Thursday, September 3, 2009

Hobart City had a chequered history








Photos (Top to Bottom): Otto Klaus in his days as Olympia coach shakes hands with Rapid officials; Otto Klaus as Olympia coach with players John Paplos, Paul Kaproulias, Marco Nikitaris and Peter Sherman; Hobart City captain Luigi Sorghi receives the Michael The Tailor Summer Cup from Michael Furjanic; Leno Taglieri of Hobart City...he is still playing for Christian United in Division One; Kim Barker of Hobart City...top goalscorer and now the State's leading referee; Hobart City in the early 1980s ay KGV Park; Hobart City members at KGV House at a presentation function


I wonder how many readers remember Hobart City, the Italian-backed club in the southern Tasmanian competition?


Southern Tasmania had two Italian-based clubs as early as the 1960s, when there was Juventus and Inter, the latter wearing the traditional FC Internazionale Milano strip of black and blue vertical stripes.


After the demise of Inter, another Italian-backed club sprang from it in 1979 - Hobart City Azzurri.


This club changed its name to Hobart City in 1981.


George Marino was a leading light at the club during its heyday.


It had many prominent players during those years, some of whom went on to play leading roles at other clubs.


Kim Barker, the current leading referee in the State, was a noted goalscorer for Hobart City.


Leno Taglieri, Nick Marchioli, Bruno Cengia, Rod Sanders, Angelo Pignalosa, Robbie and Pompeo Marino, Luigi Sorghi, Paul Kaproulias, Matthew Rhodes, Mark Broadbent, Brett Anderton, Kevan Wright, Matthew Sly and Michael Pace are just some of the players who have represented the club.


Otto Klaus was one of the coaches the club has had and he was in charge when the team walked off in protest at a goal during a game against Caledonians at KGV Park in mid-1987.


City had been reduced to nine men when the walk-off occurred.


The club was heavily fined and expelled from the league and demoted to the second division.


It was the beginning of the end for the club, which eventually disbanded.

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Walter, I don't think that team shot is from the early 80's more like the early 90's I spotted darren anderton who would have been too young to be playing senior footy in the early 80's

Walter said...

madmcglone, you may well be right. I wish I'd dated the photos when I took them! Were Hobart City still in existence in the early 90s, though?

jerrie kruijver said...

walter you must have a wealth of fotos,articles and other records to put a fabulous book together.i love these trips down memorylane

Unknown said...

Walter, I arrived in 88 and city were still intact. Bret Anderton coached calies in 89 and left the following season to coach city in 1990. He asked me to try out for the team, that's why I remember. How long they existed after that I can't recall.

Rage against the machine said...

Interesting article there Walter, would love to see more of these as my know,ledge of Tassie football does not go any further back than the the late 90's with my arrival in Tasmania.

Interesting to note the name Nick Marchioli, who of course is the father of Kingborough's young captain Marcello.

Bret Anderton said...

Madmcglone is correct, I was player coach for Hobart City in 1990, The club folded during the 1991 season due to some problem they had with the league. A number of players including Darren, Kevan Wright, Mark Broadbent, Scott Smith, Chris Coppinger, Mat Rhodes & Paul Kaprouliuos followed me to South Hobart during the 1991 season.

Walter said...

Thanks madmcglone and Bret for setting the record straight. Much appreciated.

soccermad said...

Hobart City was founded in 1977 under the name of Azzurri soccer club
they played their first season in 1978 and some othe players to play for the club were Nick Marino,Peter Cavarretta Carlo & Angelo Ambrosino
they won the Cascase summer cup in 1988 and I think folded in 1991.