Category: News

Saturday, 10 March 2007 6:42 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne has collected their first win of the season, defeating the Richmond Eagles by 3 goals to 2.

Striker Nathan Caldwell made a stunning debut for John Anastasiadis’s men finishing with a double whilst South’s other goal and the eventual winner was brilliantly converted by Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes.

Richmond had equalized twice, initially through an own goal by Arthur Tsonis after Richmond winger Semir Sevic found some space down the right and whipped in a ferocious ball that deflected off Tsonis and past a helpless Dean Anastasiadis, whilst a fine back post header by James Baskerville saw the Eagles level for the second time midway through the second half.

Coach John Anastasiadis made a couple of changes from last week’s lineup. In came striker Nathan Caldwell for his first game for the club after switching from the Melbourne Knights in the off-season whilst Arthur Tsonis made his first start since his season ending injury last season, slotting in on the left hand side of a three man defence.

Youngster Nick Curtis was relegated to the substitute’s bench whilst fellow youngster Gianni De Nittis took up an unfamiliar role on the left wing.

South lined up as follows. Dean Anastasiadis started in goals with a flat back three of Steven O’Dor, Dino Djulbic and Arthur Tsonis in front of him. South stacked the midfield with youngster Sammy DeVito deployed in an unfamiliar defensive midfield role with Vasilios Natsioulas and Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes playing in the centre of the park. In the wingback roles Ramazan Tavsancioglu started on the right flank and Gianni De Nittis was deployed on the left. Up front Nathan Caldwell partnered last week’s hero Ricky Diaco.

The game started quite openly with Richmond looking to expose South down the right flank and South equally committed to playing attacking football and trying to score goals.

After 13 minutes Moraes unleashed a “daisy cutter” from 25 yards that skimmed just wide.

Three minutes later and a superb precision-based counter from South saw Moraes unleashed in acres of space down the right flank. Moraes managed to square the ball to Caldwell who from the top of the 18 yard area sent his first time strike past the outstretched right arm of Eagles goalkeeper Ivan Tomic who managed to get a glove on the strike but couldn’t prevent the goal.

After South’s bright start Richmond should’ve leveled in the 17th minute when a defensive lapse from South, who were attempting to play the offside trap, saw Henry Fa’arodo released in behind the South defence, after some recovery pressure the ball fell to a Richmond player who from 6 yards out and with a seemingly harder task to miss than score was prevented by a superb save by Anastasiadis.

South had two chances in the 28th and 32nd minutes of play to extend their lead after a Diaco shot on the turn took a wicked deflection and nearly sailed past Tomic whilst four minutes later Caldwell almost doubled his tally with a curling strike destined for the bottom right-hand corner that was well saved by Tomic.

The openness of the game saw Richmond grind out another golden opportunity in the 33rd minute when a cross from the right was met on the near post by an unmarked Fa’arodo, whose flick header sailed narrowly past the back-post.

Richmond deservedly equalized after 39 minutes when Semir Sevic exposed South down the right flank, worked his way into the box and unleashed a stinging cross that cannoned into Arthur Tsonis and flew past Anastasiadis’s near post with the keeper having no chance of stopping such a ferocious deflection.

South started the second half the aggressor with good chances in consecutive minutes. Firstly in the 56th minute some good footwork by Natsioulas created some space with his square ball to Diaco seeing the powerful striker unleash a low drive that sailed just wide.

A minute later Moraes worked a chance for himself in the Richmond box with his eventual strike forcing a great diving save by Tomic.

In the 61st minute Diaco missed a golden opportunity to hand the ascendancy back to South when a class through ball by Djulbic released the South front man down the right hand side of the Richmond penalty area. Faced with only Tomic to beat but with the Richmond keeper positioning himself well, Diaco sent his angled drive just past the right upright.

South’s positive play paid off in the 66th minute after superb work down the right by Natsioulas saw the youngster work his way into the Richmond defensive area. Natsioulas then produced a pinpoint back-post cross that was met by Caldwell who worked a quality cross range header into the bottom right-hand corner to put South back in front and cap off an impressive debut.

Richmond almost exposed South’s shaky defensive play in the 68th minute when Steven O’Dor had the ball ripped from him by Fa’arodo on the edge of the South box. The speedy Eagles striker worked his way towards goal and again from point blank range somehow managed to hit the left upright with South continuing to ride their luck.

Seventy-one minutes had been played when the Eagles managed to draw level. A free-kick from the right was sent deep into the South box with James Baskerville rising above everyone to meet the ball with his head and power past a helpless Anastasiadis on the back post.

For the second time South had squandered the lead but in the 76th minute South would take the lead and keep it for good. South’s linchpin of the past two seasons Brazilian Fernando Moraes stamped his class on the encounter after receiving the ball down the right flank, Moraes worked his way to the edge of the Richmond area whilst skipping past a couple of players and produced a darting low angled strike into the bottom right-hand corner leaving the fully stretched Tomic with no chance.

Moraes should’ve sealed the result in the 88th minute after he was released one-on-one with Tomic down the right flank. Tomic again did well to spread himself and managed to outsmart Moraes who attempted to delicately guide the ball past the Richmond custodian with Tomic comfortably saving.

With the game seemingly won referee Phil Taverna somehow managed to find 6 minutes of extra time. Considering there were no sendoffs and not a great deal of time lost to injury treatment, 6 minutes was extremely excessive.

South nearly paid dearly for dropping their concentration after a 94th minute header sailed just wide with keeper Anastasiadis scrambling and a 96th minute strike from outside the box that rocketed just past the right upright.

Thursday, 8 March 2007 11:38 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne travel to Kevin Bartlett Reserve on Friday eager for a win after a stuttering display in last week’s opening fixture against Heidelberg.

In a game South should’ve won after managing to score three times at home, three defensive errors saw Heidelberg snatch a point and leave the South faithful disappointed.

Conversely, Richmond started their campaign in positive fashion, coming from a goal down against the AIS to snatch a 1-2 win in the dying minutes of the game.

The Phil Stubbins’ coached outfit have a workmanlike squad that doesn’t include many superstar players but under the experience and Premier League know-how of Stubbins, Richmond will no doubt be expected to push for a top six birth.

In midfielder Brendan Beni and strikers Joe Di Iorio and Xhezair Sulemani, Richmond possess a trio of enigmatic players who on their day can have great influence on matches.

Sulemani was on the score sheet against the AIS whilst Di Iorio moved to Richmond in the off season after spending last year at Kingston. Di Iorio was instrumental in Richmond’s promotion from State 1 two seasons ago and returns to the club looking to fulfill the promise he showed as a youngster which saw him win a contract with German Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen.

In the South camp, no injuries were sustained in the match against Heidelberg with Coach John Anastasiadis unlikely to make major changes to the lineup.

Defensive off-season recruit Frank Drakopoulos did show great enthusiasm and spirit when he was brought on last week and may have perhaps worked his way into Anastasiadis’s plans with the likes of Tansel Baser suspended and the continuous injury cloud hanging over Con Blatsis.

Encouraging for South was the breathtaking debut of new striker Ricky Diaco, Diaco lit up Bob Jane Stadium with a stunning strike after only three minutes and finished the game with two goals after scoring an equalizer late on.

Diaco’s physical presence and finishing ability are exactly what South has been missing over the past two seasons and after such a promising and dynamic start to his career in the blue and white Diaco will be looking to further build on his debut performance.

Monday, 5 March 2007 11:00 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne have escaped with a three all draw after an out-of-character performance from veteran and champion goalkeeper Dean Anastasiadis saw South concede three error-filled goals and hence place itself under pressure after twice taking the lead.

New South recruit Ricky Diaco capped off a superb debut by equalizing in the dying minutes of the game to add to his wonder goal after three minutes. Vasilios Natsioulas grabbed the other goal for South.

Injuries and suspension meant the Champions didn’t have some key players at their disposal. Nevertheless Coach John Anastasiadis still sent out quite a strong lineup.

In goals veteran custodian Dean Anastasiadis took his customary position. In the centre of defence Dino Djulbic and Steven O’Dor formed a formidable partnership with Ramazan Tavsancioglu and Sammy DeVito playing in the right and left-back roles respectively. In the centre of the park, new Scottish recruit Billy Jones played in the defensive midfield position with Brazilian maestro Fernando Moraes in an attacking midfield role. Out wide, Vasilios Natsioulas started on the left wing with youngster Nick Curtis on the right. Up front, South started with new signing Ricky Diaco and promising young striker Gianni De Nittis.

South began the game very strongly, playing a very slick and direct game, however, no South fan present could’ve predicted the astonishing start to his blue and white career that Ricky Diaco was about to make. After Tavasancioglu surged forward down the centre of the park and played the ball into Diaco, no-one was expecting the giant forward to turn and latch onto a tremendous 25 yard, 3rd minute strike that gave Bergers keeper Pasi Schwalger absolutely no chance as it crashed into the bottom left-hand corner. It was truly a world-class strike and one of the best seen at Bob Jane Stadium.

Diaco nearly added a second a minute later after an excellent move by South down the right flank ended up with Moraes squaring the ball to Diaco who perhaps took a touch too many and was closed down by a superb tackle by Berger defender Daniel Jones just as he was about to shoot.

South continued to turn it on and in the 16th minute more great interplay this time saw Natsioulas released down the left. The South winger played the ball square to Moraes who unleashed a stinging drive from outside the box that Schwalger failed to glove with the ball rebounding through the middle of the Heidelberg box. De Nittis latched onto a volley – from just outside the box – that seemed destined for the top-right hand corner off the boot but was unfortunately smothered by a Bergers’ defender.

Seemingly against the run of play Heidelberg equalized in the 18th minute. South conceded a dangerous free kick on the far left side on edge of their defensive area. Up stepped Heidelberg set piece specialist Nick Sabljak who managed to get his shot over the wall, but without much venom behind it, it seemed a relatively easy save for Anastasiadis. However and unfortunately for South, the ball seemed to bounce in front of Anastasiadis just as he tried to glove it and bounced off his chest, into the upright and then scrambled over the line.

South quickly re-grouped and re-took the lead on 20 minutes after Moraes found some space on the right flank and sent a decent ball into the Heidelberg box. The United defence struggled to convincingly clear with the ball eventually falling to the back post where an alert Natsioulas was on hand to comfortably head past Schwalger and return the initiative to South.

The South faithful could not believe what unfolded next as Sabljak again, this time from 25 or so yards out sent another free kick over the South wall and this time past a diving Anastasiadis who managed to get a glove onto the ball but could not prevent it from trickling into the bottom right corner.

The South players and faithful were stunned after completely dominating for the opening 20 or so minutes yet still conceding two goals without the Bergers actually getting in behind the South defensive line.

The second half began with most of the sting taken out of the encounter. Heidelberg on the back of Sabljak’s goals had slowly started to get more of the ball with the match now evenly balanced.

South missed a golden opportunity in the 55th minute after Diaco played in Moraes down the right side of the Heidelberg box. Moraes had only Schwalger to beat but was faced with a tight angle, his eventual angled drive sailed narrowly over the crossbar with Schwalger perhaps getting a fingertip onto the strike.

Two minutes later and Heidelberg’s tactic of playing with a lone striker paid off after a superb searching ball by Sabljak eluded the South defence with nippy winger/striker Andy Vlahos latching onto the ball. South keeper Anastasiadis appeared to misread the situation, coming out immediately with Vlahos rounding him with ease and tucking into an empty net to give the Bergers the ascendancy.

Sensing a valuable three points Heidelberg Coach Con Pappas stacked his defence and looked to hold onto the result. For the most part the tactic worked with South appearing to lack ideas when going forward. South did however have a genuine claim for handball in the 69th minute after a Moraes cross from the right appeared to hit the hand of a Berger defender but the referee waved play on.

Coach Anastasiadis was forced to change things around and take some risks. He sent on off season recruit Frank Drakopoulos with the soldier-built defender trying to spark some positiveness into South’s play. The move seemed to work with Drakopoulos bringing some much needed energy into South’s game.

With time running out South equalized after a looping through ball was poorly dealt with by the Heidelberg defence. The ball fell to Diaco inside the box and on a slight angle with the South marksman making no mistake in comfortably slotting the ball past a fully stretched Schwalger and into the bottom left hand corner in the 86th minute.

It was a lucky escape for South who after starting the game so well where let down by defensive lapses, nevertheless with Diaco making a superb debut and a point gained John Anastasiadis’s men can take some positives out of the game.

Wednesday, 28 February 2007 9:51 AM

The VPL 2007 season kicks off with the now regular opening fixture between Australian football heavyweights South Melbourne and Heidelberg United. The Bob Jane Stadium clash is likely to attract a bumper crowd.

South in particular, have assembled a squad full of depth and experience that appears to have achieved the crucial balance of experience and youth.

With players such as Trent Waterson, Yusef Yusef, Nathan Caldwell and Ricky Diaco signing over the summer, Coach John Anastasiadis has at his disposal his strongest squad to date since being at the helm of Australia’s most decorated club.

South has managed to retain the services of most the key members from last season’s Championship triumph. South best and fairest winner Fernando Moraes, fresh from signing a new two year deal, will no doubt be out to re-affirm his status as one of the most exciting and talented players in the State.

Moraes joins the likes of Dean Anastasiadis, Con Blatsis, Tansel Baser, Ramazan Tavsancioglu, Vasilios Natsioulas, Arthur Tsonis and Gianni De Nittis as core Championship winning players who will no doubt play a massive role in South’s plight this season.

Encouraging for South has been the pre-season form of new signing and VPL Player of the Year in 2005, Ricky Diaco, who in 3 starts for the club has managed to score 3 goals whilst providing a bustling physical presence up front, not to mention managing to show a tremendous understanding
with Brazilian Moraes.

In the Heidelberg camp, the most notable signings added to Coach Con Pappas’ squad are ex-South Melbourne midfield hard-man George Goutzioulis as well as experienced Premier League goalkeeper Pasi Schwalger who has moved from Green Gully in the summer to no doubt take the keeping duties
from the brilliant Lou Acevski who after years of service with Heidelberg has gone to the Preston Lions.

Both teams will be eager to start the season positively and with a big crowd expected and many quality players on show, a fascinating and exciting encounter awaits.

South Melbourne FC v Heidelberg United
Date: Sunday 4th March
Venue: Bob Jane Stadium
Kick off: 6pm

For more information please contact Jim Marinis, media spokesperson on 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au

Monday, 26 February 2007 1:35 PM

By Petros Kosmopoulos

South Melbourne and Heidelberg share one of the fiercest rivalries in Australian soccer spanning 47 years. They have played some classics, including the 4-2 win South Melbourne recorded in the final of the Southern Division Championship in 1984. Crowds have flocked to these encounters irrespective of the two teams’ respective ladder positions.

It was quite appropriate that Heidelberg United, known in the 1960s as Fitzroy Alexander, provided South Melbourne with its first ever ‘hit-out’ as a club in January 1960, albeit a practice match a few weeks after the Middle Park club was formed. Alexander had been formed a couple of years earlier by the Clifton Hill Social Club, comprising of Greeks from the region of Macedonia, Northern Greece, but wasn’t playing in any official competition. On the day, Alexander ran out winners 3-2. It would take Alexander 13 years before it would defeat South Melbourne again. In that period South Melbourne dominated their league and cup encounters and even recorded thumping wins, including a 7-3 win in 1966 with Greek superstar and AEK Athens great Con Nestoridis as captain/coach and a 7-1 win in 1970.

In their 69 derby games between 1960 and 1992, South Melbourne defeated Heidelberg 35 times, lost on 19 occasions (those defeats were experienced primarily in the late 1970s and early 1980s) and they shared the points 15 times. In that period, they had only recorded a scoreless draw 4 times. Of the 213 goals scored, South Melbourne scored 122.

Their first official game in 1964 in the State League of Victoria as described by Sporting Globe:

Hellas scored first at 32 minutes, when Kosmopoulos, from the goal line, found a gap in the Alexander defence and passed to Papadopoulos in front who scored.

Alexander replied at 43 minutes when Mastrovasilis scored from a penalty.

One minute later the Kosmopoulos-Papadopoulos combination struck again for Hellas, when the small Greek inside right picked up a pass three yards out and scored.

Alexander put up a good fight in the second half but couldn’t break through the strong Hellas defence.

TEAMS:

SM: Vamvakas, Kalogyrou, Mantarakis, T. Xanthopoulos, Ieremiadis, Pyrgolios, Papadopoulos, Adams, J. Anderson, Bedford, Kosmopoulos

ALEXANDER: Service, K. Xanthopoulos, Glennie, McLaughlin, Petridis, Gikas, Mangopoulos, Hasty, Spiridakos, Rakovalis, Mastrovasilis, Hatzigeorgiou.

Sunday, 25 February 2007 10:52 PM

By Michael Tsoukalis

South Melbourne enters the 2007 Premier League season with undoubtedly one of the most talented squads ever assembled at the elite state league level.

A squad bristling with Australian representation, national league experience and some of the best young talent in the country has been assembled by coach John Anastasiadis and the South Melbourne Football Department with the view of entertaining and securing a 2nd consecutive Premier League championship.

We took a closer look at the players, noting some of their footballing achievements and representative honors.

Starting in goals South can rely on dual Premier League goalkeeper of the year Dean Anastasiadis. A player who has represented the Australian senior team as well as spending countless years in the National League and winning a national Championship with the Wollongong Wolves.

South has a tremendous amount of depth in its defensive stocks, depth that would be the envy not only of the Victorian Premier League but perhaps even A-League clubs.

Colossal defender Con Blatsis has played in the English Premier League for Derby County as well having a long stint in the Turkish league. A representative of Australia at under-23 level, Blatsis when fit is still one of the best defenders in Australia.

Blatsis’s experience is matched by Tansel Baser who after many years plying his trade in Turkey was inspirational in leading South Melbourne to last year’s championship. Baser has also played for the Australian under 23 team.

Ramazan Tavsancioglu the versatile wingback who can also play in the centre of defence burst onto the local scene in 2005 with a superb debut season for South after spending a couple of seasons in Turkey. Tavsancioglu also managed to secure a short-term deal with the Melbourne Victory towards the end of the inaugural A-League season, starting in 3 games.

In Arhur Tsonis South possess a lion-heart defender who ever since moving to South Melbourne from Whittlesea in 2005 has developed his game tremendously, figuring prominently in forming the best defence in the 2005 season and recently being selected by coach Phil Stubbins to represent Victoria on the yearly Asian Tour.

South’s defensive young guns are some of the brightest defensive prospects in the country. Steven O’Dor returns from a year with the AIS that saw him break into the Australian under-20 squad as well as finish the year off playing 4 games for the New Zealand Knights in the A-League.

Dino Djulbic has already agreed to a contract for the upcoming A-League season with the Perth Glory with the ball playing centre back, who is tremendous in the air, tipped to play at least half a season for South this season.

Sammy DeVito presents a rarity in the Australian football scene, a naturally left-footed left back who after switching from the VIS and the South youth team has effortlessly adapted to Premier League football, being a consistent fixture in the South starting eleven over the past two seasons.

Jasper Valentijn is a Dutch youngster who has been signed this season to add depth to the South defence. Showing quite some promise during pre-season, Valentjin like many youngsters at South will hopefully develop his game and eventually push for a first eleven position.

Spotted playing State 2 for Clifton Hill last season, Frank Drakopoulos has been signed as defensive cover but has shown during pre-season that the he can comfortably handle the jump in plying standards. Drakopoulos is a well-built and aggressive defender who plays with his heart on his sleeve.

In the centre of the park South have 2006 club best and fairest winner and Brazilian maestro, Fernando Moraes. Moraes also finished 3rd in the overall best Premier League player of the year award, even though he missed a fair chunk of the season trialing overseas. The Brazilian has played futsal for Corinthians back in Brazil and finished 2006 with a stint with A-League club the New Zealand Knights.

Out wide Vasilios Natsioulas is an extremely talented and silky winger who featured regularly in the last 2 seasons for the Melbourne Knights in the National Soccer League. If Natsioulas can avoid injury, the South flyer can take the Premier League by storm.

Recent signing Trent Waterson is regarded as one of the brightest midfield talents in the state. Crossing over from the Sunshine Georgies, Waterson almost won a contract with A-League based club the Queensland Roar last season with his signing denied after coach Miron Bleiberg resigned. Waterson can create from out wide as well as get his name consistently on the score sheet.

Andrew Bourakis is an exciting and versatile midfield youngster who spent a couple of seasons at the Panathinaikos academy. Bourakis is renowned for his set-piece taking ability and adds depth to the South squad.

The versatile and extremely talented Yusuf Yusuf is guaranteed to excite South fans throughout the coming season. After crossing from Heidelberg, the enigmatic striker who can also play out wide is one of the most technically gifted players in the State and spent a great part of 2005 training with A-League club the Melbourne Victory.

Rounding up South’s midfield line is youngster Nick Curtis who managed to break through and secure himself a respectable amount of first team appearances last season. Curtis was largely deployed on the wing but is a natural central midfielder and gives Coach John Anastasiadis further flexibility in the centre of the park.

Up front, Nathan Caldwell has crossed from the Melbourne Knights this season and is a proven goal scorer at this level scoring 8 times for the Knights last season. Caldwell is expected to challenge for a starting eleven birth and adds depth to the South attack.

Exciting youngster Gianni De Nittis burst onto the scene in 2006 with 8 goals, 3 in the finals campaign, after being handed a first eleven role with the departure of Kevin Nelson and skipper Vaughn Coveny. A very gifted player technically, De Nittis will be out to confirm his status as one of the most exciting young forwards in the country.

Crossing over from the Bulleen Zebras is 2005 Premier League player of the season Ricky Diaco. An immense physical presence up front who is superb on the ground, Diaco was selected for the last Australian Futsal World Cup squad but declined the invitation because of commitments with his outdoor career. An inaugural member of Melbourne Victory’s first ever A-League squad, Diaco will be keen to show the whole of Australia his immense talent.

South have no doubt built a squad which at least on paper will push hard for a second successive crown. With season 2007 seeing many clubs strengthen their playing stocks, South Melbourne FC is well positioned to once again challenge for championship honors.

The South Melbourne FC football family wishes the 2007 squad the best of luck for the upcoming season.

Friday, 23 February 2007 11:03 AM

South Melbourne FC is proud about having passionate supporters of all ages and children are no exception! Young people are the future of every club and South has been blessed with excellent youth programs and exceptional players that consistently achieve results of the highest standard. The club appreciates our younger supporters and acknowledges that they are an important part of the South Melbourne family. As a result, SMFC is working hard to offer those under 16 years of age incentives to sign up for a junior membership in season 2007.

Sunday’s (25th February 2007) FREE Family Fun Day at Bob Jane Stadium is the first opportunity for children to sign up for a junior membership. Junior memberships are also free and the club encourages as many young South Melbourne supporters to sign up as possible. Friends and family are more than welcome to attend the family day and sign up to be a part of the ever-growing SMFC family too!

A junior membership enables quick and easy access to every single South Melbourne home game in 2007. In addition, the member will receive an invitation to a clinic held on the famous Bob Jane Stadium pitch, led by South’s Victorian Championship winning players.

Another exciting opportunity that junior members can expect this year is an entry into a draw to be the team mascot for a home game. This will allow the lucky recipient the opportunity to:

* Spend some time in the South changing rooms before the game, soaking up the atmosphere and hearing coach John Anastasiadis’ team talk;
* Lead the team out onto the pitch with captain Dean Anastasiadis;
* Be a part of the team photo and receive a copy signed by every player!
* Flip the coin to start the match between Dean and the opposition captain;
* Spend the match on the SMFC bench on the sidelines.

Every entry into the Team Mascot draw will also be in the running to be ball boys/girls at SMFC home games.

Junior members are encouraged to sign up before Round 1 for the chance to win one of these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities when SMFC kicks off their 2007 season against traditional rivals Heidelberg United on Sunday March 4.

For more information on junior memberships please contact George on 0423 906 411.

Conditions: Junior Members must be under the age of 16 as at 1st January, 2007

Tuesday, 20 February 2007 12:50 PM

With football the talk of the town this week, join in the hype at a free event where Melburnians can soak up some great football atmosphere.

South Melbourne FC – located at Bob Jane Stadium in Albert Park – is holding their Family Day on Sunday, 25th February, on the grounds overlooking the lake.

Some of the best players in Victoria will be there running a clinic for juniors, and a whole host of fun activities are planned for children and adults alike. There’ll be food and drinks available, so come on down and see the wonderful facilities that Bob Jane Stadium has to offer.

As the reigning champions of the Victorian Premier League, SMFC has a great history, both as a club and as a team.

South Melbourne cordially invites the community to come along, have some fun, and support a club that has been an important part of the sporting and social fabric of Victoria for nearly fifty years.

. 9am – SMFC U/21s v SMFC U/18s
. 11am – SMFC Seniors v Brunswick City
. Clinics
. Face Painting
. Rides

For more information please contact Nicki on 9645 9797 or media@smfc.com.au

Monday, 19 February 2007 12:12 AM

South Melbourne FC continues its aggressive push into maintaining the quality of its playing stocks going forward with a further 5 players who participated in last year’s Vodafone Cup triumph signing on for a further two years.

Ramazan Tavsancioglu, Tansel Baser, Sammy DeVito, Gianni De Nittis and Andrew Bourakis have all penned new two year deals which will secure their services to South Melbourne to at least the end of the 2008 season.

Tavsancioglu, Baser, De Vito and De Nittis were all regular first eleven starters last season with the players showcasing the undoubted unity that has been achieved under Coach John Anastasiadis by committing their immediate futures to the club.

Tavsancioglu experienced A-League football last season whilst Tansel Baser was an outstanding servant of the NSL before spending numerous seasons in Turkey. De Nittis and DeVito represent two of the best young players in Victorian if not Australian football with both producing performances of immense maturity over the last two seasons. Finally, Bourakis showed glimpses of his quality last season and adds further depth to South’s squad with his ability to play in the centre of the park or out wide, not to mention his quality at set pieces.

The above mentioned players join Fernando Moraes, Ricky Diaco and Yusuf Yusuf as players who have recently committed to the club for the next two years.

Friday, 16 February 2007 10:34 AM

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce Brazilian maestro and South Melbourne 2006 best and fairest winner Fernando Moraes has penned a new two year contract with the club.

Moraes has been a revelation since making his debut for South during the 2005 season slotting into a free-roaming attacking midfield role and terrorizing defenses with his ability to take on players as well as create and score goals. Moraes finished with 12 goals last season, many of which were decisive in South’s push towards the championship.

The silky midfielder also finished third in Vodafone Cup “Gold Medal”, which recognizes the most outstanding player in the competition, even though he missed a significant chunk of games whilst trialing overseas.

Furthermore, the Brazilian’s talents were spotted by A-League club New Zealand Knights during the current season with Moraes managing a handful of appearances for the club and thus joining the ever-growing list of current South Melbourne players with top-flight experience.

With the confirmation of Moraes’ signing South Melbourne FC further confirms its commitment to keeping its best players at the club whilst seeking to improve its squad at all times.

The South Melbourne FC football family wishes Fernando a successful 2007 campaign.