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| Full name | Sydney Soccer Club Yugal | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1956–57 | ||
| Dissolved | 1992 | ||
| Ground | Liverpool Showground,ES Marks Athletics Field,Concord Oval, Mona Park, Ernie Smith Reserve | ||
SSC Yugal (Sydney Soccer Club Yugal), also known asYugal,Yugal Ryde,Ryde-Yugal,Yugal-Prague,Auburn Yugal,Liverpool Yugal, is a defunct soccer club fromSydney, Australia. The club, formed byYugoslav immigrants in the mid-1950s, was originally known asDalmatinac due to theDalmatian origins of most of its founders. It competed initially in the Granville District competition before joining the New South Wales Federation of Soccer Clubs' Second Division Competition in 1958, the same year as other former giants of soccer inNew South Wales, Pan-Hellenic, later known asSydney Olympic FC, and Polonia.
The club experienced fierce rivalries withSydney Croatia andWhite Eagles (later Avala), due to these clubs' large Croatian and Serbian supporter bases and Yugal'sYugoslav-orientated supporter base. Fierce rivalries of an underlying political nature were also experienced with the soccer clubs of Venezia-Giulia (now defunct) with itsItalo-Istrian supporter base andBlacktown City. Yugal merged with former Champion ClubPrague to be known as Yugal-Prague from the 1973 season until late in the 1970s when they became known as Sydney Soccer Club Yugal. The Yugal-Prague licensed club was originally located inPagewood, and later, as S.S.C. Yugal, the licensed club moved toHaymarket.
The club won the inauguralAustralia Cup in 1962, and inspired local children through the 1960s, including the firstIndigenous Australian to become aAustralia women's national women's team, the Matildas,Karen Menzies.[1]
The club struggled to survive once the FormerYugoslav States began to gain independence in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and unsuccessful mergers were attempted with Auburn and Liverpool before ultimately disbanding in 1992.
Yugal, formerly called Dalmatinac, came into being in 1956 when several youngYugoslav immigrants, mainly coming fromDalmatia, got together to kick a ball around a park inLiverpool. Martin (Marin) Batistic first thought of forming a club and as a player and an organiser he did much to help put the club on its feet. Martin died in 1959 and did not live to see the fulfilment of his ambitions for the club. Another tireless worker for the club was Ivan Pudarich, who was first a player, then became president in 1958.
The Club soon attracted the interest of some local compatriots. Anton Curac, George and Maurice (or Mark) Posa, Peter Pecotich, Frank Stanich and Morrie Kastelan were active committee members in the early days.
Dalmatinac entered the Granville District Junior competition in 1957 and won the Robinson Cup. The following year they were granted admission to theNSW Federation of Soccer Clubs and won their way to Second Division where they met with moderate success.
During 1960, the club strengthened its committee, Mick Alagich was elected Secretary and Dr. Lintner was elected president and the club was successful in securing the use ofConcord Oval. It was then decided to change the name of the club to Yugal, the aim to become representative of the wholeYugoslav community in Sydney.
In 1960 Yugal added three top class players imports fromYugoslavia – Boris Krstulovich, captain-coach and centre-half, Sam Ivanisevich, a clever inside forward, and Tony Nincevich, a prolific goal-scoring centre-forward.
Other additions to the side in 1960 were Kurt Spiegel, goalkeeper and Frank Aranyi, wing-half, both from Hakoah, Johnny Mucillo, winger from Auburn, and Brian Robinson, winger fromManly.
These seven players together with Jakov Fiajmenco, Luci Bogdanovich, Steve Lorik, Peter Grbavac, Mike Petkovich and Andy Novak, formed the squad that for most of the season kept Yugal on top of the second division competition.
A notable addition to this squad wasTiko Jelisavčić, a brilliant inside-forward who played and toured the world with top Yugoslav clubPartizan and who was flown to Sydney just in time to help Yugal win the all-important game againstBalgownie and win promotion to the First Division.
Yugal's first match in the top flight took place atLambert Park againstAPIA Leichhardt on Saturday 7 April 1962, and recorded a 1–5 loss before a crowd of 2,400. The club's first success in the First Division came at the expense of future long-time rivalsSt. George Budapest (then known solely as Budapest), at Macarthur Park (now F.S. Garside Park), 4–3 before a crowd of 2,676. Yugal's goal scorers that day were T. Jelisavčić 3 and M. Stojanovich. Yugal's crowning success was winning the Australian Soccer Federation'sAustralia Cup in its inaugural year by defeatingSt. George Budapest by 8–1 at Wentworth Park before a crowd of 11,014 on 9 December 1962 (goalscorers: Tiko Jelisavčić (4), Eric Schwartz (2), Tony Nincevich and Slavko Pacanin).
