History of the Azzurri Sports Club & Adelaide Blue Eagles
IN THE BEGINNING
In and around 1957 onwards a group of Italian boys regularly met for some friendly street soccer (football) at Payneham Oval in Adelaide’s eastern suburbs. In late May 1958 it was decided to form a Club, and so on the 8th of June 1958, at the home of Mr G. Ferraro at 39 Lewis Road Glynde an official meeting was held in the presence of Capuchin Priest, Father Nicola and there Napoli Sports Club was born. Angelo Rossi was elected President, Luigi Penna as Secretary, Nicola Parletta as Vice-President, Carmine Russo as Treasurer and Franco Clemente as the General Assistant to the Club. The first Chairman of the Club was Owen Atkinson, the then Mayor of Campbelltown.
The Napoli name was adopted as most of the initial members derived from the Campania region around Naples, Italy. Due to the decision, correct or otherwise, of the then governing body, the South Australian Soccer Football Association, “it was not in the interest of football to have more than one team of any one national group in the league”. As Juventus was already part of the league the Club adopted the name Eastern Districts after the area of Adelaide which the Club was based. The Club was Incorporated as Eastern Districts Napoli Sports Club and the Team played under the moniker of Eastern Districts. The Club wore sky-blue shirts, white shorts and sky-blue socks as per Napoli in Italy.
The Eastern Districts team was entered into the Metropolitan League (3rd Division) and played its first competitive match on 18th of April 1959 against Edinburgh, losing 11-1. The team that played in the Clubs first season included Vincenzo Ferraro (Captain), Antonio Mazzeo (Vice-Captain), Luigi Penna, Angelo Rossi, Frank Clemente, Vince Boffa, Franco Cresci, Stefano Migliaccio, Antonio Giannini, Ciro Esposito, Gennaro Mazzeo, Domenico Di Maria, Carmine Scalzi, Nicola Perrotta and Emilio D’Andrea as Coach. The team won it’s first match, and only one for that year, against University 2-1. Initially matches were played at the Victoria Park Racecourse in the Eastern Parklands. Often the match would be played while horses were racing around the track. The team finished bottom of the table in it’s first year but were ecstatic to be able to be playing as a team.
THE SIXTIES
At the start of the new decade Eastern Districts with an improved squad finished seventh in 1960. During the 1960’s however there was a great deal of discord in Australia at all levels of the game. A league take-over in New South Wales and a split in Western Australia league started to heighten feelings in South Australia. In 1961 following growing anger amongst many of the stronger Clubs to have a greater say in the running of the league, a rival league under the guise SA Federation of Soccer Clubs was formed. The rival league included most of the top tier Clubs of the time. In response the SA Soccer Football Association was forced to restructure their leagues. Eastern Districts was put into a Third Division mostly made up of other Clubs Reserve teams which the team easily won after losing just one match and drawing one match. In 1961 was also the year the Club began to play it’s matches in the South Parklands.
At the beginning of 1962 the separation of competitions continued. The Club had switched to the SA Federation of Soccer Clubs State League (2nd Division) where it began the season against an interesting assortment of teams hastily drawn together including Tailem Bend and Murray Bridge. Part of the drawcard to switch was the Club was allowed to play under the moniker Eastern Districts Napoli for the first time. Eventually following much negotiation a compromise was reached in May 1962 to amalgamate the rival leagues. As part of the agreement new fixtures were drafted up for the 2nd and 3rd Divisions. This was not before several rounds of matches had been played in separate leagues. The Club was placed in the Second Division and allowed to continue using the Napoli name. Unfortunately, against some tough opposition the team finished in last position with a solitary point. In October 1962 as part of the amalgamation of the rival Leagues the South Australian Soccer Federation was formed.
In 1963 Napoli played in the Division 3, no official record of the season was ever published but the team finished in third place behind Weapons Research and University. For virtue of the fact that University could not field an intermediate squad (also referred to as juniors and later Under 18 and Under 19’s) Napoli won the second promotion place to Division 2. The squad saw mid table finishes in both 1964 and again in 1965 in Division 2 despite the switch to the Clubs new home ground Adey Reserve in Firle. The sixties saw a raft of players star for the Club all of whom were recent immigrants to Australia. Names such as Tatarelli, Giglio, Piccariello and Villani all stared in the early days. Other notable players of the time included Begnini and ex-professional who played for Vicenza in the Italian leagues and Mario Corti who played in Serie A for Catania and was even in the Italian B side with names such as Giovanni Trapattoni. Both these men went on to coach at the Club.
In 1966 the Club again changed it’s name to broaden it’s appeal to the wider Italian community who were now becoming involved within the Club, and the name Eastern Districts Azzurri Sports Club Incorporated was adopted for the Club and the Team were known as Eastern Districts Azzurri. The name Azzurri is the Italian word for blues and the nickname of the Italian national squad. Similarly the team’s colours changed from sky blue shirts and socks with white shorts to the more familiar “Azzurri” Blue shorts and socks with white shorts. In 1967 saw the Clubs first major success winning the “Jaxen Cup” (2nd Division League Cup). Things got better in 1968 the Club won promotion to the First Division after finishing second in the 2nd Division. Initially the Clubs right to gain promotion was blocked by members of the SA Soccer Federation on the grounds that there should not be two Italian community-based teams in the same league (Juventus already being in the top league). As a means of circumventing this situation E.D. Azzurri amalgamated with Seacliff Austria who were a Club on the decline and with few supporters. The amalgamation was little more than a take over with Azzurri taking Seacliff’s players and first division status while maintaining the Clubs colours and name.
It was also around this time that the Club was establishing a large social component attracting people in the Italian community initially and then from the broader community. The Club often held functions as a means of fundraising and over the years has brought to Adelaide a number of local and International artists. From the mid 60’s to late 70’s the Club also held the Miss Azzurri Pageant which itself became a lead up to the very popular Miss Telethon Quest. In 1973 the Club was the first to bring a young John Farnham to South Australia. The broadened scope of the Club also brought new sports including table tennis, basketball and bocce, although women’s basketball being the only time the Club has been entered into a structured competition other than soccer/football.
THE SEVENTIES
The Azzurri’s start in the topflight in was somewhat mediocre as it finished in sixth position in 1969, 70 and 71. 1970 saw the first success of an Azzurri Player as Terry Wetton was awarded the West End Medal for the leagues Best & Fairest Player. More mid table finishes followed with fifth in 72, seventh in 73, eighth in 7 and sixth in 75. In 1974 the Club who had been in talks with Campbelltown Council to obtain consent to build its own facility at Paradise scrapped the idea after not being able to get consent from the Council and a new opportunity arose with the Black Lion Hotel. The Black Lion was located immediately adjacent Hindmarsh Stadium and was purchased by the Club for $240,000. The intention to build new Clubrooms at the Hotel and play home games at Hindmarsh stadium. The Intention never really took off when after a few matches at Hindmarsh in 1975 it was found that supporters were not prepared to travel to the other side of town for home matches. The investment served to help partly fund the investment at Marden Sports Complex a quarter of a century later.
1974 saw the spark which ignited success which followed in the years to follow with the juniors (now referred to as the Under 18’s) winning the Clubs first championship in the topflight as well as the Cup competition which was backed up in 1975 by the Reserves squad who also won the championship. In 1975 was also the year a young Ted Iuliano, who was involved in the development and promotion of the Marden Sports Complex in later years, joined the committee as Club Secretary. Ted later went on to serve on the board of the South Australian Soccer Federation and Football Federation South Australia of which he is a Life Member before returning to serve as Club President for two stints in the 2000’s. Ted has been inducted in the South Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
In 1976 it all went wrong with the senior squad finishing tenth in a 10-team league. Again, however fortune was on the side of the Blues as 1977 saw the launch of the Australian National Soccer League with West Adelaide Hellas and Adelaide Juventus being promoted to the national stage there was no relegation and the team were able to continue in the top flight in the 1977 season where they finished sixth. 1978 saw the Club just miss out on it’s maiden championship finishing second, 6 points behind Cumberland United. Joe Serafini finished league top scorer for the year with 14 goals. Another interesting fact to come out of the 1978 season was when Italian singer super star Gianni Morandi who was on tour played half a match for the Azzurri. In 1979 the squad finished third just 4 points behind the eventual winners, while the juniors again won the championship.
THE EIGHTIES
The 1980’s began with a horror season as the Club finished ninth in the 10-team league, fortunately only one squad was relegated that year. In 1981 saw new blood in the committee, coaching staff and players. Rep Giordano took over as Club Chairman (a position he still holds to this day), Frank Schafer was appointed as senior coach and new players were brought in including former Scottish School boy and Hibernian player Stuart Blair, 1979 Player of the year come Club Captain Wally Bojczuk and the first Azzurri player to go on to represent the Socceroos Robbie Dunn. Mixed with up coming juniors including the Michelon Brothers, Paul Iannace and Club stalwarts including Chis Manolev and John Francis culminated in the realisation of the Club’s 23-year dream as E.D. Azzurri were crowned Champions of South Australia. The team also went on to win every single trophy available that year including the Federation Cup in controversial circumstances, the Coca Cola Top 4 Cup and the Charity Shield a feat which has never been equalled even to this day. Frank Schafer was suitably awarded Coach of the Year and Wally Bojczuk was crowned league top scorer with 19 goals. In 1982 the success continued with the team continuing an undefeated run of 38 matches winning it’s second championship in succession and Coca Cola Cup in two years. Wally Bojczuk again was again league top scorer, this time sharing the honour with Joe Mullen on 13 goals.
E.D. Azzurri were quickly establishing themselves as a force in South Australia soccer (football) with back-to-back wins in the Ampol Cup, defeating National League side West Adelaide and Adelaide City along the way. 1984 also saw a second triumph in the Federation Cup, Alan Scott awarded Man of the Match and John Francis crowned the Rothman’s Player of the Year. The 1980’s also saw the club consolidate a strong junior policy with teams in all competitions. This was proven a major boost for the First Team, with many players rising through the ranks. 1985 saw the senior squad just miss out on another title finishing second, but picked up a consolidation prize with the West End Cup, Pat DeVita starring as league top goal scorer with 12 goals. In 1986 despite finishing eighth on the table the squad lifted the Federation Cup for the third time, Jan Kierno being awarded the player of the match in the final. One of the Clubs darkest hours came in 1987, when an already struggling team was deducted 2 points for allegedly using an ineligible player. The decision has a demoralizing effect with the squad dropping point in the last few matches of the season to be relegated to second division, this despite the decision being challenged in Court by the Club.
1988 the Club appointed former winner of the Player of the year award in 1983 Jan Kierno as player coach. A former professional in Poland, Kierno was nicknamed “the General” for the way he managed to control the entire flow of the game. The effect was instant with the squad regaining it’s topflight status finishing second. The following years the Club began to rebuild its playing ranks with external acquisitions as well as see the rise of many juniors from within the Club. The team had high table finishes again in 1989.
THE NINETIES
The Club started the 1990’s with more top half of the table finishes in 1990 and 1991 and added some silverware as well with a victory in the Coca Cola top 4 Cup in 1990 and the West End Cup in 1991. One of the Clubs acquisition’s included Andy Read who was crowned the Foundation SA player of the year in 1991.
In 1992 saw the introduction of the Finals Play-off series and the return of E.D. Azzurri to the top of the pile captained by Duane Gray. Home grown players such as the Angie Giannitto and Joe Cutillo who both went on to Captain the Club emerged together with two critical signings Jeff Tyson a former professional who derived from the Blackburn Rovers junior ranks who finished League Top Scorer in 1991 to 1994 (3 of those years for the Azzurri/Blue Eagles) and Zoran Karadzic a professional player from the former Yugoslavia who’s skill and deft touch demoralised teams and could seemingly finish in any dead ball situation. Mark Abraham was awarded the Alex Hastings Medal for the Best Player in the Grand Final where Azzurri defeated Croatia 3-2 in front of 5,000 fans at Hindmarsh Stadium. The finals series was televised on Channel 10 that year.
At the beginning of the 1993 season following violent clashes in the National Soccer League between members of rival ethnic Clubs it was decided that ethnic names from Clubs would need to be dropped. As a result of this decree the team was renamed the Adelaide Blue Eagles. Adelaide to broaden the Clubs appeal to the broader community and not just limited to the eastern suburbs, Blue as a representation of the Clubs colour and a direct interpretation of Azzurri and Eagles after the bird which has adorned the Clubs crest since it’s inception representing independence and strength. The Club’s name was shortened to the Azzurri Sports Club Incorporated. 1993 was a year which began with such promise but ended in bitter disappointment. A turning of the soil ceremony was held at the site of the now Marden Sports Complex as the beginning of the construction and fundraising of the establishment of the Clubs new home. The season also got off to a good start after the team finished undefeated during the minor rounds and 12 points clear at the top of the table with 14 wins and 4 draws. Unfortunately, the Blues failed to make the Grand Final and were left empty handed.
It was around this period that the Adelaide Blue Eagles Juniors and Reserves were experience increased success including Reserves Cup wins in 1991, 1993 & 1996 and Minor Premierships in 1993 & 1997 and Under 18/19 with minor premierships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1997 and championships in 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2000. All of which laid the foundation for the senior teams to come.
In 1994 Zoran Karadzic was appointed senior player/coach assisted by Mario Corti and introduced a side with attacking flair. Deadly finishers of the ball including Mark Abraham, Andrew Borghetto and Jeff Tyson coupled with attacking mid-field flair from Karadzic and a rising star by the name of Corey Artone who was a midfield libero who could pluck a goal from distance or dead ball situation seemingly at will meant the Blues were never short of a scoring option. The side went on to finish second in the minor championship but surged through the finals series and defeated long time rivals Campbelltown City in a penalty shoot-out in front of a huge crowd at Hindmarsh Stadium.
The success continued the next two years, in 1995 the Club captured the double, finishing top of the minor round then going on to defeat Raiders in the grand Final as well as lifting the Federation Cup. Zoran Karadzic was awarded the Coach of the Year award and for the second consecutive the Alex Hastings Medal for the best Player in the Grand Final. 1996 saw the culmination of a championship team as they made it three wins in as many years all lead by Angie Giannitto as Captain. While finishing second in the minor Championship were again able to turn it on come finals time. During this period the development of a stronger defence including players from the Clubs junior ranks including Tony Giannitto, Tony Zito, Donato De Ieso & Lino Sattin (both of whom went on to Captain the side) as well as volatile goal keeping talent Gino De Lucia who played over 400 games for the Club went on as Club Captain. The Blue Eagles defeated White City in the Grand Final in front of over 7,500 fans with Joe Barbaro receiving the man of the match award. The Grand Final was also shown live nationally on Foxtel and Galaxy pay television.
Despite losing a few key players due to retirement or moving onto the national league the Blues continued to do well in the league qualifying for the finals again, although not managing to make the Grand Final. The team did however continue to collect the silverware in 1997 and 1998 the Club lifted the Federation Cups. 1999 was a rebuilding year with much of the Clubs resources concentrated on the imminent move to the new home the Marden Sports Complex. This reflected on the pitch with a 9th place finish.
The construction of the Marden Sports Complex was the realisation of the Clubs dream. A dream which was achieved with the help of many of the Clubs supporters, and sponsors donating money, time and materials and without any Government grants or assistance. The Marden Sports Complex has a full-size main pitch with seating for three thousand, one thousand of which are undercover, and another 3,000 standing as well as three practice pitches, new Clubrooms and Change rooms it has become one of the best football facilities in South Australia.
THE NOUGHTIES
The beginning of the new Millenium saw the opening of the Club’s new home ground and purpose-built facility the Marden Sports Complex. Since its construction Marden Sports Complex has been host to a raft of local and international teams for training and games. Such highlights include the Italian Olympic Team in 2000, Japanese J-League teams Yokohama and Sapporo in 2001, AC Milan U21 squad in 2002, Olyroos and numerous other national Olympic teams in 2003 & 2004. In 2004 Oceania Football Confederation Qualifiers were held at Marden in conjunction with Hindmarsh Stadium which included a qualifying match for the Socceroos against Fiji on their run which finally saw the team qualify for the 2006 World Cup. In 2006 matches for the AFC Women’s Asia Cup again in conjunction with Hindmarsh Stadium including one of the Matilda’s matches against Thailand on route to them reaching the Grand Final of the competition. Many other important matches include South Australian Cup & League Finals as well as since 2014 FFA Cup matches, and A-League Women’s Matches which has seen virtually every Professional A-League Team in Australia and New Zealand play games at Marden. In 2023 as a venue specific training ground for the FIFA Women’s World Cup which included teams such as Panama, Haiti, Morocco and eventual finalist England.
The Facility was opened on the 19th of February 2000 to much fanfare with the Blues defeating long-time rivals Campbelltown City 4-0 in the grounds opening match. The Blue Eagles had again recruited well in 2000 seeing the return of Corey Artone from the National League and the acquisition of a lethal pair of strikers Frank Sergi and Michael Brooks. The trio scored averaged over 60 goals between them over the next three seasons. With Michael Brooks crowned League top scorer in each of those seasons with 27, 30 and 32 league goals and over 100 goals for the Blue Eagles in all competitions during this time. The Blues went on to win the minor championship and Grand Final on Golden Goal against Modbury in 2000 and on penalties in 2001 captained by Joe Cutillo. Marcin Keirno (son of Jan and creative midfield libero in his own right) won the man of the match in 2000 grand final and Corey Artone in 2001. To ad to this Artone was awarded the Player of the Year medal in 2001. The 2000 and 2001 finals attracted huge crowds more than 9,000 people.
2002 the Centenary year for Soccer in South Australia saw the team again make it to the grand final but unfortunately fail at the last hurdle losing the Grand Final. Rep Giordano was honoured at the inauguration of the South Australian Soccer (Football) Hall of Fame as an inaugural inductee as the longest serving Club Chairman in the sports history in the state. 2003 the Club was rebuilding, loosing many of its top players. There was a new emphasis on developing its youth. Former Yugoslavia Under 21 coach Dragan Sipka was recruited to guide the side. Initially thing were looking shaky but the midseason acquisition of two players from Argentina Hugo Rosales and Pablo Duran as well as the re-acquisition of Marcin Keirno who left for Raiders at the beginning of the year paid dividends with the team entering the finals with momentum. The Blue Eagles made the fourth Grand Final in as many years Captained by Donato DeIeso and snatched the victory for the Clubs ninth Senior Championship. Tony Zito was awarded the man of the match in the Grand Final.
The following seasons has seen mixed results, fifth in 2004. In 2005 former Club Captain Angie Giannitto took over the coaching reins with a 5th position in 2005 and in 2006 the team would have finished in second position but due to a controversial interpretation of the competition rules by the Federation the Club was deducted 3 points for using a suspended player, which saw the team demoted to 6th place.
In 2007 Diego Pellegrini a ex-professional player who had played most of his career in the top three divisions of the Italian Leagues and a winner of the UEFA Cup with AC Parma was appointed as Senior Player Coach after having been brought to Australia the previous year by the Club. His appointment in a crucial rebuilding year almost proved to be a disaster with the team finishing in ninth position just avoiding relegation in the final match (Only one team relegated in the 10 team league in 2007). 2008 the Clubs 50th Anniversary another former player from the club Pat De Vita together with Gennaro Polvere were appointed to lead the Club. Despite numerous experienced players on the park such as 1998 SA Player of the Year Lachlan Campbell, Argentine Mauro Beron and home-grown Captain Lino Sattin on the field the team did not fair well finishing eighth again just avoiding relegation (rules changed in 2008 for bottom 2 teams to be relegated from 10 team league).
In 2009 Zoran Karadzic made his return to the Club as Senior Coach to immediate effect. The Club commenced the Season winning the first six matches in succession including a 1-0 victory over Adelaide City at Marden Sports Complex on the 18th of April 2009 exactly 50 years to the day the Club played its first match, although this time the squad was sitting proudly seven points clear at the top of the table. The team couldn’t maintain the momentum for that season and ended finishing the season in fifth place and third in the final series. The Club also sent a squad of young players to Italy to play against professional squads such as AS Roma, UC Sampdoria and Chievo Verona among others professional teams, a tour it repeated again in 2011.
THE TWENTY TENS
2010 saw the return of some silverware to the Club after a long absence with the Club winning the Federation Cup defeating Metro Stars in a memorable 3-2 win. The Club doubled its delight with the Reserves also lifting the Federation Cup. In the league the team finished a respectable fourth place but surged into the Grand Final only to lose 1-0 to Adelaide City. At the end of season Zoran Karadzic was inducted into the SA Hall of Fame for services to the game as a Player and a Coach.
It was during this period the Club sported some influential players such as Twins Kym and Adam Harris, Evan Kounavelis, Dean Kenrick, Fortunato Filletti, Gianluca Lagati and Damian Di Mella and home grown legends like Damien Crettenden and Adam Vizzari helped propel the team to further success. At the end of the 2010 season Soon after Zoran Karadzic departed for a professional coaching position in Indonesia and the coaching mantel was taken up by his understudy Vojo Gluscevic for 2011. Under the guidance of Gluscevic the team made it second consecutive Federation Cup Final just missing out on a penalty shoot out to Western Strikers. The disappointment of missing out on back to back Cups was compensated after a strong third place finish the Squad stormed into its second Grand Final in two years, however this time emerging winners on penalties against Adelaide City. This was the Clubs 10th League title in South Australia. The championship success was echoed by the Under 19 squad who backed up their minor premiership success with a Grand Final win.
2012 The Club started the year where it has left off making the pre-season Cup Final, but amazingly the match went to penalties for the third successive final in a row and the Blues missed out on the Silverware. Again the Eagles had a good season on the park finishing second in the minor Championship but lost form at the wrong end of the season going out of the finals in straight sets. The Under 19 squad made it a second consecutive minor premiership however this time missed out losing the Grand Final.
2013 saw the shift from SA Super Leagues to the National Premier Leagues where all major top leagues across Australia would be linked with an end of year play-off. The competition also morphed from a 12-team league to 14 teams. The Blues went on to finish second position in the regular season only to lose the Grand Final to Campbelltown who finished fourth in the regular season.
The Blues after an ordinary 2014 season which saw a fourth-place finish bounced back to finish second in 2015 by just one point after a draw in the final game of the season against Port Adelaide following a late controversial decision by the match official. The Blues who stormed into the Grand Final lost another season decider this time to West Adelaide. That season also saw 4 teams relegated as the competition reverted back to 12 teams.
2016 saw a disappointing fourth place with Blue Eagles striker Yvan Boyokino being named the NPL Player of the year. This was followed by a disaster in 2017 where trouble recruiting new players and injuries saw the team slump to 11th position and the Clubs first relegation in 30 years. 2018 commenced in State League 1 with the appointment of Steve De Giovaniello as Coach, who was sacked after starting the season with three draws, a decision which made international news. Vojo Gluscevic was brought back to steady the ship and together with the recruitment of the McCabe Twins Hamish and Liam saw the team go from 11th Position in Round 4 to Promotion by Round 21. Hamish Mc Cabe also went on to win the State League 1 Player of the Year.
2019 back in the National Premier League started with defeating Campbelltown (defending Champions) in the opening match. Emanuelle Testardi and ex-Sampdoria professional commenced the season with ten Goals in ten games ultimately succumb to injuries and returned home. A fifth-place finish and elimination final birth was not too bad return to the Top Flight but a disappointment after such a healthy start.
THE TWENTY TWENTIES
2020 was the season affected by Covid with the league suspended after just 4 matches before recommencing under strict control. The Clubs Argentinean Striker Dante Isla Cacciavillani left after an offer of a professional contract in Wales and the team failed to find any consistency, ultimately finishing in ninth position.
2021 was a disastrous season which saw the senior team go through four Coaching changes to finish rock bottom of the NPL with just 13 points with the worst performance in recent memory the senior team was relegated for the second time in five years. At the same time Blue Eagles Player Hamish McCabe was named NPL Player of the Year and the Under 18 team were crowned Champions, with some of those players going on to form part of the rebuilding of the Clubs Senior Teams in years to come.
Guided by ex-Blue Eagles player and ex-Slovenian International Andrej Rastovac the Club commenced the 2022 State League 1 season with a completely new team. Dante Isla Cacciavillani returned to Blue Eagles as the Clubs talisman. However despite fantastic performances, the Club the team went on to finish third, in 2022, seventh in 2023 and third again in 2024 following a devastating semi-final loss where the team was just 5 minutes away from promotion. Isla Cacciavillani went on to be named the 2024 State League 1 Player of the Year.
2025 began as another promising year, guided by past player Hugo Gimenez, unfortunately ended fizzling out with a fifth place finish.
The story continues…
