Carlton Soccer Club is a defunct

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer) club. It participated in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its d ...

from the 1997–98 season until round eight of the 2000–01 season, after which it folded. The club was strongly linked to the Australian rules football club

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

, and suffered from poor crowds. It was suspected that these ties stopped crowds from growing as supporters of other Australian rules teams would not support the Carlton Soccer Club. On the field, Carlton had a successful debut season, coming runner up to

South Melbourne South Melbourne is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. South Melbourne recorded a population of 11,548 at t ...

. They were unable to make the finals the next year, but bounced back in season 1999–2000, being beaten in the Preliminary Final by eventual champion

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

. This would prove to be their last full season, as Carlton's financial woes forced the withdrawal of the side from the 2000–01 season after eight rounds. Former players include former

Socceroos The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...

team members

Mark Bresciano Mark Bresciano ( ; ; born 11 February 1980) is an Australian former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Born in Melbourne, Bresciano played youth football for Bulleen Lions, before moving into the National Soccer League w ...

Vince Grella Vince is a given name, it is the anglicisation and shortened form of the name Vincent, as well as a surname. It may refer to: Given name People * Vince Agnew (born 1987), American football player * Vince Cable (born 1943), British politicia ...

Archie Thompson Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC. Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...

Joshua Kennedy Joshua Blake Kennedy (born 20 August 1982) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a striker for the Australia national soccer team. Kennedy is known by Australian fans as "Jesus" due to his apparent resemblance to tradi ...

Simon Colosimo Simon Colosimo (born 8 January 1979) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a centre back and defensive midfielder. He spent two years playing in Europe with spells in the Premier League with Manchester City and in the Belgian Fir ...

Andrew Marth Andrew Marth (born 10 February 1969) is a retired Australian soccer player who played 380 times in the National Soccer League (NSL) over 15 years for Sunshine George Cross, Melbourne Knights and Carlton SC. He also represented Australia 16 ...

Dean Anastasiadis Dean Anastasiadis (born 6 June 1970 in Melbourne, Australia) is a former Australian football (soccer) player. Biography A goalkeeper, he played for many years at a variety of clubs in the National Soccer League. This included being part of ...

John Markovski John Markovski (born 15 April 1970) is an Australian soccer coach and former player, former head coach of Fitzroy City SC. Markovski played in the National Soccer League (NSL) for Sunshine George Cross, Preston Lions (former Preston Makedonia) ...

Steve Horvat Steven Horvat (born 14 March 1971) is an Australian former professional soccer player. Club career A graduate of the Australian Institute of Sport, Horvat began his career with Melbourne Croatia. He later played with Sunshine George Cross, No ...

and

A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...

players

Daniel Allsopp Daniel Lee Allsopp (born 10 August 1978) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a striker. As a player he notably played for Manchester City for several seasons and was part of their team that earned promotion back to the Premi ...

Robbie Middleby Robert Middleby (born 9 August 1975) is an Australian former football player who as a right-back or right midfielder. He was the CEO of the Newcastle Jets FC until 2015. He played for Sydney FC after earlier stints at Newcastle United Jets, W ...

and

Andrew Packer Andrew Packer (born 16 June 1980 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia) is a former Australian footballer. Biography He attended St. Josephs Nudgee College in Brisbane. He was a member of Sydney FC's Grand Final winning side in 2005–06. In 2006 ...

. It was once reported that the former owners of the club, headed by sports agent Peter Jess, were still receiving significant payments when former Carlton players transfer between clubs in Europe. Like their sister AFL club, the club was sponsored by American sportswear company

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

Honours

* National Youth League (1) – 1999–2000

Records

* Record Games Holder:

– 92 * Record Goals Holder: Alex Moreira – 27

References

Defunct soccer clubs in Australia Association football clubs established in 1997 Association football clubs disestablished in 2000 National Soccer League (Australia) teams Soccer clubs in Melbourne 1997 establishments in Australia 2000 disestablishments in Australia Italian-Australian culture in Melbourne Italian-Australian backed sports clubs of Victoria {{Australia-footyclub-stub