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Melbourne Victory Football Club is an football (soccer) club in the Australian A-League. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne Victory FC are the largest club in the league, drawing the largest average crowds of any club and consistently setting league and domestic club football attendance records.

Melbourne Victory FC is also the most successful club in the history of the A-League, having won four major domestic titles in as many seasons. Melbourne Victory are the only club to complete the Premiership-Championship double. Melbourne Victory have completed the Premiership-Championship double twice, having won both during the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons. Melbourne Victory are also the first and only club to complete the domestic treble, winning the Challenge Cup, Premiership and Championship, all in the 2008–09 season.

Melbourne Victory are the reigning A-League Premiers and Champions, having won the respective titles in the 2008–09 season.

History

The Beginning

Melbourne Victory was founded in 2003 after the announcement of a revamped domestic league in Australia, which saw the National Soccer League disbanded in 2003 and replaced by the A-League. Archie Thompson, the A-League’s highest ever goal scorer is signed with Melbourne Victory.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) approved the Melbourne Victory consortium as Melbourne's representative in the league, with Belgravia Leisure Pty Ltd backing the club. The chairman and CEO of Belgravia Leisure, Geoff Lord, was installed as the inaugural chairman of Melbourne Victory F.C. Melbourne Victory’s major sponsor is Samsung, with KFC also taking up the sleeve sponsor.

Gary Cole (an ex-Socceroo) was hired to become Football Operations manager, and was soon joined by Ernie Merrick, appointed as head coach from the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS). Archie Thompson, a then regular Socceroo who had been playing in Belgium with Lierse S.K., was the club's first player signing. The club soon signed three more internationals for the inaugural squad – then Socceroo Kevin Muscat, Austrian Richard Kitzbichler and Belgian Geoffrey Claeys.

* Trial match #1 MV/VIS vs Oakleigh Cannons 30 April 2005
* Trial match #2 MV vs Bulleen Zebras 4 May 2005 
* FIFA Club World Championship Adelaide vs MV 7 May 2005

The remainder of the squad was quickly assembled, although room was left for signings before Melbourne played its first competitive match against Adelaide United in a World Club Championship qualifier. Unfortunately, this resulted in an inconsistent first season. Although highlights included a 5–0 drubbing of major rivals Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory finished as the worst Australian team (ahead of the New Zealand Knights), whilst Sydney, their major rivals went on to win the first A-League Championship.

The Victory has also set up a sister-city relationship with Chinese Super League Club, Tianjin Teda F.C. The two clubs play against each other annually during the off-season, known as the Lord Mayor’s Cup.

Melbourne Victory are considered a broad-based club, appealing to all nationalities. The team colours – navy blue and white – are traditionally Victorian state colours.

A-League 2005–06

It was widely believed that Melbourne Victory would be contenders for the A-League championship but their inaugural season in the Hyundai A-League was anything but - the team only managed seven wins out of twenty-one matches, finishing second last.

The season saw Melbourne Victory sign two returning Socceroos, (Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat). The highlight of the season was the 5–0 thrashing of eventual champions Sydney F.C. (with 2 goals from Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat, and one from Richard Kitzbichler). At the end of the season the Melbourne Victory player of the year award was handed to Kevin Muscat, and the club top goal scorer going to Archie Thompson.

A-League 2006–07

Melbourne began the 2006–2007 Hyundai A-League season hoping to vastly improve on their 7th place in the inaugural 2005–2006 season. Coach Ernie Merrick had made a number of off-season signings to bolster the squad with skill and experience including 3 Brazilians Alessandro, Claudinho, Fred along with Scottish Premier League player Grant Brebner. After a hugely successful round 2 fixture against Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium which attached the largest home and away crowd for regular club match, Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to the new venue Melbourne would become the first team to complete the A-League double in the history of the competition; clinching the premiership against the New Zealand Knights 4–0 at Olympic Park with 4 rounds of competition remaining, then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the grand final at a sold out Etihad Stadium to take the championship. Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 Asian Champions League as A-League Champions.

A-League 2007–08

Looking to capitalise on their successful 2006/07 campaign, Melbourne made some strong off-season signs including former Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic and Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández to cover the hole left by the departure of Fred to MLS club DC United. Again with the league largest crowds and a record membership of over 20,000, Melbourne were undefeated after 7 rounds but the season would slip away with some poor home performances and a mounting injury list. A late season rally gave Melbourne a hope of making the finals up to the second last round but they would finish 5th, 4 points out of the finals. Melbourne became the first side in A-League history to score 100 goals, reaching the mark after 65 games, with their first goal against Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium on 11 January 2008. The 2008 Asian Champions League campaign started with a 2–0 home victory of Korean side Chunnam Dragons but inexperience was to show with the team not able to adapt to the East Asian style and long away trips.

A-League 2008–09

The 2008/09 season brought the start of the A-League Youth League and the introduction of the W-League. Melbourne fielded teams in both competitions. Melbourne actively recruited, bringing in Socceroo Michael Thwaite, Costa Rican World Cup player José Luis López as well as Ney Fabiano from Asian Champions League rivals Chonburi FC.

Melbourne's season got off to an optimal start, winning the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. A 0–0 draw resulted in a penalty shoot-out, Victory winning 8–7 against the Template:ALeague WP.

After grabbing the Pre-Season Cup, the Victory were held to a 0–0 draw away against Sydney FC. They reinforced their premiership favouritism by coasting to 4–2 and 5–0 victories against Wellington Phoenix and the Newcastle Jets. Despite this, they succumbed 0–2 to an undermanned Sydney side at Etihad Stadium in front of 32,000 fans.

On the 6th of December, they became the 1st A-League club to amass total crowd figures of 1,000,000.

On the 24th of January, Melbourne Victory won its final game of the season against Template:ALeague WP . The 2–0 win in front of 29,904 fans placed Victory ahead of Template:ALeague AU on goals scored for the premiership title, a margin United failed to achieve in its 1–0 win over the Template:ALeague CCM.

The Victory kicked off their finals campaign on the 7th of February in the major semi-final first leg against bitter rival Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, a game which was won courtesy of goals from Costa Rican Carlos Hernández and Danny Allsopp. The second leg would see Melbourne demolish Adelaide United 4–0 with goals from Thompson, Hernandez, Allsopp and Pondlejak, granting Melbourne passage to the Grand Final on a 6–0 aggregate. Adelaide then defeated Queensland to set up a rematch with Melbourne in the Grand Final, which the Victory won 1–0 with Tom Pondeljak scoring in the 59th minute to regain the A-League Championship.

Corporate

Geoff Lord and his partners have become the sole owners of Melbourne after buying out the shares held by Football Federation Australia.

Victory struggled to raise the initial $5 million equity capital to join the A-League three years ago and the FFA helped the club over the line by contributing franchise and set-up fees of about $500,000.

The FFA took a 10 per cent holding in the club in return, as well as having a representative on the Victory board.

The shareholding was offered back to the club in 2007 and Lord and his partners -- including Ron Peck, Richard Wilson and John Harris -- raised the money to buy the shares.

The ownership of the club is structured as such:

Geoff Lord - 50%
Private Investors - 50%

Colours and badge

Melbourne's kit colours are navy blue, silver and white, which encompass the traditional state sporting colours of Victoria. In the first A-League season, only the club badge displayed a chevron, known colloquially as the "Big V", a symbol traditionally used by the Victoria Australian rules football team. In the 2006–07 season the away strip was changed to a grey jersey with a white chevron on the front. This was an immediate hit with the club's supporters, and from the 2007–08 season onwards the Melbourne's home jersey also sported the white chevron on the front. All of which is reminiscent of the french club, FC Girondins de Bordeaux.

A new kit was introduced for the 2008 AFC Champions League due to AFC rules requiring kits to have player numbers on the front of the uniform as well as the back, which would not fit well with the 'V' on the Victory's regular kit.

2005–2007 Home

2005–2006 Away

2007–2009 Home

2006–2009 Away

2008 AFC Champions League

Stadium

Melbourne were originally based at the aging Olympic Park stadium, where they played all home matches during the 2005–06 A-League season. This stadium has seated areas only on the wings, with standing-room sandy terraces on the north and south ends.

On the back of a then-record regular season attendance of 39,730 at the all-seater Etihad Stadium for the match against Sydney FC on September 2 2006, it was announced that seven home matches would be moved to "the Dome". Only one match (due to a Robbie Williams concert) —- against the struggling New Zealand Knights —- would remain at Olympic Park.

This move to such a large stadium was viewed with skepticism by many, but proved to be an outstanding success, with the average attendance rising to over 27,000 during the season. However, some of the Victory's active supporter groups have little affection for "The Dome", citing over-zealous security restrictions for hampering their efforts on match day.

Prior to the 2006–07 season the club had planned to move to a new stadium being built to the east of the current Olympic Park complex. The new Melbourne Rectangular Stadium was originally expected to seat approximately 20,000 spectators (expandable to 25,000) and was to be completed in time for the start of the 2008–09 campaign.

These plans have since been revised after the Victory refused to commit to playing at such a small capacity stadium. On May 23 2007, the club announced it had signed as a founding co-tenant of the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, which would now be built to accommodate a maximum of 31,000 spectators with further renovations to 50,000 possible.

Etihad Stadium will continue to serve as the club's home ground until the completion of the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium. The club will split its home games between the new stadium and Etihad Stadium from the 2009–10 A-League campaign; the games of less importance or potential drawing power at the new stadium and the 'blockbusters' and finals matches at Etihad Stadium. This decision has left a large amount of fans with a bitter taste in their mouth as it means they will never see their team play against arch rivals Sydney FC or Adelaide United at what many regard as Melbourne's true home ground.

Rivalry

Rivalry exists with Sydney FC and Adelaide United. Victory have recorded big wins against Adelaide (6–0 in the 2006–07 Grand Final) and Sydney (5–0 during the 2005–06 Season).

Sydney is considered Melbourne's major rival, due to Melbourne and Sydney being Australia's two largest cities (see Melbourne-Sydney rivalry). Matches between the two teams are regularly controversial and bitter encounters. Strong tensions are also emerging between the supporters from opposing teams, evident in the sell-out crowds, and Melbourne's regular large travelling group of away supporters.

Adelaide is Melbourne's geographical rival as it is the closest team to Melbourne in Australia. This rivalry also stems from the other football codes, where the interstate rivalry is big between Victorians and South Australians. Rivalry has also built up from previous encounters, when an incident between the then Adelaide United manager, John Kosmina, and Victory skipper Kevin Muscat took place during a sideline altercation during a match in the 2006–07 season, and when Victory striker Ney Fabiano allegedly spat in the direction of Adelaide defender Robert Cornthwaite during Round 4 in the 2008–09 season. Ney Fabiano was banned for 6 matches.^[3]

Supporters

Melbourne is the only A-League team based in Victoria, and has a dedicated fan base — the club has consistently set records for A-League attendances. With the move to Etihad Stadium during the 2006/07 season, large crowds have been a feature of Victory home games. On 18 February 2007, a capacity crowd of 55,436 attended the Grand Final against Adelaide United at Etihad Stadium. This is the largest attendance on record for a domestic football match in Australia, surpassing the previous record of 50,333 set at the same venue earlier in the season in a match against Sydney FC, recorded as the current record Australian Domestic regular season attendance.

On January 6, 2009, during the match against Queensland Roar, Melbourne Victory became the first A-League club to surpass 1 million spectators to their home A-League matches.

Melbourne has a number of supporter groups, each group with its own style of support. The biggest and most notable group of fans are the North Terrace, who stand on Level 1 at the southern end of the stadium. These 'ultra style' supporters are generally well equipped with many large flags, standards and drums and are lead by a 'capo'. The second large group of supporters are the Southern Terrace, based in the north end of the stadium. These 'British style' supporters generally stand at the north end of Etihad Stadium, however it's referred to as the 'South End' because of the tradition started by the SDC and affiliates at the South-End terrace of Olympic Park. Same goes for the North Terrace who stand at the south end because of their history at Olympic Park. Within the two bodies of supporters there are many smaller groups of fans that make up the North and Southern Terraces. These include the Blue White Brigade; who are commonly mistaken to be the only fans in the North Terrace given their size and SDC (Southern Death Crew).

After conflicting views about the decision made by Football Federation Australia to force Home End Membership upon the Melbourne Victory active supporters in season 2008/2009 many supporters boycotted the active support in the North Terrace, in particular Nomadi. Many believe that after the move to the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne Victory's future home ground, the Melbourne Terraces will again return to the highs of season 2005.

Squads

First squad

As of April 1, 2009

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Michael Theoklitos
2	DF	AUS	Kevin Muscat (captain)
4	DF	AUS	Steven Pace
7	DF	AUS	Matthew Kemp
8	MF	SCO	Grant Brebner
9	FW	AUS	Danny Allsopp
10	FW	AUS	Archie Thompson (marquee)
11	FW	BRA	Ney Fabiano
12	DF	AUS	Rodrigo Vargas
13	FW	AUS	Nathan Elasi (youth)
14	MF	AUS	Billy Celeski


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	MF	AUS	Tom Pondeljak
16	MF	CRC	Carlos Hernández
17	MF	CRC	José Luis López
18	MF	AUS	Leigh Broxham
19	MF	AUS	Evan Berger
20	GK	AUS	Mitchell Langerak (youth)
21	DF	AUS	Daniel Vasilevski
22	MF	AUS	Nick Ward
24	MF	AUS	Matthew Theodore
30	GK	NZL	Glen Moss

Out on loan

Squad changes for 2009–10 season

In: Glen Moss - From Wellington Phoenix Matthew Theodore - From Melbourne Victory Youth Team Carlos Hernandez - From L.D. Alajuelense Return from loan deal Out: Michael Thwaite - To Gold Coast United Steve Pantelidis - To Gold Coast United Sebastian Ryall - To Sydney FC

Youth squad

Melbourne Victory's Youth Squad will be playing in the new 7 team National Youth League. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	GK	AUS	Mijo Marinovic
-	DF	AUS	Ante Cicak
-	DF	AUS	Fabio DiLizia
-	DF	AUS	Cameron Drake
-	DF	AUS	Matthew Foschini
-	DF	AUS	James Stafrace
-	DF	AUS	Robert Wynne


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	MF	AUS	Aziz Behich
-	MF	AUS	Stephen Hatzikostas
-	MF	AUS	Antonio LaVerde
-	MF	AUS	Milos Lujic
-	DF	AUS	Charbel Safi
-	MF	AUS	Mathew Theodore
-	FW	AUS	Dimitri Hatzimouratis

Women's squad

The women's squad will be playing in the new 8 team W-League. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Melissa Barbieri
2	MF	AUS	Meghan Archer
3	DF	NZL	Marlies Oostdam
4	MF	AUS	Tal Karp (captain)
5	DF	AUS	Laura Alleway
6	DF	AUS	Maika Ruyter-Hooley
7	MF	AUS	Sarah Groenewald
8	MF	ENG	Louisa Bisby
9	FW	NZL	Rebecca Tegg
10	MF	AUS	Stephanie Tanti


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
11	FW	CAN	Brittany Timko
12	MF	AUS	Sophie Hogben
13	FW	AUS	Deanna Niceski
14	MF	AUS	Selin Kuralay
15	DF	AUS	Daniela Digiammarco
16	DF	AUS	Bronwyn Nutley
17	FW	AUS	Alisha Foote
18	MF	AUS	Ursula Hughson
19	MF	AUS	Enza Barilla
20	GK	AUS	Nicole Paul

Former notable players

Below is a list of notable footballers who have previously played for the Melbourne Victory. Generally, this means players that have played 50 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included, as are the club's integral founding members, where integral members of a championship winning team, have at least one senior international cap or made significant contributions to the club's history.

Australia

Austria

Richard Kitzbichler

Belgium

Geoffrey Claeys

Brazil

Fred

England

Personnel

Senior Club Officials

Chairman: Geoff Lord
Director: Ron Peck
Director: Richard Wilson
Director: Anthony Di Pietro
Director: Mario Biasin
Director: Ian McLeod
Director: John Harris
CEO: Geoff Miles

Senior Squad Coaching and Medical staff

Football Operations Manager: Gary Cole
Manager: Ernie Merrick
Assistant Manager: Aaron Healey
Assistant Manager: Kevin Muscat
Goalkeeping Coach: Steve Mautone
Strength & Conditioning Coach: Adam Basil
Sports Scientist: Anita Pedrana
Physiotherapist: Sam Bugeja
Physiotherapist: Daniel Jones
Doctor: Dr Anik Shawdon

Youth Squad Coaching Staff

Manager: Mehmet Durakovic
Assistant Manager: Steve Mautone

W-League Team Coaching Staff

Manager: Matthew Shepherd

Coaches

2005–Present Ernie Merrick

Honours

Club

A-League Premiership:
- Premiers (2): 2006–07, 2008–09
A-League Championship:
- Champions (2): 2006–07, 2008–2009
A-League Grand Finalists:
- Grand Finalists (2): 2006–07, 2008–09
A-League Finalists:
- Finalists (2): 2006–07, 2008–09
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
- Champions (1): 2008–09
AFC Champions League:
- Qualification (2): 2008, 2010
QNI North Queensland Trophy:
- Winners (1) 2006
Lord Mayors Cup
- Winners (1) 2007

Individual

List of Individual award winners who won awards while playing for Melbourne Victory FC.

A-League Golden Boot Winners

- 2005/06: Archie Thompson *

- 2006/07: Daniel Allsopp

Joe Marston Medal Winners

- 2006/07: Archie Thompson

- 2008/09: Tom Pondeljak

A-League Rising Star

- 2006/07: Adrian Leijer

A-League Goalkeeper of the Year

- 2006/07: Michael Theoklitos

- 2007/08: Michael Theoklitos

A-League Coach of the Year

- 2006/07: Ernie Merrick

(*) Indicates co-winner

Year-by-year history

**Melbourne League History**
Season	Teams	Pre-Season	Premiership Ladder Position	Finals Qualification	Final Ladder Position	ACL Qualification	ACL Placing
2005–06	8	Semi-Final	7th	DNQ	7th	DNQ	n/a
2006–07	8	5th	Premiers	Qualified	Champions	Qualified for 2008	DNQ
2007–08	8	8th	5th	DNQ	5th	DNQ	Group Stages (2nd)
2008–09	8	Winners	Premiers	Qualified	Champions	Qualified for 2010	DNQ

Records and Statistics

Melbourne Victory
	File:Mvfclogo.jpg
Full name	Melbourne Victory Football Club
Nickname(s)	Victory, The Big V
Founded	2004
Ground	Etihad Stadium; Melbourne, Australia
Capacity	56,347
Chairman	Geoff Lord
Head Coach	Ernie Merrick
League	A-League
2008–09	1st (league) ; Champions (finals)
Home colours	Away colours
	Current season

For detailed records and statistics see Records and Statistics

Records

Record Victory: 6–0 vs Template:ALeague AU, A-League Grand Final, February 18 2007
Record Defeat: 0–4 vs Template:ALeague NUJ, January 19 2007
Record High Attendance: 55,436 vs Template:ALeague AU, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, February 18 2007
Record High Attendance (Season): 50,333 vs Template:ALeague SFC, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, December 8 2006
Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 5 - Archie Thompson, A-League Grand Final, February 18 2007
Most Wins in a Row: 8 - February 4 2006 – October 8 2006
Highest Season Average Attendance: 27,728 - A-League 2006–07
All-time Leading Goal Scorer: Archie Thompson - 39 goals (as of February 14 2009)
A-League Leading Goal Scorer: Archie Thompson - 38 goals (as of February 24 2009)
Most Goals In a Regular Season: Danny Allsopp - 11 goals, A-League 2006–07, 2008–09
All-time Leading Appearances: Danny Allsopp - 91 appearances (as of February 28 2009)
A-League Leading Appearances: Danny Allsopp - 85 appearances (as of February 28 2009)
Longest Period Without Conceding a Goal: 464 minutes (Current) - January 11 2009 – February 28 2009 Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos

Leading Scorers

Last updated February 28 2009,

Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.

	Name	Years	A-League	Finals	ACL	Total
1	Archie Thompson	2005/06 -	32 (70)	6 (6)	1 (3)	39 (79)
2	Danny Allsopp	2005/06 -	32 (79)	3 (6)	3 (6)	38 (91)
3	Kevin Muscat	2005/06 -	22 (72)	0 (6)	2 (6)	24 (84)
4	Carlos Hernández	2007/08 -	6 (38)	2 (3)	1 (2)	9 (43)
5	Adrian Caceres	2006/07 – 2007/08	6 (40)	0 (2)	0 (5)	6 (47)
6=	Richard Kitzbichler	2005/06	5 (18)	0 (0)	0 (0)	5 (18)
6=	Rodrigo Vargas	2006/07 -	3 (61)	0 (6)	2 (6)	5 (73)
6=	Ney Fabiano	2008/09 -	5 (15)	0 (1)	0 (0)	5 (16)
9=	Fred	2006/07	4 (14)	0 (3)	0 (0)	4 (17)
9=	Tom Pondeljak	2008/09 -	2 (19)	1 (3)	1 (3)	4 (25)
11=	Grant Brebner	2006/07 -	3 (49)	0 (6)	0 (0)	3 (55)
11=	Kristian Sarkies	2005/06 – 2006/07	2 (34)	1 (1)	0 (0)	3 (35)
11=	Nick Ward	2007/08 -	3 (20)	0 (2)	0 (6)	3 (28)

Most Number of Appearances

Competitive, professional matches only including substitution, number of appearances as a substitute appears in brackets.