West Adelaide SC
| West Adelaide SC Hellas logo | |||
| Full name | West Adelaide Soccer Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Hellas, Westies | ||
| Founded | 2008 | ||
| Ground | Adelaide Shores Football Centre | ||
| Chairman | Alex Alexandrou | ||
| Manager | Paul Pezos | ||
| League | NPL South Australia | ||
| 2014 | NPL South Australia, 2nd | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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West Adelaide Soccer Club is an Australian soccer club from Adelaide, Australia currently playing in the National Premier Leagues South Australia. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1977 season until the end of the 1998/99 season, except for the periods 1987–89 and 1990–91. It was also known as West Adelaide Hellas and Adelaide Sharks. They played in various blue and white strips, and played most of their NSL home games at Hindmarsh Stadium. The senior arm of the club re-formed in 2008 and is currently playing in the National Premier Leagues South Australia, coached by one of the former NSL players of the club, Paul Pezos.
Contents
History
The club was formed in 1962[1] as an amalgamation between West Adelaide Soccer Club (formed 1910) and Hellenic Athletic & Soccer Club (formed 1945 as Olympic Soccer Club) which had been banned by the state association due to spectator violence.[2] Hellas was supported by the local Greek Australian community. The almalgamated club played under the name West Adelaide Hellas, and quickly became one of the dominant clubs in the South Australian 1st Division, winning six titles from 1966 to 1976. Joining the NSL as a foundation member in 1977, in 1978 the club became the only non-Sydney based team to win the NSL championship in the years 1977–1983, a late goal by Vic Bozanic earning a draw against local rival Adelaide City on the final day of the season, which was enough to win the title by a point from Sydney City.
From 1979 until 1986, however, the club struggled, especially in the early to mid-eighties, with poor presidency and committee management leading to the cutting of players' salaries and breaking of players' contracts. A failure to make the finals in the conference system years of 1984–86 made them a prime candidate as one of the clubs to be dumped back to the state leagues when the NSL reformed its conference system back to a single division. A three-season spell in the South Australian 1st Division followed, which saw two titles and a second-place finish. Re-instated to the NSL for the 1989/90 season, the club performed poorly, finishing 13th, and was bumped back to the state league for another two-year spell, where they won another two titles.
West Adelaide were once again re-instated into the NSL for season 1991/92, and despite another 13th-place finish, the club managed to reach the finals in two of the three following seasons. During this time the club also changed its name to the Adelaide Sharks in an attempt to broaden its appeal outside its Greek migrant base. But gradually declining performances on the field, and a worsening financial situation off it, saw the club's senior arm fold at the end of 1998/99 season. The West Adelaide Juniors continued at Park B27 for the next seven years and finally in 2008 were reinstated with seniors. Thirty-five years to the day that West Adelaide claimed the National Soccer League title, the club added another landmark moment to their proud history. The senior side secured promotion back to the top tier of South Australian football, having completed an undefeated championship season and to claim back-to-back state league titles. The West Adelaide Soccer Club are currently in the NPL South Australia.
2014 National Premier Leagues
On Friday 21 February 2014 A proud day for the club, launching the opening of the season with a crowd of 2900 against rivals Adelaide City in a match which finished in a 1–1 draw. This was one of the largest attendances in South Australian league football in recent times.[3]
Honours
- National Soccer League Champions: 1978
- National Soccer League Finalists: 1992/1993, 1994/1995
- NSL Cup (Runners Up): 1981, 1986
- National Youth Soccer League Champions: 1993
- South Australian 1st Division Champions: 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991
- South Australian 2nd Division Champions: 1982
- South Australian Federation Cup Winners: 1964, 1967, 1999
- South Australian Plaza Ceramics Cup: 1983
- South Australian U/19 Federation Cup Winners: 1969, 1971, 2010
- South Australian SF Premier Cup Winners: 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990
- South Australian Ampol Cup Winners: 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1982, 1988, 1993
- South Australian Coca-Cola Cup Winners: 1970, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1986, 1987, 1988
- FFSA Junior U/15 Cup Winners: 2007
- FFSA Finals Top 5 State League Winners: 2008
- FFSA State League Champions : 2012, 2013
- 3XY Cup Winners : 2014
- National Premier League Finalists: 2015
- National Premier Leagues South Australia Premiers: 2015
Individual Honours
South Australia Player of the Year
- 1989 - Alby Kidd
National Soccer League Player of the Year
- 1985 - Graham Honeyman
National Soccer League U/21 Player of the Year
- 1977 - John Kosmina
- 1995/1996 - Jim Tsekinis
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Former players
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References
- ↑ http://www.westadelaideblues.com.au/history.html
- ↑ http://www.westadelaideblues.com.au/history.html
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Official website
- West Adelaide official fan site
- OzFootball West Adelaide divisional history
- youtube clip of West Adelaide clinching the 1978 NSL title
| Preceded by | NSL Champions 1978 |
Succeeded by Marconi Stallions |
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- Use dmy dates from November 2015
- Use Australian English from November 2015
- All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English
- Pages with broken file links
- Football kits with incorrect pattern
- Official website not in Wikidata
- West Adelaide SC
- Greek-Australian culture
- Association football clubs established in 1962
- Association football clubs disestablished in 1999
- National Premier Leagues clubs
- Soccer clubs in Adelaide
- Soccer clubs in South Australia
- National Soccer League (Australia) teams
- 1962 establishments in Australia
- 1999 disestablishments in Australia
- 2008 establishments in Australia
