Category: News

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the deadline day signing of striker Billy Konstantinidis ahead of the commencement of the 2019 NPL Victoria season.

Melbourne-born Konstantinidis arrives at Lakeside Stadium following a 14-year professional playing career in Greece representing Aris, Veria, Iraklis, Panserriakos and Lamia. He also had a short stint for Japanese club Ventforet Kofu.

Standing at 191cm, Konstantinidis provides SMFC Head Coach Con Tangalakis with a natural and powerful centre-forward with a proven goal-scoring record over the past decade.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Senior Football Manager Peter Kokotis was pleased to have such an established player join the club. “I’ve known Billy for many years and have seen his career progress over that period. He’s a proven goal scorer with a huge presence on the park and experience in a top-flight European league. We look forward to his arrival as we begin finalising our squad ahead of our opening NPL Victoria match next Friday night.”

SMFC welcomes Billy to the club and wishes him well for the 2019 season.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce that Sky Jensen has joined the club for the 2019 NPLW Victoria season.

21-year-old Jensen joins the club following a stint in South Australia with Salisbury Inter in the National Premier League.

Victorian Football followers would know Jensen from her time with NPLW clubs Heidelberg United, Geelong Galaxy and Melbourne Victory in the W-League. She also had stints with Senior NTC, Altona City and Boroondara in the Women’s Premier League, where at the Eagles she won silverware for the first time in the form of a Premiership and Team App Cup double.

As a calm and composed central defender with experience at the top level in the state, Jensen will add strength to the SMFC back four.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Women’s Football Director Gabrielle Giuliano welcomed Jensen to the club. “SMFC is excited to bring in a footballer with Sky’s credentials into the club. Having a taste of W-League action, combined with NPL experience in both Victoria and South Australia provides us with an exciting prospect that adds to our defense.

SMFC welcomes Sky to the club and wishes her all the best for the 2019 season.

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm changes to our 2019 NPLW Victoria​ coaching structure, appointing Mick Gallo as the club’s Senior Coach.

Gallo will replace previously announced Senior Coach Angelo Koutos, who has resigned from the role following an increase in personal commitments.

Mick is intimately familiar with South Melbourne having served as our NPLW Technical Director during a very successful 2018 season. He worked with both Socrates Nicolaidis and Angelo Koutos at senior level last season and will be well suited in continuing our development of our younger players and giving opportunities to play senior football.

Mick’s experience throughout Victorian football has prepared him well not just for this role but also to continue to guide the ongoing growth of womens and girls football. Prior to his role with the club, he was the Technical Director at NPL club Avondale and has held numerous football related coaching roles throughout the past 5 seasons and clubs including with Avondale, Point Cook and North Geelong.

He will be joined by Sebastian Sztormowski who has been appointed as Senior Assistant coach. Sebastian has a wealth of experience at both NPL and Community level, including youth coaching roles with Avondale, Melbourne Knights, Preston Lions and Brunswick City.

The club is also pleased to welcome back Melissa Lee as the Senior Team Manager/ Coach Assistant. Mel joined the club for the 2018 season and has grown into an integral part of our NPLW senior team and club as a whole.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Head of Women’s Football Gabrielle Giuliano was excited for the season ahead. “We are pleased to appoint Mick to the position of Senior Team Coach and are really excited with what the season can bring us. Mick has been instrumental in further developing the women’s side of the club and has a great amount of experience already at NPL level. We think that Mick, along with the new coaching staff can continue to drive the professionalism and standards to a high level for not only our senior team but the entire female program.

I would also like to personally thank Angelo Koutos for his efforts in 2018 and would like to wish him all the best for any future endeavours”.

Our senior women under Mick Gallo will commence the season away to Southern United on Saturday February 23rd.

South Melbourne FC is pleased to announce the signing of Canadian Ethan Gage ahead of the 2019 NPL Victoria season.

The hardworking defensive midfielder played a pivotal role for the Bentleigh Greens throughout their 2018 campaign. Notably, Gage was outstanding throughout the cup competitions for the Greens, starting in their Dockerty Cup final win and playing a leading role in the big win over the Wellington Phoenix in the FFA Cup proper.

He had represented Canada at Under 20 level prior to arriving in Australia and his previous clubs included Nyköpings in Sweden, Bærum in Norway and Vancouver Whitecaps back home in Canada.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Senior Football Manager Peter Kokotis was pleased with the acquisition. “Ethan was tremendous in his time with the Greens last season and we expect him to play an important role in the midfield for us in 2019. His experience, mixed with his ability to read the play, will be an asset for Con Tangalakis in our new-look midfield.”

South Melbourne FC welcomes Ethan to Lakeside and wishes him all the best for the 2019 season.

South Melbourne FC is excited to announce the signing of Greek defensive midfielder Kostas Stratomitros for the 2019 NPL Victoria season.

Stratomitros has spent the last three seasons at the Oakleigh Cannons, where he was previously managed by current SMFC coach Con Tangalakis. He was in Oakleigh’s starting eleven in their 3-2 loss against SMFC in the 2016 NPL Victoria Grand Final and his versatility and ferocious nature saw him cement a regular first team position at Jack Edwards Reserve.

Stratomitros had a short stint with Springvale Aris prior to joining Oakleigh and had also previously spent five years at Greek club Zakynthos in the Greek Second Division, where he was coached by former SMFC NSL Championship player Joe Palatsides.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC Senior Football Manager Peter Kokotis was pleased with the club’s new acquisition. “Kosta is a tough, experienced and hardworking defensive midfielder who we think will add quality to that area of the park. His time with Oakleigh has shown that he has the right attributes to perform at a high level in this league. He also has the ability to play in numerous roles on the park, which will be a bonus for Con Tangalakis and his squad.”

We welcome Kostas to the club and wish him well for the upcoming season.

South Melbourne FC confirms the departure of two-time SMFC championship winner Tim Mala ahead of the 2019 NPL Victoria season due to increased work and family commitments.

Mala arrived at Lakeside Stadium from Dandenong Thunder in July 2013. He made his debut against Bentleigh on 21 July 2013 and went on to represent SMFC in 116 league/finals matches, with 135 competitive SMFC appearances in all competitions.

His playing honours during his time at SMFC include being a starting member in two NPL Victoria championships (2014, 2016), the NPL Victoria premiership (2015), the Dockerty Cup (2015) and the FFV Community Shield (2015). Individually, Tim won the SMFC Players’ Player of the Year in 2014 and – due to being a championship player – is an automatic SMFC Hall of Fame & Life member. He also played a part in the club’s media team and was a true gentleman who always put the interests of the club before anything else.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, SMFC President-elect Nicholas Maikousis thanked Tim for his time with the club. “Having known Tim and his family for over 20 years, we were very fortunate to have such a quality and selfless individual represent the club over the past six seasons. He was an integral part to our success and as such will be always welcomed back at the club as a Hall of Fame member and dual championship winner. He has always lead by example. We wish him all the best for the future both on the pitch and through his exciting new business ventures”.

Also speaking to smfc.com.au, Mala thanked the fans and the club. “South Melbourne FC has become nothing short of a second home to me over the last six seasons. I feel truly blessed to have experienced and been apart of all the highs and lows the club has endured during that time. I walk away with pride knowing I gave everything out on that field as I represented this great club. At South Melbourne we saw well deserved success and I am forever grateful for our loyal management staff and supporters who rode all the bumps with us along the way. A special thanks to everyone involved at the club for making the highlights in my football career an unforgettable time. Thank you for the lifelong friendships created and the memories that I will cherish for years to come. I love this club and wish nothing but the best for its future.”

We thank Tim for his service to the club and wish him all the best for the future.

Decision on South Melbourne FC bid for A-League expansion

To all players, parents, members and supporters,

Today at 11:49am I was contacted via phone by FFA Board Chairman Chris Nikou and FFA CEO David Gallop. I was advised one Melbourne-based bid was selected for an expanded A-League licence and this was the Western Melbourne Group. The full details on the A-League expansion was announced at an FFA media conference at midday today.

We are naturally disappointed the decision made by the FFA Board did not include South Melbourne to receive an expansion licence at this time. We are however cognisant of the Board’s difficult position making a decision considering the strengths of the various bids.

We are confident South Melbourne FC is and will remain a viable option for an A-League licence in the future. The preference of the Western Melbourne Group means our main supporter base and catchment area in the south and south-east of Melbourne remains unaffected by the expansion announcement today. We feel South Melbourne FC will continue to be an option for further expansion in the future.

We look forward to engaging with FFA Board members and management in the coming weeks and months to better understand the opportunities available to the club to further strengthen our position for the next round of A-League expansion.

We are a club with a proud 60-year history and we plan to be around beyond another 60 years. We will always embrace an ethos which embraces multicultural diversity, equally embraces women’s, men’s and youth development and encourages an environment where any club in the country can aspire to and reach the highest level in Australian football.

Our efforts to this point have been building for fourteen years and more specifically over the last twelve months. Investment has been made in resources to present our bid and these will not have been wasted as the club is in a stronger position as a result. As the only bid with an operating club and football department, we are able to capitalise on these efforts effective immediately.

I would like to acknowledge the contribution on my fellow bid team members and the leadership they have shown in this journey. I would also like to thank the broader South Melbourne family and the ongoing commitment of our players, parents, members and supporters who have and will continue to serve the club for years to come.

We recognise the positive and engaging support the South Melbourne FC community has provided throughout this process. We look forward to their unified voice supporting the club and our teams throughout 2019 and beyond. We will now turn all our attention to the coming season and continuing our success both on and off the pitch.

Whilst today was not our day, our time will come. We are here. We are ready. We are South Melbourne.

Regards

Bill Papastergiadis
Chairman, South Melbourne FC

Striker Kelsey Minton aims to lift silverware and score goals at Lakeside Stadium as she joins our Premiership Senior Women’s team.

Kelsey has played senior football in Victoria since an early age. She started in the Women’s State League with Casey Comets before making the move to Berwick City where she played alongside recent signing, Goalkeeper Erin Hudson.

At Berwick City, Minton had a break out year in 2015 scoring 22 goals and securing the State League 2 South-East Golden Boot helping earn the team promotion to the top level of Victorian football. The following year Kelsey once again appeared at Medal Night when she shared the State League 1 Golden Boot having scored 17 goals.

Minton joined the NPLW from 2017 onwards starting with Alamein FC where she has spent two years.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Women’s Football Director Gabrielle Giuliano said “Kelsey is a dynamic and aggressive forward and she will give coach Angelo Koutos many options in the attacking third. I am looking forward to watching her settle in and make the most of the fast quality surface we have at Lakeside Stadium.”

Kelsey joined the squad this week as a part of pre-season training at Albert Park under coach Angelo Koutos.