Coach: George Katsakis
Home Ground: Olympic Village
2015 Season:
League: 3rd place/Preliminary-Finals (2 [0] – 2 [3] loss to Pascoe Vale)
Dockerty Cup: Semi-Finals (1-2 loss to South Melbourne)
FFA Cup: Quarter-Finals (0-5 loss to Melbourne City)
Club Overview/History: The former NSL powerhouse is one of the most recognisable names in Victorian football. With almost two decades playing in the top flight of Australian football, the twice national runners-up dropped back down to the Victorian league in 1996, where they’ve enjoyed varied success at a lower level. A VPL title was sandwiched between three relegations, but their recent history in the NPL era has brought more stability, where they’ve enjoyed two successful seasons in the top-flight, establishing themselves as one of the main players in the league
Pre-season:
Saturday 1pm: Heidelberg United vs. Oakleigh Cannons
Heidelberg United 3 (Way, Noon, Govas) defeated Mitchelton FC 0
Heidelberg United 5 defeated Adelaide Comets 0 > VIDEO: Highlights
Heidelberg United 1 (Ellis) defeated Bentleigh Greens 0
Heidelberg United 1 (Sheppard) defeated by Port Melbourne 2 (Zahra, Stirton)
Last season: It was a season to remember for Heidelberg last year, perhaps not for their league form which despite starting promisingly, fizzled out into a first round Finals knock-out at the hands of Pascoe Vale. Of course though, their exploits in the cup won them many admirers across the country as they made it through to the final eight across the nation, before falling to a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Melbourne City, in front of a 12,000 strong home crowd.
In the league, they finished seven points off top spot, but were right in the mix, up to Round 17, where a big 4-0 defeat to league leaders Bentleigh Greens effectively forced a six-point turnaround. Other memorable moments in their season included a four-point haul over South Melbourne, and some mammoth victories over Green Gully (8-2), and Dandenong Thunder (6-1 and 5-1).
Transfer movement:
In:
Sean Ellis, Goulburn Valley Suns
Emmanuel Tsakiris, Olympia FC Warriors
Chris Theodoridis, Northcote City
Lewis Hall, Sorrento FC [NPL Western Australia]
Josh Wilkins, Perth SC [NPL Western Australia]
Harry Noon, Mitchelton FC [Brisbane Premier League]
Out:
Dan Heffernan, Central Coast Mariners
Jamie Cumming, Avondale FC
Nejc Kolman, Moreland Zebras
Daniel Vasilevski, Altona Magic
Kostas Kanakaris
Mitchell Walsh
Griffin McMaster
READ MORE > All NPL Victoria pre-season transfers
Players to watch: There’s a host of new names to look out for at Olympic Village this season, but English midfielder Harry Noon in particular has captured the imagination of his new-side with a few starring roles in pre-season so far. Further up the pitch, Kaine Sheppard may have to forge a new strike partnership in 2016 with Kenny Athiu and new recruit Sean Ellis and Emmanuel Tsakiris all providing competition.
Heidelberg may look to adapt to a four at the back again, and with the recruiting of fullback Josh Wilkins and centre-half Lewis Hall, there will be plenty of options. Young Milos Ilic also got a chance in defence last season and he could see more minutes in the senior line-up.
With a number of departing midfielders, the experienced pair of Jack Petrie and Andreas Govas will once again be heavily relied upon to do a role, potentially with Noon in a three-man midfield.
Finally, news broke today of Griffin McMaster leaving the club by mutual consent. This leaves Chris Theodoridis as the number one for the season ahead.
What to expect in 2016: The Bergers have signed well by all reports, but the proof will be in the pudding in how they play as a cohesive unit when their season opener arrives. They start with a three-point league penalty which could be critical come the end of the season, but expect the Bergers to once again float around the top with top-spot a tough ask given they’re essentially starting a game behind the pace.
Feature Image: Graeme Furlong