# 1996–97 Canberra Cosmos FC season

The 1996–97 season was the second in the history of Canberra Cosmos. It was also the second season in the National Soccer League. In addition to the domestic league, they also participated in the NSL Cup. Canberra Cosmos finished 14th in their National Soccer League season, and were eliminated in the NSL Cup Round of 16 by Melbourne Knights.

## Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Danny Milosevic |
| 2 | MF | AUS | Paul Dee |
| 3 | FW | AUS | David Milin |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Richard Watson |
| 5 | MF | AUS | Mladen Rogic |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Paul Wade |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Michael Garcia |
| 8 | MF | NIR | Norman Kelly |
| 9 | MF | AUS | Lachlan Armstrong |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Tony Lemezina |
| 11 | FW | AUS | Marko Perinovic (Captain) |
| 12 | DF | AUS | Lindsay Wilson |
| 13 | FW | AUS | Peter Buljan |
| 14 | MF | AUS | James Baxter |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Vince Grella |
| 16 | FW | AUS | Steve Lazzari |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | | AUS | Steven Howe |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Joe Campagna |
| 19 | | AUS | Alex Tsiokos |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Ben Harris |
| 21 | DF | AUS | John Koch |
| 22 | DF | AUS | Peter Mazis |
| 24 | DF | AUS | George Sorras |
| 25 | DF | AUS | Ante Juric |
| 26 | MF | AUS | Rodrigo Moreno |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Anthony Giannasca |
| — | FW | AUS | John Markovski |
| — | MF | AUS | Allan Reis |
| — | GK | AUS | Barney Smith |
| — | DF | AUS | Jason Dunn |
| — | DF | AUS | Toplica Popovich |
| — | MF | AUS | Andrew Ravanello |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| National Soccer League | 12 October 1996 | 20 April 1997 | Matchday 1 | 14th | 26 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 30 | 69 | −39 | 007.69 |
| NSL Cup | 7 September 1996 | 13 September 1996 | Round of 16 | Round of 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 000.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 28 | 2 | 5 | 21 | 32 | 73 | −41 | 007.14 |
Last updated: complete Source: Competitions

### National Soccer League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sydney United | 26 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 67 | 33 | +34 | 56 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 2 | Brisbane Strikers (C) | 26 | 15 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 40 | +15 | 47 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 3 | South Melbourne | 26 | 14 | 4 | 8 | 39 | 25 | +14 | 46 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide City | 26 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 32 | 22 | +10 | 43 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 5 | Marconi Fairfield | 26 | 12 | 4 | 10 | 41 | 37 | +4 | 40 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Knights | 26 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 36 | 32 | +4 | 39 | Qualification for the Finals series |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 26 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 38 | |
| 8 | West Adelaide | 26 | 10 | 3 | 13 | 39 | 51 | −12 | 33 | |
| 9 | UTS Olympic | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 46 | −5 | 32 | |
| 10 | Wollongong Wolves | 26 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 32 | |
| 11 | Newcastle Breakers | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 40 | 46 | −6 | 30 | |
| 12 | Gippsland Falcons | 26 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 33 | 41 | −8 | 30 | |
| 13 | Collingwood Warriors | 26 | 6 | 9 | 11 | 32 | 44 | −12 | 27 | |
| 14 | Canberra Cosmos | 26 | 2 | 5 | 19 | 30 | 69 | −39 | 11 | |

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | L | L | D | D | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | L | L | L | L | L | L |
| Position | 11 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 |

#### Matches
### NSL Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

Players with no appearances not included in the list.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League | NSL Cup | NSL Cup | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | | Danny Milosevic | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| 2 | MF | | Paul Dee | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 4 |
| 3 | FW | | David Milin | 7(7) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Richard Watson | 11(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | | Mladen Rogic | 3(1) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Paul Wade | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | | Michael Garcia | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Norman Kelly | 23 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 25 | 8 |
| 9 | MF | | Lachlan Armstrong | 18(2) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 3 |
| 10 | FW | | Tony Lemezina | 4(9) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 3 |
| 11 | FW | | Marko Perinovic | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 |
| 12 | DF | | Lindsay Wilson | 9(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 1 |
| 13 | FW | | Peter Buljan | 10(6) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| 14 | MF | | James Baxter | 12(6) | 1 | 0(1) | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | | Vince Grella | 11(3) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 1 |
| 16 | FW | | Steve Lazzari | 2(2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | | | Steven Howe | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | | Joe Campagna | 0(3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | | John Koch | 24(1) | 1 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 1 |
| 22 | DF | | Peter Mazis | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 24 | DF | | George Sorras | 18(1) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 2 |
| 25 | DF | | Ante Juric | 9(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | | Rodrigo Moreno | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | | Anthony Giannasca | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| — | DF | | John Angelovski | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| — | FW | | John Markovski | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| — | MF | | Allan Reis | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| — | GK | | Barney Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | National Soccer League | NSL Cup | Total |
| 1 | 1 | GK | | Danny Milosevic | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 30 | GK | | Anthony Giannasca | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 2 | 0 | 2 |