View source for West Adelaide SC

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2015}}
{{about|the soccer club|the Australian rules football club|West Adelaide Football Club}}
{{Infobox football club
| clubname = West Adelaide
| image = West Adelaide SC.png
| image_size = 200px
| fullname = West Adelaide Soccer Club
| nickname = ''Hellas'', ''Westies''
| founded = {{start date and age|1962}} as West Adelaide Hellas<br/>{{start date and age|1992}} as West Adelaide Sharks<br/>{{start date and age|2008}} as West Adelaide Blues<br/>{{start date and age|2014}} as West Adelaide
| ground = Kilburn Sports Complex
| capacity = 5,000 (1,300 seated)
| chairman = John Tsianos 
| league        = {{Australian soccer updater|WAdelaide}}
| season        = {{Australian soccer updater|WAdelaide2}}
| position      = {{Australian soccer updater|WAdelaide3}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.westadelaide.com.au}}
| pattern_la1 = _WestAdel_15h
| pattern_b1 = _WestAdel_15h
| pattern_ra1 = _WestAdel_15h
| pattern_sh1 = _WestAdel_15h
| leftarm1 = 
| body1 = 
| rightarm1 = 
| shorts1 = 
| socks1 = 0000FF
| pattern_la2 = 
| pattern_b2 = 
| pattern_ra2 = 
| pattern_sh2 = 
| leftarm2 = FFFF00
| body2 = FFFF00
| rightarm2 = FFFF00
| shorts2 = FFFF00
| socks2 = FFFF00
}}
'''West Adelaide Soccer Club''' is an Australian [[association football|soccer]] club currently playing in [[State League South Australia|South Australian State League 1]]. Traditionally named '''Hellas''', the club was founded by members of the [[Greek Australian|Greek community]] of [[Adelaide]]. West Adelaide became a founding member of the [[National Soccer League]] in 1977 and a year later became the first Adelaide team to be crowned national champion when it won the [[1978 National Soccer League]] after a 1–1 draw in the final round match with [[Adelaide City FC|Adelaide City]] in the [[Adelaide derby|local derby]].

One of the most successful clubs in South Australia, West Adelaide competed in the national league for 19 seasons, interrupted briefly by two short periods in which it was relegated back to state competition. In the late 1990s, the club renamed itself the '''Adelaide Sharks''' in an effort to attract support beyond its traditional base in the Greek community. At the end of the [[1998–99 National Soccer League]] season, the club was overcome by financial turmoil and entered administration. West withdrew from the national competition, and its senior arm declared bankruptcy. The club's juniors legally separated from the club and remained afloat.

In 2007, West Adelaide fielding senior teams in the South Australian competition once again. West gained promotion to the second tier in 2012 and returned to the top tier a year later, winning its first South Australian championship in 2015.

==History==
===Origins and early years===
West Adelaide's history dates back to 1936, when a small group of early Greek migrants to Adelaide founded the city's first Greek-backed soccer club, simply called '''Hellenic'''. The team often played informally at Adelaide High School, paid referees using their own money and, because most Greeks were yet to migrate to Australia, crowds rarely exceeded 100 people.<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Sharks – History |url=http://www.footballnews.com.au/profile.php?id=9 |publisher= FootballNews |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

In 1945, the Greeks founded their club officially under the name '''Olympic''' but within 15 years, the [[Football Federation South Australia|South Australian Soccer Federation]] suspended the club from competition due to crowd violence. The club reformed a year later and re-entered the state league as the Hellenic Athletic and Soccer Club. In 1962, the Greek club merged with the old West Adelaide Soccer Club, which had formed in 1910<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Sharks – History |url=http://www.footballnews.com.au/profile.php?id=9 |publisher= FootballNews |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> and, until that point, did not have ties to the Greek community. The new club, '''West Adelaide Hellas''' quickly won promotion to the top tier of South Australian football and became a powerhouse.

In its first 13 years, the club largely competed with [[Adelaide City FC|Adelaide Juventus]] for supremacy in the local competition. The clubs shared nine titles between them in 10 years and [[Adelaide derby|matches between the two]] quickly became the major derby of the city.

===From the state league to national champion===
[[File:Performance Chart NSL WSA.svg|thumb|Chart of yearly table positions for West Adelaide in [[National Soccer League|NSL]]]]
In 1977, West Adelaide became founding members of the [[National Soccer League]], Australia's first national competition for any football code. The club had the honour of scoring the NSL's first goal on 2 April 1977. The goal scorer was [[Australia men's national soccer team|Socceroo]] striker [[John Kosmina]], whom the club had signed for the national league from rival state league club [[Croydon Kings|Polonia Adelaide]] just days earlier. Kosmina's goal in the first ever national league game came against [[Canberra City FC|Canberra City]] at [[Manuka Oval]]. West won the game 3–1 in front of a modest crowd of 1700 people.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/football-national-competition-forced-other-sports-to-wake-up/8398444 |title= Football's national competition forced other sports to 'wake up' and develop |newspaper= ABC News |date= 31 March 2017 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> Kosmina, then 20 years old, scored the goal having played two [[1978 FIFA World Cup qualification]] matches for Australia against [[New Zealand national soccer team|New Zealand]], scoring in one, as well as a cup final for his former club, Polonia.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-31/football-national-competition-forced-other-sports-to-wake-up/8398444 |title= Football's national competition forced other sports to 'wake up' and develop |newspaper= ABC News |date= 31 March 2017 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

The club narrowly avoided relegation in the early 1980s and was eventually sent back to the state league after the [[1986 National Soccer League|1986 season]], when the league scrapped the conference system it had used for three seasons. The club spent four of the next five seasons in the relative limbo of the South Australian competition, interrupted by a brief return to the national flight in [[1989-90 National Soccer League|1989–90]].<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Sharks – History |url=http://www.footballnews.com.au/profile.php?id=9 |publisher= FootballNews |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

West Adelaide was invited back to the national league for the [[1991-92 National Soccer League|1991–92 season]].<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Sharks – History |url=http://www.footballnews.com.au/profile.php?id=9 |publisher= FootballNews |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> However, the club finished second last in its first season back in the top tier. New coach [[Raúl Blanco (footballer, born 1941)|Raul Blanco]] then led Hellas to the playoffs in [[1992-93 National Soccer League|1992–93]] and [[1994-95 National Soccer League|1994–95]].<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Sharks – History |url=http://www.footballnews.com.au/profile.php?id=9 |publisher= FootballNews |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

===Demise and rebirth===
In a bid to attract support beyond its traditional base in the Greek community, the club adopted a new name in the mid-1990s – the '''West Adelaide Sharks'''. However, the new moniker largely failed to grow the club's membership and a series of unfortunate incidents pushed the club towards a permanent exit from the national league. On 9 June 1998 fire destroyed the Sharks' change rooms and some administrative offices at their new [[Thebarton Oval]] base. The damage bill was expected to reach $150,000.<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Hellas – History |url=http://www.westadelaide.com.au/history.html |publisher= West Adelaide Soccer Club |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

At a general meeting in September 1998, Sharks members backed the privatisation of the club, endorsing prominent Adelaide [[Greek Australian]] businessman [[Con Makris]] as its new owner with a 51 per cent share of the Sharks.<ref>{{cite web |title= West Adelaide Hellas – History |url=http://www.westadelaide.com.au/history.html |publisher= West Adelaide Soccer Club |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>  However, the club was to last just one more year in the National Soccer League. Its final hurrah was a 1–0 [[Adelaide derby]] win over City – the last time the two clubs would face off in the competition. The Sharks withdrew from the league just before the [[1999-2000 National Soccer League|1999–2000 season]] was due to kick-off, debts having mounted.

The club lived on through its junior arm, which was legally separated from the senior club during the messy bankruptcy. The juniors joined with state league club [[Adelaide Olympic FC|Adelaide Olympic]] and competed in the South Australian competition from 2000 to 2007.<ref>{{cite web |title=West Adelaide back from the dead |author=Mike Cockerill |date=8 March 2013 |publisher=MyFootball.com.au |url=https://www.myfootball.com.au/news/west-adelaide-back-dead |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref> In 2008, West Adelaide and once again fielded its own senior sides in the state league, beginning in the third tier. Its juniors had returned to their original name as West Adelaide a year earlier. The club won promotion to the second tier in 2012 and a year later secured a berth in the top tier, where it had not played since 1999.

Friday 21 February 2014 was a proud day for the club, as it returned to the top tier of South Australian soccer after nine seasons. The [[Adelaide derby]] match against [[Adelaide City FC|Adelaide City]], which finished in a 1–1 draw attracted one of the largest attendances (2900 people) in South Australian soccer for many years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsportspulse.com/round_info.cgi?a=MATCH&fixture=60160961&c=1-10180-0-294867-0&pool=1 |title=FFSA&nbsp;– NPL Match Centre |publisher=Fox Sports Pulse |access-date=2014-07-16}}</ref>

That season, West Adelaide also reached the final of the [[FFSA Federation Cup|Federation Cup]] ; with a place in the round of 32 of the inaugural [[FFA Cup]] on offer to the winner. West faced its traditional rival Adelaide City in a derby final but lost 4–1 at Hindmarsh Stadium,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/messenger/sport/adelaide-city-beats-former-nsl-rival-west-adelaide-41-in-yesterdays-federation-cup-final/news-story/659c2bdbdf9195cac25feff51fab7a33?nk=4a89d4a69e791a489ec20e4c61e3e2ea-1522241195 |title= Adelaide City beats former NSL rival West Adelaide 4–1 in yesterday's Federation Cup final |author = Rob Greenwood |newspaper= The Advertiser |date= June 2014 |access-date= 28 March 2018}}</ref> with City going on to defeat [[A-League]] club [[Western Sydney Wanderers FC|Western Sydney Wanderers]] and become the first state league side to eliminate a professional club in that competition.

West did not have to wait long to taste glory again. Coached by former Sharks NSL defender [[Paul Pezos]], the club won the [[2015 FFSA season|2015]] South Australian premiership and championship. Its title was sealed with a 4–2 grand final win over [[Adelaide Blue Eagles]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nationalpremierleagues.com.au/news/west-adelaide-crowned-2015-sa-champions|title= West Adelaide crowned 2015 SA champions |author = FFSA |date= 14 September 2015 |publisher= Football Federation Australia |access-date= 28 March 2018}}</ref>

==Colours, badge and nicknames==
Since its foundation in the early 1960s, West Adelaide has maintained clear visual links to its Greek heritage – notably its white and blue striped playing strips. The club's emblem today remains nearly identical to the badge it wore in the first ever NSL season in 1977. The lone star represents the club's 1978 national championship while the Olympic torch reflects the club's heritage as the original Olympic club from the 1940s.

The club's nickname of '''Hellas''' remains in use today, despite efforts by [[Football Federation Australia|Soccer Australia]] officials' efforts in the 1990s to force clubs to abolish their ethnic identity or face expulsion from the national league.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gorman |first=Joe |date= 26 July 2017|title=The Death and Life of Australian Soccer |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kY4tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT206 |location=Google Books |publisher=University of Queensland Press |page=206 |isbn=9780702259685 }}</ref> The Hellas name remains on the club badge and its playing strips. The ''Sharks'' nickname adopted by the club during the mid to late-1990s has since fallen out of use.

==Stadium==
[[File:KilburnSportsplex2024.jpg|thumb|right|400px|[[Kilburn Sportsplex]] prior to a friendly match against [[Adelaide United FC|Adelaide United]]]]
West Adelaide historically played its football at [[Hindmarsh Stadium]], considered the home of soccer in [[South Australia]], even before it entered the [[National Soccer League]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.westadelaide.com.au/history.html |title= West Adelaide Hellas – History |publisher= West Adelaide SC |access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref>

When the club's senior teams reformed in 2008, they found themselves in search of a permanent home and played home games at the Adelaide Shores Football Centre at [[West Beach, South Australia|West Beach]] and at Rushworth Reserve, former home of the now-defunct [[Enfield City Falcons]].{{cn|date=June 2022}}

On 13 July 2024, the club played its first official game at their new permanent home ground, the [[Kilburn Sportsplex]], in the inner northern [[Adelaide]] suburb of [[Kilburn, South Australia|Kilburn]]. The new facility, which cost an estimated {{AUD|15 million}}, has a total capacity of 5,000 people. The Sportsplex was built to include a full-size sports pitch, club offices, a multi-purpose function centre with a capacity for 500 people, undercover spectator seating for 820 people; a photographers' room; press box and media facilities; club dressing rooms for four teams, match official rooms, anti-doping control room; seminar room, café and catering facilities and a physiotherapy suite.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://neoskosmos.com/en/33809/hellas-park-sportplex-adelaide/ |title= The new home base for the West Adelaide soccer club |publisher= Neos Kosmos |author=Theodora Maios |date= 3 December 2015 |access-date= 28 March 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/west-adelaide-soccer-club-to-push-ahead-with-plans-for-kilburn-complex-despite-latest-funding-knockback/news-story/70967c277399b1edb3a92b39e5be0b87 | title= West Adelaide Soccer Club to push ahead with plans for Kilburn complex |author= Thomas Conlin | newspaper= News.com.au | date= 17 March 2014 |publisher= Weekly Times Messenger |access-date= 28 March 2018}}</ref> The [[South Australian Government]] provided {{AUD|5.8 million}} in grants towards construction of the complex.<ref>{{cite web | title=home| website=West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club | date=22 June 2022 | url=https://www.westadelaide.com.au/home | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622014807/https://www.westadelaide.com.au/home | archive-date=22 June 2022 | url-status=live | access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>

==Players==
===Current squad===
{{fs start}}
{{fs player|other=|no=2|nat=JPN|pos=DF|name=Shuto Nakamura}}
{{fs player|other=|no=3|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Josh Harvey}}
{{fs player|other=|no=4|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Abou Keita}}
{{fs player|other=|no=5|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Jacob Butler-Bowdon}}
{{fs player|other=|no=6|nat=AUS|pos=MF|name=Ryan Wood}}
{{fs player|other=|no=7|nat=AUS|pos=MF|name=Kucha Guut}}
{{fs player|other=|no=8|nat=AUS|pos=MF|name=Karl Phelps}}
{{fs player|other=|no=9|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Yianni Nestoras}}
{{fs player|other=|no=10|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Cooper O'Donnell}}
{{fs player|other=|no=11|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Kristos Stefanopoulos}}
{{fs player|other=|no=12|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Dimitri Toumazos}}
{{fs player|other=|no=13|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Luka Dobrovolski}}
{{fs mid}}
{{fs player|other=|no=14|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Peter Katsambis}}
{{fs player|other=|no=17|nat=AUS|pos=GK|name=Harry Finlay}}
{{fs player|other=|no=18|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Nicholas Stefanopoulos}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=21|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Amir Ibrahim}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=22|nat=AUS|pos=MF|name=Kevin Kamburu}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=24|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=George Katsigiannis}}
{{fs player|other=|no=33|nat=AUS|pos=GK|name=Kosta Balaban}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=42|nat=AUS|pos=MF|name=Connor Gollan}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=49|nat=AUS|pos=DF|name=Jacob Athanasiadis}}
{{fs player|other=|no=56|nat=AUS|pos=GK|name=Jackson O'Donnell}}
{{Fs player|other=|no=|nat=AUS|pos=FW|name=Darcy Dawber}}
{{Fs end}}

{{See also|Category:West Adelaide SC players}}

==Honours==

The club has won the following titles and cups:{{cn|date=June 2022}}
===National===
*'''[[National Soccer League]]'''
:'''Winners (1)''': [[1978 National Soccer League|1978]]
*'''[[National Youth League (1984–2004)|National Youth League]]'''
:'''Winners (1):''' 1992–93

===State===
*'''[[National Premier Leagues South Australia|South Australian championships]]'''
:'''Winners (11)''': 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 2015
*'''[[FFSA Federation Cup|Federation Cup]]'''
:'''Winners (3):''' 1964, 1967, 1999
*'''[[National Premier Leagues State League 1|South Australian second tier]]'''
:'''Winners (2):''' 1982, 2013, 2022
*'''[[National Premier Leagues State League 2|South Australian third tier]]'''
:'''Winners (1):''' 2012

==Hall of Fame==

Several of the club's players have been awarded honours by [[Football Federation Australia]]:<ref name=honours>{{cite web | title=Honours | website=West Adelaide Hellas Soccer Club | url=https://www.westadelaide.com.au/honours | access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>
* National Soccer League Player of the Year – 1985, Graham Honeyman
* National Soccer League U/21 Player of the Years – 1977, [[John Kosmina]]
* National Soccer League U/21 Player of the Year – 1995/96, Jim Tsekinis
[[Football South Australia]] has inducted the following players and coaches into their Hall of Fame:<ref name=honours/>

*2003, Award of Distinction, for meritorious performance: '''Bill Birch''' (aka Billy Birch, born 20 October 1944 in [[Southport]], [[Merseyside]]<ref name=wf>{{cite web | title=Billy Birch | website=worldfootball.net | date=20 October 1944 | url=//www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/billy-birch/ | access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref>), who migrated from England in the 1960s after playing for [[West Bromwich Albion]]<ref >{{cite web | title=Match preview | website=Albion Till We Die | date=2 November 2013 | url=http://www.albiontillwedie.co.uk/201314/previews/home/crystalpalace.html | access-date=22 June 2022}}</ref> and [[Crystal Palace FC]].<ref name=wf/> Birch contributed to the game as a player and coach,<ref name=honours/> managing Hellas from July 07 1980 to May 1981.<ref name=wf/> He was also a player Life Member of the [[South Australian Soccer Federation]]. He represented South Australia 29 times between 1967 and 1974. He played for Hellas in games that won the Championship, [[Capital Football Federation Cup|Federation Cup]], [[National Soccer League#Origin|Ampol Cup]] and Coca Cola Cup medals.<ref name=honours/>

*2003, Roll of Honour for meritorious contribution: '''J.T. (Tom) Forde''', who migrated from [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]] in 1963. He contributed to the game as a player and coach, playing for and coaching Enfield Soccer Club as well as Hellas. He also set up coaching courses and clinics, represented South Australia as a player and coach, and was appointed as the first SASF Director of Coaching. As a coach, he won many honours, including 1st Division Championship, Federation Cup, Ampol Cup, Coca Cola Cup and West End Cup.<ref name=honours/>

*2003: Hall of Champions for Outstanding Performance: '''[[John Kosmina]]''', who was born in [[Semaphore, South Australia]]. He contributed as a player and coach, and was a player Life Member of SASF and a member of [[Soccer Australia]]'s Hall of Fame. He represented Australia 102 times, scoring 43 goals, including a stint as captain of the [[Socceroos]] from 1982 to 1986, and  represented South Australia 21 times. He was South Australian Sports Star of the Year in 1976, and became [[Adelaide United]]'s inaugural coach in 2003.<ref name=honours/>

*2003: Award of Distinction for meritorious performance: '''Nick Pantelis''' (father of [[Lucas Pantelis]]), who migrated from the island of [[Kos]], Greece, in 1964.<ref name=honours/>

*2004: Award of Excellence: '''Neil McGachey'''<ref name=honours/>

*2006: Roll of Honour:  '''[[Martyn Crook]]'''<ref name=honours/>

*2011: Hall of Honour: '''[[Adrian Santrac]]'''<ref name=honours/>

*2012: Hall of Champions: '''[[Richie Alagich]]'''<ref name=honours/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.westadelaide.com.au/}}
* [http://www.westadelaidehellas.com/ West Adelaide official fan site]
* [http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Clubs/W/WestAdelaideDH.html OzFootball West Adelaide divisional history]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjWu4G3MUgI youtube clip of West Adelaide clinching the 1978 NSL title]

{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| title = [[National Soccer League#Champions and runners up|NSL Champions]]
| before = [[Sydney City Soccer Club|Eastern Suburbs]]
| after = [[Marconi Stallions]]
| years = 1978
}}
{{s-end}}

{{AUS fb general}}
{{AUS fb NSL}}
{{AUS fb state SA}}

[[Category:West Adelaide SC| ]]
[[Category:Greek-Australian culture]]
[[Category:Association football clubs established in 1962]]
[[Category:Association football clubs disestablished in 1999]]
[[Category:National Premier Leagues clubs]]
[[Category:State League South Australia clubs]]
[[Category:Soccer clubs in Adelaide]]
[[Category:National Soccer League (Australia) clubs]]
[[Category:1962 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:1999 disestablishments in Australia]]
[[Category:2008 establishments in Australia]]
[[Category:Diaspora sports clubs in Australia]]