It’s been a fruitful awards night for Greek Australians footballers in Victoria.
Both Greek sponsored teams and Greek Australian players and coaches have taken out top gongs at the FFV Gold Medal Night held last Friday.
WPL superstar Tiffany Eliadis, 18, becomes the first player in the history of Victorian women’s top-flight football to win back-to-back Gold Medals and Golden Boots, scoring 24 goals for South Melbourne Women’s FC to also earn another contract with Melbourne Victory.
She played an integral part in the blossoming South Melbourne women’s team, despite missing several of the latter rounds because of selection for Melbourne Victory. Her 24 goals earned her an average of more than one goal a game.
Also joining the top, was fellow South Melbourne men’s NPLV player, Milos Lujic, taking the PS4 NPL Golden Boot and the player voted Players’ Player of the Year awards . Just signing onto the team for a further two season, the top goalscorer for the NPLV season scored 22 goals in 26 games to finish four ahead of Heidelberg United’s Daniel Heffernan.
South Melbourne’s NPL coach, Chris Taylor rightfully was awarded the PS4 NPL coach of the year after steering the previously flatlining team to an almost perfect season. It is the third time Taylor has won the award, after winning the award with Melbourne Knights in 2008 and with Dandenong Thunder in 2012. He also broke records while at South, , guiding the club to its longest ever winning streak when it won its first 11 matches.
At 22, Alexander Pavlidis took home the NPL 1 goalkeeper of the year award for Box Hill United, , having conceded 23 goals in 26 games.
WPL coach of the year went to Heidelberg United’s John Kyrgios, in just his second year at the helm. He is just one step away from a grand final trophy, if his team wins against FC Bulleen Lions on Sunday.