2008–09 A-League


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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]
Team Location Stadium Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Hindmarsh Stadium 17,000
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Bluetongue Stadium 20,119
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Telstra Dome 56,347
Newcastle Jets Newcastle Energy Australia Stadium 26,164
Perth Glory Perth Members Equity Stadium 18,156
Queensland Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52,500
Sydney FC Sydney Aussie Stadium 42,500
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Westpac Stadium 34,500
Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Non-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

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Club Marquee Junior Marquee Captain Vice-Captain
Adelaide United   Paul Agostino[6] None   Travis Dodd[7]   Lucas Pantelis[7]
Central Coast Mariners None None   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 Glory None   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 Phoenix None None   Andrew Durante[26]   Tim Brown[26]
  Jon McKain[26][27]
  Richard Johnson[26]

Pre-season Challenge Cup

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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.

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

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

Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Total Player Team Goals per Round
 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
12   Shane Smeltz Wellington Phoenix 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2
11   Matt Simon Central Coast Mariners 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2
11   Daniel Allsopp Melbourne Victory 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
11   Sergio van Dijk Queensland Roar 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1
10   Eugène Dadi Perth Glory 1 2 1 1 2 1 2
10   Nikita Rukavytsya Perth Glory 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1
8   Archie Thompson Melbourne Victory 1 2 1 1 1 1 1
8   Cristiano Adelaide United 2 2 1 2 1
8   Charlie Miller Queensland Roar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
7   Travis Dodd Adelaide United 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
7   Joel Griffiths Newcastle Jets 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
6   Mile Jedinak Central Coast Mariners 1 1 2 1 1
6   Sasho Petrovski Central Coast Mariners 2 1 1 1 1
5   Ney Fabiano de Oliveira Melbourne Victory 1 1 1 1 1
5   Kevin Muscat Melbourne Victory 1 1 2 1
5   Alex Brosque Sydney FC 1 1 1 2
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

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.

Team Hosted Average High Low Total
Melbourne Victory 11 24,516 31,564 18,036 269,671
Queensland Roar 10 12,995 19,111 9,118 129,947
Sydney FC 10 12,375 18,251 8,502 123,754
Adelaide United 11 11,712 23,002 7,832 128,832
Central Coast Mariners 11 10,465 15,546 7,865 115,110
Newcastle Jets 10 9,729 16,022 6,268 97,294
Perth Glory 10 7,942 12,581 4,433 79,415
Wellington Phoenix 11 7,193 10,516 5,500 79,124
League total 84 12,180 31,564 4,433 1,023,147

* 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.

Attendance Round Date Home Score Away Venue Weekday Time of Day
53,273 Grand Final 28 February 2009 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Saturday Night
34,736 Major SF (L2) 14 February 2009 Melbourne Victory 4–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Saturday Night
31,654 Round 9 25 October 2008 Melbourne Victory 0–2 Sydney FC Telstra Dome Saturday Night
28,905 Round 21 23 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 2–0 Wellington Phoenix Telstra Dome Friday Night
27,196 Round 15 6 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Tuesday Night
25,398 Round 17 27 December 2008 Melbourne Victory 3–2 Sydney FC Telstra Dome Saturday Night
24,812 Round 4 12 September 2008 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Friday Night
24,003 Round 20 16 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 3–0 Central Coast Mariners Telstra Dome Friday Night
23,705 Minor SF (L2) 13 February 2009 Queensland Roar 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Suncorp Stadium Friday Night
23,447 Round 18 2 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Queensland Roar Telstra Dome Friday Night
  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
  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