Adelaide City FC
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Full name | Adelaide City Football Club | ||
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Nickname(s) | the Zebras, the Black and Whites, Juventus | ||
Founded | 1946 | ||
Ground | Adelaide City Park | ||
Capacity | 5,500 | ||
Chairman | Angelo Carrozza | ||
Head coach | Paul Pezos | ||
League | NPL South Australia | ||
2023 | 4th of 12 | ||
Website | Club website | ||
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Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community.
Adelaide City is one of Australia's most decorated sides, having been crowned national champion three times. City became one of the founding members of the National Soccer League in 1977, Australia's first national competition of any football code. Only two clubs (South Melbourne and Marconi) have spent more time in the top tier of Australian soccer since national competition began. City competed in the now-defunct NSL for 27 seasons, winning its first title in 1986 under legendary coach Zoran Matić. The club went on to win two more championships under Matić in 1992 and 1994. During its national league stint, City also won the NSL Cup three times – more than any other club – achieving a league/cup double in 1992. In 1987, it became the first Australian club in history to win a continental title when it claimed the Oceania Club Championship.
Adelaide City has historically been one of the most prolific producers of players selected for the
Since it withdrew from the NSL just before the league's final season began in 2003, Adelaide City has competed in the
History
Origins and early years
The club was founded in a back room of the Bailetti sports store on
Juventus began life in the second division of South Australian soccer, winning promotion at its first attempt. However, Juventus was relegated straight back to the second tier in 1947, where it remained for another two years. In 1949, Juventus was promoted again and it has remained at the highest level of South Australian soccer ever since, save for several seasons during the club's
The first of many state championships arrived in 1953. This was followed by another five titles before the end of the 1950s including an unprecedented four in-a-row between 1956 and 1959. Between 1953 and 1959, the club won 106 of 127 games and six of seven championships it contested.[5] An additional three South Australian championships were won in the 1960s and three more titles were won in the 1970s up until 1976. The club's original home was Kensington Oval, Adelaide, then known as Olympic Sports Field.
During the club's formative years, there were already signs of its potential on the national stage. Adelaide Juventus competed in the inaugural
Entering the National Soccer League
In 1977, the club renamed itself Adelaide City and became a founding member of the inaugural
City finished fourth in the first ever NSL season, six points behind eventual champion Eastern Suburbs, later renamed
The second NSL season was less successful for City. They finished 10th in a 14-team competition and drew a crucial game at the end of the season that allowed their biggest rivals, West Adelaide, to claim the title. That final round match, played at Hindmarsh Stadium, attracted a crowd of 16,251.
The club reached the final of the NSL Cup in 1978 but lost to the Lions in Brisbane. The following year, City won its first national level silverware, defeating St George Budapest 3–1 in front of 9554 fans at Olympic Sports Field.[5]
In 1979, City also faced a
City remained a mid-table side for the following few seasons. In 1984, the NSL was expanded and split into Northern and Southern conferences. City played in the Southern Conference, alongside clubs from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.
First national championship
In 1986, the club appointed former player
City then faced Northern Conference champion,
Remarkably, City's first championship side included nine home-grown South Australians in Nyskohus, Paul Shillabeer, Alex Tobin, Charlie Villani, Adrian Santrac, Sergio Melta, Aurelio Vidmar, Steve Maxwell and Joe Mullen.[7]
Championship glory qualified City to play in the first ever
The NSL returned to a single conference, 14-team competition the following season and City disappointed, backing up its championship season with a 10th-place finish. It would not be until the 1989–90 season, when the NSL switched to summertime, that the Adelaide club returned to the finals series. However, they were eliminated at the first hurdle at home by Sydney Olympic.
Golden era
City enjoyed its finest years during the 1990s. The club finished third in the
The following season saw City win its second championship. While the club finished fourth after the home-and-away rounds, its reputation as a finals specialist continued to become stronger. A
Adelaide City narrowly failed to go back-to-back in the
The following season, the Zebras reclaimed their national title. Despite finishing fifth on the table, City was able to reach the grand final by downing powerhouses
The Croatian-backed Knights exacted revenge on City the following season, edging them out by one point to top the table after the regular season. City then beat Knights over two legs in the semi-finals to secure a home grand final. Knights beat their rivals South Melbourne to qualify for the grand final. The patch pit that season's two top goalscorers against one another, the Knights' Mark Viduka having scored 18 goals and City's Damian Mori 17. In front of more than 16,000 fans, the Knights defeated Adelaide City for the first time in South Australia to claim their first national title. Despite the loss, Matić was again named Coach of the Year.
City made the finals in each of the following six seasons but failed to reach another grand final. Its run of 11 consecutive finals series stands as a national record.[9] Damian Mori won the first of his three top goalscorer awards for City in 1996, with 31 goals for the season. His goalscoring efforts also saw him named Player of the Year.
Final NSL years
The club rebranded itself as the Adelaide Force going into the 2000–01 season, in an effort to promote themselves beyond Adelaide's Italian community, from where they had drawn their traditional support. City missed the finals in their first season as the Force and finished second-last the following year, their worst ever NSL season. It was the club's first season without star striker Mori, who signed for Perth Glory after he received an offer to become a full-time professional. Mori remained with the West Australian club until the NSL folded in 2004, after which he returned to City.[10]
Going into the
City's final NSL match saw them beat
On 31 August 2003, after 27 seasons in the NSL, Adelaide City announced its departure from the national league because of financial difficulties.[11] The club returned to only fielding sides in the South Australian state competition the following year.
Return to state competition
City competed in the South Australian competitions even while its senior side played in the NSL. However, after its departure from the national league, City's top side enjoyed a successful return to the state leagues. In 2005, the club won the
Adelaide City completed the treble in 2006 winning three trophies, the pre-season Errea Cup, the
Damian Mori, now coach of City, led the club to its third and fourth straight South Australian titles in the
In 2014, City won the
On 12 August that year, Adelaide City played
City returned to the South Australian National Premier Leagues grand final in 2016 but, despite having topped the regular season table, lost to Campbelltown City and failed to claim its first South Australian championship since 2011.
17 February 2018 was a memorable day in the club history when city rivals South Adelaide were defeated with 10–0.[14]
Colours, badge and nicknames
Adelaide City was founded as Juventus in 1946. To this day, it retains the Juventus, or Juve nickname. Its traditional playing strip harks back to the Italian club's black and white stripes. Because of this iconic design, City have also been known as the Black and Whites.
The club's initial attempt to don the famous black and white stripes of Italian club
When the NSL was formed in 1977, Adelaide City's badge included the Italian tricolour, as well as its now iconic kangaroo and zebra symbol. The tricolour remained until 1996, when governing body
During the 1990s, City was also known for several seasons as the Zebras. The club's logo bore the Zebras moniker for a few seasons after it was forced to remove the Italian tricolour. City then adopted the name Adelaide City Force for its final four seasons in the NSL. During its time using the Force moniker, City added orange trim to its home strip and also used the colour in its away uniforms. Upon leaving the national competition, City ceased to be known as the Force and reverted to its traditional Juve or Black and Whites nicknames and traditional colour scheme.
The club's current logo features a kangaroo and a zebra, paying homage to its Australian and Italian heritage, along with three stars representing each of its national championships.
Stadium
The club plays its home games at Adelaide City Park in Oakden, a suburb 12 km north-east of the Adelaide city centre.
During its National Soccer League days, City first played games at Olympic Sports Field in the inner-eastern suburb of Kensington, before playing at Hindmarsh Stadium – South Australia's purpose-built soccer stadium.
Adelaide City Women
Adelaide City Women is the club's women's team.[16]
Supporters
Adelaide City has traditionally drawn its support from the broader Italian community of Adelaide, South Australia. While based in the north-eastern suburbs, its lengthy history as a National Soccer League side means it has supporters based right across the city. For six seasons, it was Adelaide's only representative at national level.
Rivalries
Adelaide United FC
Not since their induction into the NSL in 2003 & subsequent A-League Men competition has Adelaide United ever faced against City in professional competition. That all changed, when the two teams played against each other in the Round of 16 of the 2022 Australia Cup at ServiceFM Stadium in front of a crowd of 3,327. Both teams played out a 2-2 draw after extra-time with the game going to a penalty shoot-out. United eventually won 4-1 on penalties, with two saves by Joe Gauci preventing City's Jai King & Zak Waters from converting their shots into the back of the net. [17]
West Adelaide SC
The club's greatest rival is
Other rivalries
Adelaide City's other great rivals include the Melbourne Knights. The two sides enjoyed their greatest eras in the 1990s and faced off in three grand finals in four seasons. City won two of those finals, both played in Melbourne, while the Croatian-backed Knights defeated Adelaide City for the first time in Adelaide to win the 1995 championship. The two sides have not played since 2003, when Adelaide City left the NSL. Knights now play in the National Premier Leagues Victoria.
During its time in the NSL, City enjoyed hard fought, healthy rivalries with the league's other traditionally big clubs, Greek-backed South Melbourne and Sydney Olympic, Italian-backed Marconi and Croatian-backed Sydney United.
Since returning to the South Australian competition, City's biggest rivals have included other Italian-backed and north-eastern suburbs clubs,
Players
Current squad
- As of 6 March 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Managers
- Edmund Kreft (1977–78)
- Les Scheinflug (1978)
- Rale Rasić (1979–80)
- Bob D'Ottavi (1981)
- John Perin (1982)
- Robert Ferguson (1983)
- Edmund Kreft (1984–85)
- Zoran Matić (1986–95)
- John Perin (1995–96)
- John Nyskohus (1996–98)
- Zoran Matić (1998–02)
- Charley Villani(2002)
- Bob D'Ottavi (2002)
- Zoran Matić (2002–03)
- Damian Mori (2005–09)
- Charley Villani(2010)
- Damian Mori (2011–18)
- Michael Matricciani (2019–2020)
- Paul Pezos (2020–present)
Honours
International
- Oceania Club Championship
- Winners (1): 1987
National
State
- South Australian First Division Championship[18]
- Winners (19): 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1974, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2021, 2022
- Runner-up (16): 1950, 1952, 1955, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1976, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018
- South Australian First Division Premiership[18]
- Winners (3): 2008, 2016, 2022
- Runner-up (2): 2005, 2011
- South Australian Second Division Championship[19]
- Winners (4): 1946, 1949, 1987, 1999
- Runner-up (2): 1982, 1983
- South Australian Third Division Championship[20]
- Winners (1): 1978
- Federation Cup[21]
- Winners (18): 1953, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1976, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2014, 2022
- Runner-up (8): 1951, 1967, 1968, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021
- First Division Cup[22]
- Winners (4): 1953, 1955, 1956, 1959
- Runner-up (1): 1952
- Second Division Cup[22]
- Runner-up (2): 1946, 1949
- Third Division Cup[22]
- Winners (1): 1978
- Top Four Cup[23]
- Winners (3): 1971, 1972, 1973
- Runner-up (2): 1970, 1976
- Night Series[24]
- Winners (18): 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1967, 1974, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1991, 1992 March, 1992 September, 1994, 1995, 2006
- Runner-up (5): 1966, 1968, 1972, 1982, 1983
- Pre-Season Cup[25]
- Winners (5): 1955, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1963
Divisional history
See also
References
- ^ Greenwood, Rob. "SA statistician Andrew Howe launches Encyclopedia of Socceroos ahead of Russia 2018 World Cup". The Advertiser. News Corp. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
- ^ "A history to be proud of". Adelaide City FC. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- ^ "FOOTBALL FEDERATION SA HALL OF FAME Alphabetical listing and profile – precis of all inductees" (PDF). Football Federation South Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2018.
- ^ a b c d "How soccer giant Adelaide City was born". The Advertiser. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
- ^ a b c d "Adelaide City history". OzFootball. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
- ^ "Goal machine attracted new fans". The Advertiser. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
- ^ "Adelaide City – SA's most successful soccer club – is back in business on the national stage". The Advertiser. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ "1993-94 Season Playoff Results". OzFootball. Retrieved 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
- ^ "History - Adelaide City Football Club". adelaidecityfc.com.au. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- ^ "Simon Hill chats to Damian Mori about his career in the NSL and A-League and his coaching ambitions". Fox Sports Australia. 29 January 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
- ^ "A-League: Adelaide marks a decade United". abc.net.au. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
- ^ "Uni student Thomas Love sinks the Wanderers". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "FFA Cup: relive all the action in the round of 32 of Australia's knockout soccer competition". foxsports.com.au. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ "Adelaide City - South Adelaide 10:0". www.flashscore.com. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
- ISBN 9780702259685.
- ^ "Womens". Adelaide City Football Club. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
- ^ "Adelaide City v. Adelaide United". 4 August 2022.
- ^ a b "National Premier Leagues South Australia Champions". socceraust. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022.
- ^ "State League 1 South Australia Champions". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
- ^ "State League 2 South Australia Champions". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Federation Cup Finals". socceraust. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022.
- ^ a b c "Other Major Cup Winners". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Top Four Cup Winners". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Night Series Winners". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
- ^ "Pre-Season Cup Winners". socceraust. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021.
External links
FIFA Oceania Club Championship 1987 Winners |
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Adelaide City First title |