Thursday, June 4, 2020

South Hobart's 73rd in 1983, and the tragic death of 'The Fork' (El Trinche)

Photo:  The story and photos of South Hobart's 73rd anniversary celebrations published in 'Soccer Action" on 1 June 1983.

South Hobart celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2010 and it was a grand occasion, complete with a Governor’s reception at Government House and a centenary dinner at what is now the Elwick Functions Centre (Elwick Racecourse).

The late SBS football personality Les Murray was the guest speaker at the dinner.

In 1983, South Hobart celebrated their 73rd anniversary.

There were 200 guests, including Life Members and past and present players.

Vic Tuting MBE, the Tasmanian vice-president of the Australian Soccer Federation, also attended.

Whereas in 2010, South Hobart were a dominant force on the field, in 1973 they were languishing in the second division after being relegated from the top flight the previous year.

The senior team then was:  M Nelson, S Bishop, G Clark, S Rakowski (player-coach), S Dowker, S Carver, C Camidge, B Sherman, K Wright, D Potts, C Forsberg, S Robins, M Fielding.

Life Members and officials at the time in attendance were:  W A Flack, S Moffatt, A Lavelle, Mrs A Tate, S McGuire, Mrs D Hudson, D Rawlings, F Collis, B Lonergan, B Roberts, D Jacoora, J Davidson, L McGuiness and B Hudson.

I don’t know what the significance of a 73rd anniversary was, but it was still a significant milestone for Tasmania’s oldest surviving club.

Meanwhile, the 2020 squad is training four days a week in preparation for the possible resumption of the season in mid-July.

*****

I was saddened to learn of the tragic death in Argentina of Tomas ‘The Fork’ Carlovich last week at the age of 73.

The Fork was riding his bicycle in the suburb of Belgrano in Rosario when he was struck on the head by a thief intent on stealing his bike.

Carlovich fell and hit his head.  He was in a coma for two days before passing away.

Not many people outside Argentina have probably heard of Carlovich, a central midfielder, but the great Diego Maradona deferred to him and openly stated that ‘The Fork’ was a better player.

Carlovich (El Trinche) spent most of his career in the 1970s and 1980s playing in the second division and he even turned down a call-up to the Argentina 1978 World Cup-winning squad.  He claimed he had gone fishing and couldn’t get back in time to attend training.

He was often late for club training and for some games and was obviously somewhat of a Bohemian character (similar to Brazil’s Socrates).

His skill was legendary and he was noted for ‘double-nutmegs’, where he slipped the ball between an opponent’s legs and, as the opponent turned, El Trinche nutmegged him again.

If only we had decent footage of him.  Second Division games were not telecast in those days.

But, when Maradona says someone is a better player than him, he must be special. He was also a left-footer.

Google him and find out for yourself.  There are a few clips showing him in action.  He's Number 7 in this clip.

https://twitter.com/TyCSports/status/1259608468429967363?s=20

2 comments:

Tanner said...

Fantastic read as always Walt, first time commenting on your posts. The Fork will be missed.

John Skaro said...

My Dad's 3 years in charge of South (1977-79) - even though he had been a State Premierhship coach with Croatia, and prior to that one of the States most notable ever centre-forwards - were I think the pinnacle of his time in football. He helped instil a competitiveness and spirit at South, a belief, that they needn't be easy beats. He helped develop some brilliantly talented young players, like Neil Thomas and Robert New, and turned the club into one that expected to be competitive and win, rather than make up the numbers. Beating an extremely tough Juventus team - and a wonderful Metro side too - to the Southern Championship in 1978 (South first title in a couple of decades) was I think Dad's best achievement in Tassie football. I remember thoroughly enjoying that season; some of the football played was breathtakingly attacking. There was a crazy game down at Toorana against St Mirren, where South led 4-0 only for St Mirren to pull it back to 4-4 in a flash, with a last gasp goal by South winning it 5-4. Great memories - and, with South a powerhouse over the last 20 years, their seminal renaissance in the late 70s may have been forgotten by some.