Photos (Top to Bottom): Juventus 7-a-side line-up: (Back, L-R) Livio Candon, Bruce Ward, John Broadhouse, Peter Sherman, Carlo Ambrosino; (Front, L-R) Ronnie De Felice, Romeo Fabrizio, Nick Di Giovanni, Bruce Pears; 'Brazil' (Back, L-R) Dominic O'Brien, Colin Pidd, Nick Cook, Brian MacKay, Eddie Stewart (Front, L-R) Peter Crowther, Chris Hargrave, Steve Darby.
The hot weather today reminded me of the 5-a-side and 7-a-side tournaments that used to be held at KGV Park in the early 1970s and during the 1980s.
That was in the days before Futsal.
Can you imagine playing 5-a-side in the heat on the full KGV Park pitch?
That was what happened in the early 1970s during the pre-season.
The organisers must have had rocks in their heads because players were not yet fully fit as most clubs had only just started training for the new campaign and KGV was the largest pitch in the State.
It was often a case of who could last the distance and who could score from range.
Common sense prevailed a decade later when 7-a-side became the norm for an end-of-season tournament and KGV was divided into two pitches, each occupying half of the field.
Players formed their own teams and did not necessarily play for their regular-season clubs.
One of the best sides was called ‘Brazil’, while Juventus also had a talented side, as the above photographs demonstrate.
Much later, the season traditionally ended with a ‘World Cup’ tournament featuring sides such as Australia, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Germany, and England.
These were 11-a-side games and there were some wonderful contests.
4 comments:
Whilst I can not recall the series Walter refers to I do recall the Gala Days .
These were organised by Jim Anderton and myself .
The format was similar to the Wellesley 7s.
The competition was open to all .
The 1st year we had teams from St Helens, Oatlands and the " Peninsular Pirates ".
In addition were teams made up for the day comprising of platers who were not registered with Soccer Tasmania .
I think we registered these for 1 day to overcome potential insurance issues.
Would that still happen today?
I also recall travelling to Parattah to play in a 7 a side tournament . About 1999.
Hi Brian
The 5-a-side I refer to was played in about 1972. I know because I played in it with Rapid, and it was murder!
Hi Walter,
..just having a look at your blog.
Couple of errors the first photo was taken in 1984 at the Domain Athletic Centre. I was at the AIS that year but was home visiting family which coincided with the National Championships being held in Hobart. I was a spectator that day.
The second photo with the Juventus boys in the seven a side competition is not me.
You have mistaken me for Tony Lattanzio for some reason.
I must say not even a close resemblance.
Anyway hope all is well Walter just wanted to clear that up for you.
Regards
Carlo.
Thanks for clarifying that, Carlo. I really appreciate you setting the record straight.
Good to hear from you. I hope all is well with you.
Cheers!
Walter
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