Rockdale City Suns - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Rockdale Ilinden Football Club (commonly known as the Rockdale City Suns Football Club), founded in 1969, is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n association football (soccer) club based in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

suburb of Rockdale

Rockdale, New South Wales

Rockdale is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rockdale is located 13 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the St George area...

and competes in the highest men's competition in New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, the NSW Premier League.

The Club's home ground is Bicentennial Park South

Bicentennial Park South

Bicentennial Park South is a football stadium in Rockdale, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.Redevelopment of the venue started in October 2008, and finished in September 2009 to become the new home of New South Wales Premier League team, the Rockdale City Suns.-History:Bicentennial...

, located in the suburb of Rockdale

Rockdale, New South Wales

, New South Wales

New South Wales

History

The Rockdale Ilinden Soccer Club was formed in 1969 by a group of Slav-Macedonian Australians who gave the team the name "Ilinden

Ilinden

-Events:* Day of the Republic in the Republic of Macedonia, celebrated on 2 August each year.-Geographic locations:* In Bulgaria:** Ilinden, Blagoevgrad Province, a village** Ilinden, Sofia, an urban municipality* In Macedonia:** Ilinden municipality...

" which has special meaning for all Slav-Macedonians throughout history. The club’s first President Simon Zipevski laid the foundations as did the late Vlade Temelkovski who was President in 1978. The name Ilinden represents the Macedonian people’s struggle for freedom, justice, and recognition.

On the field, the highlights would have to be the Grand Final wins (of different Leagues) in 1984, 2002 and 2006. The 1984 NSW First Division Grand Final team was coached by Ilija Takac, winning 3-2 over Inter Monaro

Inter Monaro

Inter Monaro SC is a defunct Australian football club that was based in Queanbeyan, NSW. Inter Monaro entere the NSW State League in 1977 after winning the ACT State League in 1976. In 1979 they won the NSW State League Grand Final...

at Marconi Stadium

Marconi Stadium

Marconi Stadium is a football stadium in Bossley Park, New South Wales, Australia. It is mainly is used for association football and is the home ground for the Marconi Stallions team.-History:...

and is firmly entrenched in the memories of the Rockdale Ilinden supporters.

It took 18 long years for Rockdale Ilinden to rejoice another First Grade Grand Final victory. In 2002 the coaching team of Mile Todoroski and Bill Pilovski led the team to an amazing Premiership/Championship double with only 1 loss in 24 games. In the Grand Final, they would meet the Hajduk Wanderers (who Rockdale defeated 5 goals to 3 just two weeks earlier in the Semi Final) in very rainy and windy conditions at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre is located on the grounds of Barton Park in Arncliffe, New South Wales in Australia. It is currently the home ground of the Rockdale Ilinden Football Club, who play in the New South Wales Super League....

. The team was captained by Spase Najdoski who scored the only goal in the game which in turn was the winning goal in the Grand Final in front of a crowd of 3000 at Melita Stadium

Melita Stadium

Melita Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Chester Hill, New South Wales, Australia. It is mainly used for football and is the home ground for the Parramatta Eagles team and the Parramatta Ladyhawks Women's Super League team. The stadium has a capacity of 10,000 people.Melita Stadium is home to...

.

Four years later in 2006, Rockdale Ilinden would claim another Grand Final victory this time over Penrith Nepean United

Penrith Nepean United

Penrith Nepean United Football Club was an Australian football club based in St Marys.-History:Penrith Nepean United played in the New South Wales Premier League, the highest level of competitive Men's football in New South Wales. The club hosted their home games at CUA Stadium in Penrith but are...

. Rockdale won 1-0 in front of a crowd of 2000 at Melita Stadium

Melita Stadium

. Penrith Nepean United would gain promotion to the New South Wales Premier League as Rockdale's application would be denied by Football NSW due to the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

not meeting specific stadium criteria for the Premier League.

The Rockdale Ilinden Soccer Club has been led by a wide array of coaching identities over their history. Some of these coaches were great players in their playing days. Kaz Kulak, Archie Blue, Ilija Takac, Ati Abonyi, Ljubo Gojkovic, Geoff Hoggart, John Fleming (1980s), Ljubo Jancev, Bill Pilovski, Manfred Schaefer, Risto Gojkovski, Rale Rasic, Doug Utjesenovic, Bill Temelkovski, Bill Boskovski, Gerry Gomez (1990s), Mile Todoroski, Ivan Petkovic, Zlatko Nastevski and current coach Mike Grbevski.

Mile Todorovski, the 2008 Super League Coach of the Year was announced as the new coach for the 2009 season with all members/guests and players welcoming the announcement. Lee Sterrey, formerly the coach of Marconi Stallions, replaced him for the 2011 Premier League season. Hugo Sanchez was also named as the new Youth League Head Coach. The Club Committee also announced STOBI Int. as the new supplier of the playing strip and accessories for the 2009 season and beyond.

The 2009 Super League season officially began on 15 March 2009 with Rockdale Ilinden drawing 1-1 with the Northern Tigers at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

. The club finished the season in first place on the ladder, claiming the Premiership and advancing to the finals. They were, however, eliminated during the Preliminary Final by the eventual Champions Spirit FC

Northern Spirit FC

Northern Spirit Football Club was a football club based in North Sydney, Australia. Northern Spirit entered the National Soccer League in the 1998-99 season...

2 goals to nil.

On 12 October 2009, Football NSW announced that the Rockdale City Suns would be promoted to the Premier League competition for the 2010 season.

Colours and badge

The primary club colours of Rockdale Ilinden are red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...

and black

Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

with a secondary, less-used colour of white

White

White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...

.

The Rockdale Ilinden badge was created and used since the clubs founding in 1969. It contains the Vergina Sun

Vergina Sun

The Vergina Sun — also known as the Star of Vergina, Macedonian star, or Argead Star — is the name given to a symbol of a stylised star or sun with sixteen rays. It was unearthed in 1977 during excavations in Vergina, in the northern Greek region of Macedonia, by archaeologist Manolis Andronikos...

, with the centre disc replaced by a traditional black and white soccer ball surrounded by the name of the club.

Stadium

From its founding in 1969 through to 2009, the Club played their home games at the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre

, except during 2001, when the proximity of construction of the M5 East Freeway caused them to relocate their home games to John Crehan Park

John Crehan Park

John Crehan Park is a multi-use stadium in the southern part of Wollongong, Australia. The stadium is on Merret Avenue, Cringila. It is currently used mostly for football matches. It is the home of New South Wales Premier League side Wollongong FC and Illawarra Premier League side Cringila Lions...

in Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong, New South Wales

Wollongong is a seaside city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. It lies on the narrow coastal strip between the Illawarra Escarpment and the Pacific Ocean, 82 kilometres south of Sydney...

. The club continued to enjoy considerable support during this time, due in part to the size of the Macedonian community in the Illawarra Region.

In 2008, the club announced that they would be moving 1km

Kilometre

The kilometre is a unit of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres and is therefore exactly equal to the distance travelled by light in free space in of a second...

south from the Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre to Bicentennial Park South

Bicentennial Park South

in Rockdale

Rockdale, New South Wales

. Bicentennial Park South was to be transformed into a new football ground meeting the stadium standards of Football NSW, with new turf laid, an underground irrigation system installed, and a new clubhouse and facilities building constructed.

On Saturday, 12 December 2009, the club officially opened its new facilities at Bicentennial Park South

Bicentennial Park South

. Youth teams and Juniors occupy the nearby sporting fields of Bicentennial Park East, which adjoins the main ground of the club by a footbridge.

Supporters

Many supporters of the Suns are traditionally of Slavic Macedonian background. The fan base known as the "Suns Army" or "Komiti Sydney" are based on the highly regarded supporters in Europe "Komiti" who support Vardar Skopje, one of the most successful football teams in the Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

First Grade

The Senior First Grade squad.
Coach: Wally Savor

Under 20's

The Under 20's squad for 2010.
Coach: Žarko Odžakov

Žarko Odžakov

Žarko Odžakov is a retired footballer who represented Australia 13 times in full international matches. Former Australia coach Ralé Rašić in 2006 picked Odžakov in his greatest Socceroo team.-FK Vardar:...

Notable former players

Francis Awaritefe

Francis Edgar Awaritefe is an Australian former football player, and is currently Director of Football at Melbourne Victory...

(2001–08) Scott Baillie (2004–05) Paul Bilokapic (2004) Shannon Cole

Shannon Cole

Shannon Cole is a midfielder who currently plays in the Australian football A-League for Sydney FC.-Early life:Shannon attended St Ambrose primary school, Concord West, and St Patrick's College, Strathfield...

(2003) Daniel Farias (2003–2004) Alvaro Folladoza (1998-00)
Iain MacDonald (1993–94, 1998, 2002) Ivan Necevski

Ivan Necevski

Ivan Necevski is a football goalkeeper who currently plays in the Australian A-League for Sydney FC.-Club career:...

(2002) Jordan Lando (2006) Tony Sekulic (1994–96, 2003–04) Darryl Sharp (1993–94) Christopher Steel (2006)
Sam La Macchia (2000–01)

Michael Reda

Michael Carl Reda is a former Australian born-Lebanese footballer.-International career:He has played for Lebanon internationally, most notably making appearance for Lebanon at the 2000 Asian Nations Cup. He played for the School Sport Australia Football team in Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei in...

(1993) Spase Najdoski (1997-03, 2003–04) Sasho Stevoski (2003–04) Goran Talevski (2003–04) Stewart Porter (1988–92)

Chairman and Coaches

The current Chairman of the club is Zak Agioski. The current Frist Grade and Under 20's coaches are Wally Savor and Terry Jones respectively. The head coach of the Youth League is Mr. Hugo Sanchez who manages Under 18's. The previous Chairman was Mendo Cklamovski who was previously the Club Secretary and has been with the club since 1992.

Sponsorship

Major Sponsors

Gregory Jewellers (Major Sponsor)
STOBI Int. (Official Kit Supplier)

Minor Sponsors

Honours

NSW Premier League:
- Champions (1): 1984 (Division One)

NSW Super League:
- Premiers (3): 1983, 2002, 2009
- Champions (2): 2002, 2006

External links

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