The history of Italian soccer clubs in Victoria: the disappearance of Brunswick Juventus

© 2013 Patrick RadeckiIn 1996, one of the most well-known soccer clubs in Australia completed a merger with Bulleen Lions and Box Hill Inter Kings, disappearing into the annals of history. The club was Brunswick Juventus, considered by many as having been one of the best Australian clubs of all time. No team now bears its name, although many share its history, or at least parts of it. The constant name changes and amalgamations with other clubs have meant that in recent years, the complex history of Brunswick Juventus, is as confusing as it is challenging. Tracing its past has been likened to navigating ‘a maze’ the constant name changes similar to ‘an alphabet soup’. To further confuse the issue, a split between the senior and junior teams led to the formation of two clubs (Brunswick and Moreland Zebras) with a shared history, a history which many believe makes them one in the same. Moreover, Juventus were national champions as recently as 1985, but were relegated just two years later from the competition. The yo-yo success of the club, succeeding its dominance of Australian soccer in the 1950’s-1970’s, is indicative of the administrative and financial problems which plagued it from the late 1970s onwards. The reasons why a club founded by Italian immigrants, propped up by its own success to become a symbol of the Italian community in Victoria, and yet which could not become self-sustainable by the turn of the century, are the core concerns this thesis sets out to address. (From introduction