It was founded in 1953, and has had extensive success in its history, with the club's peak coming in the mid-1990s when it was crowned Australian champions, winning back-to-back National Soccer League titles.
An initial difficulty in fielding teams led SC Croatia to recruit players from various suburbs across Melbourne, as well as from outside the city in Geelong and even the Bonegilla Migrant Reception and Training Centre in north-eastern Victoria.
Controversy embroiled the league in its post-season, which saw SC Croatia stripped of its Division 1 title after a successful appeal by the second placed Preston to overturn a result earlier in the season in their match against the Lions.
SC Croatia, following the split, having lost the bulk of its squad merged with the Zagreb club from Geelong (founded in 1958) allowing it to be able to field a side for the season.
That year saw Preston Croat goalkeeper Ilija Djukic become the club's first representative player, as he was selected in the Victorian state team squad to take on South Australia.
Despite the high expectations within the Croatian community the club finished a disappointing 11th in its inaugural season as a re-united side in the State League, being relegated back to Division 1.
During the 1950s Norris had played in the English Division 1 (now Premier League) with Middlesbrough, and was part of the giant killing AFC Bournemouth team of 1957 which made the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
In 1968 all the hard work of previous years finally paid off with what was the high point of this era, when SC Croatia won its first Victorian State League championship.
Under the captaincy of Horst Rau (the club's longest serving captain) SC Croatia was dominant winning 15 of its 22 matches, and finishing 7 points clear of the second place Polonia.
The first step occurred with the appointment of the influential SC Croatia figure Tony Vrzina as coach of the Essendon Lions late in the 1974 season, rescuing the club from relegation.
Also the club's youth system was producing great young talent during this time that would go on to have a deep influence on Australian football, namely Eddie Krnčević and Branko Čulina.
Club legend Duncan MacKay was brought in as coach, he introduced a number of new players including New Zealand international Brian Davidson and Steve Kokoska from Sunshine City.
MacKay's influence had a deep impact with the club having a great second half of the season as Essendon Croatia won 6 of its final 10 matches, to finish a respectable seventh.
That year Heidelberg United had finished 2nd in the NSL, Croatia once again showed the strength of Victorian State League football by pushing them all the way, eventually losing 3–2.
In 1985 under coach Dom Kapetanovic the club would continue its good form again making the finals, but this time being knocked out in the first match by Preston 2–1 at Olympic Park in front of 6,000 spectators.
In the finals, the club defeated Preston 2–0, which was followed by an agonising 3–2 loss to Sydney Olympic in extra time that put an end to Melbourne Croatia's campaign.
The club clinched the minor premiership with a game to spare following an 8-1 thrashing of Wollongong Macedonia, a match in which star striker Ivan Kelic scored six goals.
The Knights defended its NSL title the following year, despite having lost a number of players during the off-season; Mark Viduka to Dinamo Zagreb, Steve Horvat to Hajduk Split, Krešimir Marušić also returning to Croatia and the loss of their coach Mirko Bazic.
In the Grand Final the Knights met Marconi again, a match which it would go into missing three of its players due to international duty with the Olyroos; Joe Spiteri, Frank Juric and Danny Tiatto.
For the 1996/97 season the de-ethnicising continued under the helm of the Soccer Australia president David Hill, a key decision was the removal of ethnic symbols from club emblems.
For the 1996/97 season the club lost Mark Silić, Frank Jurić, Fausto De Amicis, Danny Tiatto and Vinko Buljubašić, the side was decimated.
The 1997/98 season saw the return of veterans Ivan Kelic and Alan Edward Davidson, as well as the loss of Josip Simunic to Hamburg SV in Germany, and David Červinski and Lubo Lapsansky to the newly formed Carlton SC.
But the Knights along with South Melbourne FC were not allowed to enter the 2004 VPL season, with various clubs in a campaign led by former Socceroo and JUST player Ernie Tapai at Whittlesea blocking their entry.
There were a number of changes in the squad, with Mate Dugandzic and Daniel Visevic being signed by Croatia's Dinamo Zagreb, and influential goalkeeper Adrian Cagalj transferring to Oakleigh.
The 2009 VPL season started with a mass exodus of players, this most notably included Andrew Barisic to new A-League franchise Gold Coast United, as well as veterans Joe Spiteri and Steve Iosifidis dropping to lowers leagues to finish off their careers.
The return to the classic emblem was most fitting as the club celebrated the 15th anniversary of those championships, gathering all of the players from that legendary side (except Josip Simunic who was with the Croatia national team) for a successful gala night and reunion match.
What was implemented was a recruitment policy that saw a diverse range of players brought to the Knights, including imports such as the American-Croat Tomislav Skara, Englishman Kevin Townson and Frenchman Jean-Charles Dubois.
[12] With youth product, captain and fan-favourite Tomislav Uskok signing for A-League side Central Coast Mariners in November, 2015[13] Knights re-signed the majority of their players from the previous season.
Established goalkeeper Chris May and long serving full back Anthony Colosimo departed[14] and in came young talents like 18-year-old Nick Glavan and 17-year-old Nikola Jurković from Melbourne Victory Youth and sister-club North Geelong Warriors respectively.
[20] The appointment of Asanović, a World Cup bronze medal winner in 1998, and Računica, was hailed as arguable the biggest coaching coup in the history of the NPL Victoria.