1996–97 Sydney United FC season

Sydney United FC
1996–1997 season
ChairmanIvan Simić
ManagerBranko Culina
StadiumSydney United Sports Centre, Parramatta Stadium
National Soccer League1st (League)
Runners-Up (Finals)
Johnny Walker CupFirst Round
Waratah CupWinners
Top goalscorerLeague = David Zdrilic (21)
All = Ante Milicic (24)
Highest home attendance11,614 vs. Marconi Fairfield
(23 February 1997)
National Soccer League
Lowest home attendance2,000 vs. Melbourne Knights
(20 November 1996)
National Soccer League
Average home league attendance5,660
Biggest win7–0
vs. Collingwood Warriors
(8 December 1996)
National Soccer League
Biggest defeat0-3
vs. Brisbane Strikers
(4 January 1997)
National Soccer League

1996–97 marked Sydney United's fourteenth season in the NSL, with Branko Culina in his third season as head coach. The club enjoyed a highly successful campaign, finishing as Premiers with a commanding 9-point lead atop the league table. Striker David Zdrilic was the league's top goalscorer, netting 21 goals during the regular season.[1]

Croatian midfielder Krešimir Marušić, signed in the off-season from NK Inter Zaprešić, was awarded the prestigious Johnny Warren Medal as NSL Player of the Year for his standout performances throughout the season. Head coach Branko Culina was also recognised, receiving the NSL Coach of the Year award for guiding United to the premiership and Grand Final.[2]

In the finals series, Sydney United progressed to the NSL Grand Final after a 1–0 victory over South Melbourne in the Preliminary Final. However, they were defeated 2–0 by Brisbane Strikers in the Grand Final, which was held at Suncorp Stadium before a then-NSL record crowd of 40,446.[3]

Sydney United also claimed silverware in the Waratah Cup, defeating Parramatta Eagles 2–1 in the final, with Ante Milicic scoring both goals. Their run in the Johnny Walker Cup was short-lived, as they were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Sydney Olympic.[4][5][6]

Sydney United also won the National Youth League Northern Division Grand Final, defeating Marconi Fairfield 1-0, thanks to a Tony Krslovic goal.[7]

Players

[8][9] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  AUS Zeljko Kalac
2 DF  AUS Robert Trajkovski
3 DF  CRO Velimir Kuprešak
4 DF  AUS Tony Popovic (Captain)
5 DF  AUS Mark Babic (Captain)
6 MF  AUS Robert Enes
7 MF  CRO Damir Cvetko
8 MF  AUS Ante Moric
9 MF  AUS Robert Markovac
10 FW  AUS Ante Milicic
11 MF  CRO Krešimir Marušić
12 MF  AUS Aytek Genc
14 FW  AUS David Zdrilic
15 MF  AUS Jason Culina
17 DF  AUS Paul Bilokapic
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 MF  AUS Richard Pleša
19 FW  AUS Tony Krslovic
20 GK  AUS Peter Blazincic
21 DF  AUS Marko Rudan
22 MF  AUS Jacob Burns
23 DF  AUS Chad Gibson
24 MF  AUS Dean Culina
25 DF  AUS Tom Marić
26 DF  CRO Ante Šerić
27 MF  AUS John Didulica
28 MF  AUS Ante Deur
30 GK  AUS John Perosh
31 GK  AUS Andrew Crews
— DF  AUS Joe Vrkic


Transfers in

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving from
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Ends
 Transfer
fee 		Source
1 GK Zeljko Kalac 23 Leicester City Transfer Pre-season Free [10][11]
7 MF Krešimir Marušić 26 Inter Zaprešić Transfer Pre-season Free [12]
11 MF Damir Cvetko 28 NK Varaždin Transfer Pre-season Free [13]
19 DF Joe Vrkic 21 Wollongong City Transfer Pre-season Free [14][15][16][17]
20 GK Peter Blazincic 27 West Adelaide Sharks Transfer Pre-season Free [18]
27 MF John Didulica 19 North Geelong Warriors Transfer Pre-season Free [19]
FW Tony Krslovic 27 Leichhardt Tigers Transfer Pre-season Free [20][21]

Transfers out

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Transfer
fee 		Source
13 MF Jim Patikas 32 UTS Olympic End of Contract Pre-season Free [22]
15 FW Zeljko Babic 20 Marconi Fairfield End of Contract Pre-season Free [23][24]
16 FW Manis Lamond 30 Wollongong City End of Contract Pre-season Free [25][26]
22 MF Mirko Jurilj 22 Rockdale City Suns End of Contract Pre-season Free [27][28]

Mid-Season Losses

No.
 Pos.
 Nat.
 Name
 Age
 Moving to
 Type
 Transfer
window 		Transfer
fee 		Source
4 DF Tony Popovic 23 Sanfrecce Hiroshima Transfer Mid-season [29][30]
19 DF Joe Vrkic 20 Collingwood Warriors Loan Mid-season Free [31][32][33]

Competitions

Overview

Competition First match Last match Starting round Final position Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
National Soccer League 13 October 1996 20 April 1997 Matchday 1 Winners 26 17 5 4 67 33 +34 065.38
Final Series 3 May 1997 55 May 1995 Major Semi-Final Runners Up 4 2 0 2 3 4 −1 050.00
Johnny Walker Cup 6 September 1996 10 September 1996 Round of 16 Round of 16 2 0 0 2 0 2 −2 000.00
Waratah Cup 3 September 1996 22 September 1996 Round 6 Winners 4 4 0 0 10 2 +8 100.00
Total 36 23 5 8 80 41 +39 063.89

Last updated: complete
Source: Competitions

National Soccer League

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sydney United 26 17 5 4 67 33 +34 56 Qualification for the Finals series
2 Brisbane Strikers (C) 26 15 2 9 55 40 +15 47
3 South Melbourne 26 14 4 8 39 25 +14 46
4 Adelaide City 26 11 10 5 32 22 +10 43
5 Marconi Fairfield 26 12 4 10 41 37 +4 40
6 Melbourne Knights 26 11 6 9 36 32 +4 39
7 Perth Glory 26 11 5 10 48 41 +7 38
8 West Adelaide 26 10 3 13 39 51 −12 33
9 UTS Olympic 26 8 8 10 41 46 −5 32
10 Wollongong Wolves 26 8 8 10 42 48 −6 32
11 Newcastle Breakers 26 7 9 10 40 46 −6 30
12 Gippsland Falcons 26 8 6 12 33 41 −8 30
13 Collingwood Warriors 26 6 9 11 32 44 −12 27
14 Canberra Cosmos 26 2 5 19 30 69 −39 11
Updated to match(es) played on unknown. Source: rsssf.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Matches

13 October 1996 1 Sydney United 3–3 Wollongong City Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Zdrilic 9'
  • M.Babic 37'
  • Milicic 81'
 Report
Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 4,085
Referee: Matthew Breeze
20 October 1996 2 South Melbourne 1–3 Sydney United Melbourne, Victoria
  • Orlic 47'
 Report
Stadium: Lakeside Stadium
Attendance: 8,668
Referee: B Panella
6 November 1996 3 Sydney United 3—1 Melbourne Knights Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • Kutlesovski 51'
 Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Eugene Brazzale
2 November 1996 4 Marconi Fairfield 0–3 Sydney United Bossley Park, New South Wales
Report
Stadium: Marconi Stadium
Attendance: 8,952
Referee: Eddie Lennie
10 November 1996 5 Sydney United 2–1 UTS Olympic Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • Sorras 65'
 Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 11,381
Referee: Shaun Micallef
17 November 1996 6 West Adelaide Sharks 2—3 Sydney United Hindmarsh, South Australia
 Report
Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 4,703
Referee: Eddie Lennie
23 November 1996 7 Sydney United 4–2 Perth Glory Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • Strudwick 11'
  • Kalogeracos 73'
 Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 3,450
Referee: Con Diomis
30 November 1996 8 Canberra Cosmos 1–3 Sydney United Bruce, Australian Capital Territory
  • Dee 23'
 Report
Stadium: Bruce Stadium
Attendance: 3,500
Referee: W Dade
8 December 1996 9 Sydney United 7–0 Collingwood Warriors Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,451
Referee: Brett Hugo
14 December 1996 10 Gippsland Falcons 1–2 Sydney United Morwell, Victoria
 Report
Stadium: Falcons Park
Attendance: 2,579
Referee: Gerry Connelly
20 December 1996 11 Newcastle Breakers 3–1 Sydney United Newcastle, New South Wales
  • Pryce 68'
  • Zane 70'
  • Bennett 74'
 Report
Stadium: Breakers Stadium
Attendance: 4,225
Referee: Matthew Breeze
29 December 1996 12 Sydney United 1–1 Adelaide City Edensor Park, New South Wales
  • Armour (og) 74'
 Report
  • Hassell 41'
 Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,195
Referee: Eugene Brazzale
4 January 1997 13 Brisbane Strikers 3–0 Sydney United Brisbane, Queensland
 Report Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 13,121
Referee: Gerry Connelly
12 January 1997 14 Sydney United 4-0 Brisbane Strikers Parramatta, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Parramatta Stadium
Attendance: 10,560
Referee: Shaun Micallef
2 February 1997 15 Wollongong City 1–4 Sydney United Fairy Meadow, New South Wales
  • Surjan 83'
 Report
Stadium: Brandon Park
Attendance: 10,158
Referee: Mark Shields
9 February 1997 16 Sydney United 2–0 South Melbourne Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 4,500
Referee: Gerry Connelly
16 February 1997 17 Melbourne Knights 1–1 Sydney United North Sunshine, Victoria
  • A.Cervinski 90'
 Report
Stadium: Somers St Stadium
Attendance: 5,935
Referee: Eddie Lennie
23 February 1997 18 Sydney United 1–3 Marconi Fairfield Parramatta, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Parramatta Stadium
Attendance: 11,614
Referee: Shaun Micallef
2 March 1997 19 UTS Olympic 1–1 Sydney United Belmore, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Belmore Sports Ground
Attendance: 7,924
Referee: Mark Shields
10 March 1997 20 Sydney United 4–0 West Adelaide Sharks Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 4,728
Referee: Matthew Breeze
15 March 1997 21 Perth Glory 3-1 Sydney United Perth, Western Australia
  • Kalogeracos 30', 65'
  • Wingell 24'
 Report
Stadium: Perth Oval
Attendance: 11,644
Referee: Gerry Connelly
23 March 1997 22 Sydney United 7–2 Canberra Cosmos Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Sydney Croatian Sports Centre
Attendance: 4,026
Referee: Mark Shields
31 March 1997 23 Collingwood Warriors 2–3 Sydney United Melbourne, Victoria
 Report
Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 1,700
Referee: Gerry Connelly
6 April 1997 24 Sydney United 1–0 Gippsland Falcons Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,501
Referee: G Leverton
13 April 1997 25 Sydney United 2–0 Newcastle Breakers Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 5,179
Referee: Eddie Lennie
20 April 1997 26 Adelaide City 1–1 Sydney United Hindmarsh, South Australia
  • Brooks 23'
 Report
Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium
Attendance: 8,753
Referee: Brett Hugo

NSL Final Series

3 May 1997 Major Semi-Final - 1st Leg Brisbane Strikers 1–0 Sydney United Brisbane, Queensland
  • S.Cranney 62'
 Report Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 14,666
Referee: Eddie Lennie
11 May 1997 Elimination Final - 2nd Leg Sydney United 2–1 Brisbane Strikers Parramatta, New South Wales
 Report
  • Knipe 77'
 Stadium: Parramatta Stadium
Attendance: 7,127
Referee: Eugene Brazzale
18 May 1997 Preliminary Final Sydney United 1–0 South Melbourne Parramatta, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Parramatta Stadium
Attendance: 8,059
Referee: Brett Hugo
25 May 1997 Grand Final Brisbane Strikers 2–0 Sydney United Brisbane, Queensland
 Report Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 40,446
Referee: Shaun Micallef

Johnny Walker Cup

6 September 1996 Round of 16 1st Leg Sydney United 0–1 UTS Olympic Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report
Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Brett Hugo
10 September 1996 Round of 16 2nd Leg UTS Olympic 1–0 Sydney United Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Referee: Shaun Micallef

Waratah Cup

3 September 1996 Waratah Cup Sixth Round Sydney United 1-0 Canberra Cosmos Edensor Park, New South Wales
Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
September 1996 Waratah Cup Seventh Round Sydney United 4-0 Highfields Wolves Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
15 September 1996 Waratah Cup Semi-Finals Marconi Fairfield 1-3 Sydney United South Granville, New South Wales
 Report
Stadium: Melita Stadium
Attendance: 1,149
Referee: Brett Hugo
22 September 1996 Waratah Cup Final Sydney United 2-1 Parramatta Eagles Edensor Park, New South Wales
 Report
  • Harding 12'
 Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre
Attendance: 2,896
Referee: Shaun Micallef

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.[34][35][36][37][38][39]

No. Pos. Nat. Name National Soccer League Final Series Johhny Walker Cup Waratah Cup Total
1 GK Zeljko Kalac 26 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 29 0
2 DF Robert Trajkovski 25 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 29 1
3 DF Velimir Kuprešak 22 3 4 0 2 0 2 0 30 3
5 DF Mark Babic 24 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 27 2
6 MF Robert Enes 22 4 3 0 1 0 2 0 28 4
7 MF Krešimir Marušić 24 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 28 4
8 MF Ante Moric 23 4 4 0 2 0 0 0 29 4
9 MF Robert Markovac 13 3 0 0 2 0 2 1 17 4
10 FW Ante Milicic 26 18 4 1 2 0 3 5 35 24
11 MF Damir Cvetko 20 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 22 2
12 DF Aytek Genc 11 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 13 3
14 FW David Zdrilic 26 21 4 0 2 0 3 2 35 23
15 MF Jason Culina 12 3 3 1 2 0 2 0 19 4
17 DF Paul Bilokapic 22 0 4 0 2 0 2 0 30 0
18 MF Richard Pleša 6 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 8 0
19 FW Tony Krslovic 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
20 GK Peter Blazincic 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0
21 DF Marko Rudan 15 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 18 2
22 MF Jacob Burns 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 7 0
23 DF Chad Gibson 6 0 0 0 2 0 2 1 10 1
24 MF Dean Culina 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 6 0
25 DF Tom Marić 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
27 DF John Didulica 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
30 GK John Perosh 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 3 0
28 MF Ante Deur 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 0
Players who left during the season
4 MF Tony Popovic 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 2
19 DF Joe Vrkic 2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 5 0

References

  1. ^ "1996–97 NSL Statistics". StatsCrew. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  2. ^ "The Australian National Soccer League". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  3. ^ "1997 NSL Playoff Results". OzFootball. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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  5. ^ "Waratah Cup - 1996 Results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  6. ^ Nimac, Ivan; Dužević, Šime; Lozina, Leonard; Nimac, Tony (2008). More Than The Game: 50 Years of Sydney United (1st ed.). Edensor Park: Sydney United. pp. 194–200. ISBN 978-0-646-50046-1.
  7. ^ "National Youth League Northern Division - 1996/7 Results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  8. ^ Sydney United's Match Day: Sydney United vs UTS Olympic (1996-97 ed.). Edensor Park: Sydney United. 10 November 1996. p. 14.
  9. ^ Sydney United's Match Day: Sydney United vs South Melbourne (1996-97 ed.). Edensor Park: Sydney United. 9 February 1997. p. 15.
  10. ^ "Zeljko Kalac". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Aussie Footballers - Kadicek to Karkaletsis". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  12. ^ "Krešimir Marušić". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  13. ^ "Damir Cvetko". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Joe Vrkic". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  15. ^ "1996 National Soccer League results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Joe Vrkic world football Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  17. ^ "Aussie Footballers - Vidaic to Vukovic". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  18. ^ Australia, Soccer (1996). 1996-1997 National Soccer League Media Guide (1996-1997 ed.). Soccer Australia. pp. 32–33.
  19. ^ "John Didulica". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  20. ^ "NSW Superleague - 1996 Season results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Aussie Footballers - Kowalski to Kyriazopoulos". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
  22. ^ "Jimmy Patikas". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Željko Babić". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  24. ^ "Aussie Footballers - Babalj to Balomenos". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
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  26. ^ "Manis Lamond stats". Stats Crew. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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  28. ^ "Mirko Jurilj". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  29. ^ "Tony Popovic". Stats Crew. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  30. ^ "Tony Popovic". worldfootball.net. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  31. ^ "Joe Vrkic". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
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  33. ^ "Joe Vrkic world football Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  34. ^ "The Australian National League". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  35. ^ "National Soccer League - 1996/97 Season results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  36. ^ "Sydney United Page". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  37. ^ "Waratah Cup - 1996 Results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  38. ^ "1996-97 Sydney United Pumas Statistics". Stats Crew. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
  39. ^ "1997 National Soccer League Playoff results". www.ozfootball.net. Retrieved 23 August 2025.
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