Igor Georgieski wants to return Altona Magic to its former glory.
The new Magic president has ambitious plans to get the club back to playing in Victoria’s top-flight soccer competition.
“We want to see the club in the NPL – that’s my aim,” the 37-year-old said. “We want to be the first club in Hobsons Bay to get into the NPL.”
The Magic is a club crying out for stability at the top, with the board having churned through three coaches last season.
There were plans for the Magic to enter the inaugural NPL, but a late lodgement of paperwork to Football Federation Victoria led the governing body to look elsewhere.
“The club got let down by a few people in the past,” Georgieski said. “There was no organisation last year, and now there is.”
The Magic remains the biggest name in Hobsons Bay soccer.
Founded in 1968, the club took a while to find its feet, but it would become a powerhouse of Victorian soccer in the mid-1990s and late-2000s, when the club won five Victorian Premier League titles.
“It has got a rich history but one with its ups and downs,” Georgieski said.
“The club is known for being a good club, not getting into trouble and accepting anyone into its ranks, no matter what race or colour you are. You’re always accepted at Altona.”
Top of Georgieski’s priorities is to build a thriving junior section.
He has put the call-out to youngsters in the local area to join up and has plans for new junior development programs.
The club will field a women’s team next season to further embed the club’s all-inclusive nature.
“We’re concerned about the whole club, from juniors to women to seniors – everything,” he said.
Georgieski brings an outsider’s perspective and a sound business sense.
He joined the Magic towards the end of last season after a coaching stint with Hume City and a board role at Lalor United.
“The committee has changed for the better,” he said. “We’re going to run it as a business, but I’m in there with a soccer mind as well. I’ve been playing soccer all my life.”
Meanwhile, the Magic has reappointed Robert Spasevski as head coach for 2015.
Spasevski was the third coach of 2013, taking over at the club towards the end of last season.
Slave Bozinovski will return to the Magic to be assistant coach.
