Nickname(s) The Zebras Ground Capacity 5,000 Arena/Stadium Adelaide City Park Founded 1946 | Ground Adelaide City Park Chairman Dino D'Ottavi Manager Damian Mori | |
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Full name Adelaide City Football Club 2015 NPL South Australia, 4th League National Premier Leagues South Australia Profiles | ||
Adelaide City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football (soccer) club based in Adelaide, South Australia. They are also known as The Zebras. The club competed in the National Soccer League (NSL) for 27 seasons but withdrew just prior to the final season ending in 2004. Adelaide City now compete in the National Premier Leagues South Australia. City won the inaugural Super League (former name of the NPL) with games to spare after leading for most of the season. They also won the Federation Cup defeating West Adelaide 4–1 in the final at Hindmarsh Stadium.
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On 12 August, 2014, Adelaide City defeated Western Sydney Wanderers FC 1–0 in the inaugural 2014 FFA Cup match for both clubs. It was the first time a state-based National Premier Leagues club had faced off against an A-League side in a competitive fixture.
Origins
The club was founded and primarily followed by people of Italian heritage and originally called "Juventus" after the Italian club from 1946–1966. In 1966 they became Adelaide Juventus and in 1977 Adelaide City, when Frank Lister captained the team in the inaugural Phillips NSL competition. He later went on to win the 'Golden Boots' award for that year and was inducted into the South Australian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004. On 31 August 2003, after 26 seasons in the NSL, Adelaide City had banished itself to the South Australian state league, due to the club struggling to stay financially afloat.
The black and white striped shirt also gave the team the nickname of the Zebras.
Recent years
Adelaide City completed the treble in 2006 winning 3 Inaugural Trophies : The ERREA Pre-season Cup, BEST Super League Championship and FFSA Adelaide United Cup. City met Raiders in the ERREA cup final in what was a rematch of the previous season's Grand Final. City breezed through winning 5–0. In the BEST Super League, City fought off tough competition for the majority of the year and ended the season 3 games clear on top of the table with a healthy goal difference. City then went on to win the FFSA Adelaide United Cup with a comprehensive 4–1 victory over Adelaide Blue Eagles. City opened their account with a 22nd-minute header from striker Jonathan Negus. The second came from Deng Mayom who struck the bar with a header only to find the ball back at his feet for a tap in. City Scored again minutes later when Negus' 18yd bullet struck the back of the net. Adelaide Blue Eagles dominated the opening of the 2nd half and did get a goal themselves. Negus completed his hat-trick after a knock on from player-coach Damian Mori left him one on one with the goalkeeper. The final result 4–1. City's Jonathan Negus won the John Kosmina Medal awarded to the best on ground.
FFA Cup 2014
On 12 August 2014, Adelaide City played Western Sydney Wanderers in the round of 32 of the 2014 FFA Cup. The Wanderers team featuring players such as Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Ante Covic and Tomi Juric were the overwhelming favourite to progress. With 15 minutes left, and the scores tied at 0–0, Thomas Love went on a solo run, beating a number of players and scored the winning goal for Adelaide City. The victory was a massive result for the club who were the first semi-professional side to defeat an A-League side in what was the first ever season of the FFA Cup. Adelaide managed to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament, beating Brisbane Strikers 1–0 in the round of 16, not before being eliminated by Bentleigh Greens in a 2–1 extra-time loss.
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.