Collingwood Warriors Soccer Club was an Australian semi-professional association football (soccer) club based in the inner-

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 Abbotsford. It 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 ...

in 1996–97, lasting only a solitary season. The club's most notable achievement was winning the last

NSL Cup The National Soccer League Cup (known most commonly as the NSL Cup) was an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Australian soccer organised by the Australian Soccer Federation between 1977 and 1997. History The NSL Cup was or ...

in the 1996–97 tournament, which would be the only silverware the club celebrated.

History

The club was formed as a joint-venture between

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

club Collingwood and Greek backed former NSL club

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 ...

, that was then trading as 'Melbourne Warriors'. The home strip was of a shirt with black and white stripes resembling the Australian rules club, with streaks of yellow resembling Heidelberg, with black shorts and white socks. The kit provider was

Lotto Lotto may refer to: * Lotto, original, 15th century name of the Italian lottery * Lotto America, one of many U.S. lottery games called Lotto * Lotto (Milan Metro), a railway station in Milan, Italy * Lotto carpet, a carpet having a lacy arabesq ...

which also provided a third kit, which was worn in the 1996–97 NSL Cup final. The club's match-day home-ground and place of training & administration was Victoria Park in Abbotsford, sharing with the Australian rules club during their respective off-season. In the pre-season the club recruited Zoran Matic who had previously taken

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 ...

to two NSL championships and signed multiple experienced players leading to high-anticipation for the season. The Warriors defeated Marconi-Fairfield 1–0 in the

last A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts come in many styles and sizes, depending on the exact job they are designed for. Common variations ...

Despite a strong start to the season in which the team went seven matches without defeat, Collingwood's form slumped and it ended up finishing second from bottom on the table. The team also lacked money, and disbanded at the end of the 1996/97 season. Throughout this period, Heidelberg maintained a separate team in the

Victorian Premier League The Victorian Premier League (VPL) is an Australian soccer league based in Victoria that was founded in 2023 and administered by Football Victoria. It consists of two divisions that were named after the VPL's breakaway of the National Premier L ...

. Con Boutsianis,

Goran Lozanovski Goran Lozanovski (born 11 January 1974) is a former Australian soccer player and current manager holding the role of senior coach at Altona Magic. Playing career Club Noted for his ability at taking set pieces, began his National Soccer Lea ...

and Kimon Taliadoros scored equal most goals for the club at seven each, with

Frank Juric Frank Juric (, ; born 28 October 1973) is an Australian former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Club career Born in Melbourne, Juric began his professional career in the former Nat ...

making the most appearances, of twenty-five for the club.

Notable former players

* Dean Anastasiadis * Con Boutsianis * Alan Davidson *

* Kimon Taliadoros *

Ernie Tapai Ernie Tapai (born 14 February 1967) is an Australian former professional soccer player who spent the majority of his career in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL). He also had stints in England, Portugal and Singapore. Tapai played 52 t ...

Andrew Vlahos Andrew Vlahos (born 20 April 1976) is a former Australian-Greek footballer. Biography Andrew Vlahos began his senior career at Heidelberg United FC in the National Soccer League from 1994 to 1996. When Heidelberg and Collingwood Football Club ...

Honours

*Winners: 1996–97

External links

Collingwood Warriors page on OzFootball

References

{{AUS fb NSL Collingwood Warriors SC Defunct soccer clubs in Australia Association football clubs disestablished in 1997 National Soccer League (Australia) clubs 1996 establishments in Australia 1997 disestablishments in Australia Association football clubs established in 1996 Greek-Australian culture Sport in the City of Yarra

History

Notable former players

Honours

See also

External links

References