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)

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.

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

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

Foreign players

Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Non-Visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
Adelaide United Brazil Alemão Brazil Cássio Brazil Cristiano Brazil Diego Walsh Ivory Coast Jonas Salley1
Central Coast Mariners Germany André Gumprecht Italy Andrea Merenda3
Malta John Hutchinson2
Melbourne Victory Brazil Ney Fabiano Costa Rica Carlos Hernández Costa Rica José Luis López Scotland Grant Brebner1
Newcastle Jets Denmark Jesper Håkansson South Korea Song Jin-hyung Ecuador Edmundo Zura
Perth Glory Argentina Adrian Trinidad Brazil Amaral England James Robinson Ivory Coast Eugène Dadi Netherlands Victor Sikora3
Queensland Roar Brazil Reinaldo Indonesia Sergio van Dijk Scotland Charlie Miller Brazil Henrique3
South Korea Seo Hyuk-su1
Sydney FC Netherlands Bobby Petta Northern Ireland Terry McFlynn United States Michael Enfield
Wellington Phoenix Brazil Daniel China Gao Leilei England Chris Greenacre Malta Manny Muscat2 Brazil 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

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

Pre-season Challenge Cup

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

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

League table

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

Results

Round 1

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

Round 2

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

Round 3

31 August 2008 Sydney FC 5–2 Perth Glory Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
15:00 UTC+10 Brosque 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

Round 5

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

Round 6

Round 7

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

Round 8

19 October 2008 Perth Glory 2–1 Sydney FC Members Equity Stadium, Perth
14:00 UTC+8 Harnwell 5', 47' Report
Summary		 Santalab 11' Attendance: 7,759
Referee: Peter O'Leary

Round 9

Round 10

2 November 2008 Newcastle Jets 1–2 Queensland Roar EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+11 J. Griffiths 23' Report
Summary		 McKay 24'
Miller 35'		 Attendance: 10,507
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 11

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

Round 12

23 November 2008 Queensland Roar 4–1 Perth Glory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
17:00 UTC+10 van Dijk 45+1' (pen.)
Minniecon 45+3'
Miller 55'
Nichols 82'		 Report
Summary		 Harnwell 57' Attendance: 9,118
Referee: Peter Green

Round 13

28 November 2008 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Melbourne Victory Westpac Stadium, Wellington
19:30 UTC+13 Brown 21'
Smeltz 58'		 Report
Summary		 Allsopp 20' Attendance: 7,953
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

19 December 2008 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
21 December 2008 Sydney FC 1–4 Perth Glory Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11 Musialik 61' Report
Summary		 Pellegrino 11'
Golec 36' (o.g.)
Srhoj 49'
Middleby 69' (o.g.)		 Attendance: 12,165
Referee: Ben Williams

Round 17

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

Round 18

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

Round 19

Round 20

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

Round 21

25 January 2009 Sydney FC 4–0 Newcastle Jets Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11 Brosque 13', 41'
Milligan 77' (o.g.)
Bridge 86'		 Report
Summary		 Attendance: 9,551
Referee: Kevin Docherty

Finals series

6 February 2009 Minor Semi-Final Leg 1 Central Coast Mariners 0–2 Queensland Roar Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11 Report
Summary
Attendance: 9,514
Referee: Ben Williams
7 February 2009 Major Semi-Final Leg 1 Adelaide United 0–2 Melbourne Victory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
18:30 UTC+10:30 Report
Summary		 Hernández 13'
Allsopp 89'		 Attendance: 14,119
Referee: Strebre Delovski
13 February 2009 Minor Semi-Final Leg 2 Queensland Roar 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:30 UTC+10 Nichols 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+11
Report
Summary		 Attendance: 34,736
Referee: Matthew Breeze
21 February 2009 Preliminary Final Adelaide United 1–0 Queensland Roar Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
18:30 UTC+10:30 Barbiero 25' Report
Summary		 Attendance: 8,472
Referee: Strebre Delovski

Statistics

Leading scorers

Total Player Team Goals per Round
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718192021
12New ZealandShane SmeltzWellington Phoenix121211112
11AustraliaMatt SimonCentral Coast Mariners11212112
11AustraliaDaniel AllsoppMelbourne Victory22211111
11IndonesiaSergio van DijkQueensland Roar11111231
10Ivory CoastEugène DadiPerth Glory1211212
10AustraliaNikita RukavytsyaPerth Glory11121211
8AustraliaArchie ThompsonMelbourne Victory1211111
8BrazilCristianoAdelaide United22121
8ScotlandCharlie MillerQueensland Roar1111111
7AustraliaTravis DoddAdelaide United1111111
7AustraliaJoel GriffithsNewcastle Jets1111111
6AustraliaMile JedinakCentral Coast Mariners11211
6AustraliaSasho PetrovskiCentral Coast Mariners21111
5BrazilNey Fabiano de OliveiraMelbourne Victory11111
5AustraliaKevin MuscatMelbourne Victory1121
5AustraliaAlex 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

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 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 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.

Top 10 Attendances

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

See also

Notes

  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

  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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 4 "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. 1 2 Match re-scheduled due to Adelaide's participation in FIFA Club World Cup
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