Melbourne Victory FC
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| Full name | Melbourne Victory Football Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Victory, The Big V, Melbourne | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Ground | AAMI Park Melbourne, Victoria (Capacity: 30,050) Etihad Stadium Melbourne, Victoria (Capacity: 56,347) |
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| Chairman |  Geoff Lord |
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| Head Coach |  Ernie Merrick |
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| League | A-League | ||
| 2010–11 | 2nd (league) 2nd (finals) |
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 Current season |
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Melbourne Victory FC is a professional football (soccer) club in the Australian A-League. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia since the 2006-07 season, Melbourne Victory have led the A-League in attendances[1] and is also considered the most successful club domestically in the A-League, having won two A-League Championships and two Premiers Plates[2]
Melbourne Victory are the only club to complete the Premiership-Championship double twice, winning both during the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons. They are also the first and only club to complete the domestic treble, winning the Challenge Cup, Premiership and Championship, all in the 2008–09 season.
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History
Beginning
Melbourne Victory was founded in 2003 after the announcement of a revamped domestic league in Australia, which saw the National Soccer League disbanded in 2003 and replaced by the A-League.
Football Federation Australia (FFA) approved the Melbourne Victory consortium as Melbourne's representative in the league, with Belgravia Leisure Pty Ltd backing the club. The chairman and CEO of Belgravia Leisure, Geoff Lord, was installed as the inaugural chairman of Melbourne Victory FC. Melbourne Victory's major sponsor was Samsung.
Gary Cole (an ex-Socceroo) was hired to become Football Operations manager, and was soon joined by Ernie Merrick, appointed as head coach from the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS). Archie Thompson, a then fringe player for the Socceroos had been playing in Belgium with Lierse S.K., was the club's first player signing. The club soon signed three more internationals for the inaugural squad — then Socceroo Kevin Muscat, Austrian Richard Kitzbichler and Belgian Geoffrey Claeys.
- Trial match #1 MV vs Oakleigh Cannons 30 April 2005 (Melbourne 2-0, Allsopp x2)
- Trial match #2 MV vs Bulleen Zebras 4 May 2005
- FIFA Club World Championship Adelaide vs MV 7 May 2005
The remainder of the squad was quickly assembled, although room was left for signings before Melbourne played its first competitive match against Adelaide United in a World Club Championship qualifier. Unfortunately, this resulted in an inconsistent first season. Although highlights included a 5–0 win over major rivals Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory finished as the worst Australian team (ahead of the New Zealand Knights), whilst Sydney, their major rivals went on to win the first A-League Championship.
The Victory continued the sister-city relationship between Melbourne and Tianjin by playing against Chinese Super League Club Tianjin Teda FC annually during the off-season just like its previous NSL predecessors, for the Lord Mayor's Cup.
Melbourne Victory are considered a broad-based club, appealing to all nationalities. The team colours — navy blue and white — are traditionally Victorian state colours.
Early Years 2005–2010
It was widely believed that Melbourne Victory would be contenders for the A-League championship but their inaugural season in the Hyundai A-League was anything but — the team only managed seven wins out of twenty-one matches, finishing second last.
The season saw Melbourne Victory sign two returning Socceroos, (Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat). The highlight of the season was the 5–0 thrashing of eventual champions Sydney FC (with 2 goals from Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat, and one from Richard Kitzbichler). At the end of the season the Melbourne Victory player of the year award was handed to Kevin Muscat, and the club top goal scorer going to Archie Thompson.
Melbourne began the 2006–2007 Hyundai A-League season hoping to vastly improve on their 7th place in the inaugural 2005–2006 season. Coach Ernie Merrick had made a number of off-season signings to bolster the squad with skill and experience including 3 Brazilians Alessandro, Claudinho, Fred along with Scottish Premier League player Grant Brebner. After a hugely successful round 2 fixture against Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium which attached the largest home and away crowd for regular club match, Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to the new venue Melbourne would become the first team to complete the A-League double in the history of the competition; clinching the premiership against the New Zealand Knights 4–0 at Olympic Park with 4 rounds of competition remaining, then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the grand final at a sold out Etihad Stadium to take the championship. Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 Asian Champions League as A-League Champions.
Looking to capitalise on their successful 2006–07 campaign, Melbourne made some strong off-season signs including former Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic and Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández to cover the hole left by the departure of Fred to MLS club D.C. United. Again with the league largest crowds and a record membership of over 20,000, Melbourne were undefeated after 7 rounds but the season would slip away with some poor home performances and a mounting injury list. A late season rally gave Melbourne a hope of making the finals up to the second last round but they would finish 5th, 4 points out of the finals. Melbourne became the first side in A-League history to score 100 goals, reaching the mark after 65 games, with their first goal against Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium on 11 January 2008. The 2008 Asian Champions League campaign started with a 2–0 home victory of Korean side Chunnam Dragons but inexperience was to show with the team not able to adapt to the East Asian style and long away trips.
The 2008–09 season brought the start of the A-League Youth League and the introduction of the W-League. Melbourne fielded teams in both competitions. Melbourne actively recruited, bringing in Socceroo Michael Thwaite, Costa Rican World Cup player José Luis López as well as Ney Fabiano from Asian Champions League rivals Chonburi FC.
Melbourne's season got off to an optimal start, winning the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. A 0–0 draw resulted in a penalty shoot-out, Victory winning 8–7 against the Wellington Phoenix.
After grabbing the Pre-Season Cup, the Victory were held to a 0–0 draw away against Sydney FC. They reinforced their premiership favouritism by coasting to 4–2 and 5–0 victories against Wellington Phoenix and the Newcastle Jets. Despite this, they succumbed 0–2 to an undermanned Sydney side at Etihad Stadium in front of 32,000 fans.
On the 6th of December, they became the 1st A-League club to amass total crowd figures of 1,000,000.
On the 24th of January, Melbourne Victory won its final game of the season against Wellington Phoenix . The 2–0 win in front of 29,904 fans placed Victory ahead of Adelaide United on goals scored for the premiership title, a margin United failed to achieve in its 1–0 win over the Central Coast Mariners.
The Victory kicked off their finals campaign on 7 February 2009 in the major semi-final first leg against bitter rival Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, a game which was won courtesy of goals from Costa Rican Carlos Hernández and Danny Allsopp. The second leg would see Melbourne demolish Adelaide United 4–0 with goals from Thompson, Hernandez, Allsopp and Pondlejak, granting Melbourne passage to the Grand Final on a 6–0 aggregate. Adelaide then defeated Queensland to set up a rematch with Melbourne in the Grand Final, which the Victory won 1–0 with Tom Pondeljak scoring in the 59th minute to regain the A-League Championship and becoming the fist A-League team to win their 2nd Championship.
In, 2009–2010, Greek gambling giant Intralot became the Melbourne Victory's new major sponsor to replace Samsung. Their logo now features on the front of Melbourne Victory's new strip.
The Victory made some off-season changes by releasing Steve Pantelidis and Michael Thwaite to Gold Coast United, Sebastian Ryall to Sydney FC & Veteran goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos ended his contract and later joined Norwich City F.C.. Moreover, José Luis López Ramírez had been terminated from his loan from Deportivo Saprissa & Daniel Allsopp moved to Al Rayyan.
Several new signing were made, bringing goalkeeper Glen Moss from Wellington Phoenix, Thai midfielder Surat Sukha from Chonburi FC, the promotion of Mathew Theodore and Matthew Foschini from the youth squad and the permanent signing of veteran Carlos Hernández from L.D. Alajuelense for three years (after his two year loan). Meanwhile Mate Dugandzic was signed from Melbourne Knights, Robbie Kruse from Brisbane Roar, Marvin Angulo from Club Sport Herediano& Sutee Suksomkit as nine match guest player. On December 1, 2009 it was revealed that Ney Fabiano was leaving Melbourne had signed a contract with Thai Premier League team Bangkok Glass FC for the 2010 season.
Melbourne Victory was drawn into group E in 2010 AFC Champions League along with Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, Beijing Guoan & Kawasaki Frontale.
Corporate
Geoff Lord and his partners have become the sole owners of Melbourne after buying out the shares held by Football Federation Australia.
Victory struggled to raise the initial $5 million equity capital to join the A-League three years ago and the FFA helped the club over the line by contributing franchise and set-up fees of about $500,000.
The FFA took a ten per cent holding in the club in return, as well as having a representative on the Victory board.
The shareholding was offered back to the club in 2007 and Lord and his partners — including Ron Peck, Richard Wilson and John Harris — raised the money to buy the shares.
Sponsors
On 27 October 2005, South Korean electronics giant Samsung became the club's major sponsor in a two year deal. This would ensure that Samsung would have their logo feature on the front and the back of Victory's home and away kits. Prior to the 2006–07 season KFC announced they would also be one of Victory's shirt sponsor's, with their logo appearing on the sleeve of Victory's home and away kits. On 28 January 2009 Samsung said that they would not be renewing their sponsorship for the 2009–10 Hyundai A-League season.
Intralot became the Melbourne Victory's new major sponsor when they signed a two season $2 million dollar contract on 4 May 2009. Their logo now features on the front of Melbourne Victory's new playing strip.[3]
On Friday August 6th, it was announced that law firm Florin Burhala Lawyers became Melbourne Victory's official shorts sponsor for the 2010-11 season[4].
Colours and badge
Melbourne's kit colours are navy blue, silver and white (hence the alternate nickname of the Blues/Navy Blues), which encompass the traditional state sporting colours of Victoria. In the first A-League season, only the club badge displayed a chevron, known colloquially as the "Big V", a symbol traditionally used by the Victoria Australian rules football team. In the 2006–07 season the away strip was changed to a grey jersey with a white chevron on the front. This was an immediate hit with the club's supporters, and from the 2007–08 season onwards the Melbourne's home jersey also sported the white chevron on the front. A new kit was introduced for the 2008 AFC Champions League due to AFC rules requiring kits to have player numbers on the front of the uniform as well as the back, which would not fit well with the 'V' on the Victory's regular kit. For the 2009–10 season, Melbourne changed their away jersey to be a reverse of their home jersey; a white shirt with a blue chevron.
A-League
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AFC
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Stadium
Melbourne were originally based at the 50 year old Olympic Park stadium, where they played all home matches during the 2005–06 A-League season. This stadium has seated areas only on the wings, with standing-room sandy terraces on the north and south ends. The average crowd during the first year was a healthy 14,158.
On September 2, 2006, Melbourne Victory played Sydney FC at the 56,000 capacity Telstra Dome. The match was a runaway success in terms of crowds, with 39,730 in attendance. Due to this the club moved all home games to 'the Dome' bar one against the New Zealand Knights due to a Robbie Williams concert at the Dome.
This move to such a large stadium was viewed with scepticism by many, but proved to be an outstanding success, with the Grand Final held there. The average attendance rose to 27,728 for the 2006/07 season, 10,000 above the next highest in the A-League. However, some of the Victory's active supporter groups have little affection for "The Dome", citing over-zealous security restrictions for hampering their efforts on match day.
Prior to the 2006–07 season the club had planned to move to a new stadium being built to the east of the current Olympic Park complex. The AAMI Park was originally expected to seat approximately 20,000 spectators (expandable to 25,000) and was to be completed in time for the start of the 2008–09 campaign.
These plans have since been revised after the Victory refused to commit to playing at such a small capacity stadium. On May 23, 2007, the club announced it had signed as a founding co-tenant of the new stadium, which would now be built to accommodate a maximum of 30,050 spectators with further renovations to 50,000 possible.
Etihad Stadium continued to serve as the club's only home ground until the completion of AAMI Park. The club will split its home games between the new stadium and Etihad Stadium from the 2010-2011 A-League campaign onwards; the games of less importance or potential drawing power at the new stadium and the 'blockbusters' and finals matches at Etihad Stadium.
Rivalry
Rivalry exists with Sydney FC, Melbourne Heart and Adelaide United. Victory have recorded big wins against Adelaide (6–0 in the 2006–07 Grand Final) and Sydney (5–0 during the 2005–06 Season).
Sydney is considered Melbourne's major rival, due to Melbourne and Sydney being Australia's two largest cities (see Melbourne-Sydney rivalry). Matches between the two teams are regularly controversial and bitter encounters. Strong tensions are also emerging between the supporters from opposing teams, evident in the sell-out crowds, and Sydney's regular large travelling group of away supporters. The rivalry between the two teams was escalated further after Sydney beat Melbourne in the final match of the 2009/2010 season to win the A-League Premiership, and again beat Melbourne in the 2010 A-League Grand Final.
Adelaide is Melbourne's geographical rival as it is the closest team to Melbourne in Australia (see Melbourne-Adelaide Rivalry). This rivalry also stems from the other football codes, where the interstate rivalry is big between Victorians and South Australians.
Rivalry has also built up from previous encounters, when an incident between the then Adelaide United manager, John Kosmina, and Victory skipper Kevin Muscat took place during a sideline altercation during a match in the 2006–07 season, and when Victory striker Ney Fabiano allegedly spat in the direction of Adelaide defender Robert Cornthwaite during Round 4 in the 2008–09 season. Ney Fabiano was banned for 6 matches.[5] Victory and Adelaide contested both the 2006–07 and 2008–09 Grand Finals, with Melbourne winning both.
The FFA has announced that Melbourne Heart will enter the competition in the 2010-11 season. This is anticipated to create a rivalry (and a local derby) more fierce than those with Sydney FC and Adelaide United.
Supporters
Melbourne Victory has the largest supporter base in the A-League, and has consistently set membership and attendance records since its establishment[6].
Current Squads
Senior Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Youth squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Women's squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Notable former players
See also List of Melbourne Victory FC players
Below is a list of notable footballers who have previously played for the Melbourne Victory. Generally, this means players that have played 50 or more first-class matches for the club. However, some players who have played fewer matches are also included, as are the club's integral founding members, where integral members of a championship winning team, have at least one senior international cap or made significant contributions to the club's history.
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Australia
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Austria
Belgium
Brazil
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Costa Rica
England
Thailand
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Affiliated Clubs
Tianjin Teda FC
Chonburi F.C.
Personnel
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Senior Club Officials
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Senior Squad Coaching and Medical staff
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Youth Squad Coaching Staff
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W-League Team Coaching Staff
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Coaches
- 2005–Present Ernie Merrick
Honours
- Club
- A-League Premiership:
- Premiers (2): 2006-07, 2008-09
- Runners-Up (1): 2009-10
- A-League Championship:
- Champions (2): 2006-07, 2008-09
- Runners-Up (1): 2009-10
- A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
- Champions (1): 2008-09
- QNI North Queensland Trophy
- Winners (1) 2006
- Lord Mayors Cup
- Winners (1) 2007
- Individual
List of Individual award winners who won awards while playing for Melbourne Victory FC.
- A-League Golden Boot Winners
- - 2005/06: Archie Thompson *
- - 2006/07: Daniel Allsopp
- Joe Marston Medal Winners
- - 2006/07: Archie Thompson
- - 2008/09: Tom Pondeljak
- A-League Rising Star
- - 2006/07: Adrian Leijer
- A-League Goalkeeper of the Year
- - 2006/07: Michael Theoklitos
- - 2007/08: Michael Theoklitos
- A-League Coach of the Year
- - 2006/07: Ernie Merrick
- - 2009/10: Ernie Merrick
- A-League Johnny Warren Medallist
- - 2009/10:
Carlos Hernandez
(*) Indicates co-winner
Year-by-year history
| Season | Teams | Pre-Season | Premiership Ladder Position |
Finals Qualification |
Final Ladder Position |
ACL Qualification | ACL Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 8 | Semi-Final | 7th | DNQ | 7th | DNQ | n/a |
| 2006–07 | 8 | 5th | Premiers | Qualified | Champions | Qualified for 2008 | DNQ |
| 2007–08 | 8 | 8th | 5th | DNQ | 5th | DNQ | Group Stages (2nd) |
| 2008–09 | 8 | Winners | Premiers | Qualified | Champions | Qualified for 2010 | DNQ |
| 2009–10 | 10 | - | 2nd | Qualified | 2nd | Qualified for 2011 | Group Stages (4th) |
| 2010–11 | 11 | - | - | - | - | - | Group Stages |
Records and statistics
For detailed records and statistics see Records and Statistics
Records
- Record Victory: 6–0 vs Adelaide United, A-League Grand Final, February 18, 2007
- Record Defeat: 0–4 (twice): vs Newcastle Jets, January 19, 2007 and vs Central Coast Mariners, November 7, 2009
- Record Home Defeat: 0–4 vs Central Coast Mariners, November 7, 2009
- Record High Attendance: 55,436 vs Adelaide United, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, February 18, 2007
- Record High Attendance (Season): 50,333 vs Sydney FC, Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, December 8, 2006
- Most Goals by a Player in a Game: 5 - Archie Thompson, A-League Grand Final, February 18, 2007
- Most Wins in a Row: 8 - February 4, 2006 – October 8, 2006
- Highest Season Average Attendance: 27,728 - A-League 2006–07
- All-time Leading Goal Scorer: Archie Thompson - 50 goals (as of May 15, 2010)
- A-League Leading Goal Scorer: Archie Thompson - 49 goals (as of May 15, 2010)
- Most Goals In a Regular season: Carlos Hernández - 12 goals, A-League 2009–10
- All-time Leading Appearances: Kevin Muscat - 111 appearances (as of May 15, 2010)
- A-League Leading Appearances: Archie Thompson - 102 appearances (as of May 15, 2010)
- Longest Period Without Conceding a Goal: 475 minutes - January 11, 2009 – August 6, 2009 Goalkeeper Michael Theoklitos
Leading Scorers
Last updated April 28, 2010,
- Competitive, professional matches only, appearances including substitutes appear in brackets.
| Name | Years | A-League | Finals | ACL | Total | Games per goal | |
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| 1 | Archie Thompson |
2005/06 - | 42 (94) | 7 (8) | 1 (4) | 50 (106) | 2.12 |
| 2 | Danny Allsopp |
2005/06 - 2009 | 33 (83) | 3 (6) | 3 (6) | 39 (95) | 2.45 |
| 3 | Kevin Muscat |
2005/06 - | 26 (92) | 0 (9) | 3 (10) | 29 (111) | 3.83 |
| 4 | Carlos Hernández |
2007/08 - | 18 (63) | 3 (6) | 1 (8) | 22 (77) | 3.50 |
| 5 | Tom Pondeljak |
2008/09 - | 4 (40) | 1 (5) | 1 (5) | 7 (50) | 7.14 |
| 6= |  Ney Fabiano |
2008/09 - 2009/10 | 6 (29) | 1 (1) | 0 (0) | 6 (30) | 5.00 |
| 6= | Adrian Caceres |
2006/07 - 2007/08 | 6 (40) | 0 (2) | 0 (5) | 6 (47) | 7.83 |
| 6= | Rodrigo Vargas |
2006/07 - | 4 (87) | 0 (9) | 2 (11) | 6 (107) | 17.83 |
| 9= |  Richard Kitzbichler |
2005/06 | 5 (18) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 5 (18) | 3.60 |
| 9= | Robbie Kruse |
2009/10 - | 4 (18) | 1 (2) | 0 (4) | 5 (24) | 4.80 |
| 9= | Nick Ward |
2007/08 - | 5 (39) | 0 (5) | 0 (12) | 5 (56) | 11.20 |
| 12= | Fred |
2006/07 | 4 (14) | 0 (3) | 0 (0) | 4 (17) | 4.25 |
| 12= | Grant Brebner |
2006/07 - | 4 (73) | 0 (9) | 0 (4) | 4 (86) | 21.50 |
| 12= | Adrian Leijer |
2005/06 - 2006/07, 2009/10 - | 3 (63) | 1 (6) | 0 (5) | 4 (74) | 18.50 |
Most number of appearances
- Competitive, professional matches only including substitution, number of appearances as a substitute appears in brackets.
Last updated April 28, 2010
| Name | Years | A-League | Finals | ACL | Total | |
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| 1= | Kevin Muscat |
2005/06 - | 92 (0) | 9 (0) | 10 (0) | 111 (0) |
| 2 | Rodrigo Vargas |
2006/07 - | 87 (0) | 9 (0) | 11 (0) | 107 (0) |
| 3 | Archie Thompson |
2005/06 - | 94 (2) | 8 (1) | 4 (2) | 106 (5) |
| 4 | Danny Allsopp |
2005/06 - 2009 | 83 (1) | 6 (0) | 6 (0) | 95 (1) |
| 5 | Grant Brebner |
2006/07 - | 73 (18) | 9 (3) | 4 (0) | 86 (21) |
| 6 | Michael Theoklitos |
2005/06 - 2008/09 | 67 (2) | 6 (0) | 5 (0) | 78 (2) |
| 7 | Carlos Hernández |
2007/08 - | 63 (8) | 6 (0) | 8 (3) | 77 (11) |
| 8 | Adrian Leijer |
2006/07 - 2007/08, 2009/10 - |
63 (1) | 6 (0) | 5 (0) | 74 (1) |
| 9 | Matthew Kemp |
2006/07 - | 62 (7) | 3 (0) | 6 (0) | 71 (7) |
| 10 | Leigh Broxham |
2005/06 - | 55 (16) | 4 (1) | 10 (0) | 69 (17) |
References
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-League#Crowds
- ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_A-League_champions
- ↑ http://www.mvfc.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=27316
- ↑ http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=34539
- ↑ Michael Lynch, "Muscat in fiery clash with Kosmina", The Age, 16 October 2006, Sport Section, page 6.
- ↑ http://au.fourfourtwo.com/news/60317,victory-hits-the-magic-20k-mark.aspx
External links
- Melbourne - Official website
- New Stadium - Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
- MVFC Videos Melbourne Victory Videos
| Preceded by Adelaide United |
Challenge Cup Winners 2008/09 |
Succeeded by Was Not Held |
| Preceded by Adelaide United |
A-League Premiers 2006/07 |
Succeeded by Central Coast Mariners |
| Preceded by Central Coast Mariners |
A-League Premiers 2008/09 |
Succeeded by Sydney FC |
| Preceded by Sydney FC |
A-League Champions 2006/07 |
Succeeded by Newcastle Jets |
| Preceded by Newcastle Jets |
A-League Champions 2008/09 |
Succeeded by Sydney FC |
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Brisbane Roar ·
Gold Coast United ·
Melbourne Victory ·
North Queensland Fury
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