Sydney United logo vector

Sydney United FC is an Australian soccer club from Sydney, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area. The club was formed as “Sydney Croatia”, but in 1993 was renamed “Sydney United” after having the name “Sydney CSC” for a season.

The club plays in the New South Wales Premier League, hosting matches at the Sydney United Sports Centre in Edensor Park, New South Wales. United are a sister club to Melbourne Knights, a Croatian club in the Victorian Premier League.

In 1981 Sydney Croatia Football Club moved from the city to the United Sports Centre in Edensor Park (known to fans as “King Tom”), which has a capacity of 12,000. The main stand is known as the Boka stand (Boka was the main sponsor of the project). In the Boka stand is the Senator’s Club, for lifetime members of the club. Inside the Senator’s Club is the Kalac Bar, in recognition of Željko Kalac’s transfer to Leicester City in the English Premier League (which helped pay for the Boka stand).

Formed in 1957 as a sports club, the Sydney Croatia Football Club played its first season in 1958 (undefeated) in the old NSW Soccer Football Association (NSWSFA). After transferring to the NSW Soccer Federation (a breakaway league established in 1959), they competed in the third division. In 1961 they were promoted to second division and in 1963 to first, where they were amongst the elite teams nationwide. Teams like St. George Budapest, Pan-Hellenic (who later become Sydney Olympic), APIA-Leichhardt, Yugal and Hakoah were United’s major rivals.

Two more name changes, first to Sydney C.S.C. (Croatian Soccer Club) in 1992 and then to Sydney United, and the move from a winter league in Australia to a summer league saw a few lean seasons for the club during the early 1990s. The 1992–93 season saw the appointment of ex-Sydney Olympic coach Mick Hickman; however, he resigned during the pre-season. Ex-Socceroo defender Manfred Schaefer was appointed coach, and United finished seventh. United’s youth policy, training players such as Tony Popovic, Zeljko Kalac, Ante Milicic and Ante Moric, was coming to fruition; these players later represented Australia at a number of levels. During the 1993–94 season, Zeljko Kalac keep an NSL-record 12 shutouts in 26 games. The club finished third, after leading the league.

Sydney United logo vector

Branko Culina replaced Schaefer as coach during the 1994–95 season; with a squad consisting of 75 percent locally produced players, United finished third. During the 1996–97 season, under Culina’s the guidance United won another minor premiership and made its second Grand Final (this time in Brisbane). In front of an Australian Football record crowd of 44,000, United lost 2–0 to Farina’s Brisbane Strikers. Kresimir Maursic was voted the Prestigious NSL Player of the Year award, and David Zdrillic was the NSL’s leading scorer with 21 goals (Ante Milicic finished second, with 19). However, the club lost players to overseas clubs: Popovic, Kalac, Milicic, Zdrilic and Robert Enes.

With the demise of the NSL, the club once again played in the New South Wales Premier League. With new coach Zlatko Arambasic at the helm in 2005 United started off well, only to finish fourth. However, United enjoyed success with a 3–1 victory over the Belconnen Blue Devils in the Continental Tyres Cup Final at Parramatta Stadium in front of 1,500 fans.

In 2006 Arambasic was dismissed as coach, replaced by Jean-Paul de Marigny. United started slowly, but finished third. During the top-four Vodafone NSW Premier League final series, United defeated Blacktown City Demons 4–0 in the 2006 Grand Final; Luka Glavas scored all four goals. Jean-Paul de Marigny left the club in 2007 to pursue a coaching job with FootballNSW, and United appointed Bankstown City Lions assistant coach Peter Papoythis as head coach. On 8 May United, in eighth place, dismissed Papoythis; this saw another ex-United player, Ante Rumora, appointed coach. United finished the season in sixth place, four points from the top four.

The club is a regular participant in the Australian-Croatian Soccer Tournament.

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Sydney United logo vector

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