Make no mistake - Melbourne Croatia Social Club will survive!

Committee: ''Our biggest problem remains public perception....''

Josip LONCARIC

The Melbourne Knights Soccer Club and Melbourne Croatia Social Club have for many years been known as one and the same. ''Soccer club, social club... it's all the same thing'', seems to have been the general consensus regarding the identity of both of these entities, based at Somers Street in the western Melbourne suburb of North Sunshine.

Late last year, the legal - and administrative - separation of the two entities was finally realised in what was to become an unprecedented move aimed at guaranteeing the future of the 12 or so acres of land that had - over the past 25 years - been transformed into the sporting and social hub of Melbourne's Croatian community.

This schism effectively means that the Melbourne Knights Soccer Club (MKSC) would exclusively deal with the running of the Victorian Premier League seniors and reserves teams, whilst the Melbourne Croatia Social Club (MCSC) would be in charge of all the other aspects of the club, including the running of the kitchen, bar, social events and most importantly the substantial $1.4 million plus debt that mismanagement from the past (particularly the old National Soccer League days) has passed on to the club and the community.

''We wish to clear the air once and for all so that the Croatian community is aware of what MCSC's role is in regards to the future of this club'', said spokesperson Zdravko Zilic at a specially arranged press conference at the North Sunshine clubrooms last Sunday afternoon.

Apart from several local Australian Croatian media representatives from TV, radio and print who were present, the meeting was also attended by MCSC president Steve Mandekic, fellow board members Ivica Culina, Edi Muzaferovic, Davor Filipovic and ''Save the Land'' sub-committee president Ivan Skunca.

In a nutshell, the MCSC members wished to shed some light on what has been happening in recent years, regarding the club - and by club, we are not referring to the Melbourne Knights, rather Melbourne Croatia.

''The way we see it, the Melbourne Knights are the main tenants of the MCSC and as such, they are the major attraction to our club. They have their own board of directors in which Stan Bilic is president and Mate Tomas is chairman'', confirmed  Zilic before adding, ''we support the team and we wish them success, but we are primarily concerned with absolving the debt and continuing to expand and improve our social club for future generations to be proud of and to enjoy''.

After a brief historical overview by both Zilic and president Mandekic, in which it became apparent that the MKSC was more of a liability to the MCSC (financially), the members proceeded to inform the media of their progress and future aspirations.

''Since the Knights left the now defunct NSL in 2004, they have failed to make a profit that could be put towards paying off the (sizeable) debt'', explained Zilic.

''In the last two years, we have managed to refurbish and improve the social club more than anyone has done so in the past 20 years'' continued Zilic.

Certainly the once drab clubrooms were looking a great deal better than in previous years, but the improvements were not only skin deep. The food, the service (especially by the cheerful waitresses on duty, Emina and Marina) as well as the overall atmosphere was all impressive, and Zilic and co. ensure us that this is only the beginning.

''With the truly generous help of JZ Lee, Barkley Glass, DDK and numerous other 'do-gooders', we (MCSC) have managed to transform the social club and continue to repay the interest on the debt and then some'', said Zilic.

Considering that the MCSC must come up with a minimum of $10,000 per month just to pay back the interest, things are looking good for the future. Friday evenings are a huge drawcard, whilst the regular Thursday afternoon pensioner luncheons have been a continued success.

''We have continued to improve in all departments to sustain and continue to grow, and we are sure that some of our future changes will only make things even better'', said Zilic.

On the horizon, MCSC plans to partition the clubrooms (allowing for smaller private functions), put an all-weather covering on both the bocce area and the adjoining beer garden, possibly construct another soccer pitch for the ever-growing juniors at the club and eventually, renovate the 'Bat Cave' beneath the stadium's Mark Viduka Grandstand.

''We recently installed a brand new oven (thanks largely to a pensioner club donation), re-vamped the menu and confirmed the social club as a meeting place for the popular Croatian Golf Club. Another plan that is well under way is the collaboration with the Croatian-Immigration Museum, which will also have a home at MCSC in the near future'', said Zilic.

All of these changes underline the intentions of this committee to ensure that the future of the Melbourne Croatia Social Club is as prosperous as possible.

President Steve Mandekic had the final word and summed up the meeting succinctly.

''Eighteen years ago, the Croatian community bought this land and we have had success on the field, particularly in the 1990's, but we were unsuccessful off the field. Now we are in control of the off-field situation without the distraction of the soccer-side of things. We are confident in the people running the Melbourne Knights Soccer Club, but our goal is to be champions off the field'', concluded Mandekic.

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SAVE THE LAND – the third entiry in the equation

THE YEAR 2004 was memorable for all the wrong reasons for the formerly combined Melbourne Croatia and Melbourne Knights. In that year, the Knights ended their tenure in the now defunct National Soccer League, and at roughly the same time, the club - and the community - faced the very real prospect of losing its primary asset, namely the 12 acres on Lot 2 Somers Street, Sunshine known as the Melbourne Croatia Sports Centre.

''We were on the edge of the cliff and hanging on for dear life, that is how close we came to losing everything'', said Ivan Skunca.

A longtime clubman, Skunca saw the need for drastic measures. These measures culminated in the formation of the ''Save the Land'' sub-committee, which is essentially a legal entity that prevents any board borrowing money against the land, which was the main reason for the incurring debt many years ago.

''We are a third entity that through several various avenues managed to raise upwards of $131,000 to ensure that the land remains in the ownership of the social club. ''Save the Land'' has no cheque book or bank account, we are solely concerned with keeping what we (the community) worked so hard for over 20-odd years'', Skunca added, before showing the 'Croatian Herald' the legal document that each member, who contributed $1000 or more towards the fund, received.

''Every person that contributed was given both a certificate and a legal document as well as an assurance that in the unlikely event that the land was sold within the next 15 years (from 2004) they would be completely reimbursed of their donation'', he continued.

It seems the move was a step in the right direction as the land's value has increased significantly in the past few years.

''The land was, at the time of our formation in 2004, valued at around the $2 million mark. Recent evaluations confirmed that the value is now over triple that at around the $7-8 million mark! Just by buying time, we have increased the value of our asset and we plan to keep it in the community's control forever'', concluded Skunca. 

Josip LONCARIC