2008–09 Melbourne Victory FC season
2008–2009 season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Manager | Ernie Merrick | ||
A-League Championship | 1st | ||
Pre-Season Challenge Cup | Champions | ||
A-League Premiership | 1st | ||
Top goalscorer | Daniel Allsopp (13) | ||
Highest home attendance | 53,273 vs Adelaide United (28 February 2009) | ||
Lowest home attendance | 18,036 vs Perth Glory (4 October 2008) | ||
Average home league attendance | 24,516 | ||
| |||
The 2008-09 Hyundai A-League season was Melbourne Victory's fourth season. They finished top of the table at the end of the regular season and defeated Adelaide United in the Grand Final to take their second A-League title.
Season summary
[edit]The 2008–09 season brought the start of the A-League Youth League and the introduction of the W-League with Melbourne fielding teams in both competitions. Melbourne actively recruited, bringing in Socceroo Michael Thwaite on a one-year loan,[1] Costa Rican World Cup player José Luis López,[2] as well as Ney Fabiano from Asian Champions League rivals Chonburi FC.[3]
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, with Victory winning 8–7 on penalties against Wellington Phoenix.[4]
After winning the pre-season cup, the Victory were held to a 0–0 draw away against Sydney FC.[5] They reinforced their premiership favouritism by coasting to 4–2 and 5–0 victories against Wellington Phoenix and the Newcastle Jets respectively.[6][7] Despite this, they succumbed 0–2 to an undermanned Sydney side at the Telstra Dome in front of 31,564 fans.[8]
On 6 December 2008, Melbourne Victory became the first A-League club to amass total crowd figures of 1,000,000 after their away match against Perth Glory.
On 24 January 2009, Melbourne Victory won its final game of the season against Wellington Phoenix.[9] The 2–0 win in front of 28,905 fans placed Victory ahead of Adelaide United on goals scored for the premiership title, a margin United failed to achieve in its 1–0 win over the Central Coast Mariners.
The Victory kicked off their finals campaign on 7 February 2009 in the major semi-final first leg against bitter rival Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, a game which was won courtesy of goals from Carlos Hernández and Danny Allsopp.[10] In the second leg Melbourne defeated Adelaide United 4–0 with goals from Archie Thompson, Hernandez, Allsopp and Tom Pondeljak, granting Melbourne passage to the Grand Final on a 6–0 aggregate.[11]
Adelaide then defeated Queensland Roar to set up a rematch with Melbourne in the Grand Final,[12] which the Victory won 1–0 with Tom Pondeljak scoring in the 59th minute to regain the A-League Championship and becoming the first A-League team to win their second championship,[13] a feat since achieved by Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar.
Players
[edit]First team squad
[edit]Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Transfers
[edit]In
Player | From | League | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Billy Celeski | Perth Glory | A-League | – | February 2008 |
Tom Pondeljak | Central Coast Mariners | A-League | – | February 2008 |
Nathan Elasi | Marconi Stallions | New South Wales Premier League | – | February 2008 |
Steve Mautone* | Retired | None | – | February 2008 |
Ney Fabiano[14] | Chonburi FC | Thailand Premier League | US$13,500 | 1 July 2008 |
Michael Thwaite | SK Brann | Norwegian Premier League | Loan | 1 July 2008 |
José Luis López | Deportivo Saprissa | Primera División de Costa Rica | Loan | 14 July 2008 |
* Steve Mautone is the current Melbourne Victory Goalkeeping coach and was named as the third choice goalkeeper for the AFC Champions League
Out
Player | To | League | Fee | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ljubo Milicevic | Released | – | – | February 2008 |
Steve Mautone | Retired | – | – | June 2008 |
Adrian Caceres | Central Coast Mariners | A-League | – | July 2008 |
Daniel Piorkowski | Released | – | – | July 2008 |
Leandro Love | Vissel Kobe (loan ended) | J.League | – | July 2008 |
Kaz Patafta[15] | Newcastle Jets | A-League | – | July 2008 |
Matches
[edit]2008 Pre-Season Cup fixtures
[edit]
Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Melbourne Victory | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advances to final |
Adelaide United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
Newcastle Jets | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
Perth Glory | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
20 July 2008 Group Stage | Melbourne Victory | 1 : 2 | Adelaide United | Aurora Stadium, Launceston |
13:00 UTC+10 | Fabiano 8' | Report | 33', 90' Cristiano | Attendance: 4,720 Referee: Ben Williams |
26 July 2008 Group Stage | Perth Glory | 0 : 1 | Melbourne Victory | Members Equity Stadium, Perth |
15:00 UTC+8 | Report | 11' M. Thwaite | Attendance: 3,020 |
2 August 2008 Group Stage | Newcastle Jets | 0 : 1 | Melbourne Victory | Port Macquarie Regional Stadium, Port Macquarie |
14:30 UTC+10 | Report | 82' T. Pondeljak | Attendance: 3,133 |
6 August 2008 Final | Wellington Phoenix | 0 : 0 | Melbourne Victory | Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
19:30 UTC+12 | (7–8 PSO) Report |
Attendance: 9,208 Referee: Peter O'Leary |
2008-09 Hyundai A-League fixtures
[edit]16 August 2008 Round 1 | Sydney FC | 0 : 0 | Melbourne Victory | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney |
19:00 UTC+10 | Report | Attendance: 16,227 Referee: Mark Shield |
24 August 2008 Round 2 | Wellington Phoenix | 2 : 4 | Melbourne Victory | Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
17:00 UTC+12 | Smeltz 29', 65' (Pen) | Report | Allsopp 16', 35' Ney Fabiano 47' Muscat 68' (Pen) |
Attendance: 6,110 Referee: Strebre Delovski |
29 August 2008 Round 3 | Melbourne Victory | 5 : 0 | Newcastle Jets | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
18:00 UTC+10 | Hernández 41' A. Thompson 45+2' Allsopp 61' 64' Brebner 90' |
Attendance: 22,589 Referee: Mark Shield |
12 September 2008 Round 4 | Melbourne Victory | 1 : 0 | Adelaide United | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
18:00 UTC+10 | Ney Fabiano 29' Muscat 64' |
Attendance: 24,812 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
20 September 2008 Round 5 | Central Coast Mariners | 2 : 2 | Melbourne Victory | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford |
19:00 UTC+10 | Simon 12' 84' | Report Summary |
A. Thompson 16' 90+4' Theoklitos 57' |
Attendance: 9,009 Referee: Peter Green |
28 September 2008 Round 6 | Melbourne Victory | 0 : 2 | Queensland Roar | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
17:00 UTC+10 | Hernández 48' 58' | Report Summary |
Minniecon 83' Zullo 90+4' |
Attendance: 22,266 Referee: Ben Williams |
4 October 2008 Round 7 | Melbourne Victory | 4 : 0 | Perth Glory | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
17:00 UTC+10 | Brebner 25' Allsopp 39' 71' Vargas 46' |
Attendance: 18,036 Referee: Srebre Delovski |
18 October 2008 Round 8 | Newcastle Jets | 1 : 0 | Melbourne Victory | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle |
19:00 UTC+11 | Jesic 85' | A. Thompson 58' | Attendance: 11,384 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
25 October 2008 Round 9 | Melbourne Victory | 0 : 2 | Sydney FC | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
19:00 UTC+11 | Summary | Bridge 20' Aloisi 62' |
Attendance: 31,654 Referee: Ben Williams |
31 October 2008 Round 10 | Adelaide United | 2 : 3 | Melbourne Victory | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide |
19:30 UTC+10:30 | Travis Dodd 28' (Pen) Cássio 67' |
Report Summary |
Muscat 55' (Pen) Muscat 81' (Pen) Billy Celeski 84' |
Attendance: 13,191 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
8 November 2008 Round 11 | Queensland Roar | 0 : 1 | Melbourne Victory | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane |
19:00 UTC+10 | Summary | Thompson 71' | Attendance: 12,022 Referee: Peter O'Leary |
21 November 2008 Round 12 | Melbourne Victory | 2 : 1 | Central Coast Mariners | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
20:00 UTC+11 | Tom Pondeljak 37' A. Thompson 60' |
Report Summary |
John Hutchinson 34' | Attendance: 21,455 Referee: Srebre Delovski |
28 November 2008 Round 13 | Wellington Phoenix | 2 : 1 | Melbourne Victory | Westpac Stadium, Wellington |
19:30 UTC+13 | Brown 21' Smeltz 58' |
Allsopp 20' | Attendance: 7,593 Referee: Craig Zetter |
6 December 2008 Round 14 | Perth Glory | 3 : 1 | Melbourne Victory | Members Equity Stadium, Perth |
18:00 UTC+9 | Dadi 19', 23' Pellegrino 79' |
Report Summary |
Ney Fabiano 55' | Attendance: 6,621 Referee: Peter Green |
19 December 2008 Round 15 | Newcastle Jets | 4 : 2 | Melbourne Victory | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle |
20:00 UTC+11 | M. Thompson 16', 45', 49' Song 60' |
Report Summary |
Allsopp 66' Ney Fabiano 87' |
Attendance: 6,268 Referee: Craig Zetter |
27 December 2008 Round 16 | Melbourne Victory | 3 : 2 | Sydney FC | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
19:00 UTC+11 | Thompson 14' Ward 71' Ney Fabiano 80' |
Report Summary |
Cole 1' Gan 4' |
Attendance: 25,395 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
2 January 2009 Round 17 | Melbourne Victory | 2 : 1 | Queensland Roar | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
20:00 UTC+11 | Allsopp 55' Vargas 67' |
Summary Report |
Moore 75' | Attendance: 23,447 Referee: Peter O’Leary |
6 January 2009[16] Round 18 | Melbourne Victory | 1 : 0 | Adelaide United | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
19:30 UTC+11 | Ward 58' | Report Summary |
Attendance: 27,196 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
11 January 2009 Round 19 | Perth Glory | 3 : 2 | Melbourne Victory | Members Equity Stadium, Perth |
18:00 UTC+9 | Dadi 32', 76' Rukavytsya 36' |
Summary | Allsopp 3' Ney Fabiano 48' Kemp 33' 88' |
Attendance: 9,381 Referee: Chris Beath |
16 January 2009 Round 20 | Melbourne Victory | 3 : 0 | Central Coast Mariners | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
20:00 UTC+11 | Allsopp 68' Hernández 71' A. Thompson 75' |
Summary | Heffernan 87' | Attendance: 24,003 Referee: Peter Green |
23 January 2009 Round 21 | Melbourne Victory | 2 : 0 | Wellington Phoenix | Telstra Dome, Melbourne |
20:00 UTC+11 | K. Muscat 40' (pen.) A. Thompson 90' |
Report[permanent dead link ] Summary |
Attendance: 28,905 Referee: Srebre Delovski |
2008-09 finals series
[edit]Statistics
[edit]Goals
[edit]Total | Player | Goals per Round | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | S1 | S2 | GF | |||
13 | Daniel Allsopp | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||
9 | Archie Thompson | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
5 | Ney Fabiano | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 | Kevin Muscat | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
4 | Carlos Hernández | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
3 | Tom Pondeljak | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Grant Brebner | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Rodrigo Vargas | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
2 | Nick Ward | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
1 | Billy Celeski | 1 |
A-League
[edit]Ladder
[edit]
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Melbourne Victory (C) | 21 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
2 | Adelaide United | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 19 | +12 | 38 | |
3 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 36 | Qualification for Finals series |
4 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 28 | |
5 | Sydney FC | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 26 | |
6 | Wellington Phoenix | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 26 | |
7 | Perth Glory | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 22 | |
8 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 18 |
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Finals series
[edit]Semifinals | Preliminary final | Final | ||||||||||||
Melbourne Victory | 2 | 4 | Melbourne Victory | 1 | ||||||||||
Adelaide United | 0 | 0 | Adelaide United | 0 | ||||||||||
Adelaide United | 1 | |||||||||||||
Queensland Roar | 0 | |||||||||||||
Queensland Roar | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
Central Coast Mariners | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||
2008–09 Awards
[edit]- Victory Medal
- Players' Player of the Year
- Clubman of the Year
- Golden Boot
- Women's Player of the Year
- Youth Team Player of the Year
References
[edit]- ^ "Thwaite Signs For Victory". FourFourTwo Australia. Haymarket Group. 19 June 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Pupy Lopez Signs For Victory (At Last)". FourFourTwo Australia. Haymarket Group. 14 July 2008. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ Desira, Peter (24 May 2008). "Ney Fabiano signs two-year deal with Melbourne Victory". Herald Sun. Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Victory claim Pre-Season Cup". A-League Official Website. 6 August 2008. Archived from the original on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Sydney and Melbourne share honours". A-League Official Website. 16 August 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Clinical Victory blasts past Phoenix". A-League Official Website. 24 August 2008. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Victory run riot". A-League Official Website. 29 August 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ "Sydney's double bonus". A-League Official Website. 25 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Victory get jump in premiers' race". A-League Official Website. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011.[permanent dead link ]
- ^ Goraya, Raman (7 February 2009). "Victory head home with hefty advantage". ABC News.
- ^ Maasdorp, James (14 February 2009). "Victory maul Adelaide en route to home final". ABC News. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Adelaide earns shot at redemption". ABC News. 21 February 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Victory prevail in epic". A-League Official Website. 28 February 2009. Archived from the original on 3 March 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ FIFA.com Fabiano leaves Chonburi for Victory Accessed 31 May 2008
- ^ a-league.com.au Patafta moves north to join Newcastle Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 31 May 2008
- ^ Match rescheduled due to Adelaide's participation in FIFA Club World Cup
External links
[edit]- Melbourne – Official Website
- Pictures of Melbourne supporters
- MVFC – Melbourne Victory Videos