Melbourne Knights
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Melbourne Knights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Full name | Melbourne Knights Football Club |
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Nickname(s) | Knights, Croatia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Founded | 1953 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ground | Melbourne Croatia Sports Centre (also known to fans as 'Somers Street') |
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Capacity | 15 000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chairman | Stan Bilić | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manager | Chris Taylor | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
League | VPL | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VPL 2006 | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Melbourne Knights is a football (soccer) club representing Melbourne in the Victorian Premier League (VPL), and is a two-time championship winner in the now defunct National Soccer League (NSL). The club is based in the western suburbs of Melbourne and draws much of its support from the Croatian community.
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[edit] History
The club was founded in 1953 by a small group of Croatian immigrants, and was originally known as SC Croatia. An initial difficulty in fielding teams led SC Croatia to recruit players from various other suburbs of Melbourne, and from outside the city via trips to north-eastern Victoria. Despite these initial difficulties, the club quickly became successful, making its debut in the Victorian Soccer League on 10 April 1953, and winning the Division 1 championship in 1959.
The club subsequently joined the National Soccer League, changing its name to Melbourne Croatia and then to Melbourne Knights as a result of Soccer Australia's bid to remove overt ethnic references from Australian football. It played in the National Soccer League from 1984 until that league's demise in 2004, and has now returned to the Victorian Premier League.
The club's identification with its Croatian roots remains strong. It is a regular participant in the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament, and its accomplishments can be likened to that of Canada's Toronto Croatia.
Notable former players for the Melbourne Knights include: Mark Viduka, Danny Tiatto, Josip Šimunić, Joel Porter, Frank Jurić, Francis Awaritefe, Mark Talajcic, Tom Pondeljak, Joey Didulica, Ivan Kelic, Andrew Marth, Ljubo Milicevic, Branko Milosevic, Damian Mori, Vaughan Coveny.
[edit] Honours
- Australian Champions 1994/95, 1995/96
- Australian Cup Winners 1994/95
- NSL Minor Premiers 1990/91, 1991/92, 1993/94, 1994/95
- Victorian Champions 1968, 1978, 1979,
- Dockerty Cup Winners 1969, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1985, 1990
[edit] International Players
The club has produced many players who have gone on to be Australian internationals, along with several Croatian internationals. These include:
- Billy Vojtek - Australia - 44 Caps - World Cup 1974
- Vilson Knezevic - Australia
- Joseph Spiteri - Australia
- Mark Viduka - Australia - 35 Caps - World Cup 2006
- Danny Tiatto - Australia - 23 Caps
- Frank Juric - Australia - 4 Caps
- Josip Simunic - Croatia - World Cup 2002, 2006
- Josip Bacak - Australia
- Joey Didulica - Croatia - World Cup 2006
- Mark Talajic - Australia - 1 Cap
- Steve Kokoska - Australia - 1 Cap
- Eddie Krncevic - Australia - 35 Caps
- Paul Lewis - Australia - 6 Caps
- Jimmy Mackay - Australia - 52 Caps - World Cup 1974
- John Markovski - Australia - 20 Caps
- Andrew Marth - Australia - 21 Caps
- Damian Mori - Australia - 42 Caps
- Ken Murphy - Australia - 42 Caps
- Steve Horvat - Australia - 32 Caps
- Yaka Banovic - Australia - 8 Caps
- Francis Awaritefe - Australia - 3 Caps
- Zeljko Adzic - Croatia - 1 Cap
- Tommy Cumming - Australia - 11 Caps
- Alan Davidson - Australia - 77 Caps
- Fausto De Amicis - Australia - 5 Caps
- Branko Milosevic - Australia - 15 Caps
- Jeff Olver - Australia - 53 Caps
- Robbie Dunn - Australia - 38 Caps
- Tom Pondeljak - Australia - 4 Caps
- Joel Porter - Australia - 10 Caps
- Jim Campbell - Australia - 8 Caps
[edit] Individual Awards
Johnny Warren Medal - NSL Player of the Year
- 1989/1990 - Zeljko Adzic
- 1991/1992 - Josip Biskic
- 1993/1994 - Mark Viduka
- 1994/1995 - Mark Viduka
Coach of the Year
- 1993/1994 - Mirko Bazic
NSL Top Goal Scorer
- 1993/1994 - Mark Viduka
- 1994/1995 - Mark Viduka
Sam Papasavas Award - Under 21 NSL Player of the Year
- 1993/1994 - Mark Viduka
- 1994/1995 - Mark Viduka
NSL Goalkeeper of the Year
- 1995/1996 - Frank Juric
Joe Marston Medal - NSL Grand Final Man of the Match
- 1990/1991 - Joe Biskic
- 1994/1995 - Steve Horvat
- 1995/1996 - Andrew Marth
[edit] Current Squad - 2006 VPL Season
- 1. Adrian Cagalj (C)
- 2. Ivan Klarica
- 3. Goran Talevski
- 4. Tom Milardović
- 5. Stefan Piorkowski
- 6. Josip Kozić
- 7. Darijo Matković
- 8. Daniel Rocco
- 9. Marco Maisano
- 11. Hrvoje Matković
- 12. Ryan Casey
- 13. Neven Antić
- 14. Craig Elvin
- 15. Luke Slater
- 17. Andrew Barišić
- 19. Boris Radman
- 20. Davor Filipović