Background
Formed 1959
The club was formed in 1959 with the amalgamation of three struggling Melbourne football clubs South Melbourne United, the
oldest of the three clubs with a history dating back to the early 1900s, the
Greek-backed Yarra Park Aiantas, and Hellenic. In recognition of the large
Greek support base of Hellenic and Yarra Park, which were also the
best-supported of the three clubs, the new club was named South Melbourne
Hellas, the name by which it was to be known for the majority of its first 40
years. The first emblem reflected the colour scheme of the Flag of Greece. The first uniform was that of South
Melbourne United, which consisted of white with a red 'V' around the collar.
Later on they would adopt predominantly blue and white strips, with various
designs throughout the seasons, with the most common being a predominantly royal
blue strip.
South Melbourne won the Victorian First Division (North)
championship of 1960, the clubs inaugural year of competition. The club was
promoted to the Victorian State League First Division the following year, where
it finished fifth in its first year. The club won the division championship in
1962, 1964, and 1965. In 1965 there was a significant increase in crowd
attendances (more than double) and a fourth league title in 1966.
South Melbourne missed out on the title by a point in
the 1971 season, edged out byFootscray JUST,
but they went on to win the championship in 1972. The club continued its
successful run with the 1974 title, second place in 1975, and capped off its
final year in the Victorian State League by winning the 1976 championship.
South Melbourne joinedMooroolbark,Heidelberg United, andFootscray JUST as
Melbournes participants in the newly-formedNational
Soccer League (NSL) in 1977. A mass exodus of its best players
(Armstrong, Bourne, Mackay, Walker), saw the team slump to 11th place in its
inaugural year, but a recruiting drive by coach Dave McClaren gave the club a
respectable third in 1978. It wasnt to last. South Melbourne finished at the
bottom of the league table in 1979.
South Melbourne climbed theNSL ladder in the early part of the decade but it
failed to make any significant impact. South Melbourne finished first on the
league ladder in 1984, but in a newly-restructured NSL competition, it also had
to win the finals series to win the title. The club powered past local rivalsHeidelberg United in the Southern Division
play-offs, and edged outSydney
Olympic in the
Grand Final to win the 1984 national championship.
In 1985, South Melbourne could not repeat the success of
the previous year. Despite finishing in first place, it was knocked out of the
finals series by local rivalsBrunswick
Juventus andPreston Lions. The team
put in some memorable performances as the decade came to a close, finishing in
the top half of the league table, but failed to win another championship. The
club won the NSL Cup tournament in 1989-90, as well backing up their 1988Dockerty
Cup win with victory in the 1989
tournament.
The
club's change of fortune continued next season, with the club winning its second
national championship, beating Melbourne Croatia on penalties after a tense 1-1
score line in normal time. The feat could not be repeated the next year as the
club was eliminated by eventual premiers
Adelaide City in a Preliminary Final.
The 1992/93 season saw the club finish first on the
points table during the regular season. South Melbourne was again eliminated
during the finals series by Adelaide City and Marconi-Fairfield, the latter
inflicting a 7-0 thrashing. In 1993/94, the club finished second, but failed yet
again to progress to the Grand Final, courtesy of Melbourne Croatia and their
nemesis, Adelaide City. For the 1994/95 season the club finished sixth on the
ladder, but was eliminated again in the Preliminary Final by the Melbourne
Knights. The 1995/96 season saw South miss the finals for the first time
since 1989.
In 1996, the club was required bySoccer
Australia, along with clubs all over
the country, to change its emblem and name in an attempt to move football into
the Australian mainstream and away from direct club-level association with its
migrant roots. As a consequence, South Melbourne Hellas reappeared as South
Melbourne Lakers. Its new name and emblem was not well received by many of its
Greek supporters.
The club bounced back in season
1996/97, finishing third on the table and eventually being eliminated bySydney United in the Preliminary Final. The club
capped off the end of the decade with impressive performances, becoming
Australian champions in 1998 and 1999. In the 1998 Grand Final South defeated
league newcomerCarlton 2-1. That win was
followed up in 1999 by a come-from-behind 3-2 win against Sydney United in the
Grand Final. By now, South
Melbourne had dropped the Lakers moniker and become South Melbourne
Soccer Club, and sported a new emblem - the current blue and white
shield with stars (each star representing a national championship). They
followed up their fourth domestic title with the1999 Oceania
Club Championship, a win that qualified them for the2000 FIFA
Club World Championship inBrazil.
Grouped withVasco Da
Gama,Necaxa, andManchester United in the 2000 FIFA Club World
Championships, South Melbourne lost all three games. Despite the losses, the
club gained some respectability amongst its peers with its performance, as well
as some much needed exposure on the world stage, something that had been
severely lacking for Australian football clubs at the time.
On its return from Brazil, South Melbourne failed to
make the finals in the 1999/2000 season, finishing well outside the top six
finals spots. At the end of the 2000/01 home and away season, South had
finished a comfortable 8 points clear ofWollongong, but lost both legs of its major semi
final against the Wolves 2-1, meaning South would have to win the prelimanary
final in order to earn a rematch. South duly did so with a 2-0 victory over
Sydney Olympic, but in the grand final put in a lackluster performance, once
more losing 2-1.
Prior to the start of the 2001/2002 season, South
suffered a major blow as Petersen, along with several players including
Boutsianis andAndy
Vlahos left to join theFootball Kingz. The young squad that
remained struggled, occupying the bottom rungs of the table half way through the
season, before the return in controversial circumstances of Boutsianis sparked a
major revival, which saw the club finish fifth in the standings, eventually
being eliminated by eventual championsOlympic Sharks in the finals.
In the 2002/03 season the club failed to reach the
finals by a point. The 2003/04 season saw the club finishing fifth, eventually
being eliminated by a penalty deep into extra time againstAdelaide United in what turned out
to be South's final game in the NSL.
Entering theVictorian Premier
League in 2005 as South Melbourne
Football Club the club reached the Preliminary Final of the VPL, going down to
their old rivals Heidelberg United. In 2006, South finished third on the
table courtesy of a strong home record, including a record 7-0 thrashing of old
foe Melbourne Knights. South eventually progressed to the final by defeatingGreen Gully andAltona
Magic in successive weeks. In the final
itself, once more against Altona Magic, a second half goal by Gianni De Nittis
was enough to see South win the game 1-0, and win their eighth Victorian
championship, their first in 30 years and first since returning to the
competition in 2005. In 2007 South Melbourne had a poor year finishing in 7th
spot missing the finals. After a poor start in 2008 the team moved away from the
relegation zone, but still missed the finals.
