| Full name | Northcote City Soccer Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | City, Hraklis |
| Founded | 1960 |
| Ground | John Cain Memorial Reserve, Thornbury, Victoria (Capacity: 5,000) |
| Chairman | Jim Makrozahopoulos |
| Manager | Peter Tsolakis |
| League | Victorian Premier League |
| 2009 | 1st - Champions Victorian State League 1, promoted |
| Website | Northcote City Club home page |
| Current season | |
Northcote City Soccer Club is a football (soccer) club from Thornbury, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, that currently plays in the Victorian Premier League. The club was formed in 1960 by local Greek Australians. This club was known as Princes Park Hercules during the 1960s and 1970s. It also competed in the old Victorian State League and played against Heidelberg United Alexander in 1988 who eventually won the league title in that year. The club have only competed in the Victorian Premier League once prior to 2010, in 1991, from which they were relegated.
They became champions in 2008 winning the state league division 2 S/E. In 2009, they were promoted to the Victorian Premier league from the Mens State league Division 1 along with Bentleigh Greens SC, finishing 1st that year.
Their coaching staff for season 2010 in the Victorian Premier League are, Senior Coach (former National Soccer League of Australia footballer) Peter 'Gus' Tsolakis, Senior Assistant Coach (former VPL footballer) Alex Gymnopoulos and their U21/Reserve Coach is former Scottish Premier League & National Soccer League of Australia footballer George Campbell.
In 2011, Northcote won the inaugural Mirabella Cup, their first Victorian top-level silverware.
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Northcote City SC was formed in 1960 by a group of Greek migrants new to Australia with a passion for sport and a need to form friendships in a new country, with soccer being the major connection. Northcote City SC is the third oldest Greek club in Victoria behind South Melbourne FC and Heidelberg United FC and in its formative years the club fielded teams not only in soccer but also in Volleyball, Basketball and Table Tennis. The club has enjoyed varied success since its formation and has the Dockerty Cup and Hellenic Cup to its list of achievements as well as reaching the Victorian Premier League (the highest League in Victorian football). A milestone in the club’s history was moving to John Cain Memorial Park in 1979, which even today is considered one of the state’s best football venues. In its formative years, the club was known as Hercules before adopting the Princes Park Hercules name given that it was playing at Princes Park, before changing venues to Fairfield Park in 1977 and adopting Collingwood City as the club’s new name. The new name was to only last a short time however and in 1980 the club clinched a significant breakthrough by negotiating with the Northcote City Council a move to John Cain Memorial park and another name change for the club with Northcote City SC the new identity. With John Cain Memorial Park being used extensively for Lawn Bowls competitions, international cycling events in the new velodrome and the State Football Centre used for training and matches, it gives our club tremendous exposure and facilities to the broader sports community To this very day it is still the club’s home and name. The club first gained promotion into the Victorian Soccer Federation leagues in 1964 after competing in the amateur competitions in its formative years. In 1965 it achieved its first ever championship winning the Metropolitan League Division 4, suffering only one loss for the year. In a somewhat golden era for the club, consistent finishes in the upper reaches of the ladder, saw the club achieve a second championship in the 60’s with the Metropolitan League Division 3 title won in 1969. The early to mid 70’s saw the club struggling to make an impression on Metropolitan League Division 2 until a wonderful 1977 campaign saw the club finish second to Doveton and thus gain promotion to Metropolitan League Division 1 for the first time in its history. Another top 4 finish in 1980 saw the club achieve the ultimate and win promotion to the Victorian State League, which would later become the Victorian Premier League. The 1980s were not kind to the club and many bottom half of the table finishes ultimately saw the club relegated in 1991 back to the State League Division 1 competition.
The 1990s were not much kinder when a Victorian Soccer Federation restructure in 1999 saw the club relegated to State league Division 2 despite finishing 5 places form the bottom of the ladder. If the 1980 and 90’s were not kind to the club, then the first decade of the new millennium is arguably the greatest in the club’s rich history. An undefeated Championship success in 2002 in State League 2 North West saw it regain its standing in State League Division 1, a feat that lasted only until 2006. However the undoubted turning point came in 2007 when Peter Tsolakis was appointed coach of the club and after a mediocre first year at the helm, back-to-back championships in State League Division 2 South-East in 2008 and State League Division 1 in 2009 saw the club regain its status to the Victorian Premier league in 2010, coinciding with its 50 year anniversary.
Below is the 2010 Northcote City Senior playing squad who currently play in the Victorian Premier League:
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Head Coach: Peter Tsolakis
Assistant Coach: Goran Lozanovski
Goalkeeping Coach: Robert Graskoski
Team Manager: Konstandinos Fotiadis
Below is the 2011 Northcote City U21/Reserve playing squad who currently play in the U21/Reserve Victorian Premier League:
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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