A-League
A Brief History of the A-League
The birth of the Hyundai A-League in 2004 was part of a dawn of change for football in Australia, following the demise of Soccer Australia as the game’s governing body and in turn the collapse of the former National Soccer League. The newly appointed Football Federation Australia announced that there would be a 16 month hiatus from professional football between April 2004 – following the final NSL season – and August 2005, when the A-League’s inaugural season would commence. FFA granted eight initial A-League club licences, four of those licences went to teams from the former NSL competition – Perth Glory, Newcastle Jets, New Zealand Football Knights (who’s licence was given to Wellington Phoenix in 2007) and Adelaide United. The other four spots were won by bids from Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Central Coast Mariners and Queensland Roar. Version one of the A-League saw unprecedented media coverage and attendance averages for domestic football in Australia, with plenty of interest surrounding the return of top Australian players from Europe such as Archie Thompson (Melbourne Victory), Ned Zelic (Newcastle Jets) and Steve Corica (Sydney FC). Over the next two years they were followed by the likes of Tony Popovic, Craig Moore, Danny Tiatto, Stan Lazaridis and John Aloisi, who all decided to join A-League clubs after long, successful careers overseas. Although a salary cap was introduced for all clubs prior to the first season, FFA also introduced a marquee player concept, which allowed each club to spend an unlimited amount of money on one import player, who’s wages would be exempt from the salary cap. This saw the likes of high profile overseas players such as Dwight Yorke, Romario, Juninho and Mario Jardel playing brief stints with A-League clubs over the first three seasons.
Expansion of the A-League
In 2008 FFA announced the inclusion of two new A-League clubs for the 2009/2010 season, increasing the total number of teams to 10. North Queensland Fury and Gold Coast United were given licences ahead of bids from Canberra and Wollongong, and the introduction of two extra teams from Queensland forced Queensland Roar to change their name to Brisbane Roar. In 2009 Melbourne Heart became the second Melbourne team after they were awarded the 11th A-League licence, entering the competition in time for season six in 2010. Sydney are also set to have two teams with the West Sydney-based Sydney Rovers joining the competition next season, increasing the number of clubs to 12. Aside from Canberra and Wollongong, who are both likely to bid for future A-League licences that become available, FFA chairman Frank Lowy has mentioned cities such as Hobart, Geelong, Christchurch and Darwin as expansion possibilities.
Current A-League Clubs
Adelaide United
Entered A-League – 2005
Club colours – Red, black and yellow
Home Ground – Hindmarsh Stadium (capacity: 17,000)
Head Coach – Rini Coolen
Club Captain – Travis Dodd
Brisbane Roar
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Orange, maroon and white
Home Ground – Suncorp Stadium (capacity: 52,000)
Head Coach – Ange Postecoglou
Club Captain – Matt McKay
Central Coast Mariners
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Navy, yellow and white
Home Ground – Bluetongue Stadium (capacity 20,000)
Head Coach – Graham Arnold
Club Captain – Alex Wilkinson
Gold Coast United
Entered A-League – 2009
Club Colours – Yellow, blue and white
Home Ground – Skilled Park (capacity: 27,000)
Head Coach – Miron Bleiberg
Club Captain – Jason Culina
Melbourne Victory
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Navy, white and grey
Home Grounds – AAMI Park (capacity: 30,000) and Etihad Stadium (capacity: 56,000)
Head Coach – Ernie Merrick
Club Captain – Kevin Muscat
Melbourne Heart
Entered A-League – 2010
Club Colours – Red and white
Home Ground – AAMI Park (capacity: 30,000)
Head Coach – John van’t Schip
Club Captain – Simon Colosimo
Newcastle Jets
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Gold, navy, red and white
Home Ground – Energy Australia Stadium (capacity: 26,000)
Head Coach – Branko Culina
Club Captain – Michael Bridges
North Queensland Fury
Entered A-League – 2009
Club Colours – Dark green, light green, white
Home Ground – Dairy Farmers Stadium (capacity: 26,000)
Head Coach – Franz Straka
Club Captain – Ufuk Talay
Perth Glory
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Purple, white and orange
Home Ground – NIB Stadium (capacity: 20,000)
Head Coach – David Mitchell
Club Captain – Jacob Burns
Sydney FC
Entered A-League – 2005
Club Colours – Sky blue, navy, white
Home Ground – Sydney Football Stadium (capacity 45,000)
Head Coach – Viterzslav Lavicka
Club Captain – Terry McFlynn
Wellington Phoenix
Entered A-League – 2007
Club Colours – Yellow, black and white
Home Ground – Westpac Stadium (capacity 36,000)
Head Coach – Ricki Herbert
Club Captain – Andrew Durante
A-League Champions:
2005-2006: Sydney FC
2006-2007: Melbourne Victory
2007-2008: Newcastle Jets
2008-2009: Melbourne Victory
2009-2010: Sydney FC
Minor Premiers:
2005-2006: Adelaide United
2006-2007: Melbourne Victory
2007-2008: Central Coast Mariners
2008-2009: Melbourne Victory
2009-2010: Sydney FC
Top Goal Scorers:
2005-2006: Alex Brosque, Bobby Despotovski, Stewart Petrie, Archie Thompson (8)
2006-2007: Danny Allsopp (11)
2007-2008: Joel Griffiths (12)
2008-2009: Shane Smeltz (12)
2009-2010: Shane Smeltz (19)
Player of the Year (Johnny Warren Medal):
2005-2006: Bobby Despotovski
2006-2007: Nick Carle
2007-2008: Joel Griffiths
2008-2009: Shane Smeltz
2009-2010: Carlos Hernandez
AFC Champions League
In 2006 FFA became a member of the Asian Football Confederation and as such the top two A-League sides after each regular season have qualified for the AFC Champions League, a competition modeled on Europe’s UEFA Champions League. Adelaide United have been the most successful Australian club in Asia, having qualified for the AFC Champions League three times in five A-League seasons to date and progressing to the knockout stages on two occasions. In 2008 Adelaide reached the final only to go down 5-0 on aggregate over two legs against Japan’s Gamba Osaka. No other Australian side has reached the knockout stages with Melbourne Victory (twice), Sydney FC, Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners all bowing out after the group stage in their respective campaigns. Sydney and Melbourne will both be competing in next year’s AFC Champions League after finishing first and second respectively in last season’s A-League.
If you are interested in punting on the A-League why not check out our A-League match previews here.