32nd season of top-tier soccer league in Australia
A-League Season 2008–09 Dates 15 August 2008 – 28 February 2009 Champions Melbourne Victory (2nd title) Premiers Melbourne Victory (2nd title) AFC Champions League Melbourne Victory , Adelaide United Matches played 84 Goals scored 249 (2.96 per match) Top goalscorer Shane Smeltz Best goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic Highest attendance 31,564 Lowest attendance 4,433 Average attendance 12,180
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] [3] 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 [ ]
Adelaide United
Melbourne Victory
Newcastle Jets
Queensland Roar
Wellington Phoenix
Further information: A-League § 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 [ ]
The following do not fill a Visa position:1 Those 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 );2 Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix ) who have chosen to represent another national team;3 Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;4 Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)
Salary cap exemptions and captains [ ] Pre-season Challenge Cup [ ] Main article: 2008 A-League 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] 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 or relegation
1
Melbourne Victory (C)
21
12
2
7
39
27
+12
38
Finals Series and 2010 AFC Champions League Group stage
2
Adelaide United
21
11
5
5
31
19
+12
38
3
Queensland Roar
21
10
6
5
36
25
+11
36
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) Champion
Results [ ] Round 1 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Queensland Roar Round 2 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory Queensland Roar v Adelaide United Round 3 [ ] Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Round 4 [ ] Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United Round 5 [ ] Queensland Roar v Newcastle Jets 19 September 2008 Queensland Roar 0–1 Newcastle Jets show Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane 20:00 UTC+10
Report Summary J. Griffiths 83' Attendance: 12,103
Round 6 [ ] Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets Melbourne Victory v Queensland Roar Round 7 [ ] Newcastle Jets v Wellington Phoenix 6 October 2008 Newcastle Jets 2–2 Wellington Phoenix show EnergyAustralia Stadium , Newcastle 15:00 UTC+11
T. Elrich 59' Patafta 68' Report Summary Smeltz 52' (pen. ) , 89' (pen. ) Attendance: 8,492
Round 8 [ ] Queensland Roar v Adelaide United Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory Round 9 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Queensland Roar Round 10 [ ] Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory Newcastle Jets v Queensland Roar 2 November 2008 Newcastle Jets 1–2 Queensland Roar show EnergyAustralia Stadium , Newcastle 17:00 UTC+11
J. Griffiths 23' Report Summary McKay 24' Miller 35' Attendance: 10,507
Round 11 [ ] Sydney FC v Wellington Phoenix 7 November 2008 Sydney FC 1–2 Wellington Phoenix show Sydney Football Stadium , Sydney 20:00 UTC+11
Musialik 77' Report Summary Bertos 34' Smeltz 89' (pen. ) Attendance: 12,856
Queensland Roar v Melbourne Victory Round 12 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets Round 13 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory 28 November 2008 Wellington Phoenix 2–1 Melbourne Victory show Westpac Stadium , Wellington 19:30 UTC+13
Brown 21' Smeltz 58' Report Summary Allsopp 20' Attendance: 7,953
Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United Round 14 [ ] Adelaide United v Wellington Phoenix Round 15 [ ] Queensland Roar v Newcastle Jets 14 December 2008 Queensland Roar 2–1 Newcastle Jets show Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane 18:00 UTC+10
Nichols 45+2' van Dijk 90+1' Report Summary J. Griffiths 26' Attendance: 11,048Ben Williams
Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United Round 16 [ ] Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory 19 December 2008 Newcastle Jets 4–2 Melbourne Victory show EnergyAustralia Stadium , Newcastle 20:00 UTC+11
M. Thompson 16' , 45' , 49' Song 60' Report Summary Allsopp 66' Ney Fabiano 87' Attendance: 6,268
Adelaide United v Queensland Roar Round 17 [ ] Queensland Roar v Wellington Phoenix Round 18 [ ] Melbourne Victory v Queensland Roar Wellington Phoenix v Newcastle Jets 4 January 2009 Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Newcastle Jets show Westpac Stadium , Wellington 19:00 UTC+13
Bertos 62' Smeltz 67' , 86' (pen. ) Report Summary Attendance: 7,520
Round 19 [ ] Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets Round 20 [ ] Wellington Phoenix v Adelaide United 18 January 2009 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Adelaide United show Westpac Stadium , Wellington 17:00 UTC+13
Barbarouses 31' Report Summary Reid 9' Attendance: 8,241Chris Beath
Round 21 [ ] Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix Finals series [ ]
Semi Finals
Preliminary Final
Grand Final
L1
L2
1
Melbourne Victory 2
4
2
Adelaide United
0
0
1
Melbourne Victory 1
2
Adelaide United 1
2
Adelaide United
0
3
Queensland Roar
0
3
Queensland Roar 2
2
4
Central Coast Mariners
0
1
Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United Adelaide United v Queensland Roar Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United Statistics [ ] Leading scorers [ ] Further information: A-League Top scorers
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
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
{{{T9}}}
0
0
0
0
0
{{{T10}}}
0
0
0
0
0
{{{T11}}}
0
0
0
0
0
{{{T12}}}
0
0
0
0
0
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 [ ]
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
Awards [ ] The Premiers' Plate was awarded to the Melbourne Victory , who finished on top of the ladder after 21 rounds.
The Johnny Warren Medal was awarded to Shane Smeltz from the Wellington Phoenix
The Coach of the Year was awarded to Aurelio Vidmar of Adelaide United
The Wooden Spoon was awarded to the Newcastle Jets , who finished bottom on the ladder after 21 rounds.
The Reebok Golden Boot was awarded to Shane Smeltz of the Wellington Phoenix for scoring twelve goals at the end of the home and away season.
The Rising Star award was awarded to Scott Jamieson of Adelaide United
The Fair Play Award was awarded to the Queensland Roar
Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to Eugene Galekovic of Adelaide United
Referee of the Year was awarded to Matthew Breeze
Foreign Player of the Year was awarded to Charlie Miller of the Queensland Roar See also [ ] Adelaide United season 2008-09 Central Coast Mariners season 2008-09 Melbourne Victory season 2008-09 Newcastle United Jets FC season 2008-09 Perth Glory season 2008-09 Queensland Roar season 2008-09 Sydney FC season 2008-09 Wellington Phoenix season 2008-09 2008 Australian football code crowds Notes [ ]
^ Zura's contract was mutually terminated part-way through his marquee deal on 2 November 2008.[17]
^ Thompson replaced North as captain mid-season
References [ ]
^ "Galaxy, Thunder to join A-League" . Fox Sports . 12 February 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008 .^ "Thunder, Galaxy get go-ahead" . FourFourTwo . 21 February 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2008 .^ "A-League expansion plans postponed" . SBS . 12 March 2008. Archived from the original on 13 March 2008. Retrieved 12 March 2008 .^ "FFA: A-League WILL Get Bigger" . FourFourTwo . 19 January 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2008 .^ Jump up to: 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 .^ "Agostino fit for season kick-off" . ABC News Adelaide United marquee player Paul Agostino has been declared fit... ^ Jump up to: a b Brettig, Daniel (30 July 2008). "Cool Dodd new Adelaide United skipper" . The Advertiser ^ "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 ^ Lynch, Michael (30 April 2016). "Archie Thompson should play on after leaving Melbourne Victory" . The Sydney Morning Herald As Victory's inauguaral marquee signing... ^ "Archie Thompson, Adrian Leijer sign new deals with Melbourne Victory" . The Guardian 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 ^ Ritson, Jon (15 May 2008). "Marquee Glee For Victory's Ward" . FTBL . ^ Jump up to: 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). ^ 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 ^ "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 ^ "Kevin Muscat appointed as new Melbourne Victory coach" . The Guardian Phoenix’s Ernie Merrick was the Victory's inaugural coach and Muscat the club's inaugural captain ^ Gardiner, James (31 July 2008). "Newcastle Jets unveil Edmundo Zura as marquee signing" . The Newcastle Herald ^ Dillon, Robert; Gardiner, James (2 November 2008). "Exit Edmundo: Zura bids Jets farewell" . The Newcastle Herald ^ "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. ^ "Matt Thompson tipping Kaz Patafta to kick on" . The Newcastle Herald Stand-in Jets captain Matt Thompson has... ^ "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. ^ "Coyne leads the way for Glory" . A-League ^ Ritson, Jon (24 July 2007). "Moore Signs With Roar" . FourFourTwo the original on 30 September 2012. ^ 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. ^ "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... ^ "Teenage sensation Danning lifts Sydney FC" . The Sydney Morning Herald Sydney Captain Steve Corica was left on the bench... ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Durante named Wellington Phoenix skipper" . Nine MSN the original on 30 March 2012.^ "You Can't Beat McKain: Herbert" . FTBL . 11 August 2008. McKain, who will be Phoenix vice-captain this season ^ 2008 Pre-Season Cup Draw Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008^ Hyundai A-League 2008/09 Season Draw Archived 18 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine , Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008^ Jump up to: a b Match re-scheduled due to Adelaide's participation in FIFA Club World Cup
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Alemão
Jonas Salley1
André Gumprecht
Andrea Merenda3
John Hutchinson2
Carlos Hernández
Grant Brebner1
Jesper Håkansson
Song Jin-hyung
Edmundo Zura
Adrian Trinidad
James Robinson
Victor Sikora3
Sergio van Dijk
Terry McFlynn
Michael Enfield
Gao Leilei
Paul Agostino[6]
Andrew Durante[26]
90+1