1976 was a vintage year for Tassie football

Saturday, 20 March 1976 was a big day for football in southern Tasmania.

The Southern Tasmanian representative team played the visiting Toronto Metros Croatia from Canada at Grove Road at 3.30pm.

The Canadian outfit had won that year’s North American title and on the way to that honour had beaten Pele’s New York Cosmos 4-0.

They had eight internationals in their squad and the omens were not good for the Tasmanians.

The home side would have been grateful that the visitors did not bring their world-famous Portuguese attacker Eusebio on the Australian tour.

The Tasmanian game was organised by the late Michael Furjanic, who was secretary of Croatia Glenorchy at the time and a mover-and-shaker on the Australian Croatian Soccer Tournament committee.

Furjanic had frequently visited Canada and persuaded the club to include Tasmania on their tour.

The visiting squad were given a civic reception in Glenorchy and attended a banquet at the Granada Tavern, while a visit to Port Arthur was also on the agenda, as was attendance at the Military Tattoo in Hobart.

To reduce costs, the visiting players were billeted by Croatian families in Hobart.

The Toronto Metros Croatia squad was:  Zeljko Bilecki, Jack Brand, Damir Sutevski, Ted Polak, Miralem Fazlic, Mladen Cukon, Ernest Major, Paul D’Agostino, Robert Iarusci, Carmine Marcantonio, Gene Strenicer (capt), Zdravko Juricko, Bruno Pilas, Nick Sevatopoulos, Ivair Ferreira, Roberto Vieri, Pat Ercole, Robert Gemert, A Pavelic, M Galovic, M Petrovic, P Lucic, V Saric, G Mikan.  Coach: I Markovic.

Some of the more notable players were Roberto Vieri, who had 11 Italian caps, and Ivair Ferreira, a Brazilian left-winger who, as it turned out, terrorised the local defenders with his speed and ploy of switching wings.

Gene Strenicer captained the squad, while Zeljko Bilecki was the best goalkeeper in the North American League.

As it turned out, Vieri and Strenicer did not play because of injury.

Coach Ivan Markovic was in his 19^th year as a coach and during his career he also coached Dynamo Zagreb and the Yugoslav Olympic team.

Englishman Dennis Ford, who was Tasmania’s director of coaching at the time, coached the Southern Tasmanian team.  He also coached Tasmania against Sunderland that year before taking up a coaching position in Queensland before the year was out.

The Southern Tasmanian squad was:  Tommy Wright (capt), Eddie Puclin, Dudley Hall, Andy Collins, Chris Collins, Wolfgang Stuetzel, Don Farmery, Jack Dilba, John Dilba, Harry Stewart, Peter Lynell, Domenic Fraraccio, John Genovesi, Alistair Hales, David Smith, John Howlin.  Coach:  Dennis Ford.

Toronto Metros Croatia won the game 3-0 with three second-half goals in 11 minutes.

Once they were ahead 3-0,  coach Markovic was heard to yell out to his Croatian team-members in Croatian:  “That’s the game, boys.  Now turn it on for the spectators.”

And they did.  Gordon Burnett, The Mercury soccer reporter at the time wrote:  “The visitors…played the short-passing game to near perfection, at times having seven men in attack.”

Bruno Pilas opened the scoring in the 54^th minute and Robert Gemert made it 2-0 in the 62^nd minute.

Zdravko Juricko completed the scoring in the 65^th minute after a top-speed attack involving seven players.

The Tasmanians gave it 100 per cent, but just weren’t good enough.

David Smith made an excellent debut at centre-half in place of the injured Dudley Hall, while Harry Stewart and Chris Collins put in good shifts.

Burnett wrote:  “Wolfgang Stuetzel saved off the goal-line on one occasion.  The reliable Eddie Puclin was fortunate in goal in that Metros’ forwards often held on to the ball too long or were off target with their shots.

“The attack, with Don Farmery in the centre and Johnny Genovesi and Domenic Fraraccio on the wings, played themselves into the ground without the needed support.”

Alistair Hales showed neat skills and he set up Tommy Wright for a shot that dipped narrowly over the bar.

One David Smith shot had keeper Zeljko Bilecki fumbling and scrambling to save.

Later in the year, Sunderland beat Tasmania 5-0 at Grove Road.

It was a marvellous year for football fans.

Loic Feral latest in a bunch of new signings by Olympia Warriors

Photo (L-R):  Olympia coach Andrew Brown, new signing Loic Feral and football manager Rob Clarke [Photo courtesy of Olympia Warriors]

South Hobart midfielder Loic Feral has signed for Olympia Warriors for the 2020 NPL Tasmania season.

He joins Adam Gorrie as one of Olympia’s new recruits from South Hobart.

Feral is a midfielder and Gorrie is a right-back.

Olympia’s other new signings are Declan and Callum Brown from Glenorchy Knights, Joseph Juma, Joseph Mwarabu and Jackosn Khalif from Hobart United, and goalkeeper Elliot Hoysted from University.

The Brown twins’ father, Andrew Brown, is, of course, Olympia’s new coach.

Star midfielder Jordan Scott and powerful centre-forward Jack Ryan are both currently overseas.

Olympia president George Mamacas said he was delighted by the announcement of Feral’s signing.

Mamacas has high hopes for Olympia in 2020 after they finished second to Devonport in the 2019 NPL Tasmania standings.

He said he expected the club to finish in the top two and was confident they could even go one better.

Feral, who came to Tasmania from France, has won two league titles with South Hobart and several cups.

“I am definitely excited to be joining Olympia and to see where I can go with this club,” the 32-year-old midfielder said.

Feral spent 2011 and 2012 with South Hobart before returning to France.

He came back to Australia in 2015 and rejoined South Hobart until last season.

Feral said it would be a new challenge for him and provide him with a real possibility to win another league title.

South Hobart have also lost the services of defenders Connor Schmidt and Oscar Thomas, who have both signed for Glenorchy Knights.

Knights, who have a new president in Paul Woodham, have also signed Sam Leszczynski from New Town Eagles.

2020 rosters, and three brief obituaries

I don’t know what Football Tasmania are playing at if they are aiming to promote the game in this State.

According to the 2020 rosters I have seen, all NPL games are on Saturdays, while the Women’s Super League games are on Saturdays and Sundays.

Surely the aim should be to enable as many people as possible to watch as many top-flight games as possible.

Whatever happened to the notion of big NPL games being on one day, say Sunday, with no competition from other NPL fixtures, which would be played on Saturdays?

On Saturdays, there are often games at, say 2.15pm, with a second game at a different venue at, say 4.30pm.

That may be okay for the media, whose job it is to attend all games, if at all possible.

It’s a bit tough for the average punter, though, especially the younger crowd, who may not have the transport available to travel quickly to another venue.

This roster is a backward step, I feel.  After 7 years of State-wide football, I would have thought we’d have settled on a proven formula by now instead of a game of revolving chairs.

Let’s hope it’s not a case of moving the deck chairs on the Titanic.

It’ll be interesting to see what the attendances are.

That’s my two bobs’ worth.  Feel free to disagree.

*****

Three players from the past have passed away in recent months.

Goalkeeper Adrian French, who passed away in November aged 75, began his career with Metro in the early 1960s.

He was then signed by Rapid coach Alex Sarfalvy in 1964 and loaned to Rangers on the proviso he return to Rapid at the end of the season.

French never did return to Rapid and played with Rangers until their merger with Caledonians in 1968.

In 1967, he was sidelined for much of the season through injury and made only a few appearances earlier in the year.

French was a fine keeper and was selected for the Southern Tasmanian squad on a couple of occasions, including against the visiting Victorian club Wilhelmina..

He was not tall, but he was agile and was highly rated.

Peter Imlach passed away in November aged in his 80s.  He was a life member of University and played mostly in the second-tier and lower leagues until well into his 50s.

He was a member of the successful University Graduates second division team which won that league's title in 1967.

And, just last weekend, one of the finest centre-backs to have graced the local game passed away in Sydney aged 77.

Jakov Plazonic was a promising junior in Croatia and was on the verge of making the professional ranks when he moved to Australia and Melbourne.

He came to Tasmania and played for Croatia, Rapid, South Hobart and, briefly, White Eagle.

A bit on the heavy side and lacking pace, Plazonic’s reading of the game was exceptional and so he didn’t need speed or athleticism to dominate in defence.

He was tactically astute and his excellent technique and skill made him a formidable opponent throughout the 1970s.

I had many a conversation with him while watching games and he could sum up players’ strengths and weaknesses at a glance.

He was an upholsterer by trade and moved to Sydney a decade or so ago with his family.

My condolences go to all three players’ families.