Category: News

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm that it has signed 25 year old Brazilian Oliver Minatel for the 2018 season.

The attacking midfielder joins us following a time in the highly regarded PSV Youth System, as well as throughout the USA and Canada, where he last featured for the Richmond Kickers in 2017. He also had stints prior with Ottawa Fury and Puerto Rico FC, while also spending time in Portugal’s top division for Nacional. Through his time in Portugal’s top flight, he broke into the senior team playing numerous matches in the top European league and making an immediate impact. This included being selected as part of the Europa League squad.

His ability to play in any position throughout the attacking third, as well as his eye for goal and blistering pace is something that appealed to new coach Sasa Kolman.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was once again pleased with the acquisition. “We are excited to welcome Oliver to Australia, and to our club. We hope to see him link with our already potent front third throughout the upcoming season. With his experience and ability, we are hoping he can make an impact both by creating and by finding the back of the net himself.”

We wish Oliver all the best for his time in Australia and SMFC.

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the signing of central defender Christos Intzidis.

The Greek defender joins us following over 100 professional matches in Greece’s top two divisions, including with both PAOK and Aris of Thessaloniki.

An extremely strong defender both in the air and with the ball at his feet, Intzidis will link up with Kristian Konstantinidis to form a formidable central defensive combination.

Speaking to smfc.com.au Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was excited with the signing. “Christos joins us with a large amount of experience in Greece’s top flight including with PAOK and we are excited to bring him to Melbourne. His size and ability on the ball will make him a fantastic acquisition and someone we can have across our back four.”

We welcome Christos to the club and wish him the best for his time with the club.

Photo: Tony Margaritis

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the re-signing of Leigh Minopoulos head of the 2018 NPL Victoria season.

Minopoulos has been a vital component of South’s attacking third since joining in 2014, playing 115 matches in all competitions and scoring on 33 occasions.

The life-long South fan and former junior player has also been involved in both the 2014 and 2016 NPL Championship wins, as well as playing a large on-field role in our 2015 Dockerty Cup win. He would also be the only South player to have scored against an A-League side in the FFA Cup in our Semi Final defeat at home to Sydney FC in 2017.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was pleased with the re-signing. “Leigh has been a large part of the club for the past 4 seasons and we are naturally pleased to have a player with his ability and leadership qualities re-commit to the club for the upcoming season.”

We welcome Leigh back for 2018 and wish him all the best for another season in blue and white.

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm the addition of defender Marianna Anthony ahead of the 2018 NPLW Victoria season.

Marianna rejoins the club following a stint with Alamein, playing in 25 matches during the 2017 season in the heart of defence. She will return to her previous home
at Lakeside Stadium, where she was a part of South’s 2014 and 2015 WPL Championship triumphs.

As well as her defensive ability, she is also experienced at this level and very calm on the ball when moving forward.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Women’s Football Director Gabrielle Giuliano was pleased with the signing. “We are excited to welcome back a familiar face to the club and someone who will assist us in defence for the upcoming season.
She’s a fantastic young girl, who we hope can play a role alongside some familiar names in the back half.”

We welcome Marianna back to the club and look forward to seeing her in Blue and White again in 2018.

South Melbourne put three past Chinese Super League opponents Guangzhou R&F F.C. last night at Lakeside Stadium.

In a unique opportunity for the NPL Victoria side, it took only ten minutes for Milos Lujic to draw blood against Guangzhou.

Iqi Jawadi continued his impressive pre-season form, winning the ball in the middle of the park and releasing Nick Epifano. The midfielder did well to draw the attention of oncoming defenders, finding Jawadi again who set up Lujic for the opener.

A familiar combination would rekindle between Lujic and Andy Brennan, with South fans excited to see the pair linking in a similar fashion as they did only a few seasons ago.

Brennan continued to be involved in the play, and was the catalyst behind the second goal of the evening.

After the eventual goalscorer, Kristian Konstantinidis, disrupted a Guangzhou attack, the defender would stay upfield as Matthew Millar broke forward. His pass out to the right wing found Brennan, who’s cross found the head of Konstantinidis for a well-worked second goal ten minutes before the break.

The game was put to bed with Brennan himself getting amongst the goals, with Millar finding the striker beating the offside trap just after the hour mark. A confident finish a sign of big things to come in his second stint at the club.

Nick Epifano would again cause chaos amongst the Guangzhou defenders moments after, as he looked to set up Brennan for a second, in an attempt that was well foiled by the goalkeeper.

A final flurry of chances would fall to the visitors, however Alastair Bray stood strong to maintain a clean sheet.

Head coach Sasa Kolman was impressed with his sides performance on the night, but was quick to play down the occasion as he spoke to SMFC TV post-match.

“It’s only a pre-season game. We had certain tasks today. The boys executed them perfectly, I’m really proud of them,” Kolman explained.

In his first interview, he expressed his delight with being named the new head coach after his first full week in the position.

“How am I feeling? Very simple. This is the club I love… I’m privileged and honoured to be at the helm of this club.”

South Melbourne FC confirms that right back Tim Mala will be taking a year off from top-flight football in 2018 due to increased work 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 105 league/finals matches, with 124 competitive appearances for the club 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 member. He also played a part in the club’s media team, with his very popular “Minute with Mala” segment on SMFCTV.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis thanked Tim for his time with the club. “While we are disappointed not to have Tim around for this season, we would like to wish him all the best for the upcoming year with his personal ventures. He’s a person that is loved around the club and we will certainly miss his presence around Lakeside Stadium and within our change rooms”.

Also speaking to smfc.com.au, Mala thanked the fans and the club. “It’s been a great time in my life and I am very thankful of the good times. With some increased commitments in my personal life it made it hard to continue for the upcoming season, so i will step away for a year and see where we are at in 12 months time. I’d like to thank the club for its understanding and for the past 4 years, it certainly is a place that has given me many memories and somewhere that feels like a second home. I would also like to thank the supporters for all their amazing support over that time, while i am around this year i will be one of you and continue to support the boys and club.”

We thank Tim for his service to the club and wish him all the best in the next 12 months.

South Melbourne FC would like to confirm that it has re-signed Championship Winner Iqi Jawadi for the 2018 season.

Jawadi returns to the club following 18 months away, having stints at both Oakleigh Cannons and Dandenong Thunder. Prior to this, he played in 95 matches for South, scoring on 9 occasions and being an integral part of the 2014 NPL Victoria Championship win and 2015 Dockerty Cup win.

After performing well and training extremely hard throughout the pre-season, Jawadi has been offered a place on the club’s senior roster by Sasa Kolman. He is expected to play a role in the midfield and link up with former teammates Nick Epifano and Andy Brennan.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director Nicholas Maikousis welcome Iqi back to the club. “Iqi has had a fantastic pre-season and his attitude towards being part of the group throughout the last few months has been extremely positive. We hope that he can re-capture the form that saw him as one of the key members of our championship winning squad in 2014. He has much to prove to himself and to all those around him at the club, so we look forward to what the season brings for Iqi.”

We welcome Iqi back to the club and wish him all the best for 2018.

South Melbourne FC are excited to welcome Guangzhou R&F ​FC to Melbourne. The Chinese Super League club are holding their pre-season trip in Melbourne and have selected the club’s Lakeside Stadium as their training base.

Bill Papastergiadis, Head of the A League Bid for South Melbourne announced “South Melbourne FC has been selected to partner with Guanzhou R&F FC thanks to the club’s world class facilities at Lakeside Stadium, the international recognition of the club’s brand and our work in the establishment of the Australia China Football Development Association.”

Bill said “We are hosting a formal dinner for government and community dignitaries to welcome the club demonstrating how our international partnerships and football can bring together members of the business community to benefit sport, trade, culture and tourism for both China and here in Melbourne”

South Melbourne FC and Guangzhou R&F FC will share the facilities at Lakeside Stadium over the coming weeks as both clubs undertake pre-season training and match preparation.

The teams will participate in a joint training match and then on Thursday 8th February will play in a friendly match at Lakeside Stadium. Details for the friendly match will be released over the weekend.

Bill Papastergiadis said: “Our partnership with the Chinese business and football community continues to strengthen and grow each year. Establishing the Australia China Football Development Association has played a large role in this. Our youth coaching staff have recently returned from delivering a coaching conference in Jinshan for seventy local coaches. I have also just returned from Shanghai this week having met with Victorian Commissioner Tim Dillon looking at opportunities to build closer bonds with our business and football network in China.”

“South Melbourne has been at the forefront of football development for the game as a whole and for senior and junior footballers for many decades. We are now taking this experience and technical capability to the international stage. This is yet another example of the clubs maturity, depth and readiness to play on the national level here in Australia in the A-League.”

South Melbourne FC confirms that popular goalkeeper Nikola Roganovic has retired.

Roganovic, a former SMFC National Youth League championship winner in 2004, returned to Lakeside as a proven top-flight goalkeeper in January 2015. He kept a clean sheet in his first competitive game for the club in February 2015 and went on to represent SMFC in 82 league/finals matches (keeping 30 clean sheets), with 101 competitive appearances (37 clean sheets) across all competitions.

He was in between the sticks for South’s 2015 Premiership and Dockerty Cup triumphs (keeping a clean sheet in the 3-0 Dockerty Cup final win over Oakleigh) and made several excellent saves in SMFC’s 2016 NPL Victoria Grand Final triumph over Oakleigh. Individually, he won the SMFC Players’ Player of the Year in 2016 and, having been part of a championship with the club, is an automatic SMFC Hall of Fame member.

Speaking to smfc.com.au, Football Director NIcholas Maikousis thanked Nikola for his outstanding service. “We would like to thank Nikola for his efforts while with the club, where his performances in goals were an integral part of the club winning numerous trophies during that particular period. His ability to also positively engage with the supporters was also a highlight of his time at the club and we will miss seeing him representing the South family. We wish him and his family all the best for the next phase of his life.”

Roganovic was also thankful for his time at the club. “To play for South was a dream come true and it was a wonderful experience to be part of the club that i wanted to play for as a kid. I would like to thank everyone at the club and our wonderful fans for all the support throughout my time at Lakeside. As a fan, i now wish the club the very best for the upcoming season and will be watching closely.”

SMFC would also like to thank Nikola for his service to the club.