Hobart Zebras Football Club (Australia)
Founded
as Juventus Soccer Club in 1956, after being inspired by the Italian club,
Juventus, the team was based in Hoban, Tasmania. Their jerseys were black and
stripes, just like their Italian counterparts and they played their games at
KGV Park. The clubs badge also donned two zebras’ either side of a football.
The
club competed in the Tasmanian Soccer Championship and won the league title on
9 occasions, with the first coming in the 1969 season when they beat another
club who had emulated Juventus as well. Launceston Juventus was founded at
around the same time as Juventus Soccer Club and continue to play in the
Tasmanian football league. (As of time of writing). It was the side from Hobart
that won this two-legged tie, winning their first Tasmanian Soccer
Championship.
Their
second win came two years later, and it was against the same opposition. The
first leg was lost, 6-1 and it looked like Launceston Juventus would get
revenge for their defeat two years previously, but amazingly, Hobart Juventus,
as they were more commonly known as, clawed their way back into the tie and won
the game, 6-1, meaning they won the final, 8-7 on aggregate.
In
what was now becoming a big rivalry in Tasmanian football, the two sides met
the following year in the final once again in 1972. Once again, Hobart
Juventus, came out of the two-legged tie victorious and lifted their third Tasmanian
title. A treble of wins followed in the 1973 season, when they once again
lifted the championship trophy, beating a different opposition this time in the
form of Riverside Olympic.
But
it wouldn’t be until 1983 when the ‘Zebras’ would win their fifth title,
playing in a one-off game against Devonport City. They won the game 2-1. As was
the norm with Hobart Zebra’s, they would win consecutive titles, when beating
Georgetown in 1984 and then again, beating the same opposition in the 1985
final.
Once
again it would be a few years before they won their 8th title, when
in 1993, they beat Devonport City, 2-1 in the final. It was the last time the
club would win a league title under the name ‘Hobart Juventus’, when, in 1997,
the Australian Soccer Federation made the rule that clubs could no longer be
named via an ethnic affiliation, with Juventus being seen as ‘Too Italian’. And
so, the club, who still wanted to keep the black and white image alive, changed
their name to the Hobart Zebra’s. It wouldn’t be until 2004 when they made an
appearance in the championship final again, However, they were denied their 9th
title in this one by Devonport City, who had finally gained revenge on their
rivals for previous defeats, winning this match, 2-1.
The
Zebra’s 9th title did finally come in 2007, when they defeated
Somerset in the final, 3-1. That would be the last State Championship the club
would win. The league format was changed in 2012, but they have still yet to
win a league title since 2007. In 2012, the club finished 5th in the
league, now known as the South Premier League, missing out on the play-offs.
The
2013 season saw the league being renamed the ‘Victory League’, and the club
finished 3rd, meaning they qualified for the play-offs, however that
was as far as the reached, as they were defeated by Devonport City n the
semi-final, 4-2. They lost the third and fourth place play-off to Olympia, 3-2.
The
2014 campaign saw the club finish second in the group, behind South Hobart, who
they would meet in the last four. South Hobart were to prove to strong for
their local rivals, winning the tie, 3-1 and going on to win the title by
beating Northern Rangers, 3-1 in the final. 2015 was the first time the club
had reached a final since 2007, when. They came 3rd in the league,
qualifying them for the play-offs once again. This time, it was a quarter-final
that they would have to play first, facing Kingsborough Lions United, who they
dispatched quite easily, 5-0. It set-up a semi-final with rivals, South Hobart
and this time the result as different from the last one. The Zebra’s won the
game, 3-0 and finally reached a final for the first time since 2007. There they
met, Olympia Warriors, who proved to be too strong and beat Hobart Zebra’s,
3-1.
The
2016 was another successful one, when they finished runner-sup in the league to
Devonport City and qualified for the play-offs. After beating Somerset, 4-0,
they found themselves playing Devonport City in the semi-final. They proved to
much for The Zebra’s, beating them 3-1. The 2017 season saw a 4th
place finish qualify them for the play-offs again, but they didn’t make it past
the quarter final stage, as they were beaten by Olympia Warriors, 2-1. The 2018
season saw a change in how the title was one, with a stand-out league format
now being applied. Hobart Zebra’s came 3rd that season, 11 points
behind the eventual champions, Devonport City. They were the 2019 champions,
and Hobart Zebra’s finished 4th, but this would prove to be the last
season that the club would play under the name, Hobart Zebra’s. In a move that
seemed a little strange to those looking from the outside, inwards, the club
decided to merge with Clarence United, a club who had just finished bottom of
the league and had only won one game all season. So, as it was, the Zebra’s 63-year
existence ended, well, under the guise of Hobart Zebra’s, albeit the new club
took on the name, Clarence Zebra’s FC.
To this day, Hobart Zebra’s are one of the most successful clubs to come from Tasmania, winning 9 State Championships, 10 Southern Premierships, 7 KO Cups, and various other domestic cups. The club even played in National cup competitions in 1985 and 1986, when they played in the NSL Cup. Clarence Zebra’s FC continue to play in the National Premier League Tasmania Division 2, but have not had any success’ since