Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, the second most populous city in Australia and Oceania. Its name refers to an urban agglomeration of 9,992.5 km2, comprising a metropolitan area with 31 municipalities, is the common name for its city centre. The city occupies much of the coastline of Port Phillip bay and spreads into the hinterlands towards the Dandenong and Macedon ranges, Mornington Peninsula and Yarra Valley, it has a population of 4.9 million, its inhabitants are referred to as "Melburnians". The city was founded on 30 August 1835, in the then-British colony of New South Wales, by free settlers from the colony of Van Diemen’s Land, it was incorporated as a Crown settlement in 1837 and named in honour of the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne. In 1851, four years after Queen Victoria declared it a city, Melbourne became the capital of the new colony of Victoria. In the wake of the 1850s Victorian gold rush, the city entered a lengthy boom period that, by the late 1880s, had transformed it into one of the world's largest and wealthiest metropolises.
After the federation of Australia in 1901, it served as interim seat of government of the new nation until Canberra became the permanent capital in 1927. Today, it is a leading financial centre in the Asia-Pacific region and ranks 15th in the Global Financial Centres Index; the city is home to many of the best-known cultural institutions in the nation, such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the National Gallery of Victoria and the World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building. It is the birthplace of Australian impressionism, Australian rules football, the Australian film and television industries and Australian contemporary dance. More it has been recognised as a UNESCO City of Literature and a global centre for street art, live music and theatre, it is the host city of annual international events such as the Australian Grand Prix, the Australian Open and the Melbourne Cup, has hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Due to it rating in entertainment and sport, as well as education, health care and development, the EIU ranks it the second most liveable city in the world.
The main airport serving the city is Melbourne Airport, the second busiest in Australia, Australia's busiest seaport the Port of Melbourne. Its main metropolitan rail terminus is Flinders Street station and its main regional rail and road coach terminus is Southern Cross station, it has the most extensive freeway network in Australia and the largest urban tram network in the world. Indigenous Australians have lived in the Melbourne area for an estimated 31,000 to 40,000 years; when European settlers arrived in the 19th-century, under 2,000 hunter-gatherers from three regional tribes—the Wurundjeri and Wathaurong—inhabited the area. It was an important meeting place for the clans of the Kulin nation alliance and a vital source of food and water; the first British settlement in Victoria part of the penal colony of New South Wales, was established by Colonel David Collins in October 1803, at Sullivan Bay, near present-day Sorrento. The following year, due to a perceived lack of resources, these settlers relocated to Van Diemen's Land and founded the city of Hobart.
It would be 30 years. In May and June 1835, John Batman, a leading member of the Port Phillip Association in Van Diemen's Land, explored the Melbourne area, claimed to have negotiated a purchase of 600,000 acres with eight Wurundjeri elders. Batman selected a site on the northern bank of the Yarra River, declaring that "this will be the place for a village" before returning to Van Diemen's Land. In August 1835, another group of Vandemonian settlers arrived in the area and established a settlement at the site of the current Melbourne Immigration Museum. Batman and his group arrived the following month and the two groups agreed to share the settlement known by the native name of Dootigala. Batman's Treaty with the Aborigines was annulled by Richard Bourke, the Governor of New South Wales, with compensation paid to members of the association. In 1836, Bourke declared the city the administrative capital of the Port Phillip District of New South Wales, commissioned the first plan for its urban layout, the Hoddle Grid, in 1837.
Known as Batmania, the settlement was named Melbourne in 1837 after the British Prime Minister, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, whose seat was Melbourne Hall in the market town of Melbourne, Derbyshire. That year, the settlement's general post office opened with that name. Between 1836 and 1842, Victorian Aboriginal groups were dispossessed of their land by European settlers. By January 1844, there were said to be 675 Aborigines resident in squalid camps in Melbourne; the British Colonial Office appointed five Aboriginal Protectors for the Aborigines of Victoria, in 1839, however their work was nullified by a land policy that favoured squatters who took possession of Aboriginal lands. By 1845, fewer than 240 wealthy Europeans held all the pastoral licences issued in Victoria and became a powerful political and economic force in Victoria for generations to come. Letters patent of Queen Victoria, issued on 25 June 1847, declared Melbourne a city. On 1 July 1851, the Port Phillip District separated from New South Wales to become the Colony of Victoria, with Melbourne as its capital.
The discovery of gold in Victoria in mid-1851 sparked a
National Premier Leagues Tasmania
The National Premier Leagues Tasmania is an Australian semi-professional soccer league covering all regions of Tasmania. The league is a subdivision of the National Premier Leagues and commenced in 2013 with eight teams, expanding to 10 teams in 2019. Nationally the league sits below the A-League and above the Tasmanian regional championship competitions. Prior to the NPL Tasmania the previous statewide league encompassing teams from all-over Tasmania had not taken place since 1999; the highest level of soccer being played in Tasmania was in two regional leagues in the North and South of the state. The league was formed in 2012 by Football Federation Tasmania and the first season commenced in 2013. FFT referred to the league as the T-League during planning prior to the establishment of the league. Between 2012–2014 the league was known as the Victory League due to sponsorship by A-League club Melbourne Victory. In 2015 the league was known as the PS4 Victory League for sponsorship reasons. In 2016, the league changed names again to National Premier Leagues Tasmania in line with other divisions within the NPL.
The initial clubs were awarded licences for league membership for three season between 2013–2015. In 2015 the FFT Board analysed the clubs off pitch. Based on this analysis six of the eight clubs in the NPL Tasmania were offered licences for an additional three seasons between 2016–2018. Glenorchy Knights and Launceston City were required to reapply for membership and compete with other clubs for the final two positions in the league in 2016. Riverside Olympic, University and New Town Eagles applied for the two positions in addition to Glenorchy and Launceston City. In August 2015 it was announced that Clarence United and Launceston City had been awarded the available licences between 2016–18. Up until 2017, the top teams in the league qualified for a Tasmanian end of season finals series. Between 2013–15 the winner of the local finals series was awarded the Victory Cup. In 2013 and 2014 the top four teams participated in the finals series. In 2015 the finals series has been expanded to include the top six teams in the league as well as the champions of the Northern Championship and Southern Championship.
In 2016, the end of season finals series cup was renamed the League Cup due to lapsing sponsorship arrangements, scrapped after the end of the 2017 season. In late 2016, FFT announced they will expand the league to ten teams and introduce a promotion/relegation system; the winner of the 2018 Southern and Northern Championships will be promoted into NPL Tasmania and the competition will expand to ten teams in 2019. From the end of the 2019 season the winners of the Northern and Southern Championships will play-off against each other with the winner automatically replacing the last placed finisher in the NPL Tasmania whilst the loser of the Northern and Southern Championships Play-off will play an additional play-off for a place in the NPL Tasmania in the following season against the second last NPL Tasmania club. From 2019 onwards, the league consists of ten clubs geographically spread throughout Tasmania; the team on top of the table is considered the league champion and qualifies to play in the National Premier Leagues finals series against the champions of the other states.
The official sponsor for the league between 2013–2015 was A-League club Melbourne Victory. Tasmanian Redline is the official sponsor for transport. In 2015 the League is included as part of Sony PlayStation 4 sponsorship of the National Premier Leagues. In 2013 and 2014 the League had centralised apparel providers to all teams being Pelada and Jemsz respectively. From 2015 onwards apparel arrangements have been made individually by participating clubs. For details of winners pre-NPL: Most League titles: 3, South Hobart Most points in a season: 58, Devonport City, 2016 season Most wins in a season: 19, Devonport City, 2016 season Most goals scored in a season: 89, South Hobart, 2014 season Most consecutive wins in a season: 13, South Hobart, 2017 season Biggest win: Olympia Warriors 14 – 0 Glenorchy Knights, 21 June 2015 Highest scoring game: Olympia Warriors 14 – 0 Glenorchy Knights, 21 June 2015 Updated as of matches played 14 April 2019
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne Football Club is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in suburb of Albert Park, in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the National Premier Leagues Victoria, with matches played at Lakeside Stadium. Founded in 1959 as South Melbourne Hellas, with a basis in the Greek community, South Melbourne were once considered the most successful soccer club in Australia; the club has won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. Along with the Marconi Stallions, they were one of two clubs to compete in every season of the National Soccer League; the club was chosen by the IFFHS as the Oceania team of the 20th century. South Melbourne was formed in 1959 with the amalgamation of three struggling Melbourne soccer clubs—South Melbourne United, the oldest of the three clubs with a history dating back to the early 1900s—the Greek-backed Yarra Park Aias, Hellenic. Theo Marmaras, initiator of the merger proposal and president of Hellenic, became the first president of the new club.
In recognition of the large Greek Australian support base of Hellenic and Yarra Park, which were the best-supported of the three clubs, the new club was named South Melbourne Hellas, the name by which it was to be known for the majority of its 50 years. The first emblem reflected the colour scheme of the Greek national flag; the first uniform consisted of jersey of white with a red'V' around the collar, the was that of South Melbourne United, as well as blue shorts and blue and white hooped socks. On they would adopt predominantly blue and white strips, with various designs throughout the seasons, with the most common being a predominantly royal blue strip. South Melbourne won the Victorian First Division championship of 1960, the club's inaugural year of competition; the club was promoted to the Victorian State League First Division the following year, where it finished fifth in its first year. With a number of astute signings—Scottish journeyman Tommy Anderson, Ernie Ackerley, Leo Damianakos, Jim Pyrgolios and Andreas Roussis of Panathinaikos and Apollon Athens—the club won the division championship in 1962, 1964, 1965.
In 1965, South Melbourne secured the services of 35-year-old former AEK Athens F. C. star Kostas Nestoridis as player-coach. The result was a significant increase in crowd attendances and a fourth league title in 1966. Eager to repeat its success, the club recruited a number of Greek and local footballers, but they failed to make any impact. By 1969, the import experiment was considered a failure and most of the Greek players returned to their homeland. In 1970, the club focused its attention on recruiting local soccer players, it soon signed two players that would become South Melbourne's greatest players, Steve Walker and striker Jim Armstrong. South Melbourne missed out on the title by a point in the 1971 season, edged out by Footscray JUST, but with Armstrong scoring goals aplenty, South Melbourne went on to win the championship in 1972; the season saw coach Bill Curran consolidate the first team's strength by signing midfielder Peter Bourne and promoting skilled youngsters Giovanni Batticiotto, Fethon Ileris and Bill Hasapis.
The club continued its successful run with the 1974 title, second place in 1975, with star recruits Jimmy Mackay, Peter Ollerton and Duncan Cummings, capped off its final year in the Victorian State League by winning the 1976 championship. South Melbourne joined Mooroolbark, Heidelberg United, Footscray JUST as Melbourne's participants in the newly formed National Soccer League in 1977. A mass exodus of its best players, saw the team slump to 11th place in its inaugural year, but a recruiting drive by coach Dave Maclaren gave the club a respectable third in 1978, it wasn't to last. South Melbourne finished at the bottom of the league table in 1979; the recruitment of Alan Davidson, George Campbell, Steve Blair, Branko Buljevic, Alun Evans, Charlie Egan, helped South Melbourne climb the NSL ladder in the early part of the decade, with South becoming runners up in the NSL in 1981, their best NSL placing at the time. They won the Ampol Cup in 1982; some solid player signings such as gave the club some respectability, but a combination of committee problems and a string of coaches, never allowed the team to settle and gain consistency.
South Melbourne finished first on the league ladder in 1984, but in a newly restructured NSL competition, it had to win the finals series to win the title. The club powered past local rivals Heidelberg United in the Southern Division play-offs, edged out Sydney Olympic in the Grand Final to win the 1984 national championship. After the departure of George Campbell to rivals Preston Makedonia in 1983/84, Branko Buljevic to Footscray Just in 1985 and others, South Melbourne could not repeat the success of the previous year. Despite finishing in first place, it was knocked out of the finals series by local rivals Brunswick Juventus and Preston. A major overhaul by coach Brian Garvey saw a number of new signings being made, including youngsters Paul Trimboli, David Healy, Kimon Taliadoros and Harry Micheil; the young team put in some memorable performances as the decade came to a close, finishing in the top half of the league table, but failed to win another championship. The club appointed Ferenc Puskás as coach for the 1989/90 season, helping South win the NSL Cup tournament for that season, as well backing up their 1988 Dockerty Cup win with victory in the 1989 tournament.
On 28 November 1981, South Melbourne Hellas and Melb
Launceston City FC
Launceston City Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Launceston, Tasmania. The club was founded in 1956 and participating in the Tasmanian NPL Tasmania since 2013, run by the governing body Football Federation Tasmania; the club has over 100 registered players across senior and social leagues. The junior club was called "Westside Devils Soccer Club" from 1998 to 2016 and has since changed to Launceston City Devils, it has age groups from Under 6 to Under 16, is one of the largest and most successful junior soccer clubs in the state with over 350 junior soccer players. The club has a women's team, dominate since the turn of the new century picking up 9 Premier League titles and going 4 league seasons between 2005 and 2008 unbeaten. Launceston City founded in 1958. City was dominant in the 1960s, when they won every season except 1964. Although Northern Tasmania's most successful club with 19 Northern titles, they have failed to repeat their dominance of the 60s; the club have links to the club.
Prior to the cessation of ethnic affiliations by Australian football clubs in 1997, Launceston City were known as Launceston Juventus. In 1978 Launceston Juventus relocated from their home ground at Brooks High School to Landrover Buckby Park located in Prospect where the club is still playing home games till this day. Landrover Park has two playing grounds functional flood lights for night games, change rooms. Launceston City fields teams in the National Premier League Tasmania NPL, the second tier of Australian football, Northern Championship, Northern League 1, Under 18's, has one Super League Women's team and one Northern Women's Championship Team this makes up over 100 senior registered players. Since Launceston City was founded in 1958 there has been four recorded club crests throughout the years; the first recorded club crest since Launceston City's beginning in 1958 was this crest. Featuring the club's Italian heritage, resolve for success and the Launceston's coat of arms down the bottom of the crest.
Which features with the two Tasmanian Tiger's holding the gold of the shield which refers to the early history of gold-mining in nearby hills. The blue represents the junction of the North and South Esk rivers where the city was founded and the Tamar River flowing north to the Bass Strait; the club crest still features prominently outside the Launceston City change rooms to this day, painted by life member Frank Stolp. In the 1980s the club committee led by president and life member Ross Wesson formed a new design of the Launceston City club crest highlighting the club's relations to the club's Italian relations Juventus F. C. with the black and white stripes as seen on the club's home kits, the crest was used up until the early 2000s. The crest could be seen around Launceston in the form of stickers on motor vehicles and in the way of a keyring. State Championships: 1961, 1963 State Championships Runners-up: 1960,1965,1966,1969,1971,1972,1975,1976,1981,1995,2001,2005 Northern Premierships: 1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1965,1966,1968,1969,1971,1972,1975,1976,1984,1986,2001,2005 Cadbury Trophy: 1979 Northern Knockout Cup: 1964,1971 Advocate Coca-Cola Night Soccer Series: 1981 Northern Premier League Reserves: 1982,2005,2006,2017 Northern Premier League u18: 2015,2018 Northern Premier League u17: 1991 Statewide Cup: 1966,1976,1991,2004,2007 Statewide Cup Runners-up: 1964,1977,1997,2002,2005,2006 Steve Hudson Cup: 1987,1989,1991,1993,1996,2002,2004,2005,2007 Northern Women's Premier League: 2001,2002,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2016 Women's State Championship: 2007,2012 Women's Statewide Cup: 2015 Men's State League Player of the Year 1986 – Colin Guest 1987 – Peter Savill 1989 – Peter Savill 1994 – Anthony ValentineMen's State League Golden Boot 1981 – Peter Sawdon Women's State League Player of the Year 2017 – Beth BygraveNorthern Men's League Golden Boot 1969 – Hans Streit 2005 – Roger MiesNorthern Women's Best & Fairest 2013 – Caitlin Storay 2014 – Caitlin Storay 2015 – Caitlin StorayNorthern Men's Reserves Best & Fairest 2014 – Joshua DuncanNorthern Men's Under 18's Best & Fairest 2018 – Maxwell BywatersNPL Tasmania Rising Star Award 2018 – Noah MiesNPL Tasmania Goal of the Year 2018 – Noah Mies Official Site
Al-Rayyan SC
Al-Rayyan Sports Club is a Qatari professional sports club fielding teams in a number of sports such as football, basketball, handball, table tennis and swimming. It is based at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium in Omm Alafai in the city of Al Rayyan; the club was founded in 1967 after merging the old Rayyan team with Nusoor Club. The official team colours are black; the team is nicknamed is'The Lions' and also'Al-Raheeb' which means The Fierce. They have won numerous titles in all sports, including two Asian championships in basketball, the Arab championship in handball, futsal domestic titles, table tennis and volleyball, as well as numerous GCC basketball and volleyball championships. Both the basketball and handball teams have qualified for the world championships. However, the football team gets the most attention from the club officials as well as the media and the fans. Al Rayyan's history goes back to the mid-sixties. Old Al Rayyan, though an amateur football team, competed in matches arranged throughout the whole country, not being limited to the city in which it was based.
Their headquarters was in a two-bedroom house, they played their matches on a football field in a school based in the New Rayyan area. The club relied on donations from the fans during this period. In 1967, Al Rayyan began as a combination of two groups called " new Al Rayyan’sons and old al-Rayyan’son". In 1967, Al-Rayyan started its factory. From 1967 until now, Al-Rayyan has accomplished many trophies not only in soccer in the rest of the games such as handball and volleyball; the people who contributed to build Al Rayyan knew that this team would not be a regular team, but it will represent the culture of the city of Al Rayyan outside of Qatar. In 2008, the club established magazine called SOUT AL RAYYAN, the first magazine that cares about Al Rayyan news, it is the only team’s magazine in Qatar, they applied to be a member club of the Qatar Football Association, but were rejected with the QFA proposing that they merge with Al Nusoor, a local sports club based in Al Rayyan. In 1967, after an announcement by the Al Rayyan Sports Committee that Old Al Rayyan would merge with Al Nusoor, Al Rayyan SC was founded.
A new headquarters was established to accommodate increased size demands as a result of the merger. The first head coach of Al Rayyan was Ashour Salem, a Sudanese national, besides working as a local physical education coach, trained the first team and youth team. In the early years, the club branched out to notably basketball and handball; as a result of donations from the club supporters, Al Rayyan was able to establish their home grounds in Doha Stadium, the largest stadium in Qatar at that time. The club had success in the Qatar Stars League within the first decade of its formation, with the club participating in their first official season in 1972–73. In the 1974–75, after a mass brawl between the fans and players of Al Rayyan and Al Sadd, the QFA relegated Al Rayyan, who were in 2nd place at the time, to the second division, they won back promotion the following season and achieved their first league title 1976. In the 1977 season, the QFA annulled the results of Al Rayyan due to actions which took place in a match against Al Arabi.
The perpetrator, an Al Arabi player by the name of Yassin Mustafa, was banned permanently from all league matches whereas the two clubs were warned. In 1983, under the leadership of Sheikh Nasser bin Ahmed, a new club headquarters and home stadium were constructed, they won the league with a negative goal difference in 1983–84, making them one of the only 6 teams in the world and the only Qatari team in history to achieve this feat. In the 1987–88 season, much to the surprise of critics and fans, they got relegated for the first time in league history; the relegation was preceded by a 0–1 loss to Al Sadd, as Hassan Jowhar scored a header goal which would prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Al Rayyan. They won back promotion to the premier league in their first season in the second division, they would go on to win the league in 1990, the same season they were promoted back to the first division, beating out rivals Al Sadd. They won an additional league title in 1995, they inaugurated their home ground, Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, in 2003 during the reign of Sheikh Mishaal Al Thani.
The first match held on the grounds was the 2003 Emir Cup finals. The club has not experienced much league success as of late, with the last successful league campaign being in 1994–95. Nonetheless, they faced great success in the Emir's Cup and Heir Apparent Cup winning 8 cups in total in 14 years. In 2014 -- 15 the club returned to Qatar Stars League. On 28 November 2015 Al-Rayyan Broke the record of most consecutive league matches won to 11. On March 5, 2016 after 21 years Al-Rayan won the league once again, became the first team to win both leagues in 2 years, they club is supported throughout the entire Gulf region, as well as other parts of the world due to their high-profile signings. In 2010 they had the highest attendance in the Qatar Stars League; the fan club won the QFA-sanctioned award of "Best fans" in the 2008/09 season, shared the award with Al Sadd in the 2012/13 season. Ahmed bin Ali Stadium, popularly known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium, is a multi-purpose stadium in Al-Rayyan, Qatar which serves as the home stadium for Al Rayyan's football section.
It will be used as a venue for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. As of Qatar Stars League: Last update: July 2015; this list includes players whom have made significant contributions to their national team and to the club. At le
Shane Smeltz
Shane Edward Smeltz is a retired New Zealand international footballer who played as a striker for Gold Coast City, Brisbane Strikers, Napier City Rovers, Adelaide City, Adelaide United, North Eastern MetroStars, Mansfield Town, AFC Wimbledon, Halifax Town, Wellington Phoenix, Gold Coast United, Gençlerbirliği, Perth Glory, Sydney FC, Kedah FA, Borneo F. C. and the New Zealand national team. Smeltz spent much of his early career playing in Australia, before moving to England where he played for two and a half seasons. Smeltz has played in the A-League since 2007, with the exception of a brief stint with Gençlerbirliği in the Turkish Süper Lig. Smeltz is the all-time second-highest goalscorer in the A-League and was the top-goalscorer for now-defunct club Gold Coast United. Smeltz has scored 24 goals in 58 international appearances for New Zealand, played at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Smeltz was born in West Germany to ethnic German parents with New Zealand citizenship. Six months he moved to New Zealand.
In November 1987, at the age of six, Smeltz moved to the Gold Coast in Queensland, where he pursued a career in football through the Queensland Academy of Sport and was brought up for the remainder of his adolescent years while holding a New Zealand visa. Smeltz was granted dual-citizenship at the age of 23, becoming a dual-citizen of New Zealand and Australia, he attended Palm Beach Currumbin High School on the Gold Coast during his teenage years and was classmates with future professional surfers Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. Smeltz lives in Sydney with his wife Nikki and daughters Bonnie and Scarlett but spends the off season on the Gold Coast and still considers it to be home. Smeltz played for a variety of professional Australian clubs before he played a brief five match spell for Mansfield Town of the English Football League Two in 2005. In the 2005-06 season, he played in 61 competitive matches for AFC Wimbledon, including 11 as a substitute, scored 26 goals, he played the following season for Halifax Town in the Conference National.
Smeltz returned to New Zealand in 2007, signing a two-year deal with the Wellington Phoenix in the A-League. In his first season, he finished second in the Golden Boot race with nine goals from 19 appearances. In the 2008–09 season, Smeltz scored a record-equalling 12 goals for the A-League season proper, resulting in the A-League Golden Boot 2008-09 and goal of the season for his winning strike against Melbourne Victory at Westpac Stadium in round 13. In 2008-09 season Smeltz was voted the A-League's best player and was awarded the Johnny Warren Medal. In November 2008 the Phoenix lost its battle to retain Smeltz for the 2009 season as he signed a three-year deal with A-League expansion club Gold Coast United. Smeltz scored nine goals on his Gold Coast United debut as Miron Bleiberg's men recorded a 12–1 victory in their inaugural outing, a friendly against Mudgeeraba SC. On 8 August 2009, Smeltz scored his club's first goal in their first A-League game against Brisbane Roar. In the following week Smeltz scored an impressive four goals against North Queensland Fury, which included a penalty.
Smeltz and Gold Coast recorded their first loss to the Newcastle Jets at the next round, notable for being the only game he had not scored a goal. A week Smeltz rebounded from his clubs first loss to help in the win against Sydney FC. In the process he added another two goals to his tally taking him to an outstanding 8 goals from 5 games, his single man goal count was greater than any other club's overall amount in the league. With 19 A-League goals to his name, he is the record holder for most A League goals in a season. On 12 July 2010, after a stellar season with Gold Coast United, it was announced Smeltz had agreed to terms with Chinese club Shandong Luneng on a two-year contract subject to passing a medical. On 17 July 2010, it was announced that Smeltz had "changed his mind about China and decided to return home", just five days into his contract. There was some confusion after his decision to return home in regards to which club he was contracted to. Shandong Luneng had paid the transfer fee to Gold Coast United, but a Football Federation Australia source confirmed that Gold Coast United had not dispatched Smeltz's International Transfer Clearance form, meaning Smeltz was therefore free to rejoin them without any possibility of an international tug-of-war over his services.
On 17 July 2010, Gold Coast United owner Clive Palmer publicly stated that he is "hopeful of retaining him for the coming season." On 24 August, his overseas career was given a lifeline when he was signed by Turkish Süper Lig club Gençlerbirliği. Smeltz made his debut for the club in their 2–1 home win over Istanbul BB. Smeltz scored his first goal for the club in the 1–0 home win over Ankaragucu with a 45th-minute penalty. On 20 March 2011 it was announced that Perth Glory and Smeltz signed a three-year contract worth A$4.1 million with the A-League club as a marquee. In his second appearance in the League for Perth, he scored a brace to take him to 51 League goals in the A-League, becoming only the second player to have scored a half-century in the competition next to Archie Thompson. On 24 March 2012 he scored all 4 goals in a 4–2 win against Melbourne Victory. On 18 May 2014, it was announced that Smeltz would be parting ways with Perth Glory after three years at the club, to join Sydney FC on a one-year deal.
After the 2014-15 season, Smeltz signed a 2-year contract extension with Sydney, taking him to the end of the 2016-17 season. On 12 July 2016, Smelz joined Malaysian Super League club Kedah FA. On 20 July 2016, he made his debut goal for Kedah, against T-Team in Malaysia Cup, scoring two goals. On 18 December 2016, Smeltz returned to New Zealand, signing with Wellington Phoenix until the end of th
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha is a Kosovar professional footballer who plays as a forward for Japanese club Sanfrecce Hiroshima. With 116 goals, he is the Australian A-League's all-time leading goalscorer. Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9, he moved to various German teams, such as Berliner FC Dynamo, TSV Lichtenberg, SV Lichtenberg 47 until 2003 he moved to NOFV-Oberliga club Tennis Borussia Berlin, where a 17-year-old Berisha won the national youth league's golden boot, outclassing future Germany strikers, Mario Gomez and Lukas Podolski. He stayed for just a year before being spotted by Bundesliga club Hamburger SV. For the first half of the 2004–05 season, Berisha wasn't included in Hamburg's starting lineup for any of the matches, for the second half he was loaned to Danish Superliga team Aalborg Boldspilklub where he spent a rather unsuccessful spell, playing only three games and scoring no goals; the following season 2005–06 he was loaned to fellow Superliga side AC Horsens, where he scored 11 goals in 32 appearances, becoming the team's top scorer that season.
For the 2006–07 football season, he remained at Hamburg and was given his chances in the first team making his German Bundesliga debut on 12 August 2006 against Arminia Bielefeld, coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute in place of Nigel de Jong, as the match finished in a 1–1 draw. On 6 December 2006, Berisha became the first Albanian to score a goal in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League by scoring his first goal for Hamburg in the match against CSKA Moscow at home in Hamburg. 10 days on 16 December 2006, Berisha managed to score his first Bundesliga goal against Alemannia Aachen, as the starting striker and scoring the opening goal in the 32nd minute in the match as it finished in an away draw 3–3. He went on to make a total 14 appearances for Hamburg in the 2006–07 season, including one in the German cup and two in the UEFA Champions League, eleven of them as a substitute. After the sacking of Thomas Doll and the arrival of Huub Stevens as Hamburg's new manager, Berisha was not seen as part of his plan for the team and remained on the bench for the rest of the season.
On 3 July 2007, Burnley purchased Berisha from Hamburg for £340,000, this followed his impressive performance for Albania against England B on Burnley's home ground Turf Moor. After his performance many European clubs were interested in signing the player but Berisha was signed to Burnley on a three-year deal, subject to the player being granted a work permit; the permit was granted on 3 July 2007 and the deal was completed. Berisha was ruled out for the 2007–08 season when he picked up an injury whilst playing for his country in an International friendly against Malta, it was believed to be a minor knock to the knee but it was discovered that the injury was more serious and was to keep the player out for 5–6 weeks. After seeing a surgeon it was further revealed that the player had in fact snapped his cruciate ligament in his knee and would not return to football for a year; the reason that doctors had failed to discover the damaged ligament was due to a buildup of fluid in the knee which distorted the scans image.
Ten months after suffering his serious knee injury, Berisha made his return to football in a pre-season friendly match in the USA against Carolina Railhawks, He came on in the 71st minute for Joey Guðjónsson. Berisha had just flown to America 24 hours earlier from Albania which proved to be the reason for him not making an impact in the 20 minutes that he spent on the field; the match ended in defeat for Burnley with a 2–1 loss to the American side. He was loaned out to Rosenborg in the autumn of 2008, scoring twice in his debut on 10 August 2008 against rivals Molde FK at Lerkendal Stadion; the match finished in a 3–1 victory for Rosenborg. On 21 September 2008, Berisha scored in a 4–0 victory against HamKam. Berisha appeared with Rosenborg in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup qualifying rounds against Djurgården, he started in the first leg, a 2–1 loss played on 14 August 2008, substituting off in the 76th minute He played only the first half in the second-leg 5–0 home victory as Rosenborg won 6–2 on aggregate to advance to the next round against Brøndby.
Berisha played only in the second leg on 2 October 2008 which Rosenborg won 3–2. Rosenborg won on aggregate 5–3 and thereby advanced to the Group stage where they faced Saint-Étienne, Valencia and Club Brugge. Berisha played only against Club Brugge on 23 October 2008, coming on as a substitute in the 90th minute; the match finished in the goalless draw. Berisha joined AC Horsens on loan on 8 January 2009 but returned prematurely to Burnley F. C. on 26 May 2009 despite having scored some important goals for AC Horsens. The Danish club dissolved the loan contract after an incident in training involving Berisha and Kenneth Emil Petersen, his contract with Burnley ran until 2010, but having failed to make a single competitive start for Burnley after his return, the club announced on 31 July 2009 that Berisha would be transferred to German Bundesliga 2 team Arminia Bielefeld. The transfer fee was believed to be £75,000. Berisha joined Bielefeld on 5 August 2009. In the 2009–10 season, Berisha finished scoreless, having made just 11 appearances, only two as a starter, since his debut on 10 August 2009 against Hansa Rostock.
The match was a 3–1 victory with Berisha coming on as a substitute in the 80th minute. He started the 2010–11 season on 22 September 2010 as a substitute in a 3–1 loss to Bochum and scored his first goal of the season on 29 September 2010 in a 1–2 loss to Union Berlin, he finished the season with a total of 12 as a starter. In 15 matches Berisha was an unus
