Jump to content

A-League Men

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 58.107.48.211 (talk) at 09:52, 11 January 2007 (→‎External links). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Dab current

A-League

File:A-League logo.png

General Information
Founded 2004
Sport Football (soccer)
Motto It's football, but not as you know it
Country Australia Australia
New Zealand New Zealand
Current Teams Adelaide United
Central Coast Mariners
Melbourne Victory
Newcastle United Jets
New Zealand Knights
Perth Glory
Queensland Roar
Sydney FC
2005-06 Season
Champions Sydney FC defeated Central Coast Mariners 1-0
Premiers Adelaide United
For the former incarnation of the USL First Division see A-League Soccer

The A-League (currently called the Hyundai A-League because of sponsorship deals) is the premier Australian domestic football (soccer) competition. Founded in 2004 and staging its inaugural season in 2005-06, the league is contested by seven teams covering Australia's major cities and regional centres, as well as one representing New Zealand however, the New Zealand Knights have had their licence revoked and will see out the current season before disbanding.[1] The team which finishes on top of the league table at the end of the 21-round regular season is awarded the Premiership, with the winner of the subsequent four-team finals series awarded the Championship. Adelaide United FC are the reigning A-League Premiers, and Sydney FC are the current Champions.

The league has attracted corporate support with Hyundai as major sponsor, and is televised on Fox Sports. Additionally, Reebok have provided the playing kits for all 8 clubs. An AU$3 million dollar advertising campaign was also launched, with the television and film advertisements produced by Ridley Scott's production company. The theme for the campaign is "Football, but not as you know it".

History

In 2003, a report on football in Australia was published by the Australian Federal Government which ultimately led to an overhaul of Soccer Australia and the end of the National Soccer League, Australia's previous domestic football competition. In its place, Football Federation Australia (named the Australian Soccer Association at the time) announced plans for a new national competition set to start in 2005. The competition was based on a one-city, one-club format in an attempt to concentrate player talent within regions, and planned for privately owned clubs to represent Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, Newcastle and New Zealand, with the eighth and final club to be selected from the remaining expressions of interest.[2] The selection of teams, with The Central Coast the eighth area represented, was announced on November 1 2004, along with the competition format which was shortened to provide a basic structure for further expansion. The FFA scheduled the inaugural season to begin in August 2005, budgeting for an annual turnover of AU$50 million and average crowds of over 12,000.[3] This figure was achieved as the league had an overall attendance average of 12,100 during its inaugural season.[4]

The opening season saw clubs attract a wide array of talent, most notably Dwight Yorke for Sydney FC, as well as bringing a large number of former and current Socceroos home, including Ned Zelic, Steve Corica and Archie Thompson. Adelaide United FC won the inaugural A-League Premiership after the end of the home-and-away season. The Grand Final was played in front of 41,689 people at Aussie Stadium. Sydney FC prevailed 1-0 over the Central Coast Mariners to become the first A-League Champions. The largest ever crowd is 50,333 was Melbourne vs Sydney, at Telstra Dome. Telstra Dome has the biggest crowds most weeks[5]

Format

Pre-Season Cup

A Pre-Season Cup is held in July and August, as a precursor to the main season. In the Pre-Season Cup, the eight teams are placed into two groups. Each team plays the others in the group once over three rounds.

Beginning in 2006, an additional bonus round is then held, with each team playing a cross-over match with a team from a different group. In addition to the standard points (3 for a win, 1 for a draw), there are special bonus points on offer for the bonus round matches:

  • 1 bonus point for 2 goals scored by a team,
  • 2 bonus points for 3 goals scored by a team, or
  • 3 bonus points for 4 or more goals scored by a team.[6]

All eight teams then enter a knock-out round, culminating in the final in late August.

The FFA has indicated that, if successful, the bonus points system may be used in the main league season from 2007-08.[7]

Regular season

The regular season runs mainly during the Australian summer, from late August to January of the following year. The competition consists of 21 home-and-away rounds, with each team playing each other team three times – twice at one team's home stadium and once at the other's. The teams which are allotted two home matches against an opponent in one season are allotted one home match against that opponent in the following season. Each match sees the winning team awarded three competition points, or in the case of a draw, the teams receive one point each. At the end of the season, the teams are ranked firstly in terms of competition points accumulated, then goal difference, total goals scored, head-to-head records between tying teams and finally the number of cards each team has received.[8] The club at the top of this ladder is crowned A-League Premiers, and as of the 2006–07 season, will be entered into the AFC Champions League.[9]

Finals series

File:A league trophy.jpg
The inaugural A-League Champions Trophy was awarded to Sydney FC, who beat Central Coast Mariners in the first Grand Final on March 5, 2006.

The top four-ranked teams at the end of the regular season are entered into a finals series based on the Page playoff system, where the first round of matches consists of two legs (with ties decided by the away goals rule). The top two ranked teams play the Major Semi-Final, with the winner progressing straight to and hosting the Grand Final. On the same weekends, the third and fourth ranked teams contest the Minor Semi-Final, which sees the losing side eliminated whilst the winner plays off against the loser of the Major Semi-Final in the Preliminary Final the following weekend. The winner of this match also progresses to the Grand Final, the winner of which becomes A-League Champions. As of the 2006–07 season, this team will also contest the AFC Champions League, although if both the Championship and Premiership are won by the same team, the Grand Final runners-up are awarded the second spot in the competition.[9]

Clubs

Each club has a squad of 20 players, with a salary cap of AU$1.6 million for the whole squad - much less than the millions of dollars a year that individual star players (including a few Australians) earn in Europe's top football leagues. The squad must include at least two under-20 players. In order to combat fears that the salary cap would reduce the capacity of the clubs to attract crowds through big-name players, the league allows each team to have one "marquee" player, whose salary is privately funded, and not included in the team's salary cap. The best-known example in the initial season was Dwight Yorke, who played several seasons for Manchester United and Aston Villa in England. Yorke left in the middle of the second season for Sunderland in the Football League Championship while Benito Carbone joined for a four-match deal.

The conditions were changed before the 2006-07 season to reduce the minimum number of under-20 players from three to two per squad. The salary cap was also increased from $AU1.5 million to $AU1.6 million.

Unlike most European leagues, there is no system for promotion and relegation of teams, nor a national knockout cup competition along the lines of the FA Cup. The A-League system thus shares some franchising elements with most other professional leagues in Australia, as well as Major League Soccer and other major sports leagues in the United States.

The A-League logo, designed by Coast Design Sydney, is a three-dimensional sphere in the shape of a football. The two-toned ochre colours represent the sun, earth and desert while the 'glow' emanating from the centre of the logo depicts the playing season's Spring and Summer time span. The eight 'A' figures that make up the ball shape represent the eight foundation clubs.[10]

Clubs

The eight foundation clubs are:

Team City Region Foundation Chairman Inaugural Manager Home Ground Capacity Avg Crowd
2005-06
Adelaide United FC Adelaide SA Gordon Pickard John Kosmina Hindmarsh Stadium 16,500 10,947
Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast NSW Ian Kiernan Lawrie McKinna Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium 20,059 7,899
Melbourne Victory Melbourne VIC Geoff Lord Ernie Merrick Telstra Dome 55,000 14,157
Newcastle United Jets Newcastle NSW Con Constantine Richard Money EnergyAustralia Stadium 28,000 8,486
New Zealand Knights FC Auckland NZL Anthony Lee John Adshead North Harbour Stadium 25,000 3,909
Perth Glory FC Perth WA Nick Tana Steve McMahon Members Equity Stadium 18,450 9,734
Queensland Roar FC Brisbane QLD John Ribot Miron Bleiberg Suncorp Stadium 52,000 14,785
Sydney FC Sydney NSW Walter Bugno Pierre Littbarski Aussie Stadium 41,159 16,668
File:A-league team locations.jpg
A-League team locations
For current club details see A-League 2006-07

Australian Champions

Main article: List of A-League champions

The "Premier" is the team at the top of the league table at the end of the regular season although the common term for this type of competition in Australia is "minor premier". Media reports sometimes erroneously refer to the Premiers as minor premier. The "Champion" is the team that wins the Grand Final.[11]

Season Pre-season cup Regular season Grand Final
Premiers Runners-up Champions Runners-up
2005-06 Template:ALeague CCM Template:ALeague AU Template:ALeague SFC Template:ALeague SFC Template:ALeague CCM
2006-07 Template:ALeague AU Template:ALeague MV — — —

See also the list of champions from 1977 to 2004 in the previous National Soccer League competition.

AFC Champions League

Two A-League clubs will participate in the 2007 AFC Champions League competition.[12] The two teams will be the 2005-06 champions Sydney FC (grand final winner) and premiers Adelaide United FC (the team at the top of the ladder after regular season games).

Top Scorers

All-Time

Rank Player Goals
1 Archie Thompson 17
2 Danny Allsopp 14
3 Kevin Muscat 13
4 Sasho Petrovski 13
5 Fernando 12
6 Bobby Despotovski 11
7 Carl Veart 11
8 Stewart Petrie 10
9 Ante Milicic 10
10 Damian Mori 10

See Also: A-League all-time records

Rivalries

Although there are no local derbies, due to the league's one-city one-team policy, many rivalries have formed between A-League sides:

  • Template:ALeague SFC v Template:ALeague MV: The clash between Australia's two biggest cities. Sydney and Melbourne have been historical rivals for over a century, and their football teams are no exception. The rivalry between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory has become the most bitter in the A League, with almost every match between the two teams characterised by spiteful confrontations and controversy. There is also an intense rivalry emerging between the supporters of the clubs.
  • Template:ALeague NUJ v Template:ALeague CCM: Labelled the "F3 Derby" by commentators,[13] the two regional clubs in the A-League are also big rivals. Just one hour separates the two cities, and the supporters of each club love nothing more than to knock off the local rival.
  • Template:ALeague NUJ v Template:ALeague SFC: The glamour club of the comp had never beaten their intra-state rivals until January 1 2007. The rivalry between these teams is not explosive though, with most Newcastle supporters more concerned with the Central Coast and most Sydney supporters more concerned with Melbourne.

Future

While making a relatively modest start in order to ensure future stability, the league is interested in introducing more teams to the competition. The eight foundation clubs have exclusivity clauses for their respective cities valid for five years, but there is room to add more teams. With Australia qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup there has been some media speculation that Football Federation Australia may expand the league after the 2006-07 season. This is looking very possible with upcoming changes to the number of Asian Champions League spots available from 2008.

Townsville and Canberra are possibilities, having large populations and modern football stadiums, respectively Dairy Farmers Stadium and Canberra Stadium. Wollongong and the Gold Coast could also be considered, with Wollongong pushing for an upgrade to WIN Stadium while the Gold Coast will have a new 25,000 seat stadium in 2008. Many people felt the twice Australian Champions Wollongong Wolves should be the team from the Illawarra, but according to media reports the Wolves are planning on staying in the NSW Premier League, and are fully supporting a new club for the region. This club will be backed by Bruce Gordon, Australia's 14th richest person. [1] In December 2006 the New Zealand Knights had their licence revoked because of mounting debts. Soccer New Zealand is currently controlling the team.

Before the introduction of the A-League, ASA chairman Frank Lowy speculated that he hoped to expand the league into additional areas, mentioning Canberra, Hobart, Wollongong and Far North Queensland.[14][15] On August 10, John O'Neil was talking up the support football would enjoy in Townsville. [2]

A representative of Capital Football has been quoted as saying "Canberra, Geelong, Wollongong and Far North Queensland were "on the radar" to join the comp for the 2008/09 season."[16]

A AU$120 million deal between the FFA and Fox Sports was reached in 2006 after the end of the first season. Under the deal, Fox Sports will have exclusive rights from 2007 to all Socceroos home internationals, all A-League and Asian Cup fixtures, World Cup qualifiers through the AFC, and all AFC Champions League matches. The deal will allow the FFA to increase the amount of TV money to each of the participating clubs in the league and increase the revenue streams for those clubs.[17]

The creation of the A-League has allowed for many past and present Socceroos players to return and play on home soil. So far the A-League's second season has seen the return of such current Australian international players as Stan Lazaridis, Tony Vidmar and Joel Griffiths which has boosted the media attention of the league. The FFA is also toying with the idea of sharing the expense of some of the wages of Socceroos players to bring them back to Australia.[18]

File:Panorama-AussieStadium-Oct2005.jpg
Sydney FC and Adelaide United players warming up before an A-League game at Aussie Stadium.

The all time Australian domestic football (soccer) crowd record was smashed on December 8, 2006 when Melbourne Victory hosted Sydney FC at the Telstra Dome. The crowd was 50,333 beating the previous record of 43,242 - set at the 2000 National Soccer League Grand Final in Perth. Kevin Muscat, the Melbourne captain, was quoted as saying "You'd do well to find an Australian abroad this weekend who'll play in front of a bigger crowd than that"

Footnotes

  1. ^ "FFA Statement Regarding New Zealand Knights". 2006-12-14. Retrieved 2006-12-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "ASA announce several significant initiatives". 2004-03-22. Retrieved 2006-11-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "Australian Soccer announces the Hyundai A-League". 2004-11-01. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  4. ^ "Facts and Figures". 2006-02-09. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Grand Final: Sydney FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC". Hyundai A-League > Live Scores. Retrieved 2006-11-03.
  6. ^ "Pre-Season Cup to go Regional". 2006-05-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "New and old for Kossie (see Matt Carroll interview section)". 2006-07-25. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Hyundai A-League > Rules". A-League.com.au. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ a b "Grand Final rematch to open HAL season". A-League.com.au. May 1, 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Logo signals refreshing new era". 2004-11-01. Retrieved 2006-12-19. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "Australia's finest designers in trophy challenge". Football Federation Australia. 2005-12-19. Retrieved 2006-11-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ "Australia gets two spots in AFC Champions League". 2006-07-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "Fans steamed up for derby - if they get there". Sydney Morning Herald. 2006-11-11. Retrieved 2006-11-12. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ "ASA announce several significant initiatives". 2004-03-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  15. ^ "A-League launch speech by FFA chairman Mr Frank Lowy AC". 2004-11-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Canberra chief: 4 new teams on A-League radar (Google cache)". 2006-03-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ "Historic deal to secure Football's future". 2006-05-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  18. ^ "Plan to bring back Socceroos". The World Game. 2006-08-05. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=A-League_Men&oldid=99961560"