Wednesday evening saw a squad of 22 players stride on to the pitch at Lakeside for the first pre-season friendly against Box Hill United. It was an opportunity for the players to stretch their legs under match conditions and for the coaching team to further evaluate those trialing to make the final squad.
The friendly comprises three 30 minute sessions enabling Chris Taylor to consistently rotate the squad and test various structures to see how players reacted in the different formations. It was the same for Box Hill United coach Greg Kassidas who also made use of a multitude of players off the bench are they prepare for their 2016 NPL2 campaign.
The result was a 2-2 draw with South Melbourne’s first goal scored by trialist Atilla Ofli before he backed it up again with an assist providing Leigh Minopoulos the opportunity to chip the rushing keeper to level the scores. Another highlight of the session was a classy penalty save by new goal keeper Zaim Zanelli.
Zaim Zanelli show his class with this penalty save
Talking to smfc.com.au after the match, coach Chris Taylor was asked about the purpose of the friendly so early in the pre-season. “It was about getting some miles in the legs and get a little bit of the rustiness out of the system. There is nothing specific to work on out there other than getting people into shape. Some players had 20 minutes whilst others had longer” he said.
Taylor was also observant of some of the trialists saying “it puts them under a little bit of pressure and lets them express themselves so it helps us see where their strengths and weaknesses are. We use them to keep our players in shape as well”.
The team will travel to the Veneto Club on Monday 21st December to take on FC Bulleen Lions who are preparing for 2016 having been promoted from the NPL this year. Kick-off is at 7:30pm.
New Kiwi signing Jason Hicks talks structure and tactics with Christ Taylor immediate after the match
South Melbourne FC wishes to advise of the following staff movements.
Matthew Borowicz has resigned to fulfil a lifetime ambition in coaching overseas. Over the last four years, Matthew combined being an SMFC Youth Coach with being the club’s Youth Coordinator and running the administration. He has been given a massive opportunity to coach professionally in Paraguay and he leaves SMFC with everyone’s best wishes.
Despina Bastas has rejoined SMFC in a combined role of Corporate Events and Administration Manager. Despina was previously involved at the club between 2011 and 2012 in the medical department for the Seniors and the Under 21s. She has already made a flying start, organising the successful Gala Ball and Corporate Cup events that were recently held. Despina will also cover the departure of Matthew Borowicz by looking after the Youth Administration.
David Schwerdtfeger joined SMFC as a volunteer in 2014 and assisted with various duties on match days at Lakeside Stadium. In 2015, he continued his match day duties while also assisting the Operations and Marketing teams. He has been appointed as the club’s Marketing Coordinator and has already hit the ground running by securing several Corporate Partners for the 2016 season.
John Kyrou has moved from the Administration Manager role to a combined role focussing on the club’s media and history. John has co-hosted SMFC TV and South Radio for the last six years and will continue to do so in 2016. He will play a bigger role in our expanding media team and has recently begun a long-term project with SMFC TV Producer Paul Zarogiannis (of Gold Leaf Creative) in documenting SMFC’s history from 1959.
George Kouroumalis has been appointed as SMFC’s Operations Manager. George oversees the daily operations of the entire club and actively manages the Media and Marketing divisions. He works with all of the above-mentioned staff and the Board of Management to meet all of SMFC’s ambitions and objectives.
As SMFC continues to grow in leaps and bounds off the field, we are excited to start 2016 with such a committed, experienced and dedicated off-field team in our office.
South Melbourne Football Club (SMFC) is Australia’s most successful football (soccer) club and the FIFA Oceania Club of the Century.
Throughout our 56 years as a club, we have relied on the hard work and determination of our volunteers. With reconstruction of our offices and social room about to get underway, we need you!
We have several opportunities available for volunteers to become involved at the club in the following fields:
• Events
• Media
• Match Day
Ideal candidates will have the following skills:
• Passion for their voluntary field.
• Knowledge of football (preferable though not essential).
• Skills to work as part of a team as well as autonomously.
• Excellent English speaking skills.
• A Working With Children Check (successful applicants can have this obtained through the club if they do not currently have one).
Please do not hesitate to contact Despina Bastas for further details at admin@smfc.com.au or on (03) 9645 9797.
South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that SMWFC’s dual Championship winning captain Alex Cheal has re-signed with the club ahead of the 2016 season.
Alex is a natural leader and a standout voice in the senior playing group. Over the last three seasons, she has captained the side and assisted the coaching staff in maintaining the high standards expected of the SMWFC playing group.
Cheal began her career in the Womens Premier League at 13 years of age, with the Echuca-born central defender offered a contract with Bendigo at the time. Since then, she has developed into a fearless and uncompromising central defender, leading SMWFC to back-to-back Championships during 2014 and 2015.
Speaking with smfc.com.au, Director of Women’s Football Gabrielle Giuliano was extremely pleased with Cheal re-committing to SMWFC in 2016. “Alex completely understands our culture and where we are heading in the future. As the captain and the leader over the past three seasons, she is a fantastic person and someone that represents the South Melbourne brand proudly. She is a loyal and talented footballer and we are elated to have her back in our colours next season.”
Stay tuned to www.smfc.tv for an exclusive interview with our captain over the next few days.
Just a few weeks ago, South Melbourne girls Elwen Parbery and Grace Taranto took to the pitch in Adelaide helping to guide the Victorian Under 13 Schoolgirls to a win in the Pacific School Games. The team swept all before them finishing undefeated at the top of the table.
The tournament is the flagship event of School Sports Australia bringing together some 4,000 students from each state and territory and 12 other countries to participate in 9 different sports.
Parbery and Taranto were selected to represent Victoria at Under 13s level joining players from around the state. NSW and Queensland had won all previous tournaments except for 2014 when NSW and Victoria shared the trophy. The result in 2015 therefore was a significant achievement for the girls and their squad.
The two stand-out matches for Victoria were against NSW where the 3-0 win was the first win over those north of the border in 18 years, and a win over Queensland where the girls came back from 0-2 down inside 10 minutes to win 4-2.
Taranto played as a centre forward setting up multiple goals for the Victorian team and scoring 3 of her own. Parbery also provided a number of assists however her real value came as a defender where her strength across the back ensured Victoria conceded just 3 goals across 6 matches.
Parbery joined South Melbourne Womens in early 2015 making the switch with Technical Director Socrates Nicolaides from Northcote City. She played in the Under 16s which was recognition of her maturity and technical ability and when the fixture allowed she graced the pitch in the Under 12s.
Talking to smfc.com.au, Parbery reflected on the recent success with the state team saying “We had a great tournament winning all games and the tournament. We followed our coach’s instructions and played good football with high pressure and quick passing and worked as a team. Plus we never panicked even when we went 2-0 down against Queensland. We enjoyed ourselves and developed new friendships”.
Elwin Parbery with the Coach and Team Manager of the SSV Girls Under 13 Championship Team
After just a year at South, Parbery will be at a new home in the new year having been selected in the Under 13 squad at the FFV National Training Centre. The opportunities at South will hold her in good stead at the NTC. Talking about her time at South, Parbery said “playing in the Under 16s at South Melbourne this year taught me to be stronger physically and to play faster under more pressure. I think this experience helped me to get into the state team. It is good playing against stronger players to improve your own game. I have improved the way I use my body this year plus first touch, passing and become more confident and aggressive”. Parbery hopes to wear the South Melbourne strip again in the future!
Parbery’s South colleague at the Pacific School Games was Grace Taranto. Grace played in the Under 12 boys team in the National Premier League as part of the squad who finished on top of the ladder. Taranto’s abilities and growth in the game impressed her coach not just on the pitch but also off the pitch.
Youth coach Sasa Kolman spoke with smfc.com.au saying “Grace is a tenacious, aggressive, and very intelligent holding midfielder. She loves to run forward and get involved in attacking actions but exactly knows when is the need to drop back too. Sometimes I feel sorry for opposition when she is playing because she doesn’t let them breathe at all, I absolutely love this kind of player.”
Grace Taranto with Director of Youth Development Andrew Mesourouni and youth Coach Sasa Kolman at the 2015 South Melbourne FC Presentation Night
Kolman also looked back over the year on how Taranto has developed as a young player saying “she was a bit unlucky with an ankle injury which affected here but picked it up again at the end of the season and became a better player. She was faster, smarter more attacking and scored some goals. The opportunity to play in the state representative squad, or at any representative level is always welcome. Playing with and against different kids teaches different styles and techniques, its a great learning processs.”
The Victorian team played six matches finishing undefeated on 18 points, scoring 19 goals whilst conceding just 3.
South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that Mathew Theodore will once again be playing for the club as we enter the 2016 season.
The 26 year old midfielder arrived at Lakeside Stadium from the Dandenong Thunder at the beginning of 2014. He had a very consistent start to his South Melbourne career that season, playing in 29 of South’s 32 matches and scoring six goals.
Theodore spent most of the 2014 off-season recovering from hip surgery. Other minor injuries restricted him to 25 appearances in South’s 37 matches during the 2015 season. Overall he has made 49 league appearances for the club (54 in all competitions) and scored eight league goals (nine in all competitions).
Speaking with smfc.com.au, Theodore was delighted to have extended his stay at the club. “It was very frustrating not being able to do a proper pre-season last season and missing games…my body is feeling good now and I am looking forward to finally having a proper pre-season and a big 2016 season.”
SMFC Football Director Nicholas Maikousis was equally thrilled to have Theodore back for another season. “We really missed Matty during those tight games last season when a player of his class may have made a difference.. I am very pleased that he will be back in 2016.”
South Melbourne FC is excited to announce a partnership with Linebreak that will see the emerging Australian compression supplier become the Club’s Official Compression Partner for the next three seasons.
Linebreak also becomes a Principal Partner of both SMFC Senior teams (men and women), with their players to be fitted in new compression gear from next season.
Linebreak is committed to producing world-class compression garments that assist professional athletes in reaching a new level of recovery and performance. SMFC joins Newcastle Jets (A-League), Adelaide United (A-League), Brisbane Roar (A-League) Queensland Reds and Rugby Union (Super Rugby), and Touch Football Australia as one of the marquee Australian brands associated with Linebreak. The company has also provided garments for a number of football clubs worldwide, including to players from Liverpool, Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and other EPL players, plus a host of other athletes and sports codes locally and internationally.
Speaking with smfc.com.au, Linebreak Managing Director Wilf Robinson was elated to be joining the SMFC family. “South Melbourne is an iconic club in Australian football and we are extremely proud to be on board as the Official Compression Partner for the next three seasons. South’s vision and direction really excites us and we are thrilled to do our bit to support the players and management as the club strives for big things in the near future.”
SMFC Operations Manager George Kouroumalis was equally excited with the new partnership. “We are very proud to partner up with an emerging quality brand for the next three seasons that supports both our Senior men and our Senior women. We are excited to see the product development plans, and the real gains that SMFC players and club members can achieve through use of the Linebreak gear. We are confident that the whole extended SMFC family will be delighted with the access this deal provides. We can’t wait to share those details with our membership in the coming days.”
South Melbourne FC is excited to announce that we have re-signed our 2015 Vice Captain Natalie Martineau for the upcoming season.
Since joining the Club three years ago, the Canadian born midfielder has impressed everyone with her exceptional work ethic and creative play. Natalie was an integral part of SMWFC’s back-to-back WPL Championships in 2014-2015 and continues to provide Coach Socrates Nicolaidis with a strong leader both on and off the park.
Speaking exclusively to SMFC TV, Natalie was excited about continuing her career as a South Melbourne player. “It has been a great three years so far and I am more than happy to extend my career here. With the recent merging of the Mens and Womens clubs to form the one club, it is a unique and exciting time for all our female players to help take South to another level. I am excited to be a part of this and I hope that we can win some more silverware in 2016.”
Newly appointed SMFC Director and Head of Women’s Football Gabrielle Giuliano was also pleased with the first acquisition of the new season. “The calibre of player Natalie is requires her to expect nothing but the best from herself and from her team. She is a professional both on and off the field and we are delighted to have her on board for the 2016 season.”
We wish Natalie all the best for the new season and look forward to seeing her in our new BLK shirt in 2016.
The South Melbourne senior mens team returned to Lakeside on Wednesday night for the first session in their pre-season preparations for 2016. New signings Marcus Schroen, Zaim Zenelli, Jason Hicks and Matt Foschini joined the squad together with a number of players trialling under the watchful eye of Chris Taylor.
The club and Taylor continue to enhance the pre-season program each year and this first session was no different. Twenty four players from the senior squad, Under 20s and those trialling took to the pitch for a variety of fitness exercises and drills throughout the ninety minute session.
Team Physio James Cole spent time working with Kristian Konstantinidis and Michael Eager as they recover from injuries and goal keeping coach Bojo Jevdjevic put Nikola Roganovic, Zaim Zenelli and Rory Brian through their paces.
South Melbourne FC Goal Keeping Coach Bojo Jevdjevic
Chris Taylor spoke to smfc.com.au about the new signings and the squad ahead of the 2016 campaign saying “we are very happy with the new signings. it’s the culmination of two years of work where we have retained the bulk of the squad. We’ve added to it just to top things off and bought in some more quality. I’m still hopefully we use the other visa spot and bring one more player in but its not a case of panicing or anything like that. The way we’ve done it has been a little bit under the radar and like I say our squad now has been two years in the making and not a knee jerk reaction to what happened during the season.”
Stability in the senior squad was noticeable heading into the 2015 season some twelve months ago and was reflective in the dynamics on the pitch and the knowledge in the players teammates and what to expect. This approach is set to continue into 2016 with Taylor explaining “a lot of us felt it was a bit disappointing the way the season ended last year, but if you analyse it winning the Cup and the League it wasn’t that bad an effort. We’ve won the League the last two years so it’s not like you have to go and change the whole squad and bring in new players because you weren’t happy with them.”
“I think there are areas we can improve on and that’s what we are aiming to do. The fact of the matter is these boys have played together and a lot of the other teams out there will have to gel together whereas we have the experience with the bulk of the squad having two years under their belt.”
The players will take a break over the Christmas and New Year period before coming back together for the remainder of the pre-season. A trip away to Sydney is on the cards (details to be released soon) before the club’s first competitive match against Bentleigh Greens in the Community Shield.
Taylor was clear of his vision for player preparation coming into February and the start of the season saying “we are looking to get some kind of consistency with the players so the new boys know how we play and what we want to do. It’s trying to get a consistent level of quality that maybe we didn’t have last year. I thought we ground out games well last year but probably didn’t play as much football as what we would have liked to have done. So its about trying to get the ball on the deck and playing like we know we can and dictating to other teams rather than allowing teams to boss us around a bit.”
The squad continues their pre-season training three days a week at both Lakeside Stadium and Albert Park.
South Melbourne FC confirms that Dimitri Tsiaras has resigned as Assistant Coach.
Dimitri joined SMFC as a player in 2012. He made 34 League appearances (40 across all competitions) and scored one goal. Although he made limited appearances in his final season in 2014, he still played a significant leadership role within the squad as South won the League Championship.
Recognising these leadership qualities, Senior Coach Chris Taylor appointed Dimitri to replace the outgoing Graham Hockless as Assistant Coach in 2015. In yet another successful season, Dimitri assisted Taylor in guiding South to the Community Shield, the Dockerty Cup, the NPL Victoria Premier’s Plate and an appearance in the 2015 NPL Victoria Grand Final.
Dimitri has decided to resign in order to devote more time to his increasing professional work commitments and to support his new family, with his wife due to give birth in 2016. Speaking to the playing group, Dimitri confessed that “with work commitments and a new born on the way, time would be a real issue and I wouldn’t be able to give my all. Best of luck for the new season and I will see you boys from the stands!”
We thank Dimitri Tsiaras for everything he has done for our club and wish him and his family the very best for the future.
An announcement regarding our support staff will be made shortly.
