful South side losing 2-0 to the Melbourne Knights at Somers Street and dropping into the third-last position on the ladder.

However all is not lost. Even though the club is sitting deep in the relegation zone, a win on Sunday will propel the side up the table to have it knocking on the door of the top six.

South will play against a Fawkner side which is also desperate for points, with the northern suburbs-based club also languishing in the relegation zone. Just as with South, a win for Fawkner is imperative in their attempts to push themselves out of the relegation zone and further up a very congested ladder. In order to combat the Fawkner side, South coach Michael Michalakopoulos may make some structural changes to the line-up from the Knights game.

In goals, captain Dean Anastasiadis is expected to start against the side that he began his career at. ‘Deano’ played 44 games for the Blues in two seasons at the start of his career throughout the 1991 and 1992 seasons. His form for Fawkner was what stood out for South Melbourne when coach at the time Jim Pyrgolios recruited him for the 1992/93 NSL season.

Defensively, South are expected to play four across the back, with Sam Poutakidis and Adam Van Dommele expected to hold down the right and left back positions. Joining the two experienced players at the back will be Shane Nunes and Steven O’Dor, both of whom are expected to provide South with a formidable central defensive duo.

In the middle of the park, Michalakopoulos will be keen on persisting with Rama Tavsancioglu, with the vice-captain showing his potential against the Knights in that position. In a three-pronged midfield, Antonio La Verde and Bill Natsioulas will most likely be given starting roles, with the latter instructed to push forward and create as many chances as possible.

Up front, South will play with a three-man attacking combination, with the strong likelihood that Gianni De Nittis, Ricky Diaco and Fernando will be the players chosen to provide a solid, agile and smart front three that will hopefully cause the Fawkner defence many headaches. The others pushing for a starting selection will be Nathan Caldwell, Goran Zoric and Hamlet Armenian, all of whom on their day can make a difference and in most cases also warrant a starting position. It will be interesting to see how Michalakopoulos balances this area and how he will use each player on the park.

South’s opponents have also had a quite poor start to the season, with only one win from their first 9 outings in the Foxtel Cup. Despite languishing quite low in the table, Fawkner will provide the South side with a genuinely tough opponent and boasts some experienced VPL campaigners that could tilt the game their way.

One of these players is Pasi Schwalger, who South fans will remember from his days with Green Gully, Preston and Heidelberg. Schwalger is a capable keeper at VPL level and relishes the chance to play against South, highlighted by his form whilst in between the sticks at Green Gully. The South strikers will need to be effective and take their opportunities well if they are to get past him.

Other players to watch will be experienced duo Ralph Napoli and Zia Younan, with the latter formerly one of the key players in the VPL a few years back when captaining the Preston Lions. His experience and leadership will be crucial if the Fawkner side are to take anything away from Bob Jane Stadium.

South Melbourne urges all fans to make their way to Bob Jane Stadium and get behind the side and new coach Michael Michalakopoulos, as the club looks to get a much-needed win against Fawkner. Kick-off is at 4pm.

South Melbourne FC vs Fawkner Blues

When: Sunday, April 20th
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick-off: 4pm (Under 21s at 1.45pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK/C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglou, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Tony La Verde, Bill Natsioulas, Gianni De Nittis, Fernando De Moraes, Ricky Diaco

Fawkner Blues
Pasi Schwalger (GK), Adam Zilic, Zia Younan, Clifford Tuck (C), Boris Masic, Jason Principato, Joseph Youssef, Fikret Husanovic, Yanni Galanos, Ben Cogger, Ralph Napoli

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 6 (includes Fawkner-Whittlesea)
South Melbourne : 3
Fawkner Blues : 1
Draw : 2

Last Meeting

When: Friday, 10 August 2007
Where: Bob Jane Stadium
Score: South Melbourne 0 drew with Fawkner Blues 0

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Win, Loss, Loss
Fawkner Blues Draw, Win, Draw

Tuesday, 15 April 2008 9:28 AM

By John Kyrou

This week the segment takes us back 45 years ago to 1963. South Melbourne was only in its fourth year of existence but had already achieved championship success twice. Firstly, the club went through the 1960 Metropolitan League 1 North season undefeated, destroying opposition teams along the way (including a 9-0 win against Corio and a 10-1 win against Moonee Ponds) and ensured promotion into the Victorian State League (now known as the Foxtel Cup). The second success was enjoyed in 1962, when South Melbourne became State League champions for the first time, winning the league by 2 points over Juventus.

South entered the 1963 season keen on building on the success achieved in 1962, where even though it had won the league, it had not fared as well in the Cup competitions. The club failed to get out of the sectional rounds of the Docherty Cup but put up a much stronger effort in the AMPOL Cup, eventually being knocked out in the semi finals 0-1 by Croatia. How the big South Melbourne supporter base would have loved for their team to do the triple and claim all the competitions on offer the following season.

Although South failed to get out of the sectional rounds of the Docherty Cup once again in 1963, the club managed to make the final of the AMPOL Cup, improving on the previous season’s effort. Unfortunately, Maribyrnong Polonia were too strong in the final and won the Cup by a solitary goal in front of approximately 17,000 spectators. Nevertheless, the opportunity to go back-to-back in the league was still on offer.

Disappointingly however, South started the season slowly and continued to produce mixed results throughout the year. Heading into the round 16 match against Polonia, South needed to record a win to try and kick-start a winning run that would take it further up the table. The match was also an opportunity to gain revenge on the Polonia side that had denied the club Cup glory (in fact South would have to wait until 1969 to win the AMPOL Cup for the first time).

Approximately 20,000 spectators were present at Olympic Park to witness the grudge match. John Margaritis opened South’s account but the boys from Middle Park were powerless to stop Mikolaj Mroczkowski and Eddie Jankowski from scoring to give Polonia a 1-2 win. The match however was marred by a confrontation between South goal keeper Panayiotis Tsitsos (pictured right), left half Jordan Ieremiadis and Polonia players Marian Gasior, Vic Janczyk and Ziggy Gross. Tsitsos ran the length of the field to become involved in the clash and as a result received a six match suspension by the Federation.
Disgusted by the result and by the lengthy suspension imposed on Tsitsos by the Federation, the South supporters decided to take a stance on the issue by staging a protest. As a result, the next match (against Richmond Alemannia at Olympic Park) saw around 2000 South supporters stand outside the ground to protest the Federation’s decision, with many more protesting by not coming at all. The match finished 2-2 and the crowd inside the ground was recorded as 3000, a significant drop from the 20,000 against Polonia. Considering the next match South played at Olympic Park (a 1-1 draw with Footscray JUST) attracted close to 20,000 people again, the South army had shown just how powerful it was when united about an issue concerning their club.

South continued with mixed results and ended the season in a disappointing 6th place. However the disappointment was not to last long as the South family celebrated three championship seasons in 1964, 1965 and 1966.

Round 16, 1963
Sunday, July 21, 1963
Venue: Olympic Park, Melbourne

SOUTH MELBOURNE 1-2 MARIBYRNONG POLONIA
(Margaritis) (Mroczkowski, Jankowski)

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Line-up included: Panayiotis Tsitsos, Takis Xanthopoulos, Takis Mantarakis, Tommy Anderson, Jordan Ieremiadis, Minelis Tsolakis, Antonis Hatzieleftheriou, John Margaritis and Ted Smith. Coach: Manny Poulakakis.

MARIBYRNONG POLONIA:
Line-up included: Bruno Putkowski, Marian Gasior, Vic Janczyk, Ziggy Gross, Lolly Vella, Eddie Jankowski, Mikolaj Mroczkowski, Eddie Zientara (Roch Dronia) and Mike Jurecki.

Monday, 14 April 2008 9:33 AM

By John Kyrou | Photo by Paul Touliatos

The Melbourne Knights have the bragging rights over old rivals South Melbourne after enjoying a comfortable 2-0 win at Somers Street on Sunday.

The Knights went into the fixture in red-hot form, having been undefeated in their opening seven games in 2008 and coming off a good win against Coburg the previous week. In contrast, South limped into the fixture with a horrible 2008 record, with only two wins from seven games and having received a footballing lesson from Green Gully the week before. Following John Anastasiadis’ resignation after the Green Gully match, new coach Michael Michalakopoulos had limited time with the squad before the derby against the Knights and was hoping that his players would lift for the occasion and in order to impress him.

The game was just over a minute old when the Knights took the lead. From the kick-off, the Knights worked the ball forward and won a corner kick. From the set piece, danger man Zoran Petrevski rose unmarked to put his header past Dean Anastasiadis and into the net. This has been the story of the struggling South defence so far in 2008, with many simple goals being gifted to the opposition in both general play and from set pieces. This further continued when the Knights extended their lead in the 13th minute, when another cross into the penalty area saw mass confusion between Anastasiadis and his defence, with former South player and Knights captain Alex Kiratzoglou on hand to double the home team’s advantage.

Despite being two goals down, South finished the first half strongly. Firstly, Fernando de Moraes was denied superbly by Knights goalkeeper Savas Ozdemir, who tipped a goal-bound free kick over the crossbar and out for a corner kick. Minutes later, Fernando found space in front of the traveling South supporters on the left hand side. His cross into the area found an unmarked Zoric, who seemed to have an eternity to line up and place his shot past Ozdemir. To the frustration of the away fans, Zoric’s fierce shot was hit too close to Ozdemir, who nonetheless did well to keep the ball out. Zoric again missed another opportunity to score when another ball into the area found him free in space but his final shot was extremely poor.

Vice captain Rama Tavsancioglu, clearly frustrated with his forwards not putting away their opportunities, then decided to try and score himself. His run into the penalty area saw him with an opportunity to shoot on his left foot. With a Knights defender hot on his tail, Tavsancioglu fell down in the box but referee Mur decided that he had dived and awarded a goal kick to the Knights. Whilst the Knights had been kept reasonably quiet since scoring their two early goals, they still gave the South defence a few headaches when going forward. Right on halftime, they could have had a third, when another cross into the area saw another free header go just wide of the far post and out to safety for South.

Ricky Diaco replaced Antonio La Verde at the start of the second half as Michalakopoulos threw another man forward in an attempt to get the blues back into the match. The Knights were content to sit on their two goal advantage and allowed South most of the possession. As a result, the majority of the second half was spent in the Knights’ area, but South hardly looked like it was capable of scoring twice to get back on level terms, despite having two more opportunities to do so. The first opportunity arose when Zoric and Sam Poutakidis worked the ball out to the right hand side. A high cross to the far post evaded Ozdemir and the Knights defence but the incoming Fernando was not able to get a touch to force the ball into the back of the net. The second opportunity arrived shortly before the full-time whistle, when a header at the far post by Shane Nunes beat Ozdemir but not the defender on the line, who cleared the ball to safety to ensure that the Knights would end the derby with a clean sheet. The only concern for the Knights was the fact that coach Chris Taylor looked to have been sent off after a confrontation with Adam Van Dommele in the closing stages of the match that could possibly result in Taylor being sanctioned.

The Knights are riding high at the top of the table and next travels away to Jack Edwards Reserve to play the Oakleigh Cannons. South finds itself in big trouble near the bottom of the ladder and simply must win their next game against Fawkner in order to get out of the relegation area. The game kicks off at 4pm next Sunday at Bob Jane Stadium.

Foxtel Cup Round 8

Melbourne Knights 2-0 South Melbourne
(Zoran Petrevski 2′, Alex Kiratzoglou 13′)

Date: Sunday, 13th April 2008
Venue: Knights Stadium, Sunshine
Referee: Perry Mur

Melbourne Knights: Savas Ozdemir, Steve Iosifidis, Mathew Grbesa, Ivan Franjic (Dale Thompson 77′), Cameron Watson, Dario Matkovic (Joe Spiteri 75′), Craig Elvin, Anthony Pelikan (Adrian Zahra 89′), Alex Kiratzoglou (c), Zoran Petrevski, Andrew Barisic

South Melbourne: Dean Anastasiadis (c), Shane Nunes, Adam Van Dommele, Steven O’Dor, Nathan Caldwell (Gianni De Nittis 58′), Bill Natsioulas (Hamlet Armenian 72′), Goran Zoric, Antonio La Verde (Ricky Diaco 46′), Rama Tavsancioglu, Fernando De Moraes, Sam Poutakidis

Friday, 11 April 2008 12:10 AM

By John Kyrou and George Kouroumalis
Photo by Paul Touliatos

After a dismal home performance last weekend, a rejuvenated South Melbourne line-up will take on old NSL rivals Melbourne Knights at Somers Street on Sunday afternoon.

Leading the way for the blues will be Michael Michalakopoulos, who was appointed senior coach earlier in the week following the resignation of John Anastasiadis. Michalakopoulos is an established coach in Victorian football, having achieved impressive results with the Essendon Royals, Bulleen Zebras and most recently playing an instrumental role in the development of the Whittlesea squad that made the VPL Grand Final in 2007. His work with junior footballers, strong work ethic and ability to communicate exceptionally well excites many around the club, as well as the fact that he is yet another ex-South player that has returned to coach the club. Michalakopoulos played with South for three seasons, playing 41 games and scoring 10 goals. He was also part of the famous squad that defeated the Melbourne Knights on penalties in the classic 1990/91 Grand Final.

However the excitement surrounding the appointment of such a well-credentialed coach comes the realisation that if South are to produce a result against a strong Knights side, a massive improvement is needed after the disastrous 0-3 drubbing courtesy of Green Gully at Bob Jane Stadium last week.

In goals, Dean Anastasiadis will once again start for the club, with ‘Deano’ expected to lead on the field and try to assist his younger players through what promises to be a hostile environment at Somers Street. Ahead of him in defence, Michalakopoulos will most likely go with the most solid back four combination possible, with Steven O’Dor and Shane Nunes expected to fill the central defensive positions. Both players had indifferent games against Gully, struggling for the most part against a rampant Gully attacking third. If South are to win, both centre backs will need to step up a gear and make sure they are in the way of everything the Knights forwards throw at them. The right back position will be filled by Sam Poutakidis, a player who has had an exceptional return season to lakeside. At left back, vice captain Rama Tavsancioglu will be keen to get a victory against his former club.

In midfield, Michalakopoulos cannot look past Antonio La Verde in the central midfield position, with the youngster shining since being given the opportunity to play. Fernando de Moraes and Bill Natsioulas will once again be staking their claims to hold down two of the midfield spots, with Gianni De Nittis and Goran Zoric fighting it out to take the other position in the midfield quartet. Up front, Michalakopoulos may be inclined to try two of his former players in Hamlet Armenian and Ricky Diaco, with both players keen to impress their former coach immediately. Trying to push his way into starting contention will be Nathan Caldwell, who will be looking to build on his match-winning goal a fortnight ago against Preston and kick-start his season.

The Melbourne Knights will not be an easy task however and will be a formidable opponent. The Sunshine-based club remains undefeated so far in 2008 and are beginning to establish themselves as one of the teams to beat. One of the key players that South needs to shut down is the influential Anthony Pelikan, who is the danger man in the Knights midfield. Pelikan provides the Knights with a hard-working midfielder and a leader in the centre of the park. His ability to also go forward will need to be nullified in order for South to gain the upper hand.

In the attacking third, the Knights will provide South with many headaches. Leading the charge will be Andrew Barisic, a dangerous striker who will head into the game having scored a double against Coburg last week. Partnering Barisic up front will be Zoran Petrevski, another dangerous player that crossed to the Knights in the summer after a solid 2007 season with Preston. His ability to create chances out of nothing and get himself in dangerous scoring positions allows for the man known as ‘Ziggy’ to zig-zag his way through defences and find the net on regular occasions. Other players to watch will be former NSL stalwarts and former South players Alex Kiratzoglou and Steve Iosifidis, with the latter quite familiar to South fans after playing his part in South’s back-to-back championship teams in the late 1990s.

Overall it promises to be a cracking contest in front of a healthy crowd at Knights Stadium. Both teams have partaken in some thrilling derby matches, particularly through the 1990s period, and have shared a massive and healthy rivalry. Sunday’s match will no doubt be another classic between two of the biggest clubs in Victorian football’s illustrious history.

Melbourne Knights vs South Melbourne FC

When: Sunday, April 13th
Where: Knights Stadium
Kick-off: 3pm (Under 21s at 1pm)

Projected Starting line-ups

South Melbourne
Dean Anastasiadis (GK & C), Sam Poutakidis, Rama Tavsancioglu, Steven O’Dor, Shane Nunes, Tony La Verde, Bill Natsioulas, Goran Zoric, Fernando De Moraes, Hamlet Armenian, Ricky Diaco

Melbourne Knights
Savas Ozdemir (GK), Steve Iosifidis, Mathew Grbesa, Craig Elvin, Ivan Franjic, Dario Matkovic, Anthony Pelikan, James Timmons, Alex Kiratzoglou (C), Andrew Barisic, Zoran Petrevski

Head to head (Games since 2005)

Played : 6
South Melbourne : 3
Melbourne Knights : 2
Draw : 1

Last Meeting

When: Sunday, 5 August 2007
Where: Knights Stadium
Score: Melbourne Knights 0 def by South Melbourne 2

Form in 2008 (last 3 games)

South Melbourne: Loss, Win, Loss
Melbourne Knights: Win, Draw, Win

Thursday, 10 April 2008 9:33 AM

By John Kyrou

With 49 years of history, South Melbourne has certainly provided its fans and the footballing community with some fantastic memories. In this new segment on smfc.com.au, a classic match from the past is remembered.
With former South player Michael Michalakopoulos (pictured right) taking over the coaching reigns from club legend John Anastasiadis this week, it is appropriate to begin with a match that the new South coach was involved in as a player. Even though Michalakopoulos was at the club for only three seasons (1989/90 to 1991/92) he was involved in some classic matches that will always be remembered by the fans.

Coming off the 1990/91 NSL championship, South were optimistic of going back-to-back in 1991/92. Everything seemed to be going to plan as the club finished the regular season in third place. Consistency was needed in the finals series, something that South had struggled with throughout the season. Although South did well to win 13 of the 26 games, it also registered eight losses. A solid 0-2 victory over Sydney United at the Croatian Sports Centre in the final round of the season meant that South had to go back to Sydney for the Qualifying Final against Sydney Olympic, a game that they simply had to win to ensure both bragging rights over their rivals as well as a smoother progression in the finals series.

Aside from the huge contingent of South fans taking over the Parramatta Stadium stands and drowning out the chants from the Olympic supporters, the match will always be remembered for the opening goal that was scored by Danny Wright just before halftime. A cross into the area by Mike Petersen found Kimon Taliadoros, who flicked his header over to Wright. A fantastic volley by Wright roared into the bottom left corner of the goal and through a small hole in the net. It was a clear goal and with South players pointing to the small hole that the ball had gone through, referee John Fraser eventually awarded the goal. Commentating on SBS Television, the late Eddie Thompson remarked “that’s a classic…I’m sure Danny will tell his kids in years to come about how he burst the net in the final at Parramatta Stadium.”

The pressure by Olympic in the second half was reasonably well dealt with by the South defence, marshaled by veteran Steve Blair. With four minutes of regular time left and with Olympic throwing more men forward in search of an equaliser, South scored a second to kill the game off and ensure a famous finals win. An excellent defensive header by Paul Wade found substitute Michalakopoulos, who shrugged off his opponent and set Paul Trimboli loose on the counter attack. With Michalakopoulos on his right and Taliadoros on his left, Trimboli chose to set up Michalakopoulos, who from the edge of the area shot to the far corner and under Gary Meier’s body for the sealing goal.

South now had the chance to ensure a Grand Final berth courtesy of that fantastic win, however the lack of consistency throughout the regular season came back to haunt the club during the rest of the finals campaign. An unlucky 5-3 penalty shoot-out loss in the Major Semi Final against Melbourne Croatia and a 0-2 defeat by Adelaide City in the Preliminary Final saw South miss the chance to claim the championship for the second year in a row.

1991/92 NSL Qualifying Final
Sunday, April 12, 1992
Venue: Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Referee: John Fraser

SYDNEY OLYMPIC 0-2 SOUTH MELBOURNE
(Wright 42′, Michalakopoulos 86′)

SYDNEY OLYMPIC:
Gary Meier, David Barrett, Andrew Bernal, Ned Zelic, Robbie Hooker, Grant Lee, Gary Phillips, Robert Ironside, Pablo Cardozo (Steve Refenes 70′), Abbas Saad, Tim Bredbury
Coach: Mick Hickman

SOUTH MELBOURNE:
Bruce MacLaren, Paul Fernandes, Steve Blair, Mehmet Durakovic, Danny Wright, Paul Wade, Mike Petersen, Harry Micheil (Gary Hasler 78′), Kimon Taliadoros, Paul Trimboli, Con Boutsianis (Mike Michalakopoulos 80′)
Coach: Ferenc Puskas

Tuesday, 8 April 2008 10:01 PM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Michael Michalakopoulos has been appointed as the new coach of the club.

Michael is regarded as one the most promising coaches in the VPL having previously coached Essendon Royals and last year’s Grand Finalists Whittlesea Zebras.

Importantly, Michael is a previous South player having played as a forward in 41 games and scoring 10 goals during 3 seasons at the club (89/90 – 91/92) as a consequence being a member of the famous 91 squad that captured a national title.

He has also represented Australia at Olyroo level on 11 occasions, scoring 3 goals along the way

Michael brings a wealth of local knowledge and ambition to the club as he aims to turnaround the fortunes of the most impressive squad lists in the VPL.

Football Operations Director Jim Marinis was optimistic about the future:

“Michael has impressed me with his professional demeanor and enthusiasm. He knows many of our current players and understands what is expected.

I am confident Michael will be successful and steer the club’s football fortunes in the right direction.”

When asked about his appointment Michael stated:

“There is no greater honor than wearing a South shirt and now I will have the privilege of being one of very few ex players to have also coached the club.

I understand the expectation of the members, supporters and sponsors and am fully aware of the responsibility that goes with managing the team.

I’m ready for the challenge and can’t wait to meet and assist the players in improving the club’s on field performance. I feel I have unfinished business with South and appreciate that the current board has given me the opportunity to utilise the experience I have acquired over the years, to ensure South Melbourne FC remains one of Australia’s most prominent football clubs”.

The club asks for all the South faithful to support Michael and the players as they aim to return to winning ways.