Episode 87 - National Youth League footage unearthed; remembering John Anderson and George Haniotis

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Ian isn't here this week. 

First up, Paul has George Cotsanis on the phone to discuss the unearthing of some rare footage, of the 1991/92 National Youth League finals series. Shared by South Melbourne youth team players Tim Schleiger and Mike Lilikakis, the footage consists of two films - a full length video of the Southern Division preliminary final, and a 20 minute highlight package of South's three finals matches from that season, against Heidelberg, Preston, and Sydney Croatia. Paul and Cotsy chat about the unearthing of the footage; its rarity; its insights into the culture of the South youth team at the time; the vision of players across several clubs, that came to be mainstays of Victorian soccer for the next 10-15 years; the archival incidental footage of Eddie Thomson and Ferenc Puskas; Olympic Park in its early 90s state; the cultural snapshot of the crowd.

We also look at what's next for Cotsy in terms of unearthing in even more rare footage... and there's some exciting possibilities! We also note the death of Michael Christodoulou, the last of Victorian soccer's nut sellers.

In our middle segment we have Greg Werner to discuss the recent passing of two Socceroos, John Anderson and George Haniotis. Greg notes that the well credentialed Anderson - who had played at Stoke in the English second division - was one of the many Scotsmen to come to Australia to play soccer in the 1960s. We discuss the reasons - lifestyle, wage caps, semi-professionalism, and limited employment opportunities outside soccer - why players like Anderson came to play soccer in Australia instead of staying in their home countries. We look at Anderson's Socceroo career, which included the 1965 World Cup qualifying campaign, as well as his successful stint in Victorian soccer, especially with South Melbourne. (credit also to Tony Persoglia for his excellent obituary).

George Haniotis' international career lasted four minutes. A steady and reliable defender in the NSL for several clubs, most notably Sydney Olympic, George was a much loved personality in Sydney soccer. But George was also a pioneer, being the first Australian to play in Hong Kong's league, reviving a soccer connection between Australia and Hong Kong that had largely lain dormant for decades.

Finally, Paul zips through 100 Years Ago Today, starting with a news item (see image on right) which mimics the Daily Mail's re-reporting methods of today; the referee abandoning the game as after a Preston player refuses to leave the field after being sent off; women's football gathering steam in New Zealand, with some favourable commentary on both the women's style of dress, but also an acknowledgement that the girls knew the game; more references to the pending women's game at Murray Bridge; two clubs for women being established in Toowoomba; more commentary, obsessed with the women's sense of dress, this time from Sydney, and with a writer rather bemused by the spectacle in the non-PC manner of the time - but which still brings to mind important questions about the inaccessibility of soccer equipment for women, as discussed with Marion Stell and Heather Reid in a previous episode; and finally, a fancy dress soccer match on skates, with insights into who popular celebrities were at the time (hint - silent film stars), as well as someone dressed as Lindsay Kemble, war veteran and female impersonator.