2007–08 Sydney FC season

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Sydney FC
2007–2008 season
Chairman;
ManagerBranko Čulina;
John Kosmina
A-League3rd (League)
Semi-finals (Finals)
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup7th
Pan-Pacific Championship4th
Top goalscorerLeague: Alex Brosque (8 goals)
All: Alex Brosque (11 goals)
Highest home attendanceLeague: 33,458 (20 January 2008, vs Melbourne);
All: 80,295 (27 November 2007 vs Los Angeles Galaxy)
Lowest home attendance10,732 (7 December 2007, vs Newcastle Jets)

The 2007–08 season is Sydney FC's third season of football (soccer) in Australia. The club finished seventh in the A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup and competed in the 2007–08 A-League season.

After a disappointing start to the season, the club sacked coach Branko Čulina in October,[1] and appointed John Kosmina. The team recovered from its poor start to finish third on the league table, securing a place in the finals series but being eliminated in the semi-final by Queensland Roar.

The club represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Championship in February 2008 and finished fourth after losing to American MLS sides Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy.

Pre-season[]

AFC Champions League[]

As 2005–06 A-League Champions, Sydney qualified for the 2007 AFC Champions League as one of the two teams representing Australia along with 2005–06 League Premiers, Adelaide United. Group matches were played from March to May 2007, during the A-League off-season. Sydney finished second in their group after two wins, three draws and one loss, a point behind Urawa Reds who progressed to the next stage of competition.

Squad preparation[]

For the new season, Sydney have established an agreement with Macquarie University to use the Sport and Aquatic Centre as a training base[2] and also establishing an off-field relationship offering educational, corporate and research linkages.[3][4] As part of preparations, the club staged a training camp on the Sunshine Coast with a match against a team of local players in the lead up to their opening Pre-season Cup match.[5] Sydney will also play a series of friendly matches against NSW Premier League and State League sides, to engage with the Sydney football community.[6] These friendlies and Pre-season Cup matches also provided experience for trialling players Ben Vidaic, Cameron Watson, Daniel Severino, Robbie Cattanach, Shannon Cole, Chris Nunes, former short-term Sydney player Tolgay Özbey and goalkeepers Vendram Janjetovic and Matthew Nash.

Friendly matches[]

Sunshine Coast Select XI1–2Sydney FC
Tyson Holmes Goal Report Ufuk Talay GoalGoal
, Sunshine Coast
Sydney University SFC0–3Sydney FC
Report David Zdrilic Goal 25'
Mark Rudan Goal 44'
Ben Vidaic Goal 80'
, Sydney
Attendance: 100
Manly United FC2–3Sydney FC
Andrew Mailer Goal 20'
Brad Groves Goal 77'		 Report Adam Biddle Goal 15'
Michael Enfield Goal 40'
Ufuk Talay Goal 75'
Cromer Park, Sydney
Attendance: 1,900
Penrith Nepean United2–1Sydney FC
Mitchell Long Goal 44'
Ben Gough Goal approx. 75' (pen.)		 Report Mark Milligan Goal 27'
CUA Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 5,000

2007 A-League Pre-season Cup[]

The Pre-season Cup competition consists of two groups of four teams, each team to play each other once. All teams then progress to a playoff stage with opponents based on group position, followed by finals series to determine the cup winner. Sydney finished the group stage bottom of Group B behind Central Coast Mariners, Queensland Roar and Wellington Phoenix. After a loss and a win in the final placings matches, they were ranked seventh.

Fixtures[]

Group stage[]

Queensland Roar0–0Sydney FC
Danny Tiatto Yellow card 43' Report Ufuk Talay Yellow card 13'
Terry McFlynn Yellow card 66'
, Sunshine Coast
Attendance: 4,892
Referee: Chris Beath
Wellington Phoenix3–0Sydney FC
Michael Ferrante Yellow card 1'
Shane Smeltz Goal 13', Goal 89'
Mark Rudan (og) Goal 14'
Ross Aloisi Yellow card 64'
Cleberson Yellow card 77'		 Report Ufuk Talay Yellow card 84'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 6,039
Referee: Peter O'Leary
Sydney FC0–3Central Coast Mariners
Clint Bolton Yellow card 51'
Nikolas Tsattalios Yellow card 63'
Tony Popovic Yellow card 65'
Alex Brosque Yellow card 68'		 Report Matthew Osman Goal 36'
Adam Kwasnik Goal 44'
Andre Gumprecht Goal 51'
Mile Jedinak Yellow card 55'
Nigel Boogaard Yellow card 90'
Attendance: 5,735
Referee: Ben Williams

Group B table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Central Coast Mariners 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 3 10
2 Queensland Roar 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 1 6
3 Wellington Phoenix 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 2 5
4 Sydney FC 3 0 1 2 0 6 −6 0 1
Source:[citation needed]

Playoffs[]

Sydney FC2–3Newcastle Jets
Tony Popovic Yellow card 21'
Brendon Santalab Yellow card 47'
Ruben Zadkovich Goal 79'
Ufuk Talay Goal 83'		 Report Joel Griffiths Goal 5', Goal 76'
Adam D'Apuzzo Yellow card 9'
Jobe Wheelhouse Yellow card 29'
Scott Tunbridge Goal 56'
Steve Eagleton Yellow card 82'
Attendance: 2,611
Referee: Peter Green
Melbourne Victory0–1Sydney FC
Report Alex Brosque Goal 34' Yellow card 47'
Adam Biddle Yellow card 58'
Shannon Cole Yellow card 79'
Terry McFlynn Yellow card 87'
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,400
Referee:

2007–08 Hyundai A-League[]

On 5 August, David Carney was transferred for A$125,000 to English Championship side, Sheffield United. The former Sydney player signed a three-year deal with the club which has been reported to earn him around A$1.25 million a year.[7]

New players including former Socceroos regular Tony Popovic and former LA Galaxy Attacking Midfielder, Michael Enfield have signed with Sydney for the upcoming season. On 3 August 2007 Brazilian international Juninho Paulista, formerly of Celtic and Middlesbrough, signed with Sydney FC as their marquee player.[8] Sydney have also announced the signings of youth players Ben Vidaic and Adam Biddle.

Former Socceroos Tony Popovic has been named the new skipper alongside current Socceroos Mark Milligan as vice-captain for the coming 2007–08 season.[9]

On 15 October 2007 Michael Bridges was signed on a loan with Sydney FC, until the end of the 2007–08 season of the Hyundai A-League as a replacement for long-term casualty Michael Enfield, who has been ruled out for several months after sustaining a serious knee injury.

On 22 October 2007, it was announced that Branko Culina would be sacked from the club following disappointing results. It was announced on 23 October, that former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina will take the role as the new head coach of Sydney FC.[1]

Kosmina got the side of to a flying start under his tenure, his first match in charge, a clash with then table-topping rivals Central Coast, a thrilling 3–2 victory in front of a crowd of nearly 18,000 at the SFS, a sign of bigger things to come for the Blues. This was followed by an impressive 1–0 away victory over Newcastle Jets; with former England junior Michael Bridges recording his first goal for Sydney FC. An entertaining 0–0 draw at the Telstra Dome, with rivals Melbourne, followed, with Sydney FC still undefeated under Kosmina.

Sydney FC suffered their first loss under John Kosmina on 15 December losing 4–2 to bottom side Perth Glory. Sydney goals were scored by Steve Corica and Michael Bridges.

On 22 December, a crucial match against the Central Coast Mariners resulted in a 5–4 victory in favour of Sydney. The match, held at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, was described by critics as the best game ever to come from the A-League.[10] The crucial win moved Sydney FC up by 3 points to 4th place on the ladder, overtaking Adelaide United. The win was especially savoured after Sydney were down 2–0 after 15 minutes. The controversial sending-off of Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic in the 16th minute turned the match in favour of Sydney, who scored their 5th goal via an Ufuk Taly penalty with the final kick of the match in stoppage time.

On Friday 28 December 2007, Sydney FC came from behind for the second time in two weeks to defeat a 10-man Adelaide United 3–1 and keep its unbeaten away record intact in front of a record crowd of 25,039 in Adelaide. This result forced Adelaide down to 5th on the ladder. With 3rd place Newcastle Jets unable to secure a victory over Wellington Phoenix in Round 18, Sydney leap-frogged the Jets into 3rd place, with only 3 points behind the tied leaders.

A week later Sydney travelled across the Tasman to face Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium. Sydney came out of this match once again victorious winning 2–0 with goals from Northern Ireland superstar Terry McFlynn and current leading goalscorer for Sydney in 2007/2008 Alex Brosque. This kept them in 3rd position on the A-League ladder and in good contention for a finals berth. This win also ensured that the Phoenix would not reach the finals.

As of 30 December 2007 rumours suggesting that Sydney had signed Simon Colosimo from the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets striker Mark Bridge for the 2008/2009 Season. Although these rumours have been proved true, no statements have officially been released as neither player wanted to cause trouble at their present clubs.

On Sunday 13 January 2008 Sydney flew up to Brisbane to play the Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium. The game finished 0–0, with both sides taking a point. Sydney only needed a draw to secure their place for a 3rd consecutive finals appearance. The draw means that the top 4 teams (Sydney, Queensland Roar, Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets) are all on 31 points each, although Queensland are on top due to goal difference. Both teams had excellent chances to open the scoring for their club, but good keeping and failure to capitalise on good opportunities meant that many goals went begging. In the end the 32,000 strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium went home feeling disappointed that they didn't get their money's worth for this State of Origin Match.

The final game of the 2007/2008 regular season saw Sydney's largest crowd of the season, it drew a large crowd of 33,458 people. Sydney needed to win by at least 2 goals, and they got off to a flying start, with Steve Corica scoring in the 3rd minute. For the rest of the half Melbourne looked shellshocked, and never really recovered from to shock early goal. But they hit back 25 seconds after the break, with Sydney's minds still back in the dressing room, Melbourne midfielder Nick Ward flew down the right wing and took a shot, which ended up rebounding into Sydney defender Mark Milligan, ending up as an own goal. With 15 minutes left in the game Alex Brosque scored, making the score 2–1. But 5 Minutes later Danny Allsopp scored for Melbourne, leaving the final score 2–2. Sydney failed to claim the minor premiership which ended up going to the Central Coast Mariners with their 2–0 victory over the Wellington Phoenix at Gosford. Sydney will now play Queensland Roar in the Semi-Final which is to be held at the Sydney Football Stadium.

On Friday 26 January Sydney played their first leg home final against the Queensland Roar in front of a crowd of 23,450 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The match which was supposed to be played up at Queensland's home ground Suncorp Stadium but it was moved to Sydney because of a concert by the '80s band The Police. Recent matches against the roar, had all been mostly uneventful affairs, including a 0–0 draw a couple of weeks beforehand, and it was the same again. Both sides had few chances during the 1st half, but Queensland's Brazilian import Reinaldo missed a golden opportunity when he air-swinged a cross in the opening 10 minutes. Sydney's best chance came in the 2nd half when Alex Brosque made a break, got around defender Andrew Packer and only had to slot the ball past the keeper but ended up booting the ball over the crossbar, and into the disappointed 'cove' supporters. Late in the 2nd half Sydney suffered a blow when midfielder Robbie Middleby was fouled heavily by Roar defender Sasa Ognenovski and injured his hamstring. Middleby is now expected to miss the next leg up in Brisbane, and possibly the Grand Final. Sydney had to chance to get a double late in the game when Brendon Santalab and Patrick missed golden opportunities.

Sydney and Queensland will now play the second leg of the minor semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on 8 February 2008. Two weeks later Sydney were up in Brisbane to face off in the second leg of the preliminary final. They had suffered a knock-back the day before they flew up with Marquee player Juninho ruled out with a knee injury that he picked up in training. Ruben Zadkovich was announced as his replacement. Sydney started the match well but with many poor decisions by referee Mark Shield including the sending off of Midfielder Robbie Middleby for a tackle, which did not even deserve a yellow. Queensland scored in the 14th minute through their Brazilian import Reinaldo and Sydney never looked like coming back after that. Referee Shield made another poor call when Sydney captain Tony Popović allegedly shoved Roar striker Tahj Minniecon in the penalty box, and Sasa Ognenovski converted the penalty past keeper Clint Bolton. Many Sydney fans were disgusted at the poor display shown by referee Mark Shield, as most games refereed under him have turned out to be fair challenges, and as a result the small Sydney group that had travelled across the border booed him off.

Home-and-Away fixtures[]

Sydney FC0–1Central Coast Mariners
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 43' Report Dean Heffernan Yellow card 41'
Mile Jedinak Yellow card 42'
Sasho Petrovski Goal 7', Yellow card 52'
Andre Gumprecht Yellow card 61'
Attendance: 18,457
Referee: Peter Green
Sydney FC2–2Adelaide United
Ufuk Talay Goal 12'
Alex Brosque Goal 74'		 Report Richie Alagich Goal 8'
Bobby Petta Yellow card 45'
Nathan Burns Goal 76'
Attendance: 14,233
Referee: Mark Shield
Perth Glory0–0Sydney FC
Tyler Simpson Yellow card 61' Report Patrick da Silva Yellow card 29'
Iain Fyfe Yellow card 45'
Mark Rudan Yellow card 81'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 7,907
Referee: Craig Zetter
Sydney FC1–2Wellington Phoenix
Adam Casey Goal 6'
Mark Rudan Yellow card 56'
Brendon Santalab Yellow card 64'
Ruben Zadkovich Yellow card 86'
David Zdrilic Yellow card 89'		 Report Felipè Goal 8'
Daniel Goal 29' (pen), Yellow card 30'
Ross Aloisi Yellow card 85'
Glen Moss Yellow card 86'
Attendance: 11,491
Queensland Roar0–1Sydney FC
Josh McCloughlan Yellow card 33'
Danny TiattoYellow card 45'		 Report Ruben Zadkovich Yellow card 37'
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 43'
Terry McFlynn Yellow card 67'
Patrick da Silva Goal 69'
Brendon Santalab Yellow card 87'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 16,582
Referee: Mark Shield
Sydney FC1–0Newcastle Jets
Alex Brosque Goal 36', Yellow card 72'
Ruben Zadkovich Yellow card 84'		 Report Matt Thompson Yellow card 6'
Adam D'Apuzzo Yellow card 12'
Adam Griffiths Yellow card 22'
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: Craig Zetter
Sydney FC0–1Melbourne Victory
Ruben Zadkovich Yellow card 8'
Steve Corica Red card 25'
Juninho Paulista Yellow card 63'
Alex Brosque Yellow card 75'
Mark Rudan Yellow card 90'		 Report Kevin Muscat Yellow card 12'
Grant Brebner Yellow card 36'
Joseph Keenan Yellow card 40'
Danny Allsopp Goal 81'
Archie Thompson Yellow card 90+3'
Attendance: 18,436
Referee: Mark Shield
Perth Glory3–3Sydney FC
Simon Colosimo Yellow card 41'
Naum Sekulovski Yellow card 48'
Jamie Harnwell Goal 52'
James Robinson Goal 59'
Mitchell Prentice Goal 69', Yellow card 73'		 Report Alex Brosque Goal 40', Goal 90+3'
David Zdrilic Yellow card 52'
Patrick da Silva Goal 71'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 6,876
Sydney FC0–1Adelaide United
Mark Rudan Yellow card 57'
Robbie Middleby Yellow card 85'		 Report Lucas Pantelis Goal 52', Yellow card 73'
Dez Giraldi Yellow card 52'
Robert Cornthwaite Yellow card 69'
Attendance: 12,922
Sydney FC3–2Central Coast Mariners
Alex Brosque Goal 16', Goal 25'
Tony Popovic Goal 31'
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 86'
Clint Bolton Yellow card 87'		 Report John Hutchinson Goal 27', Yellow card 50', Goal 56'
Mile Jedinak Yellow card 53'
Dean Heffernan Yellow card 54'
Tony Vidmar Yellow card 64'
Attendance: 17,652
Referee: Mark Shield
Newcastle Jets0–1Sydney FC
Denni Yellow card 25'
Adam Griffiths Yellow card 26'
Ante Covic Yellow card 84'		 Report Mark Milligan Yellow card 22'
Ruben Zadkovich Yellow card 47'
Michael Bridges Goal 69', Yellow card 86'
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Attendance: 16,433
Melbourne Victory0–0Sydney FC
Grant Brebner Yellow card 41'
Kevin Muscat Yellow card 87'		 Report Iain Fyfe Yellow card 32'
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 31,844
Referee: Mark Shield
Wellington Phoenix1–1Sydney FC
Ross Aloisi Goal 29'
Steven Old Yellow card 61' Yellow-red card 90+2'
Kristian Rees Yellow card 76'
Vaughan Coveny Yellow card 78'		 Report Popovic Yellow card 27' Yellow-red card 70'
Talay Goal 90+3' (pen)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 8,062
Referee: Peter Green
Sydney FC0–0Queensland Roar
Michael Bridges Yellow card 39' Report Stuart McLaren Yellow card 17'
Liam Reddy Yellow card 23'
Andrew Packer Yellow card 42' Yellow-red card 82'
Attendance: 16,659
Sydney FC1–0Newcastle Jets
Robbie Middleby Yellow card 35'
Ruben Zadkovich Red card 52'
Tony Popovic Yellow card 66'
Steve Corica Goal 90+2'		 Report Mark Bridge Yellow card 71'
Andrew Durante Yellow card 80'
Attendance: 10,732
Sydney FC2–4Perth Glory
Steve Corica Goal 50'
Mark Milligan Yellow card 64'
Michael Bridges Goal 90', Yellow card 90+2'		 Report Billy Celeski Goal 34', Goal 35', Goal 77' (pen)
Leo Bertos Goal 49'
Dino Djulbic Yellow card 61'
James DowneyYellow card 90'
Attendance: 12,402
Central Coast Mariners4–5Sydney FC
Mile Jedinak Goal 3'
John Aloisi Goal 15'
Danny Vukovic Red card 16'
John Hutchinson Yellow card 44'
Greg Owens Goal 63' (pen)
Alex Wilkinson Yellow card 83'
Adam Kwasnik Goal 86', Red card 90+4'		 Report Iain Fyfe Goal 33'
Terry McFlynn Goal 50'
Tony Popovic Yellow card 62'
Adam Biddle Goal 71'
Brendon Santalab Goal 76'
Mark Robertson Yellow card 78'
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 90', Goal 90+5' (pen)
Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 17,514
  • Match rescheduled from 1 December 2007 due to unplayable pitch[11]
Adelaide United1–3Sydney FC
Kristian Sarkies Goal 20'
Travis Dodd Yellow card 28'
Robert Cornthwaite Red card 33'
Eugene Galekovic Yellow card 66'
Cássio Yellow card 76'		 Report Iain Fyfe Yellow card 31'
Mark Milligan Yellow card 40'
Brendon Santalab Goal 44'
Steve Corica Goal 54'
Robbie Middleby Yellow card 65', Goal 67'
Brendan Renaud Yellow card 83'
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Attendance: 25,039
Wellington Phoenix0–2Sydney FC
Kristian Rees Yellow card 14'
Shane Smeltz Yellow card 81'
Tony Lochhead Yellow card 85'
Ross Aloisi Red card 91'		 Report Ufuk Talay Yellow card 26'
Terry McFlynn Goal 79'
Alex Brosque Goal 83'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 14,288
Referee: Ben Williams
Queensland Roar0–0Sydney FC
Andrew Packer Yellow card 33'
Simon Lynch Yellow card 39'		 Report Terry McFlynn Yellow card 16'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 31,933
Referee: Mark Shield
Sydney FC2–2Melbourne Victory
Steve Corica Goal 4'
Alex Brosque Goal 62'
Brendon Santalab Yellow card 82'		 Report Leigh Broxham Yellow card 7'
Sebastian Ryall Yellow card 44'
Mark Milligan (og) Goal 46'
Kevin Muscat Yellow card 47'
Danny Allsopp Goal 76'
Attendance: 33,458
Referee: Peter O'Leary

League table[]

Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Central Coast Mariners 21 10 4 7 30 25 +5 34 Finals Series and 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage[a]
2 Newcastle Jets (C) 21 9 7 5 25 21 +4 34
3 Sydney FC 21 8 8 5 28 24 +4 32 Finals Series and 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship
4 Queensland Roar 21 8 7 6 25 21 +4 31 Finals Series
5 Melbourne Victory 21 6 9 6 29 29 0 27
6 Adelaide United 21 6 8 7 31 29 +2 26
7 Perth Glory 21 4 8 9 27 34 −7 20
8 Wellington Phoenix[b] 21 5 5 11 25 37 −12 20
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion
Notes:
  1. ^ First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage.
    Winning the 2008 A-League Grand Final earns qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage, unless the Grand Final winners are also first place, in which case the Grand Final runner up qualifies.
  2. ^ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Finals[]

Sydney FC0–0Queensland Roar
Mark Milligan Yellow card 7'
Brendan Renaud Yellow card 43'
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 56'		 Report Sasa Ognenovski Yellow card 22'
Matt McKay Yellow card 55'
Josh McCloughan Yellow card 73'
Attendance: 23,450
Referee: Mark Shield
Queensland Roar2–0Sydney FC
Andrew Packer Yellow card 3'
Reinaldo Goal 12'
Massimo Murdocca Yellow card 48'
Liam Reddy Yellow card 74'
Sasa Ognenovski Goal 83' (pen)		 Report Brendan Renaud Yellow card 15'
Robbie Middleby Red card 20'
Ufuk Talay Yellow card 67'
Tony Popovic Yellow card 82'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 36,321
Referee: Mark Shield
  • Queensland Roar win 2–0 on aggregate

Hyundai Club Challenge[]

Sydney hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy in a one-off exhibition match at Telstra Stadium on 27 November, including high-profile Galaxy signing David Beckham. Sydney won the exciting match 5–3, which included a Beckham goal from a free kick.

Sydney FC5–3Los Angeles Galaxy
Alex Brosque Goal 5', Goal 25'
Ruben Zadkovich Goal 29'
Robbie Middleby Yellow card 49', Goal 53'
Adam Biddle Yellow card 76'
Iain Fyfe Goal 87'		 Report Kevin Harmse Yellow card 31' Yellow-red card 76'
David Beckham Goal 45', Yellow card 64'
Edson Buddle Goal 49'
Landon Donovan Goal 90'
Attendance: 80,295
Referee: Mark Shield

Pan-Pacific Championship[]

Sydney represented Australia in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship held in Hawaii.[12] They placed fourth overall after losing both matches, first to American MLS champions Houston Dynamo and then Los Angeles Galaxy in the third place playoff.

Houston Dynamo3–0Sydney FC
Dwayne De Rosario Goal 28'
Stuart Holden Goal 29'
Chris Wondolowski Goal 43'		 Report Brendon Santalab Yellow card 49'
Yellow card 57'
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA
Attendance: 15,128
Referee:
Los Angeles Galaxy2–1Sydney FC
Ely Allen Goal 3'
Josh Tudela Goal 45'
Michael Gavin Yellow card 72'		 Report Brendan Renaud Goal 43'
Terry McFlynn Yellow card 49'
Mark Robertson Yellow card 51'
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Brian Hall

Home attendance[]

# Opponent Round Attendance Result
1 Central Coast Mariners 1 18,457 L 1–0
2 Adelaide United 2 14,233 D 2–2
3 Wellington Phoenix 4 11,491 L 1–2
4 Newcastle United Jets 6 13,755 W 1–0
5 Melbourne Victory 7 18,436 L 0–1
6 Adelaide United 9 12,922 L 0–1
7 Central Coast Mariners 10 17,652 W 3–2
8 Queensland Roar 14 16,659 D 0–0
9 Los Angeles Galaxy Exhibition 80,295 W 5–3
10 Newcastle United Jets 16 10,732 W 1–0
11 Perth Glory 17 12,402 L 2–4
12 Melbourne Victory 21 33,458 D 2–2
13 Queensland Roar Semi-final 23,450 D 0–0

A-League Regular Season Total: 180,197

A-League Regular Season Average: 16,382

Season Total: 283,942

Player details[]

For current squad details see Sydney FC Current squad

Squad[]

Players included in a Sydney FC squad in the 2007–08 season: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Clint Bolton
2 DF Australia AUS Iain Fyfe
3 DF Australia AUS Nikolas Tsattalios
4 DF Australia AUS Mark Rudan
5 DF Australia AUS
6 DF Australia AUS Tony Popović (captain)
7 MF Australia AUS Robbie Middleby
8 MF Australia AUS Ruben Zadkovich
9 FW Australia AUS David Zdrilic
10 MF Australia AUS Steve Corica
11 FW Australia AUS Brendon Santalab
12 FW Brazil BRA Patrick da Silva
13 FW Australia AUS Ben Vidaic
14 FW Australia AUS Alex Brosque
15 MF Northern Ireland NIR Terry McFlynn
16 DF Australia AUS Mark Milligan
17 DF Australia AUS Jacob Timpano
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW Australia AUS Adam Casey
19 MF United States USA Michael Enfield
20 GK Australia AUS Ivan Necevski
21 MF Australia AUS Adam Biddle
22 MF Brazil BRA Juninho
23 MF Australia AUS Ufuk Talay
24 FW Australia AUS
25 MF Australia AUS Matthew Jurman
25 DF Australia AUS Cameron Watson
25 FW Australia AUS Daniel Severino
26 MF Australia AUS Brendan Renaud
27 MF Australia AUS Shannon Cole
28 MF Australia AUS
28 FW England ENG Michael Bridges
29 MF Australia AUS Mark Robertson
30 GK Australia AUS Matthew Nash
40 GK France FRA

Transfers[]

With Branko Culina installed at the helm, he sought to reconstruct the Sydney squad which had been plagued by injuries and financial constraints the previous year. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Noel Spencer left for other A-League sides at the end of the Asian Champions League, but defender Nikolas Tsattalios was rewarded with a longer term contract. New signings from foreign leagues were unveiled in American Michael Enfield, Brendon Santalab and World Cup Socceroo Tony Popović. Popović's expected role in the club was further reinforced by being handed the captaincy for the A-League season.[13] The club also fulfilled their youth player quota, signing Joey striker Ben Vidaic and winger Adam Biddle.

The club also sought to find a new marquee player as they had been unable to land a household-name since the departure of Dwight Yorke at the start of the previous season. The club unsuccessfully courted a number of high-profile internationals including Philip Cocu, Robbie Fowler,[14] Hakan Şükür,[15] Christian Vieri,[16] Jay-Jay Okocha[17] and John Aloisi.[18] On 3 August 2007 Sydney announced, (two days after media reports broke the story[19]) that Brazilian international Juninho Paulista will be their marquee player on a one-year deal. This came the same time as David Carney agreed to move to English side Sheffield United following speculation of his departure following the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Sydney finalised their squad by signing a second Brazilian in striker Patrick da Silva.

With the season kicking off, new reserve goalkeeper Ivan Necevski suffered an injury in training expected to keep him out of action for up to two months. APIA Leichhardt custodian Matthew Nash impressed in his preseason trial to earn a short-term contract as cover. As first round matches were underway with Nash on the bench, Sydney agreed terms with veteran John Filan to join the club, having recently returned home after retiring at Wigan.[20] The short-term agreement fell through less than a week later, Filan citing outside issues.[21]

In[]

Player From League Fee Date
United States Michael Enfield Los Angeles Galaxy United States Major League Soccer Free 7 April 2007[22]
Australia Brendon Santalab Újpest FC Hungary Borsodi Liga Free 22 June 2007[23]
Australia Ivan Necevski Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 22 June 2007[24]
Australia Nikolas Tsattalios Sydney FC (promoted from short-term deal) Australia A-League – 2 July 2007[25]
Australia Tony Popović Al-Arabi Qatar Qatari League Free 11 July 2007[26]
Australia Ben Vidaic Sydney United Australia NSW Premier League Free 31 July 2007[27]
Brazil Juninho Paulista Flamengo (free agent) Brazil Brazilian Série A – 3 August 2007[28]
Australia Adam Biddle Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 6 August 2007[29]
Brazil Patrick da Silva Nacional Atlético Clube (SP) Brazil Campeonato Paulista Série A2 Free 18 August 2007[30]
Australia Brendan Renaud Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 12 December 2007[31]

Out[]

Player To League Fee Date
Australia Nikolai Topor-Stanley Perth Glory Australia A-League – 24 May 2007 .[32][33]
Australia Justin Pasfield Sydney United (released) Australia NSW Premier League – 24 May 2007[34]
Australia Noel Spencer Newcastle United Jets Australia A-League – 24 May 2007[35]
Australia Luka Glavas Heidelberg United (released) Australia Victorian Premier League – 24 May 2007[36]
Australia Dean Bouzanis Liverpool F.C. (loan terminated – delisted) England Premier League – June 2007[37]
Australia David Carney Sheffield United England Premier League A$125,000 4 August 2007[38][39]
Australia Mark Rudan Avispa Fukuoka Japan J. League Div 2 A$100,000 17 December 2007[40][41]
Australia Brendan Renaud Retired – – 23 February 2008

Short-term signings[]

Player From Start date End date Reason
Australia Matthew Nash Australia APIA Leichhardt 23 August 2007 10 October 2007 Injury cover for Ivan Necevski[42]
21 December 2007 24 December 2007 Injury cover for Clint Bolton[43]
France Australia Waverley Old Boys 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Clint Bolton while on international duty[44]
Australia Matthew Jurman Australia AIS 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Mark Milligan/Ruben Zadkovich while on international duty[44]
Australia Australia Manly United FC 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Alex Brosque while on international duty[44]
England Michael Bridges England Hull City (loan) 17 October 2007 21 January 2008 Injury cover for Michael Enfield[45][46]
Australia Mark Robertson Hungary FC Sopron 13 December 2007 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Adam Casey[47]
Australia Australia Blacktown City Demons 20 February 2008 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Robbie Middleby at Pan-Pacific Championship[48]

Team kit[]

For the third A-League season, all clubs released new playing strip supplied by sponsor Reebok. Sydney FC retained the established colours in a new design, a sky blue home shirt with navy blue and orange secondary colours, and a white away shirt with sky blue trim.[49]

Sydney also signed new sponsorships with Sydney-based electronics retailer Bing Lee and electronic brand JVC. The home strip will feature Bing Lee as the main shirt sponsor with JVC on the shorts, while the away shirt will feature JVC prominently and Bing Lee on the shorts. A second shirt sponsorship was secured with , that will appear on the back of the shirt below the player number.

2007–08 home colours
2007–08 away colours
2007–08 goalkeeper

Awards[]

  • Sydney FC Players Player Award: Alex Brosque
  • SMH Members Player of the Year Award: Steve Corica
  • Chairman Award: John Kosmina
  • Forward of the Year: Alex Brosque
  • Midfielder of the Year: Steve Corica
  • Defender of the Year: Tony Popovic
  • Young Player of the Year Award: Adam Biddle
  • Golden Boot: Alex Brosque
  • Fans Goal of the Year Award: Brendon Santalab (Goal v Adelaide United Round 18)

[1]

References[]

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