Brunswick Zebras Football Club is an Australian semi-professional

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

club that based in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

Brunswick East Brunswick East is an inner-city List of Melbourne suburbs, suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, north of Melbourne's Melbourne city centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Merri-bek Local Govern ...

. The club fields both senior and reserves teams for men & women, and operates a junior academy under license from

Football Victoria Football Victoria is the state governing body for soccer in Victoria, Australia. It is affiliated with Football Australia, the sport's national governing body. History Football Victoria began operation in 1884 under the name Anglo Australian F ...

. For the

2019 Football Victoria season The 2019 Football Victoria season refers to the soccer competitions contested under the organisation of Football Victoria in 2019. Across seven senior men's and six senior women's divisions, this was the 111th season of organised soccer in Victo ...

, the senior men finished seventh of the state league fourth division, and the senior women were premiers of the state league third division, both in the northern conferences. To date, the club have been national champions and premiers on one occasion each, Victorian state league premiers on eight occasions, state cup winners on six occasions, and winners of various lower state competitions throughout its existence. The club was founded in 1948 as 'Juventus' by the Italian community of Melbourne and operates from the original clubrooms at Sumner Park. Under the name 'Brunswick Juventus', the club participated in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

from

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, where they would be national champions in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

and southern conference premiers in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

. The club again participated in the national competition for the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons under the names 'Brunswick Pumas' and 'Melbourne Zebras' respectively.

History

Name history

Establishment and early success (1949–1969)

The club was established by Melbourne's Italian community in 1948 as 'Juventus', named after the Italian club. The decision to name the club Juventus was due to the agreement of

political neutrality A neutral country is a state that is neutral towards belligerents in a specific war or holds itself as permanently neutral in all future conflicts (including avoiding entering into military alliances such as NATO, CSTO or the SCO). As a type o ...

by the founding members as the club was partly established remnants of several smaller clubs in

, including Savoia that was founded in the early 1930s, and is believed to have been Victoria's first Italian sporting club. The first competitive match was played on 16 April 1949, being the first round of the Victorian third tier league, that is now the

Victorian State League Division 1 The Victorian State League, known as VETO Sports State League for sponsorship purposes is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 1958 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of five divisions (separated by ...

as of 2019. Juventus defeated

Brighton SC The Brighton Soccer Club is an Australian Community run soccer club based in the Melbourne suburb of Brighton. The club was founded in late 1987 by the merger of the original Brighton and Prahran City soccer clubs founded in 1924 and 1908 resp ...

8-2 away, in what would be the beginning of a thirteen game winning streak that would ultimately help the club finish second and be promoted at the season's conclusion. Brunswick Juventus became the dominant side in Victoria in the 1950s, winning six titles, including five consecutive titles from 1952 to 1956, and were arguably the club which ushered in the European migrant dominance of Victorian soccer which remains to the present. In the 1960s, while the club remained more than competitive, the rise of other migrant clubs, principally the Greek backed

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at the 2021 ...

and the Yugoslav backed

Footscray JUST Footscray Jugoslav United Soccer Team, commonly referred to as J.U.S.T, Footscray or simply JUST, was an association football club from Melbourne, Australia, Melbourne, Australia. The club was established by Yugoslavs, Yugoslav migrants in 1950, ...

, saw this dominance ended and the club waited until 1970 to add to its trophies.

Financial difficulties and mixed results (1970–1981)

The club largely struggled in the league during the 1970s due to financial difficulty after their 1970 championship and

Dockerty Cup The Dockerty Cup is an annual association football single-elimination tournament, knock-out competition open to all Victorian clubs across the Australian soccer league system, Victorian football league system. The tournament is named after the fo ...

victory. With the exception of finishing third in 1977, the team would finish no higher than mid-table and narrowly avoided relegation multiple times. though there were would be another four

wins during this time. As a result, the club decided not to pursue membership of the newly established

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, and would later change the club name from 'Juventus' to 'Brunswick United Juventus' in 1980. However, they generally continued to be called Brunswick Juventus.

Improved results and first national league stint (1982–1988)

With financial stability being regained in the early 1980s, the team finished third in both 1982 and 1983. When the national federation decided to implement a geographical conference system for the 1984 season to reduce travel expenses, Brunswick applied for the southern conference and were accepted, becoming the first Italian backed Melbourne club to compete at a national level. Brunswick would reach the finals in their debut season, but it would be the 1985 season that would see the club peak in its glory. Brunswick finished second on the southern ladder but would defeat

Heidelberg United Heidelberg United Alexander Football Club (founded as Alexander the Great-Melbourne Soccer Club) established in 1958 is a football (soccer) club based in the northern Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg West, Victoria, Australia. The team currently ...

, South Melbourne and Preston in the southern conference play-offs before eventually defeating Sydney City over two legs in the national grand final. In

Brunswick finished first on the southern conference table, but consecutive losses to

Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a semi-professional soccer club based in Oakden, a north-eastern suburb of Adelaide. The club was a founding member of the now-defunct National Soccer League (NSL) and currently competes in the National Premier ...

and

in the conference play-offs ended their season and was the last season in which they were to be finals competitive at national league level. Finishing eighth and thirteenth respectively in the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and

seasons saw Brunswick be relegated back to the Victorian state system.

Return to state league and second national league stint (1989–1996)

With two non-competitive seasons in the national league, the senior team commenced 1989 in the

state league A state league is a level of competition in Sport in Australia, Australian sport directly below that of a national league. Most of these competitions are based in a single States and territories of Australia, state or territory, and from this the te ...

where they would finish second, and would repeat this feat in 1990. After its last first place finish at the highest state level in 1977, the club would break its twenty one year gap, finishing ahead of second-placed and fellow Italian backed club

Bulleen Bulleen ( ) is an eastern suburb in Melbourne, Australia, 13 km north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Manningham local government area. Bulleen recorded a population of 11,219 at the 2021 census. ...

by ten goals after being equal on thirty-eight points. Another competitive season in 1993 saw Brunswick be re-admitted to the national league for the 1993–94 season, changing its name to 'Brunswick Pumas' in accordance with federation's ruling of removing ethnicism from club names. The return to the national wouldn't be as successful as the clubs first stint, with the pumas finishing second last. The season after, the club would change its name again for the fourth time in its history to 'Melbourne Zebras' in an attempt to gain a larger support base around

. On the field, the squad's performances slightly improved in finishing third last. However, with a stronger fan base not developing fast enough for the federations liking, and in a greater attempt to remove ethnicism from the sport as a whole, the federation decided to remove the Zebras and

from the 1995–96 season at late notice. Outraged, both clubs obtained court injunctions to prevent the league season going ahead. Eventually, the injunction was lifted in the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

to allow the league to start, albeit several weeks late.

Club break off and re-establishment (1997–present)

Following dismissal from the national league, the club was allowed to return to the state league system's first tier league for a second time. It was at this time however that the club had developed dissension among its members, that resulted in the club being split into three groups. The 'Brunswick' group that contained the original Australian Business Number remained based at Sumner park, a tenancy that continues as of 2019. The 'Juventus' group would merge with fellow Italian backed clubs Box Hill,

, and Clayton to create ' Bulleen Inter Kings', taking with it the license to compete in the

premier league The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

for the 1997 season. The third group, referred to as the 'Zebras' group would merge with Italian backed Thomastown Devils to become ' Thomastown Zebras', to also compete in the premier league. In 2000, the two clubs would re-merge to create the 'Bulleen Zebras', and later the Moreland Zebras in 2009. Both Moreland and

Whittlesea Ranges Whittlesea may mean: * Whittlesea, Victoria, a town some 40 km north of Melbourne * City of Whittlesea, the local government area that contains it * Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire, England used to be known as Whittlesea ** Whittlesea railway stat ...

, now both playing in the

National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 The National Premier Leagues Victoria (NPL Victoria or NPL VIC) is a semi-professional association football, soccer league in Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. The league is a part of the National Premier Leagues, and is the highest level w ...

, Victoria's second tier of state soccer, disputedly claim a lineage to the Brunswick Zebras Football Club and all of its achievements prior to the unfortunate events of 1996. In 2003, under then president John Lewis, the club formed its first ever senior women's team. Coached by Paul Connolly, the team entered the Victorian state league division 3 north-west conference. In 2006, the club won its first senior women's premiership, with Connolly's team winning the division 3 north-west title ahead of second-placed Whittlesea Stallions. The team was promoted to division 2 north-west for the 2007 season. In 2007, after a ten-year hiatus, the senior men's team were granted a license to compete in state tier seven league, then known as 'Provisional League Division 3' in the North-West conference. In 2008, the club renamed itself for a fifth time to its present name of 'Brunswick Zebras Football Club' and updated its emblem. The 2011 season saw the club and the senior men win its first premiership in twenty years, finishing first in the seventh tier state league. With the club seeing itself as 'a sports club with a social purpose', the 2016 season saw the club have 500 registered players, 200 of which were female. In 2019, one of the club's women's senior teams finished first in the state tier four league northern conference. It was the club's second senior women's premiership. As of 2019, the club is headed by politician Carlo Carli. In 2021, the club announced that it was changing its name for a fifth time to 'Brunswick Juventus Junior Football Club'. Along with the name change, the club publicised a new logo which included the historic Zebra, in recognition of the name used from 1994 to 2020. It has since been reverted to Brunswick Zebras.

Former managers

* Paddy Sloan *

Manfred Schaefer Manfred Schaefer (12 February 1943 – 28 March 2023) was a German soccer player who played as a defender. At club level he won titles with St. George Budapest. Born in Germany, he represented the Australian national team internationally, pa ...

Honours

National

Finals :Championships (1):

:Premierships (1): 1986 South :Runners-up (1): 1985 South *

Conference Finals :Championships (1): 1985 South * National Youth League :Runners-up (1): 1985 South

State Men's

* Ampol Night Cup :Winners (1): 1959 *

:Winners (6): 1960, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1977, 1987 :Runners-up (7): 1952, 1957, 1958, 1969, 1980, 1990, 1993 * Pre Season Cup :Winners (1): 1958 :Runners-up (2): 1959, 1977 * State League Cup :Winners (3): 1958, 1969, 1970 * Victorian First Tier :Premierships (8): 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1970, 1991 :Runners-up (8): 1962, 1967, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1992 * Victorian Seventh Tier :Premierships (1): 2011 North-West

Metropolitan Leagues Men's

* Victorian Twelfth Tier :Premierships (1):

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

North-West * Victorian Thirteenth Tier :Premierships (1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

North-West * Victorian Thirteenth Tier Finals :Champions (1):

* Victorian Sixteenth Tier :Runners-up (1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

North-West

State Women's

* Victorian Women's Third Tier :Premierships (1):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

North-West * Victorian Women's Fourth Tier :Premierships (1):

North * Victorian Women's Fifth Tier :Runners-up (1): 2010 North-West, 2013 North,

East Sources:

References

External links

Brunswick Zebras official website

{{AUS fb NSL Association football clubs established in 1948 National Soccer League (Australia) clubs Victorian State League Soccer clubs in Melbourne 1948 establishments in Australia Italian-Australian culture in Melbourne Italian-Australian backed sports clubs of Victoria (state) Sport in the City of Merri-bek