Football Victoria (FV) mourns the passing of Hall of Famer and Victorian State team representative Michael Mandalis, who passed away on Saturday, aged 80.
A five-time Championship winner with South Melbourne, where his career was recognised with membership of the South Melbourne Hall of Fame, Mandalis was a much-loved character with an impressive career on the pitch that leaves and ever-lasting legacy.
Michael Mandalis was born in March 1945 in Egypt into a family with a strong Greek heritage. Raised in Central Cairo, a young Michael started playing street football with a ball made from socks.
Mandalis arrived in Melbourne as a teenager in 1958, settling in Prahran with his parents and five other siblings. His education in Melbourne began at Prahran Technical School, where he knew little English at the time. However, his new classmates Kevin Bartlett and Kevin Sheedy brought him up to speed and influenced Michael to play Australian Rules football in the process. Whilst Michael played footy at school, he joined and excelled at South Yarra Soccer Club as a fourteen-year-old, winning junior best-and-fairest and leading goalscorer awards.
In 1960, Mandalis made a pivotal move to Hakoah and again excelled as a junior in the Under 16's which played at Middle Park, attracting interest from South Melbourne Hellas committee member Charles Musker - who recommended him to legendary coach Hellas Manny Poulakakis. The following year, Michael transferred to South Melbourne and played for their Reserve team where he was the top goalscorer at season's end at only 16 years of age.
A glittering youth career culminated in state representation, where Mandalis represented Victoria a total of 16 times in all junior competitions and he became the first ever South Melbourne junior to ascend to the senior team. A relative youngster, he played a minor role in the club’s first State League Championship in 1962, but was front and centre in a hat-trick of success between 1964, 1965 and 1966.
His breakout season arrived in 1964, where at just 19 years of age he won the State League Golden boot, which attracted Victorian state and Australian national team interest. A year later he played for Victoria against Torpedo Moscow, Bratislava and Chelsea, playing under Rale Rasic, the coach of Victoria at the time.
He played a season with Melbourne Hungaria in 1968 before returning to South Melbourne Hellas in 1969, winning the pre-season Ampol Cup before ultimately becoming a part of the club's fifth title winning team in 1972. In 1973, Mandalis returned to Hakoah, helping them win the coveted Dockerty Cup trophy and went on to become Hakoah’s player coach.
Mandalis moved to Naples, Florida in 1983 and set up a private coaching school there where he became acquainted with Australian former No. 1 tennis player Evonne Goolagong. There he coached several players who went on to play at the highest level in the UK along with Evonne’s son, Morgan, who played with Sydney Olympic in the National Soccer League. Mandalis also hosted many Australian kids at his school with several scholarships.
In 1996, Mandalis returned to Australia and took up residence in Noosa where he coached Women’s football at Noosa Lions, taking them to the finals in 2003.
A return to Melbourne followed, where he assumed a role at South Melbourne in an unofficial capacity as club assistant, where he instilled a sense of pride in the South Melbourne shirt as a mentor for a younger generation coming through the ranks.
His status as a bonafide legend of the game in Victoria culminated with induction into the Football Victoria Hall of Fame in 2019.
Upon hearing of Mandalis’ passing, Football Victoria Chief Executive Office, Dan Birrell, paid tribute to an icon of the game.
Michael Mandalis was an influential figure in South Melbourne’s formative period of dominance in Victoria, but he was also a respected identity in the Victorian football community, a larger-than-life figure that was much loved for his joyful passion for the game as much as his excellence on the pitch.
South Melbourne will honour the career of Michael Mandalis with a minute’s applause prior to the club’s first home match of the Senol NPLM Victoria season against Hume City on Thursday evening at Lakeside Stadium.
The FV Board of Directors, Executive, staff and broader Victorian football community send our sincere condolences to Michael Mandalis’ family and friends.