Brunswick Juventus

Brunswick Zebras

Full name	Brunswick Zebras F.C.
Nickname(s)	Zebras
Founded	1948 as Brunswick Juventus
Ground	Sumner Park, Brunswick East, Victoria
League	N/W Provisional League 2
Home colours Away colours

Brunswick Juventus is an Australian association football (soccer) club from Brunswick, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club was a participant in the National Soccer League, where they were champions in 1985, and Victorian Premier League, in which they won eight titles. In 1996, the senior side was merged with Bulleen Lions and Box Hill Inter to form the Bulleen Inter Kings, who later changed their name to Bulleen Zebras. The Brunswick Zebras Junior Soccer Club, formed in 1996 when the senior team merged with Bulleen and Box Hill, still operates from the original Brunswick Zebras clubrooms at Sumner Park, East Brunswick.

History

The club was formed in 1948 as 'Juventus' by Italian migrants from an amalgamation of several smaller clubs. Brunswick Juventus became the dominant side of Victorian football in the 1950s, winning six titles, including five consecutive titles from 1952–1956, and were arguably the club which ushered in the European migrant dominance of Victorian football, which remains to this day. In the 1960s while the club remained more than competitive, the rise of other migrant clubs, principally South Melbourne, saw this dominance ended, and the club would have to wait until 1970 to add to its trophy collection.

The club largely struggled in the league during the 1970s after their 1970 championship, though there were also four Dockerty Cup wins during this time. The club was not a foundation member of the NSL in 1977. In 1980 the club changed its name from Juventus to Brunswick United Juventus. When the NSL created the conference system in 1984, Brunswick finally joined the national league ranks, and after reaching the finals in their debut season, followed it up with their greatest achievement, the 1985 NSL title, defeating Heidelberg, South Melbourne and Preston in the southern conference play-offs before eventually defeating Sydney City over two legs in the Grand Final.

1986 saw Brunswick finish first on the southern conference table, but consecutive losses to Adelaide City and Footscray JUST in the finals ended their season, and the last in which they were to be a force at national league level. An eighth place finish in 1987 was followed by a 13th place finish in 1988 and relegation to the state leagues where decent performances saw them win their eighth Victorian title in 1991. Rejoining the NSL for the 1993/94 season as Brunswick Pumas and later Melbourne Zebras, the club struggled for two seasons before in 1996 entering into the merger which would become the Bulleen Zebras.

Senior men

After over 10 years of absence, the Brunswick Zebras Football club, with the help of former president Peter Venditti, re-started its senior men in 2006 as a means of extending junior players' association with the club. The seniors first season was played in the thirds division. In 2007 they were awarded a place in Provisional 3 North-west League where they have played for the last 4 seasons. The Senior men teams play their home games at Sumner Park and Clifton Park on Saturdays, and conduct their training sessions at Balfe Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

After an undefeated second half to the 2011 season the senior mens teams have been promoted and earned their way out of provisional 3 N/W. Brunswick Zebras FC now competes in Victorian Provisional League 2 N/W as of the 2012 season.

Name Change and New Club Emblem

In 2008 the club changed its name from Brunswick Zebras Soccer Club to Brunswick Zebras Football Club and also created a new club emblem.

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2008 also saw the initiation of a number of innovative practices with the introduction of Small Sided Games (SSG) for children 6 to 10 years of age, as well as a highly successful coach development program. The Zebras SSG program was regarded as the "benchmark" for SSG programs in the state of Victoria.

Women's Teams at Every Age Group

The Brunswick Zebras Football Club has a women’s team at every age group including 2 senior women’s teams. At the end of the 2008 season the club had 200 female players.

Top 10 Clubs In Victoria

With over 550 registered players the Brunswick Zebras are the largest football club in Victoria's North West Region and are in the top 10 clubs in Victoria. It represents the largest sporting club in the Melbourne Metropolitan region.

Notable former players

Australia Mike Petersen Joe Palatsides Fausto De Amicis Danny Tiatto Fausto De Amicis Joe Montemurro Melissa Barbieri Ross Aloisi Simon Colosimo Paul Wade Franco Melatti Snr Mehmet Durakovic Billy Vojtek Charlie Egan Former Managers Paddy Sloan John Margaritis Honours National National Soccer League Champions: 1 1985 National Soccer League Southern Division Champions: 1 1985 National Soccer League Southern Division Minor Premiers: 1 1986 State Victorian Champions: 8 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1970, 1991 Victorian Runners-Up: 6 1962, 1967, 1969, 1989, 1990, 1992 Dockerty Cup: 5 1960, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1977 Provisional Victorian Provisional League 3 N/W: Champions 2011 External links Oz Football profile Brunswick Zebras Official Site Preceded by South Melbourne NSL Champions 1985 Succeeded by Adelaide City