Adelaide City

Origins and early years

The club was founded in a back room of the Bailetti sports store on Hindley Street, Adelaide by the shop's owner Mario Bailetti and a small group of former members of a club called Savoia. Supported primarily by members of the city's Italian community, the club was originally called Juventus after the Italian club from 1946 and subsequently renamed Adelaide Juventus in 1960. Bailetti served as chairman for the first 14 years of the club's existence and, after also serving in senior executive roles with the South Australian Soccer Federation, later had the western grandstand of Hindmarsh Stadium named in his honour.

Juventus began life in the second division of South Australian soccer, winning promotion at its first attempt. However, Juventus was relegated straight back to the second tier in 1947, where it remained for another two years. In 1949, Juventus was promoted again and it has remained at the highest level of South Australian soccer ever since, save for several seasons during the club's National Soccer League stint. Early star players included Italian post-war migrant Fulvio Pagani, a fullback who was also selected for the Australian national team.

The first of many state championships arrived in 1953. This was followed by another five titles before the end of the 1950s including an unprecedented four in-a-row between 1956 and 1959. Between 1953 and 1959, the club won 106 of 127 games and six of seven championships it contested. An additional three South Australian championships were won in the 1960s and three more titles were won in the 1970s up until 1976. The club's original home was Kensington Oval, Adelaide, then known as Olympic Sports Field.

During the club's formative years, there were already signs of its potential on the national stage. Adelaide Juventus competed in the inaugural Australia Cup in 1962, finishing third in the national knockout tournament. Its cup run produced wins over eventual national league rivals, Brisbane Azzurri and Sydney Hakoah, before it was denied a place in the final courtesy of a 3–0 loss to St George Budapest in front of 5000 spectators at Hindmarsh Stadium. Juventus reached the semi-finals of the Australia Cup again in 1963, this time having its final hopes dashed by eventual champion Port Melbourne Slavia. The club competed in all but the last edition of the tournament in 1968 but never again progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

Entering the National Soccer League

In 1977, the club renamed itself Adelaide City and became a founding member of the inaugural NSL competition; Australia's first national league of any football code. The team was captained by Frank Lister, who was later inducted into the South Australian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004. The club's inaugural NSL coach was Edmund Kreft. Roger Romanowicz, Ron Fraser, Fred Yung, Zoran Matić, Lister, John Perin, David Leane, Sergio Melta, Brian Northcote, John Nyskohus and Gary Marocchi started for the Black and Whites in their first ever national league clash, a 0–0 draw against the Brisbane Lions at Olympic Sports Field, watched by 6320 people.

City finished fourth in the first ever NSL season, six points behind eventual champion Eastern Suburbs, later renamed Sydney City. One of the main proponents of the NSL concept, City recorded the league's highest average attendance of 7400 in its first season. The club was also responsible for bringing one of the new league's star recruits to Australian shores in former Celtic striker Dixie Deans, who topped the goalscoring charts in the inaugural NSL season with 16 goals. The Scottish international signed on a $25,000 contract and scored his first goal for the club in a 4–1 derby win over West Adelaide in front of 12,000 fans. Deans remained with City until 1980. One of the club's other highlights from the first NSL season was a 10–3 win over Victorian club Mooroolbark. The game remains the only time an Australian club side has scored 10 goals in a national league match.

The second NSL season was less successful for City. They finished 10th in a 14-team competition and drew a crucial game at the end of the season that allowed their biggest rivals, West Adelaide, to claim the title. That final round match, played at Hindmarsh Stadium, attracted a crowd of 16,251.

The club reached the final of the NSL Cup in 1978 but lost to the Lions in Brisbane. The following year, City won its first national level silverware, defeating St George Budapest 3–1 in front of 9554 fans at Olympic Sports Field.

In 1979, City also faced a New York Cosmos side featuring Dutch star Johan Neeskens and German legend Franz Beckenbauer in a friendly at Olympic Sports Field, which attracted a crowd of more than 28,000.

City remained a mid-table side for the following few seasons. In 1984, the NSL was expanded and split into Northern and Southern conferences. City played in the Southern Conference, alongside clubs from Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

First national championship

In 1986, the club appointed former player Zoran Matić as its new coach; a decision that would lead to the side becoming a powerhouse for more than a decade. City reached the finals that season for the first time after finishing third in the southern conference. In a qualifying final, City travelled to Melbourne and beat second-placed Footscray JUST 3–2. They backed up that win by returning to Melbourne and defeating Southern Conference champion Brunswick Juventus 2–0 in the semi-finals. The Southern final pit City against Footscray JUST again and the club won its third straight finals clash away from home, 2–1.

City then faced Northern Conference champion, Sydney Olympic, at Hindmarsh Stadium in the first leg of the NSL grand final. Despite losing 1–0 in front of 12,232 home fans, City travelled to Sydney the following week and defeated the Greek community-backed Olympic 3–1 at Parramatta Stadium to be crowned Australian champions for the first time. The club's first championship captain Bugsy Nyskohus also became the first player to play 300 NSL games.

Remarkably, City's first championship side included nine home-grown South Australians in Nyskohus, Paul Shillabeer, Alex Tobin, Charlie Villani, Adrian Santrac, Sergio Melta, Aurelio Vidmar, Steve Maxwell and Joe Mullen.

Championship glory qualified City to play in the first ever Oceania Club Championship in 1987. In reality, the tournament was a one-off game for City, which faced off against 1986 New Zealand National Soccer League winners University-Mount Wellington. In front of 3500 fans at Hindmarsh Stadium, City beat UniMount on penalties after a 1–1 draw, Mullen having scored the home side's goal. The Oceania championship would not be held again until 1999.

The NSL returned to a single conference, 14-team competition the following season and City disappointed, backing up its championship season with a 10th-place finish. It would not be until the 1989–90 season, when the NSL switched to summertime, that the Adelaide club returned to the finals series. However, they were eliminated at the first hurdle at home by Sydney Olympic.

Golden era

City enjoyed its finest years during the 1990s. The club finished third in the 1990–91 season, four points behind Melbourne Croatia. In the finals, they faced South Melbourne Hellas away from home, losing 4–2 in Melbourne. City, which had a double chance due to its top three finish, rebounded and beat Marconi-Fairfield 1–0 at home thanks to a 93rd minute Joe Mullen goal. However, in the preliminary final, South Melbourne's Paul Trimboli scored the only goal to break City hearts. South went on to win the grand final on penalties against arch-rivals Melbourne Croatia. City's season was recognised with individual awards to its star defender, Milan Ivanović, who was named NSL Player of the Year after arriving from Yugoslav giants Red Star Belgrade, and Coach of the Year Zoran Matić.

The following season saw City win its second championship. While the club finished fourth after the home-and-away rounds, its reputation as a finals specialist continued to become stronger. A Carl Veart goal gave the Zebras a 1–0 win over Wollongong City at Hindmarsh. Veart then scored twice away from home, including an extra time winner, against Sydney Olympic. Goals from Veart, his fourth of the finals campaign, and rising star Ross Aloisi gave City a 2–0 win over South Melbourne at Olympic Park. A 0–0 draw in the grand final against Melbourne Croatia went City's favour, as they won on penalties to claim their second NSL title. Croatia had lost two grand finals in two years on penalties to rival clubs.

Adelaide City narrowly failed to go back-to-back in the 1992–93 season, losing the grand final 1–0 to Marconi after finishing third on the ladder. City had defeated their biggest rivals West Adelaide and South Melbourne to reach the decider.

The following season, the Zebras reclaimed their national title. Despite finishing fifth on the table, City was able to reach the grand final by downing powerhouses Sydney United, Marconi and South Melbourne. Its biggest finals performers included a young Damian Mori, who went on to become one of Australia's greatest ever goalscorers, Brad Hassell and Tony Vidmar. City faced the Melbourne Knights in the grand final at Melbourne's Olympic Park. Mori scored the only goal of the game, giving City their third championship against his former club, which had now lost three grand finals in four seasons.

The Croatian-backed Knights exacted revenge on City the following season, edging them out by one point to top the table after the regular season. City then beat Knights over two legs in the semi-finals to secure a home grand final. Knights beat their rivals South Melbourne to qualify for the grand final. The patch pit that season's two top goalscorers against one another, the Knights' Mark Viduka having scored 18 goals and City's Damian Mori 17. In front of more than 16,000 fans, the Knights defeated Adelaide City for the first time in South Australia to claim their first national title. Despite the loss, Matić was again named Coach of the Year.

City made the finals in each of the following six seasons but failed to reach another grand final. Its run of 11 consecutive finals series stands as a national record. Damian Mori won the first of his three top goalscorer awards for City in 1996, with 31 goals for the season. His goalscoring efforts also saw him named Player of the Year.

Final NSL years

The club rebranded itself as the Adelaide Force going into the 2000–01 season, in an effort to promote themselves beyond Adelaide's Italian community, from where they had drawn their traditional support. City missed the finals in their first season as the Force and finished second-last the following year, their worst ever NSL season. It was the club's first season without star striker Mori, who signed for Perth Glory after he received an offer to become a full-time professional. Mori remained with the West Australian club until the NSL folded in 2004, after which he returned to City.

Going into the 2002–03 season, which was to be their last in the NSL, City recruited Italian striker Claudio Pelosi who had previously spent a two-year stint at the club. Pelosi's goals helped City return to the finals series. The NSL changed its finals format to a round-robin competition played over 10 matches between the top six. Minor round premiers, Olympic Sharks were given a six-point advantage and despite City's valiant finals efforts, they finished two points shy of the Sharks and a berth in the grand final.

City's final NSL match saw them beat Northern Spirit 6–0 in front of 3,833 home fans at Hindmarsh Stadium.

On 31 August 2003, after 27 seasons in the NSL, Adelaide City announced its departure from the national league because of financial difficulties. The club returned to only fielding sides in the South Australian state competition the following year.

Return to state competition

City competed in the South Australian competitions even while its senior side played in the NSL. However, after its departure from the national league, City's top side enjoyed a successful return to the state leagues. In 2005, the club won the Premier League grand final, despite finishing seven points shy of the North Eastern MetroStars during the regular season.

Adelaide City completed the treble in 2006 winning three trophies, the pre-season Errea Cup, the 2006 FFSA Super League (a rebranded SA Premier League) and the FFSA Adelaide United Cup. City met Raiders in the Errea Cup final in what was a rematch of the previous season's Grand Final. City breezed through winning 5–0. In the Super League, City fought off tough competition for the majority of the year and ended the season three games clear on top of the table with a healthy goal difference. City then went on to win the FFSA Adelaide United Cup with a comprehensive 4–1 victory over Adelaide Blue Eagles. Striker Jonathan Negus scored a hat-trick and won the John Kosmina Medal awarded to the best on ground.

Damian Mori, now coach of City, led the club to its third and fourth straight South Australian titles in the 2007 season and 2008 season. The club lost to MetroStars in the 2009 grand final, preventing them from claiming five championships in a row. However, they defeated Adelaide Blue Eagles to win the SA title again in 2010—their fifth in six seasons with Mori as coach. Blue Eagles exacted revenge the following year, defeating City on penalties in the grand final. City also lost the 2012 grand final to MetroStars.

In 2014, City won the Federation Cup defeating old NSL rivals West Adelaide 4–1 in the final at Hindmarsh Stadium.

On 12 August that year, Adelaide City played Western Sydney Wanderers in the round of 32 of the 2014 FFA Cup. The Wanderers team featured players such as Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Ante Čović and Tomi Jurić and were overwhelming favourites to progress. With 15 minutes left, and the scores tied at 0–0, City midfielder Thomas Love went on a solo run, beating several players and scored the winning goal for Adelaide City. The victory was a massive result for the club who were the first semi-professional side to defeat an A-League side in what was the first ever season of the FFA Cup. Adelaide managed to progress to the quarter-finals of the tournament, beating Brisbane Strikers 1–0 in the round of 16, not before being eliminated by Bentleigh Greens in a 2–1 extra-time loss.

City returned to the South Australian National Premier Leagues grand final in 2016 but, despite having topped the regular season table, lost to Campbelltown City and failed to claim its first South Australian championship since 2011.

17 February 2018 was a memorable day in the club history when city rivals South Adelaide were defeated with 10–0.