Adelaide City FC


Adelaide City Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League and currently competes in the National Premier Leagues South Australia.
The club was founded in 1946 by Adelaide's Italian community, who named the club Juventus. Adelaide City was one of 14 founding members of the National Soccer League in 1977 and competed concurrently in every edition of the competition before withdrawing a few weeks before the beginning of the league's final season. The club is one of Australia's most successful, their first major silverware coming in 1979 when they defeated St George in the NSL Cup final. Under legendary manager Zoran Matić, they won three National Soccer League titles in 1986, 1992 and 1994, alongside two further cup wins in 1989 and 1992. The club also became the first Australian representative to win a continental title, when they defeated Mount Wellington on penalties in the 1987 Oceania Club Championship final. City is also the most successful club in South Australian competitions, winning 19 first-division titles and 18 Federation Cups, including five in a row from 1969 until 1973. The club reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural FFA Cup, which included a 1–0 over A-League side and reigning AFC Champions League champions, Western Sydney Wanderers, in the round of 32, becoming the first member federation club to defeat an A-League club in the competition.
Adelaide City has historically been one of the most prolific producers of players selected for the Australian national team, with the club providing the third most Socceroos of any NSL club behind Marconi and South Melbourne; notable Adelaide City players who have gone on to represent Australia include John and Ross Aloisi, Aurelio and Tony Vidmar, Sergio Melta, John Perin, Milan Ivanović, Bugsy Nyskohus and Alex Tobin. Former City NSL striker and current coach Damian Mori holds the record for the most goals scored in the national domestic league with 240 – 131 of which were scored in City colours. Tobin holds the record for playing the most senior games in Australian domestic competition with 522, including 436 for City.

History

Origins and early years

The club was founded in a back room of the Bailetti sports store on Hindley Street, Adelaide by the shop's owner Mario Bailetti and a small group of former members of a club called Savoia. Supported primarily by members of the city's Italian community, the club was originally called Juventus after the Italian club in 1946 and subsequently renamed Adelaide Juventus in 1960. Bailetti served as chairman for the first 14 years of the club's existence and, after also serving in senior executive roles with the South Australian Soccer Federation, later had the western grandstand of Hindmarsh Stadium named in his honour.
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 National Soccer League stint. Early star players included Italian post-war migrant Fulvio Pagani, a fullback who was also selected for the Australian national team.
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 the seven championships it contested. 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 Australia Cup in 1962, finishing third in the national knockout tournament. Its cup run produced wins over eventual national league rivals, Brisbane Azzurri and Sydney Hakoah, before it was denied a place in the final courtesy of a 3–0 loss to St George Budapest in front of 5000 spectators at Hindmarsh Stadium. Juventus reached the semi-finals of the Australia Cup again in 1963, this time having its final hopes dashed by eventual champion Port Melbourne Slavia. The club competed in all but the last edition of the tournament in 1968 but never again progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

Entering the National Soccer League

In 1977, the club renamed itself Adelaide City and became a founding member of the inaugural NSL competition; Australia's first national league of any football code. The team was captained by Frank Lister, who was later inducted into the South Australian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004. The club's inaugural NSL coach was Edmund Kreft. Roger Romanowicz, Ron Fraser, Fred Yung, Zoran Matić, Lister, John Perin, David Leane, Sergio Melta, Brian Northcote, John Nyskohus and Gary Marocchi started for the Black and Whites in their first-ever national league clash, a 0–0 draw against the Brisbane Lions at Olympic Sports Field, watched by 6320 people.
City finished fourth in the first-ever NSL season, six points behind eventual champion Eastern Suburbs, later renamed Sydney City. One of the main proponents of the NSL concept, City recorded the league's highest average attendance of 7400 in its first season. The club was also responsible for bringing one of the new league's star recruits to Australian shores in former Celtic striker Dixie Deans, who topped the goalscoring charts in the inaugural NSL season with 16 goals. The Scottish international signed on a $25,000 contract and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 derby win over West Adelaide in front of 12,000 fans. Deans remained with City until 1980. One of the club's other highlights from the first NSL season was a 10–3 win over Victorian club Mooroolbark. The game remains the only time an Australian club side has scored 10 goals in a national league match.
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.
In 1979, City also faced a New York Cosmos side featuring Dutch star Johan Neeskens and German legend Franz Beckenbauer in a friendly at Olympic Sports Field, which attracted a crowd of more than 28,000.
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 Zoran Matić as its new coach; a decision that would lead to the side becoming a powerhouse for more than a decade. City reached the finals that season for the first time after finishing third in the southern conference. In a qualifying final, City travelled to Melbourne and beat second-placed Footscray JUST 3–2. They backed up that win by returning to Melbourne and defeating Southern Conference champion Brunswick Juventus 2–0 in the semi-finals. The Southern final pit City against Footscray JUST again and the club won its third straight finals clash away from home, 2–1.
City then faced the Northern Conference champion, Sydney Olympic, at Hindmarsh Stadium in the first leg of the NSL grand final. Despite losing 1–0 in front of 12,232 home fans, City travelled to Sydney the following week and defeated the Greek community-backed Olympic 3–1 at Parramatta Stadium to be crowned Australian champions for the first time. The club's first championship captain Bugsy Nyskohus also became the first player to play 300 NSL games.
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.
Championship glory qualified City to play in the first-ever Oceania Club Championship in 1987. In reality, the tournament was a one-off game for City, which faced off against 1986 New Zealand National Soccer League winners University-Mount Wellington. In front of 3500 fans at Hindmarsh Stadium, City beat UniMount on penalties after a 1–1 draw, Mullen having scored the home side's goal. The Oceania championship would not be held again until 1999.
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 1990–91 season, four points behind Melbourne Croatia. In the finals, they faced South Melbourne Hellas away from home, losing 4–2 in Melbourne. City, which had a double chance due to its top three finish, rebounded and beat Marconi-Fairfield 1–0 at home thanks to a 93rd minute Joe Mullen goal. However, in the preliminary final, South Melbourne's Paul Trimboli scored the only goal to break City hearts. South went on to win the grand final on penalties against arch-rivals Melbourne Croatia. City's season was recognised with individual awards to its star defender, Milan Ivanović, who was named NSL Player of the Year after arriving from Yugoslav giants Red Star Belgrade, and Coach of the Year Zoran Matić.
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 Carl Veart goal gave the Zebras a 1–0 win over Wollongong City at Hindmarsh. Veart then scored twice away from home, including an extra time winner, against Sydney Olympic. Goals from Veart, his fourth of the finals campaign, and rising star Ross Aloisi gave City a 2–0 win over South Melbourne at Olympic Park. A 0–0 draw in the grand final against Melbourne Croatia went City's favour, as they won on penalties to claim their second NSL title. Croatia had lost two grand finals in two years on penalties to rival clubs.
Adelaide City narrowly failed to go back-to-back in the 1992–93 season, losing the grand final 1–0 to Marconi after finishing third on the ladder. City had defeated their biggest rivals West Adelaide and South Melbourne to reach the decider.
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 Sydney United, Marconi and South Melbourne. Its biggest finals performers included a young Damian Mori, who went on to become one of Australia's greatest ever goalscorers, Brad Hassell and Tony Vidmar. City faced the Melbourne Knights in the grand final at Melbourne's Olympic Park. Mori scored the only goal of the game, giving City their third championship against his former club, which had now lost three grand finals in four seasons.
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. 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.