The Deciding Set: Beograd and Croatia clash in a Semi-Final beyond bragging rights
Antonis Pagonis 
Adelaide Croatia's Anthony Costa and FK Beograd's Massimo Falco shake hands before their sides' latest encounter in the NPL SA. Photo Credit: Pagonis Photography
Long-standing rivals FK Beograd and Adelaide Croatia Raiders meet in the Federation Cup Semi-Final with more than bragging rights on the line.
After avoiding each other for over half a decade, FK Beograd and Adelaide Croatia Raiders rekindled their fierce rivalry last year. 2024 was the first year in which the two sides found themselves in the same division since 2018 when they faced each other in State League One.
To find the last time they co-existed in the NPL, you had to go back to the 2015 season.
The two made up for lost time in 2024, with each side holding serve by winning their own thrilling home games against their rival, with the passion of both players and supporters being a refreshing addition to the South Australian football landscape.
Unfortunately for both Beograd and Croatia, their seasons peaked with those wins, with both sides missing out on finals qualification.
2025 has dealt contrasting fates to the two sides.
FK Beograd are currently flying high at the top of the table, having recently beaten rivals Adelaide Croatia away from home. One of Beograd’s losses hurt more than the others, and it was at home to their rivals. Unfortunately for the Raiders, that famous victory remains one of just two league wins this season, as they currently find themselves at the bottom of the ladder.
If this revived rivalry were a tennis match, we would be locked at two sets all in this enthralling match-up. Fate has been kind to the South Australian football community, with the Federation Cup draw producing a grand occasion for the deciding set.
FK Beograd and Adelaide Croatia clash in the Federation Cup Semi-Final, with the winner not only guaranteeing a shot at silverware but also the right to compete in the Australia Cup Round of 32.
Speaking to Round Ball Australia, FK Beograd coach Adrian D’Aloia was asked to reflect on the significance of the match-up.
“One of the first things I was told when I interviewed for the job was, ‘We can’t lose to Raiders.’ It is well drilled into you!” he joked.
“With me being in the local football circles since I was a kid, I knew about the rivalry, but you learn a lot more about it once you are in the club.
“It is a huge rivalry, but I want to make the point that there is huge respect between the clubs, as well as the players and the coaches. During the 90 minutes, we all want to win, but after that is over, there is huge respect between the two sides.”
D’Aloia has been involved in the Australia Cup Round of 32 before as an assistant coach to Michael Matricciani at Campbelltown City and knows the importance of the national stage, especially for a club like FK Beograd that has not experienced that feeling. Despite the anticipation, the second-year coach is keeping his eyes on the prize that becomes a possibility if his side defeats its rivals on Wednesday night.
“First of all, there is a trophy on the line, and to win it would mean the world because it is a club that has given me an opportunity to be a head coach, and the fans deserve a trophy. We are in a competition with a trophy to be won; I think the last time the club managed that was over 20 years ago when it won the local Cup,” D’Aloia said.
“Bringing this club on the national stage would be huge; I have been on that stage with Campbelltown before, and we had a really memorable night beating Macarthur at home. I saw what that did to the club, to the fans, volunteers, and sponsors, and I can see us replicating that if we get the opportunity.”
The Federation Cup win D’Aloia references is the 2005 installation of the competition, when Beograd and Raiders met in the Final. That day, Beograd brought the trophy home after an extra-time winner.
While Beograd will be hoping for a repeat of that famous day, Adelaide Croatia are looking to write a well-known chapter in their own history, aiming to reverse a bad run of form.
Adelaide Croatia Raiders Board Member Maks Jurković reflected on what is shaping up as the most significant encounter since that day.
“In my lifetime, I don’t think I have seen a bigger build-up for a game” Jurkovic shared.
“The magnitude of it, a place in the Final and Australia Cup qualification on the line. We have faced each other in finals before, but it has not been recent. For our generation, this is the game that has real bragging rights attached to it.”
Adelaide Croatia’s 2025 season has not gone to plan, with the club finding itself at the foot of the ladder. However, a win against their rivals earlier in the season is an indication that they can match it against anyone in the competition.
Jurković is the son of former Raiders captain and President Ivica Jurković, and having grown up supporting the club, he has heard stories about the inaugural version of the Australia Cup, which his side can return to by reaching the Federation Cup Final.
“Australia Cup qualification would be massive; in its inaugural inception, Adelaide Croatia was one of the few clubs that actually represented South Australia, and during the mid-80s, we actually made the Quarter-Finals of the national cup.”
While a long-awaited return to the national stage can do wonders for the stature of a club, reaching a final and having a chance to win a trophy that can breathe life into a faltering season is the priority for Croatia, according to Jurković.
“We’ve been on that stage before, but for me, as a supporter and someone who is a purist of the game, I want to win the Federation Cup. The Australia Cup is great; it provides a lot of exposure for our community and our brand, but from a pure football sense, I want to win the Cup.”
For the first time in 20 years, the two rivals meet with more than three points on the line.
The eyes of South Australia’s football community will be on ServiceFM Stadium when two of the state’s most traditional clubs, with two passionate fanbases, collide for the right to take on MetroStars for the Federation Cup and an opportunity to showcase their club, culture, and football on the Australia Cup’s national stage.