2008–09 A-League

The 2008–09 A-League was the 32nd season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the fourth season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy[1][2] had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008.[3] Expansion plans are on hold until the 2009–10 season. Based on their 2007–08 performances, the Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets competed in the 2009 AFC Champions League for the first time.

A-League
Season2008–09
Dates15 August 2008 – 28 February 2009
ChampionsMelbourne Victory (2nd title)
PremiersMelbourne Victory (2nd title)
AFC Champions LeagueMelbourne Victory, Adelaide United
Matches played84
Goals scored249 (2.96 per match)
Top goalscorerShane Smeltz
(12 goals)
Best goalkeeperEugene Galekovic
Highest attendance31,564
Lowest attendance4,433
Average attendance12,180 ( 2430)

Changes to the league included:

  • The introduction of both a youth league and women's league aligned with A-League clubs.[4]
  • An increase in the salary cap to A$1.9 million.[5]
  • The addition of a Junior Marquee player. (A player under the age of 23 who has up to A$150,000 of his salary outside of the cap.[5]
  • Injury replacement players can only match the injured players' salary, or have any excess included within the total Salary Cap.[5]

Clubs

edit
TeamLocationStadiumCapacity
Adelaide UnitedAdelaideHindmarsh Stadium17,000
Central Coast MarinersGosfordBluetongue Stadium20,119
Melbourne VictoryMelbourneTelstra Dome56,347
Newcastle JetsNewcastleEnergy Australia Stadium26,164
Perth GloryPerthMembers Equity Stadium18,156
Queensland RoarBrisbaneSuncorp Stadium52,500
Sydney FCSydneyAussie Stadium42,500
Wellington PhoenixWellingtonWestpac Stadium34,500

Foreign players

edit
ClubVisa 1Visa 2Visa 3Visa 4Non-Visa foreigner(s)Former player(s)
Adelaide United Alemão Cássio Cristiano Diego Walsh Jonas Salley1
Central Coast Mariners André Gumprecht Andrea Merenda3
John Hutchinson2
Melbourne Victory Ney Fabiano Carlos Hernández José Luis López Grant Brebner1
Newcastle Jets Jesper Håkansson Song Jin-hyung Edmundo Zura
Perth Glory Adrian Trinidad Amaral James Robinson Eugène Dadi Victor Sikora3
Queensland Roar Reinaldo Sergio van Dijk Charlie Miller Henrique3
Seo Hyuk-su1
Sydney FC Bobby Petta Terry McFlynn Michael Enfield
Wellington Phoenix Daniel Gao Leilei Chris Greenacre Manny Muscat2 Fred4

The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
2Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
3Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
4Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

edit
ClubMarqueeJunior MarqueeCaptainVice-Captain
Adelaide United Paul Agostino[6]None Travis Dodd[7] Lucas Pantelis[7]
Central Coast MarinersNoneNone Alex Wilkinson[8]None
Melbourne Victory Archie Thompson[9][10] Nick Ward[11][12][13] Kevin Muscat[14][15]None
Newcastle Jets Edmundo Zura[16][note 1] Adam D'Apuzzo[12] Jade North[18]
Matt Thompson[note 2][19]
Ante Covic[citation needed]
Adam Griffiths[citation needed]
Perth GloryNone Nikita Rukavytsya[20] Jamie Coyne[21]None
Queensland Roar Craig Moore[22]None Craig Moore[23]None
Sydney FC John Aloisi[24] Mark Bridge[12] Steve Corica[25]None
Wellington PhoenixNoneNone Andrew Durante[26] Tim Brown[26]
Jon McKain[26][27]
Richard Johnson[26]

Pre-season Challenge Cup

edit

All A-League clubs played the pre-season cup competition held in July and August, and were drawn into two groups. Group A consisted of Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory. Group B was Central Coast Mariners, Queensland Roar, Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.

The winner of each group, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix, met in Wellington on 6 August 2008 for the Pre-Season Cup Final.[28] With the score at 0–0 after 90 minutes, the game went to penalties, Melbourne Victory eventually prevailing 8–7, thus becoming the first team in A-League history to claim all three available trophies, after winning the Premiership and Championship in the 2006–07 season.

Regular season

edit

The 2008–09 A-League season was played over 21 rounds, followed by a finals series.[29]

League table

edit

PosTeamPldWDLGFGAGDPtsQualification
1Melbourne Victory (C)2112273927+1238Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2Adelaide United2111553119+1238
3Queensland Roar2110653625+1136Qualification for Finals series
4Central Coast Mariners217773532+328
5Sydney FC217593332+126
6Wellington Phoenix217592331−826
7Perth Glory2164113144−1322
8Newcastle Jets2146112139−1818
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Results

edit

Round 1

edit
15 August 2008 Newcastle Jets 1–1 Central Coast Mariners EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+10J. Griffiths 90+1' (pen.)Report
Summary
Simon 87'Attendance: 16,022
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 2

edit
22 August 2008 Perth Glory 3–3 Newcastle Jets Members Equity Stadium, Perth
19:00 UTC+8Trinidad 35' (pen.)
Dadi 58'
Rukavytsya 81'
Report SummaryJ. Griffiths 20' (pen.)
Coyne 49' (o.g.)
North 90+5'
Attendance: 8,876
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 3

edit
31 August 2008 Sydney FC 5–2 Perth Glory Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
15:00 UTC+10Brosque 3'
Corica 21' (pen.)
Bridge 39'
Cole 43'
Topor-Stanley 88' (o.g.)
Report
Summary
Dadi 12', 67' (pen.)Attendance: 11,732
Referee: Peter Green

Round 4

edit

Round 5

edit
19 September 2008 Queensland Roar 0–1 Newcastle Jets Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
20:00 UTC+10Report
Summary
J. Griffiths 83'Attendance: 12,103
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 6

edit

Round 7

edit
6 October 2008 Newcastle Jets 2–2 Wellington Phoenix EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
15:00 UTC+11T. Elrich 59'
Patafta 68'
Report
Summary
Smeltz 52' (pen.), 89' (pen.)Attendance: 8,492
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 8

edit

Round 9

edit

Round 10

edit

Round 11

edit
7 November 2008 Sydney FC 1–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
20:00 UTC+11Musialik 77'Report
Summary
Bertos 34'
Smeltz 89' (pen.)
Attendance: 12,856
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 12

edit

Round 13

edit

Round 14

edit

Round 15

edit

Round 16

edit
19 December 2008 Newcastle Jets 4–2 Melbourne Victory EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+11M. Thompson 16', 45', 49'
Song 60'
Report
Summary
Allsopp 66'
Ney Fabiano 87'
Attendance: 6,268
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 17

edit
26 December 2008 Perth Glory 0–1 Adelaide United Members Equity Stadium, Perth
20:00 UTC+9Report
Summary
Sarkies 40'Attendance: 12,581
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 18

edit
4 January 2009 Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Newcastle Jets Westpac Stadium, Wellington
19:00 UTC+13Bertos 62'
Smeltz 67', 86' (pen.)
Report
Summary
Attendance: 7,520
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 19

edit

Round 20

edit
17 January 2009 Queensland Roar 3–1 Sydney FC Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10van Dijk 16', 28', 90+3'Report
Summary
Danning 25'Attendance: 19,111
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 21

edit

Finals series

edit
6 February 2009 Minor Semi-Final Leg 1 Central Coast Mariners 0–2 Queensland Roar Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11Report
Summary
Attendance: 9,514
Referee: Ben Williams
13 February 2009 Minor Semi-Final Leg 2 Queensland Roar 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:30 UTC+10Nichols 21'
McKay 49'
Report
Summary
Mrdja 64'Attendance: 23,705
Referee: Peter Green
14 February 2009 Major Semi-Final Leg 2 Melbourne Victory 4–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome, Melbourne
19:30 UTC+11Report
Summary
Attendance: 34,736
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Statistics

edit

Leading scorers

edit
TotalPlayerTeamGoals per Round
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718192021
12 Shane SmeltzWellington Phoenix121211112
11 Matt SimonCentral Coast Mariners11212112
11 Daniel AllsoppMelbourne Victory22211111
11 Sergio van DijkQueensland Roar11111231
10 Eugène DadiPerth Glory1211212
10 Nikita RukavytsyaPerth Glory11121211
8 Archie ThompsonMelbourne Victory1211111
8 CristianoAdelaide United22121
8 Charlie MillerQueensland Roar1111111
7 Travis DoddAdelaide United1111111
7 Joel GriffithsNewcastle Jets1111111
6 Mile JedinakCentral Coast Mariners11211
6 Sasho PetrovskiCentral Coast Mariners21111
5 Ney Fabiano de OliveiraMelbourne Victory11111
5 Kevin MuscatMelbourne Victory1121
5 Alex BrosqueSydney FC1112
As of the end of the home and away season
A goal was scored from a penalty kick
Two goals were scored from penalty kicks

Attendance

edit

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.

TeamHostedAverageHighLowTotal
Melbourne Victory1124,51631,56418,036269,671
Queensland Roar1012,99519,1119,118129,947
Sydney FC1012,37518,2518,502123,754
Adelaide United1111,71223,0027,832128,832
Central Coast Mariners1110,46515,5467,865115,110
Newcastle Jets109,72916,0226,26897,294
Perth Glory107,94212,5814,43379,415
Wellington Phoenix117,19310,5165,50079,124
{{{T9}}}00000
{{{T10}}}00000
{{{T11}}}00000
{{{T12}}}00000
League total8412,18031,5644,4331,023,147

* Adelaide United played a one-off match at the Adelaide Oval against Sydney FC in their Round 18 match. This is why Adelaide United's highest single attendance exceeds the capacity of Hindmarsh Stadium.

Top 10 Attendances

edit
AttendanceRoundDateHomeScoreAwayVenueWeekdayTime of Day
53,273Grand Final28 February 2009Melbourne Victory1–0Adelaide UnitedTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
34,736Major SF (L2)14 February 2009Melbourne Victory4–0Adelaide UnitedTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
31,654Round 925 October 2008Melbourne Victory0–2Sydney FCTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
28,905Round 2123 January 2009Melbourne Victory2–0Wellington PhoenixTelstra DomeFridayNight
27,196Round 156 January 2009Melbourne Victory1–0Adelaide UnitedTelstra DomeTuesdayNight
25,398Round 1727 December 2008Melbourne Victory3–2Sydney FCTelstra DomeSaturdayNight
24,812Round 412 September 2008Melbourne Victory1–0Adelaide UnitedTelstra DomeFridayNight
24,003Round 2016 January 2009Melbourne Victory3–0Central Coast MarinersTelstra DomeFridayNight
23,705Minor SF (L2)13 February 2009Queensland Roar2–1Central Coast MarinersSuncorp StadiumFridayNight
23,447Round 182 January 2009Melbourne Victory2–1Queensland RoarTelstra DomeFridayNight

Awards

edit

See also

edit

Notes

edit
  1. ^ Zura's contract was mutually terminated part-way through his marquee deal on 2 November 2008.[17]
  2. ^ Thompson replaced North as captain mid-season

References

edit
  1. ^ "Galaxy, Thunder to join A-League". Fox Sports. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  2. ^ "Thunder, Galaxy get go-ahead". FourFourTwo. 21 February 2008. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  3. ^ "A-League expansion plans postponed". SBS. 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008.
  4. ^ "FFA: A-League WILL Get Bigger". FourFourTwo. 19 January 2007. Archived from the original on 6 January 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  5. ^ a b c "New season to start with a bang sea". AU FourFourTwo. 2 May 2008. Archived from the original on 3 May 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Agostino fit for season kick-off". ABC News. 14 August 2008. Adelaide United marquee player Paul Agostino has been declared fit...
  7. ^ a b Brettig, Daniel (30 July 2008). "Cool Dodd new Adelaide United skipper". The Advertiser.
  8. ^ "Captain Wilkinson promoted to Centurion". Central Coast Mariners. Football Federation Australia. 8 February 2011. Wilkinson took the captain-s armband from an injured Noel Spencer late in the second season of the Hyundai A-League
  9. ^ Lynch, Michael (30 April 2016). "Archie Thompson should play on after leaving Melbourne Victory". The Sydney Morning Herald. As Victory's inauguaral marquee signing...
  10. ^ "Archie Thompson, Adrian Leijer sign new deals with Melbourne Victory". The Guardian. 2 May 2014. Victory's first ever signing, and scorer, will join up with new marquee Besart Berisha next season, after agreeing a new deal with the club that takes him inside the salary cap
  11. ^ Ritson, Jon (15 May 2008). "Marquee Glee For Victory's Ward". FTBL.
  12. ^ a b c Ritson, Jon (8 August 2008). "Slow Start For Marquee Scheme". FTBL. Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Newcastle Jets, confirmed they had signed junior marquees for the new season – Mark Bridge (Sydney), Nick Ward (Victory) and Adam D'Apuzzo (Jets).
  13. ^ Lynch, Michael (7 January 2009). "Victory take top spot". Brisbane Times. A second-half goal by midfielder Nick Ward, who, injury-free, is finally finding the sort of form that justified making him the club's junior marquee player
  14. ^ "Muscat Takes on Coaching Role". FTBL. 29 August 2007. MELBOURNE Victory skipper Kevin Muscat has signed a new two-year contract that sees him taking on a coaching role as well as the captaincy
  15. ^ "Kevin Muscat appointed as new Melbourne Victory coach". The Guardian. 31 October 2013. Phoenix's Ernie Merrick was the Victory's inaugural coach and Muscat the club's inaugural captain
  16. ^ Gardiner, James (31 July 2008). "Newcastle Jets unveil Edmundo Zura as marquee signing". The Newcastle Herald.
  17. ^ Dillon, Robert; Gardiner, James (2 November 2008). "Exit Edmundo: Zura bids Jets farewell". The Newcastle Herald.
  18. ^ "North heading to Korea". Newcastle Jets. 13 December 2008. North is a Newcastle Jets foundation player, having been with the club since the 2005/06 Hyundai A-League season, and was instated as captain last season.
  19. ^ "Matt Thompson tipping Kaz Patafta to kick on". The Newcastle Herald. 23 January 2009. Stand-in Jets captain Matt Thompson has...
  20. ^ "Nikita Fills Marquee Role". FTBL. 17 November 2008. Perth Glory striking sensation Nikita Rukavytsya has been confirmed as the club's Under-23 marquee player for this season.
  21. ^ "Coyne leads the way for Glory". A-League. 15 August 2008.
  22. ^ Ritson, Jon (24 July 2007). "Moore Signs With Roar". FourFourTwo. Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
  23. ^ Lomax, Andrew (22 December 2008). "Former Rangers captain Craig Moore given all-clear after cancer". The Daily Telegraph. Moore, 32, had the operation at a hospital in Brisbane, where he is now captain of Queensland Roar.
  24. ^ "Sydney FC put players on notice". Fox Sports. 3 March 2008. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Aloisi, 32, signed a lucrative two-year deal as the marquee player...
  25. ^ "Teenage sensation Danning lifts Sydney FC". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 January 2009. Sydney Captain Steve Corica was left on the bench...
  26. ^ a b c d "Durante named Wellington Phoenix skipper". Nine MSN. 17 July 2008. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012.
  27. ^ "You Can't Beat McKain: Herbert". FTBL. 11 August 2008. McKain, who will be Phoenix vice-captain this season
  28. ^ 2008 Pre-Season Cup Draw Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008
  29. ^ Hyundai A-League 2008/09 Season Draw Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008
  30. ^ a b Match rescheduled due to Adelaide's participation in FIFA Club World Cup
edit