Thirty years ago, Melbourne Knights sensationally exorcised its NSL Grand Final demons to trigger a “celebration for the ages”.
The latest edition of Vjesnik TV reflects on the sunny May afternoon the Knights’ stunning 1994/95 triumph over arch enemy Adelaide City at Hindmarsh Stadium.
Led by an emerging batch of Australian-Croatian starlets, the young Knights were carrying the burden of three Grand Final losses, including the last two to experienced Adelaide City.
The most talented of the Knights crop Mark Viduka knew he was playing his last game for the club before heading to Dinamo Zagreb, and with many others being scouted by European clubs, the stakes were high.
“There was big expectation on our shoulders and we came up against pretty much the Socceroos defence,” striker Joe Spiteri recalled.
Captain Andrew Marth, a renowned big-game player, had a huge responsibility on his shoulders.
“We lost three grand finals previously, and I probably contributed to all three. Adelaide City were a great team, but our squad was unbelievable,” Marth said.
Defender Steve Horvat recalled how the Knights team was stacked with Australia youth internationals, against a team of Socceroos veterans.
“A lot of people forget how young we were, I was around 24 and third oldest,” he said.
The Knights feature will be released on Friday evening, at 4pm.
*The Vjesnik is celebrating the Knights’ 30-year anniversary with a special feature in the first monthly magazine edition, which replaces the traditional weekly newspaper from May 2025. The first monthly magazine edition is available from May 9.