Sydney Olympic FC

Football club infobox
clubname = Sydney Olympic FC
current = New South Wales Premier League 2008


fullname = Sydney Olympic Football Club
nickname =
founded = 1958
ground = Belmore Sports Ground,
Belmore, New South Wales
capacity = 25,000
chairman = James Kospetas
mgrtitle = Coach
manager = Milan Blagojevic
league = New South Wales Premier League
season = 2008
position = NSW Premier League
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leftarm1=0000cd|body1=0000cd|rightarm1=0000cd|shorts1=0000cd|socks1=0000cd
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=_stripesonwhite|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=CFB53B|body2=CFB53B|rightarm2=CFB53B|shorts2=000000|socks2=######

Sydney Olympic Football Club is an Australian football club based in Sydney, Australia and competes in the Australian State League. Sydney Olympic competed in the National Soccer League from 1977 until the leagues demise in 2004, having won the championship in 1989/1990, 2001/2002, the League Cup in 1980, Minor Premiership in 2002/2003 and won the Cup Winner's Cup in 1983 and 1985. While in the State League, they have won the Johnny Warrern Cup in 2008 and won the League Cup in 1980. The club has also been known as Pan-Hellenic, UTS Sydney Olympic and Olympic Sharks. The club is supported by the passionate Greek community.

History

Foundation in 1958 to relegation from the NSL in 1979

Sydney Olympic Football Club is woven into the history that is Australian soccer and has over the years maintained its status as one of the most respected clubs in Australia's National Soccer League.

Sydney Olympic was founded in 1958 [http://www.sydneyolympic.com.au/ourclub/history/] by Greek immigrants, under the name Pan-Hellenic Soccer Club . The original strip as worn by the club consisted of blue and white vertical stripes. The club quickly became competitive in the New South Wales 1st Division, and also attracted good crowds. The highlight of the pre-National Soccer League era came ten years after the team's founding, when in 1968 they reached the New South Wales First Division Grand Final, eventually going down 4-2 to Hakoah.

In 1977 the club became a founding member of the National Soccer League, and also changed its name to Sydney Olympic. Just two years after the commencement of the NSL, Sydney Olympic was relegated back to the New South Wales First Division after finishing second last in 1979. The relegation was caused in a bid by the league to cut back on teams from NSW, and as Sydney Olympic were the bottom placed NSW team for the 1979 season, were the chosen candidate for relegation. South Melbourne had actually finished at the bottom of the league ladder.

Regaining promotion in 1980, to NSL title in 1989/90

The spell back in State League competition did not last long with Sydney Olympic defeating the Parramatta Eagles 4-0 in the 1980 Grand Final of the New South Wales First Division. That victory secured Sydney Olympic a return to top flight Australian football in 1981 where they remained until the NSL's demise in 2004.

From 1982 to 1992, Olympic finished in the top half on the league ladder for every season. This ten year period included winning two NSL Cups, in 1983 over Heildelberg and in 1985 over Preston, and runner up in two NSL Cups when losing to Adelaide City in 1989 and South Melbourne in 1989/90. This period also saw three Grand Final losses in 1984 to South Melbourne, 1986 to Adelaide City and 1989 to Marconi.

The season following on from Olympic's Grand Final loss to Marconi saw the two teams meet again in the Championship decider. This time, Sydney Olympic had its moment of glory. On May 20, 1990, the Blues defeated Marconi 2-0 before a crowd of 26,353 which was a record to that time in Australian soccer. The two goal scorers on the day for Sydney Olympic were Alistair Edwards in the first half with Robert Ironside securing the season 1989/90 Championship with a goal in the second period.

1990s

For season 1995/96, Sydney Olympic formed a prosperous partnership with the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and became known as UTS Sydney Olympic. During that time, the Club's home ground was Leichhardt Oval.

In season 1995/96 and two seasons earlier in 1993/94, Sydney Olympic went down in the elimination final match of the play-off series.

A change of home ground awaited the Blues going into season 1996/97. Belmore Sports Ground, in the more traditional heartland of Olympic, became the Club's new stable.

In April 1997, Sydney Olympic enjoyed a record home attendance at Belmore of 13,724 against the Marconi Stallions.The Club's worst defeat came in January 1998 when the Canberra Cosmos inflicted an 8-1 loss on Sydney Olympic down in the nation's capital.

Sydney Olympic's biggest win was a remarkable 6-0 defeat of South Melbourne in January 2000 at Belmore Sports Ground.

During season 1998/99 Sydney Olympic was involved in a match which attracted the largest crowd for any regular National Soccer League season match excluding finals. That game was against the Northern Spirit at North Sydney Oval in what was the Spirit's debut match in the National Soccer League. That evening, 18,985 soccer-loving enthusiasts turned out to watch Sydney Olympic defeat new boys Northern Spirit by two goals to nil. Olympic golden boy Chris Kalantzis and Pablo Cardozo were the goal scorers.

Season 2000/01 saw Sydney Olympic finish fourth on the competition ladder. During the play-offs, Olympic made it through to just one game away from a Grand Final appearance, losing by two goals to nil against Minor Premiers South Melbourne in the Preliminary Final in Melbourne in May 2001.

2000-present - Successful last years of NSL and return to State League

The 2000s saw Olympic's fortunes take an upturn, starting with their biggest ever NSL win, a 6-0 defeat of South Melbourne in January 2000 at Belmore Sports Ground. Season 2000/01 saw Sydney Olympic finish fourth on the competition ladder. During the finals, Olympic made it through to the Preliminary Final, losing 2-0 against Minor Premier and eventual runner-up South Melbourne.

Season 2001/02 saw the club move base once again, this time to the Sutherland Shire in Sydney's south, an area with no NSL representation, but a large base of registered junior players to potentially tap into. Olympic played out of Toyota Park. The move had also involved a change of name from Sydney Olympic to Olympic Sharks with the traditional blue and white colours of the club still in place. This season also saw Olympic capture their second NSL title, a lone Ante Milicic goal being enough to defeat Perth Glory at Subiaco Oval in front of 42,000 fans. The following season saw the Olympic Sharks win its first ever minor premiership by finishing on top of the NSL ladder, which eventually lead to Olympics second consecutive appearance in a Grand Final. This time however, it would be Perth who would take out the title, winning 2-0.

Despite the on field successes, the move to the Sutherland Shire was short lived. Poor attendances took their toll on the venture and for season 2003/2004 the club chose to revert to the widely preferred name of Sydney Olympic and moving to OKI Jubilee Stadium at Kogarah. Following the demise of the NSL in 2004, Sydney Olympic participated in the NSW Premier League and just missed out on the end-of-season final series. In 2006 Sydney Olympic returned to Belmore Sports Ground and also forged a relationship with the Eastern Suburbs Soccer Football Association.

That platform reaped instant rewards when Sydney Olympic, with former Socceroo and Sydney Olympic great Milan Blagojevic at the helm, captured the 2008 pre-season Johnny Warren Cup with a gutsy 2-1 win over the Sutherland Sharks. Olympic were undefeated in their three round robin matches (two more were washed out) and lifted the trophy to bring smiles back to the fans of Sydney Olympic.It is a fact that most clubs have experienced their biggest attendances at their home matches when Sydney Olympic provided the opposition. E.g. A crowd of 18,985 witnessed the Club defeat Northern Spirit by two goals to nil on the 9th October, 1998 at North Sydney Oval. This holds as the record crowd between any two clubs during the regular season of the NSL eclipsing the previous record of 18,367 set when Newcastle KB played Sydney Olympic on 14th April, 1979 at Energy Australia Stadium.During the past two decades, Sydney Olympic has attracted and developed a large number of talented footballers resulting in international attention to the Club and to Australian Football through transfers such as Brett Emerton ($1.3M), Jason Polak ($0.7M) Ned Zelic ($0.65M), Nick Carle and Jason Čulina. The club has transferred more than 25 players to overseas clubs in the last 20 years. More than 60 Socceroos have, at some stage in their careers, worn the blue and white of Sydney Olympic FC.

Sydney Olympic celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2007, with the club's jersey reverting to the original blue and white vertical striped design.

Crowds/Supporters

Sydney Olympic are supported by the passionate Greek community, having been founded by Greek immigrants in 1958. Sydney Olympic over the 28 seasons of the NSL have drawn in the greatest crowd attendances. The highest crowd attendance duing the regular NSL season was between Sydney Olympic and Northern Spirit on the 9th of October 1998 where 18,985 people witnessed Sydney Olympic defeat Northern Spirit 2 goals to nil. This record had broken the previous highest attendance which was 18,367 , between Syndey Olympic and Newcastle KB on 14th April, 1979. The greatest crowd attendance for a grand final was recorded during the 2001/2 season where 42, 735 people were present to see Sydney Olympic defeat Perth Glory.

Sydney Olympic's supporters are famous for their never-say-die attitude, supporting their team no matter what the situation. As well as this, Olympic's supporters are also known for the atmosphere created at their games, with their use of flares, chanting, horns, drums and flags.

Supporters Committee

The Sydney Olympic Supporters Committee is a voluntary group who work incessantly to assist the club with fundraising and match day operations.

With corporate sponsorship becoming harder to come by, the supporters Committee is an integral elements (sic); its importance symbolic of the relationship between club and Community.

Honours

*"'National Soccer League Champions: 1989/1990, 2001/2002
*"'National Soccer League Runners Up: 1984, 1986, 1989, 2002/2003
*"'National Soccer League Minor Premiers: 2002/2003
*"'National Soccer League Cup Winners: 1983, 1985
*"'National Soccer League Cup Winners Runners Up: 1989, 1989/1990
*"'New South Wales Super League Winners: 1980
*"'New South Wales Premier League Johnny Warren Cup Winners: 2008
*"'New South Wales Premier League Club Championship Winners: 2008

Individual Honours

NSL Player of the Year Award
*1982 - Peter Katholos

NSL Top Goalscorer Award
*1991/1992 - Tim Bredbury
*1998/1999 - Pablo Cardozo

NSL Under 21 Player of the Year Award
*1997/1998 - Brett Emerton

Players

Current squad

Personal

Head-Coach: Milan Blagojevic

Team-Manager: Chris Screpis

Fitness-Coach: Craig Duncan

Football-Director: Manny Spanoudakis

Club-Ceo: Danny Silvestri

Reserve-Coach: Pat Marando

U-20 Team Manager: Alex Vella

Former Players

* Mick Coady (1982-1984)
* Tim Cahill (1994-1996)
* Brett Emerton (1996-2000)
* Mark Brennan (1998-1999)
* Jason Culina (1998-1999)
* Ian Rush (1999-2000)
* Clint Bolton (2001-2003)
* Glen Moss (2003-2004)
* Iain Fyfe (2003-2004)

* Esala Masi
* Michael Beauchamp
* Pablo Cardozo
* Troy Halpin
* Ante Jurić
* Jade North
* Andrew Durante
* Tom Pondeljak
* Joel Porter
* Ante Milicic
* Ante Covic
* Lindsay Wilson
* Stephen Laybutt
* Nick Carle
* Joe Spiteri
* Mass Sarr Jr
* Chris Zoricich
* Gabriel Mendez
* Chris Kalantzis
* Aleksandar Duric
* Kimon Taliadoros
* Mehmet Durakovic
* Milan Blagojevic
* Jean-Paul de Marigny
* Walter Ardone
* Tony Franken
* Raphael Bove
* Jim Patikas
* Kris Trajanovski
* Abbas Saad
* Dave Mitchell
* Mike Gibson
* Branko Milosevic
* Nick Rizzo
* Alistair Edwards
* Alvin Ceccoli
* Brad Maloney
* Tony Spyridakos
* Grant Lee
* Gary Meier
* Andy Bernal
* Robbie Hooker
* Ned Zelic
* Jason Polak
* flagicon|Malaysia Scott Ollerenshaw
* George Haniotis
* Peter Raskopoulos
* Marshall Soper
* John Kosmina
* David Ratcliffe
* Graham Jennings
* Mark Koussas
* Peter Katholos
* Davie Provan
* Richard Bell
* Joe Senkalski

External links

* [http://www.sydneyolympic.com.au/ Sydney Olympic FC Official Website]
* [http://www.sixtoten.bellestorie.com "six to ten" - A Story About Football and Dreams]
* [http://olympicforum.proboards2.com/ Supporters Forum]

References