2006–07 Sydney FC season

The 2006–07 season is Sydney FC's second season of football (soccer) in Australia. Sydney FC contested in the 2006–07 A-League, and after winning the inaugural A-League Championship in 2005–06, competed in the 2007 AFC Champions League as one of Australia's two representatives.

Pre-Season

After winning the A-League Championship in his first season with the club, head coach Pierre Littbarski signalled his intentions to remain with Sydney FC for the following season in April, whilst the club indicated that an "in-principle agreement" with Littbarski had been finalised.^[1] In May 2006 however, it was revealed that Littbarski would not accept an estimated A$250,000 pay cut to his original contract and thus decided to leave Sydney FC.^[2] Two months later, Sydney announced that they had agreed to terms with Motherwell F.C. manager and former England international Terry Butcher, who would sign a two-year deal.^[3]

During the off-season, Sydney released Andrew Packer from the final year of his contract for him to return to his home state to play for Queensland Roar,^[4] whilst signing Alex Brosque (Queensland – 3 years)^[5] and Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand – 2 years).^[6] 19-year-old Ruben Zadkovich, who was signed as short-term cover for Ufuk Talay late in the 2005–06 season, also upgraded to a two-year full-time contract with Sydney.^[7] Matthew Bingley was released from the squad due to salary cap restrictions.

A-League

Main article: A-League 2006-07

Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Group stage

The group stage of the A-League pre-season cup saw Sydney drawn with Queensland Roar FC, Newcastle United Jets and the New Zealand Knights, whilst in the "bonus round" they would face Perth Glory. Sydney decided to host their two "home" matches during the group stage in Canberra (vs Newcastle) and Wollongong (vs Perth), as well as a match in Campbelltown in the final rounds of the competition.^[8] Sydney's first match for 2006–07 was against Queensland, and featured the debut of former Queensland player Alex Brosque, as well as Nikolai Topor-Stanley, a short-term signing to cover injury to defender Jacob Timpano. Brosque scored the winning goal for Sydney against his old club with three minutes remaining. Sydney went to the top of the group with a 2-1 win over Newcastle, Topor-Stanley scoring just three minutes into his debut starting appearance, and the Jets' only goal coming from Sydney player Terry McFlynn. A scoreless draw away to New Zealand sealed Sydney's place in the semi-finals,^[9] with the "bonus round" against Perth Glory still to play. Sydney won the match 3-0, picking up two bonus points and easily finishing on top of Group B with 12 points to each other teams' three.

Results

15 July 2006	Queensland Roar FC	1–2	Sydney FC	Carrara Stadium, Gold Coast Attendance: 7,132 Referee: Peter Green
	T.Smits 30'	(Report)	S.Petrovski 16' A.Brosque 87'

22 July 2006	Sydney FC	2–1	Newcastle United Jets	Canberra Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 7,226 Referee: Ben Williams
	N.Topor-Stanley 3' R.Middleby 25'	(Report)	T.McFlynn 68' (og)

29 July 2006	New Zealand Knights FC	0–0	Sydney FC	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 3,121 Referee: Peter O'Leary
		(Report)

6 August 2006	Sydney FC	3–0	Perth Glory FC	WIN Stadium, Wollongong Attendance: 6,634 Referee: Srebre Delovski
	A.Brosque 26', 27' S.Petrovski 57'	(Report)

Group table

Team	Pts	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
Sydney FC	12	4	3	1	0	7	2
Newcastle Jets	3	4	0	2	2	4	6
New Zealand Knights ¹	3	4	0	3	1	2	3
Queensland Roar ¹	3	4	0	3	1	2	3

Knockout stages

Sydney were drawn against Adelaide United, 2nd-placed finishers in group A, in their semi-final, which was held in Wollongong. Adelaide scored first through Travis Dodd, but a goal from David Carney two minutes before half-time levelled the scores. A red card to Alvin Ceccoli for "foul and abusive language"^[10] towards referee Mark Shield after the end of the first half left the hosts with ten men for the remainder, and although Sydney managed to create several chances, Adelaide ultimately came out on top with a goal to Kristian Rees in the final minute of the match. The result left Sydney to play-off with Newcastle for third place in the competition.

The 3rd-place playoff was contested in Campbelltown in south-western Sydney. Injuries and representative duties for several of Sydney's regular players handed Terry Butcher the opportunity to give game time to backup goalkeeper Justin Pasfield, as well as trial uncontracted players such as Nikolas Tsattalios, Jason Naidovski and Steven Bozinovski.^[11] Goals to Sasho Petrovski and Mark Rudan saw Sydney win the match 2-0 and take third place in the Pre-Season Cup.

Results

Semi-Final

11 August 2006	Sydney FC	1–2	Adelaide United FC	WIN Stadium, Wollongong Attendance: 4,210 Referee: Mark Shield
	D.Carney 43'	(Report)	T.Dodd 16' K.Rees 90'

3rd-Place Playoff

19 August 2006	Sydney FC	2–0	Newcastle United Jets	Campbelltown Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 5,326 Referee: Srebre Delovski
	S.Petrovski 43' M.Rudan 68'	(Report)

Regular Season

Sydney FC's 2006–07 A-League season campaign began with a rematch against their 2005–06 Grand Final opponents, the Central Coast Mariners. Over 19,000 people turned out to see an Iain Fyfe goal seal the contest for Sydney, while goalkeeper kept a clean sheet with two especially excellent saves keeping Sydney in the match.^[12] Sydney's following match was the first played at Melbourne's Telstra Dome – a decision made because Melbourne's regular home ground of Olympic Park was unavailable,^[13] but allowed an A-League record attendance of almost 40,000 to see the match. After just 13 minutes, Sydney were behind 2-0 to Melbourne, with captain Mark Rudan having been sent off for retaliation. Coach Terry Butcher praised the "spirit" of the Sydney team as they outscored Melbourne for the remainder of the match,^[14] but Sydney could not level the scores as Melbourne took the match 3-2. Two days before the Melbourne match it was confirmed that Sydney FC's marquee player Dwight Yorke would be leaving the club for English Championship team Sunderland for a reported £200,000 transfer fee.^[15] Whilst Yorke still had one season remaining on his original contract with Sydney, the club were not committed to extending his contract and could not compete with the salary rise offered by Sunderland.^[16]

With two draws and a win in their following three matches leaving them sitting in third position after five rounds, Sydney welcomed the arrival of Italian Benito Carbone for a four-match "guest stint".^[17] The 35-year-old had an instant impact, setting up goals for Ruben Zadkovich and Sasho Petrovski before scoring one of his own as Sydney ran away 4-1 winners over rivals Adelaide at Hindmarsh Stadium. The performance had Carbone touted as a possible marquee replacement for Dwight Yorke,^[18] but a management re-shuffle, which saw chairman Walter Bugno replaced by Edmund Capon and CEO Tim Parker by George Perry, forced Sydney to focus on financial stability in their second season and eventually led to the loss of Carbone.^[19] Carbone's final appearance for Sydney, in an away match against the Central Coast, was the first in a string of four consecutive matches in which Sydney scored an early goal but failed to win the match. The run coincided with a large injury list for Sydney, travelling to Newcastle with a squad of just 13 players despite the return of Matthew Bingley on a short-term contract.^[20] The return of David Carney, however, saw a 4-0 win over the New Zealand Knights, which sparked a streak of six matches in which Sydney conceded just one goal. This gave Sydney a run of eight matches undefeated heading into the Christmas break, where they sat second on the ladder.

Sydney began the 2007 well, with a 2-0 away win over the Newcastle Jets on New Year's Day. The result ensured that Sydney retained second position and their one-point margin over Adelaide United on the table despite the deduction of three points due to salary cap breaches. In the following match, against New Zealand, Sydney's run of 542 minutes without conceding a goal came to an end, as did their nine-match unbeaten streak. A 1-0 loss to Adelaide in the penultimate round dropped Sydney to third position, and following Newcastle's 4-0 win over Melbourne in the first match of the final round, left Sydney needing to secure at least a point against Queensland Roar in order to finish in the top four. They did so, earning a 1-1 draw and thus scraping into the finals on goal difference ahead of Queensland.

Salary cap breaches

It was revealed in late 2004, shortly after the launch of the A-League, that the competition's salary cap rules included unrestricted concessions for "service agreements" – off-field earnings from sponsors to players in return for additional services. Then-chairman Walter Bugno confirmed that Sydney would be including service agreements in players' contracts, but denied that Sydney had contravened any rules regarding salaries whilst speculation mounted that Sydney had already exceeded the salary cap and the FFA announced a zero tolerance policy for breaches in the area.^[21] During the 2006–07 season, the FFA announced that Sydney had been found guilty of salary cap breaches regarding the 2005–06 season. Although the FFA would not divulge the nature of the breach, Sydney CEO Tim Parker attributed it to Sydney's unexpectedly heavy schedule which saw them play in the 2005 Oceania Club Championship, 2005 FIFA Club World Championship and the A-League finals series – preventing players from completing the additional services for which they were paid.^[22] Sydney were fined $89,000 and penalised one competition point, but the fine was reduced to $44,000 and the point penalty suspended due to the Sydney FC administration's co-operation with FFA investigations.

One month after the initial penalty, in September 2006, it was announced that the FFA would again be investigating alleged discrepancies regarding the contract of a Sydney FC player.^[23] The investigation concluded that Sydney had committed multiple breaches of the player contracting regulations: "an undisclosed payment made to a player, pre-payments from the club to players and payments made by the club to agents of the players", all of which should have been, but were not included in Sydney's declaration of player payments for 2005–06. FFA Management assessed that the severity of the breaches warranted a $259,000 fine for Sydney as well as a penalty of three competition points, but this was again reduced in consideration of Sydney's co-operation with the investigation. Sydney's final penalty was a $129,000 fine along with the deduction of three competition points (including the activation of the one point suspended penalty from the earlier breach), with a suspended automatic one point penalty should Sydney be found to be in breach of contracting regulations in 2006–07 or 2007–08.^[24] Sydney "reluctantly accepted" the decision and elected not to appeal the penalty,^[25] which left them still in second position with three premiership rounds remaining, but their gap back to Adelaide United was reduced to a single point.

Results

Round 1

27 August 2006	Sydney FC	1–0	Central Coast Mariners FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 19,274 Referee: Mark Shield
	I.Fyfe 52'	(Report)

Round 2

2 September 2006	Melbourne Victory	3–2	Sydney FC	Telstra Dome, Melbourne Attendance: 39,730 Referee: Mark Shield
	D.Allsopp 8', 51' K.Muscat 11' (pen)	(Report)	I.Fyfe 18' R.Vargas 83' (og)

Round 3

10 September 2006	Perth Glory FC	1–1	Sydney FC	Members Equity Stadium, Perth Attendance: 8,052 Referee: Simon Przydacz
	J.Coyne 71'	(Report)	S.Petrovski 38'

Round 4

17 September 2006	Sydney FC	2–2	Newcastle United Jets	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 15,488 Referee: Matthew Breeze
	S.Corica 33' (pen) D.Zdrilic 38'	(Report)	M.Rodriguez 45+1', 62'

Round 5

21 September 2006	New Zealand Knights FC	0–1	Sydney FC	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 2,764 Referee: Ben Williams
		(Report)	M.Rudan 58'

Round 6

2 October 2006	Adelaide United FC	1–4	Sydney FC	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 15,119 Referee: Mark Shield
	N.Burns 54'	(Report)	R.Zadkovich 36' T.Dodd 57' (og) S.Petrovski 80' B.Carbone 85'

Round 7

8 October 2006	Sydney FC	1–1	Queensland Roar FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 17,274 Referee: Matthew Breeze
	A.Ceccoli 45+1'	(Report)	S.Dilevski 15'

Round 8

13 October 2006	Central Coast Mariners FC	3–1	Sydney FC	Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Attendance: 11,567 Referee: Simon Przydacz
	D.Mori 53', 90' P.O'Grady 40'	(Report)	B.Carbone 12'

Round 9

21 October 2006	Sydney FC	1–2	Melbourne Victory FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 20,881 Referee: Mark Shield
	S.Corica 9'	(Report)	A.Thompson 50', 73'

Round 10

29 October 2006	Sydney FC	1–1	Perth Glory FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 12,316 Referee: Ben Williams
	D.Zdrilic 15'	(Report)	L.Glavas 75'

Round 11

4 November 2006	Newcastle United Jets	1–1	Sydney FC	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 8,493 Referee: Mark Shield
	T.Brown 86'	(Report)	D.Zdrilic 14'

Round 12

10 November 2006	Sydney FC	4–0	New Zealand Knights FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 9,871 Referee: Angelo Nardi
	S.Petrovski 37', 53' D.Zdrilic 65' D.Carney 89'	(Report)

Round 13

19 November 2006	Sydney FC	2–1	Adelaide United FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 14,308 Referee: Matthew Breeze
	U.Talay 15' (pen) M.Rudan 22'	(Report)	R.Aloisi 9'

Round 14

24 November 2006	Sydney FC	3–0	Queensland Roar FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 12,718 Referee: Ben Williams
	U.Talay 23' (pen) S.Corica 64' R.Middleby 89'	(Report)

Round 15

3 December 2006	Central Coast Mariners FC	0–0	Sydney FC	Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Attendance: 12,457 Referee: Matthew Breeze
		(Report)

Round 16

8 December 2006	Melbourne Victory	0–0	Sydney FC	Telstra Dome, Melbourne Attendance: 50,333 Referee: Mark Shield
		(Report)

Round 17

14 December 2006	Sydney FC	1–0	Perth Glory FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 11,816 Referee: Simon Przydacz
	A.Brosque 80'	(Report)

Round 18

1 January 2007	Newcastle United Jets	0–2	Sydney FC	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 20,980 Referee: Matthew Breeze
		(Report)	A.Brosque 46' S.Petrovski 90+1'

Round 19

7 January 2007	Sydney FC	0–1	New Zealand Knights FC	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 16,040 Referee: Simon Przydacz
		(Report)	C.Bunce 11'

Round 20

14 January 2007	Adelaide United FC	1–0	Sydney FC	Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide Attendance: 14,704 Referee: Matthew Breeze
	Fernando 89'	(Report)

Round 21

20 January 2007	Queensland Roar FC	1–1	Sydney FC	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 32,371 Referee: Mark Shield
	D.Mori 20'	(Report)	A.Brosque 13'

Table

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Melbourne Victory	21	14	3	4	41	20	+21	45
Adelaide United	21	10	3	8	32	27	+5	33
Newcastle Jets	21	8	6	7	32	30	+2	30
Sydney FC	21	8	8	5	29	19	+10	29
Queensland Roar	21	8	5	8	25	27	-2	29
Central Coast Mariners	21	6	6	9	22	26	-4	24
Perth Glory	21	5	5	11	24	30	-6	20
New Zealand Knights	21	5	4	12	13	39	-26	19

Finals series

Having finished fourth overall, Sydney are played third-placed Newcastle United Jets in a two-legged sudden-death match for the chance to progress to the preliminary final. Despite winning the first leg 2-1, Sydney lost the return game 2-0, losing 3-2 on aggregate and being eliminated from the finals series.

Results

Minor Semi-Final Leg 1

26 January 2007 20:00	Sydney FC	2–1	Newcastle United Jets	Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 21,122 Referee: Peter Green
	Alex Brosque 15' Mark Milligan 30';	(Report) (Summary)	Milton Rodriguez 71';

Minor Semi-Final Leg 2

2 February 2007 20:00	Newcastle United Jets	2–0	Sydney FC	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 24,338 Referee: Matthew Breeze
	Joel Griffiths 57' Vaughan Coveny 71';	(Report) (Summary)

Following the completion of the A-League season, Terry Butcher resigned as Sydney FC coach.^[26] He was replaced by Branko Culina, who was appointed as interim coach for the club's AFC Champions League campaign on 13 February 2007.^[27]

Post season

Asian Champions League

Main article: 2007 AFC Champions League

As 2005-06 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. The draw took place in Kuala Lumpur on 22 December 2006. Sydney were placed into Group E along with J.League 2006 Champions Urawa Reds, Chinese Super League 2006 Runners-up Shanghai Shenhua and Liga Indonesia 2005-06 Champions Persik Kediri.

Group matches were played from March to May 2007, each team playing each other at home and away. Sydney made an impressive start, defeating Shanghai away and holding Urawa to a draw at Aussie Stadium. A shock loss to Persik in Indonesia was followed up by a 3-0 win in Sydney two weeks later, but disappointing scoreless draws in the final two matches against Shanghai and Urawa meant Sydney finished second in their group and Urawa progressed to the next stage.

Friendly matches

As part of Sydney's ACL campaign, a number of friendly matches were arranged against local clubs, and a match against the Malaysian national team. These matches were generally a part of preparations for upcoming ACL matches (as Australian clubs are not playing as regularly as other Asian domestic leagues) and also to build connections with the NSW football community.

21 February 2007	Sutherland Sharks	1–1	Sydney FC	Seymour Shaw Park, Sydney
	Jimmy Lawrence	(Report)	Alex Brosque	Seymour Shaw Park, Sydney

28 February 2007	Blacktown City Demons	0–2	Sydney FC	Fairfax Community Stadium, Sydney
		(Report)	David Carney Iain Fyfe	Fairfax Community Stadium, Sydney

14 March 2007	Wollongong Wolves	2–3	Sydney FC	Judy Masters Oval, Wollongong
	Ballamodou Conde Josh Swinton	(Report)	David Zdrilic Michael Enfield Luka Glavas	Judy Masters Oval, Wollongong

4 April 2007	Marconi Stallions	0-3	Sydney FC	Marconi Stadium, Sydney
		(Report)	Nikolai Topor-Stanley Luka Glavas Adam Casey	Marconi Stadium, Sydney

18 April 2007	Bankstown City Lions	1–2	Sydney FC	Jensen Oval, Sydney Attendance: ~3,000
	Nahuel Arrarte	(Report)	Alex Brosque David Carney	Jensen Oval, Sydney Attendance: ~3,000

2 May 2007	Penrith Nepean United	2–2	Sydney FC	CUA Stadium, Sydney Attendance: ~4,000
	Danny Wells (pen) Brad Boardman	(Report)	David Zdrillic (2)	CUA Stadium, Sydney Attendance: ~4,000

16 May 2007	Sydney FC	2–0	Malaysia	Sydney United Sports Centre, Sydney
	Noel Spencer David Zdrillic	(Report)		Sydney United Sports Centre, Sydney

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Clint Bolton
2	DF	Iain Fyfe
3	DF	Alvin Ceccoli
3	DF	Nikolas Tsattalios
4	DF	Mark Rudan (captain)
5	MF	Noel Spencer
6	MF	Ufuk Talay
7	MF	Robbie Middleby
8	MF	Ruben Zadkovich
9	FW	David Zdrilic
10	MF	Steve Corica
11	FW	Sasho Petrovski
12	MF	David Carney
13	FW	Jeremy Brockie
14	FW	Alex Brosque

No.	Position	Player
15	MF	Terry McFlynn
16	DF	Mark Milligan
17	DF	Jacob Timpano
18	FW	Adam Casey
19	FW	Dwight Yorke
19	FW	Luka Glavas
20/23	GK	Justin Pasfield
20	GK	Dean Bouzanis (on loan from Liverpool FC)
21/11	DF	Nikolai Topor-Stanley
22	MF	Matthew Bingley (short term contract)
23	MF	Benito Carbone (guest player)
27	MF	Joel Theissen (short term contract)
28	MF	Tallan Martin (short term contract)
30	FW	Jonas Salley (short term contract)

Coaches: Terry Butcher, Branko Culina

Transfers

In

Player	From	Fee	Date	Contract length
Alex Brosque	Queensland Roar FC	—	11 February 2006	3 years^[5]
Ruben Zadkovich	Sydney FC (promoted from short-term deal)	—	5 March 2006	2 years^[7]
Jeremy Brockie	New Zealand Knights FC	—	16 March 2006	2 years^[6]
Adam Casey	New Zealand Knights FC	—	30 January 2007	2 years^[28]^[29]
Dean Bouzanis	Liverpool FC (on loan)	—	4 February 2007	to Jan 2008^[30]
Nikolai Topor-Stanley	Sydney FC (promoted from short-term deal)	—	13 February 2007	4 months (ACL)
Noel Spencer	Central Coast Mariners	—	13 February 2007	6 months^[31]
Nikolas Tsattalios	NSW Institute of Sport	—	13 February 2007	4 months (ACL)^[32]
Luka Glavas	Perth Glory	—	13 February 2007	4 months (ACL)^[32]^[33]

Out

Player	To	Fee	Date	Notes
Matthew Bingley	Released	—
Andrew Packer	Queensland Roar FC	—	23 March 2006	Released early from two-year contract^[4]
Dwight Yorke	Sunderland AFC	A$500,000^[34]	31 August 2006	Released early from two-year contract^[16]
Sasho Petrovski	Central Coast Mariners	—	12 February 2007	Released early (contract to end April 2007)^[35]
Wade Oostendorp	Released	—
Alvin Ceccoli	Avispa Fukuoka	—	16 February 2007	Released^[36]
Jeremy Brockie	Released	—	6 March 2007	Released early for personal reasons^[37]

Short-term signings

Player	From	Fee	Start date	End date	Reason
Nikolai Topor-Stanley	Manly United FC	—	7 July 2006	24 November 2006	Injury cover for Jacob Timpano and Ruben Zadkovich^[38]^[39]
Matthew Bingley	Hamilton Olympic	—	5 September 2006	5 November 2006	Injury cover for Robbie Middleby^[20]
Joel Theissen		—	7 September 2006	30 October 2006	Injury cover for David Carney^[40]
Benito Carbone	Unattached	—	28 September 2006	17 October 2006	Four-match "guest stint", released early due to injury^[41]
Tallan Martin	Sydney United	—	17 January 2007	26 January 2007	Two-match contract to cover for Jeremy Brockie (international duty with New Zealand).^[42]
Nikolai Topor-Stanley		—	18 January 2007	2 February 2007	Injury cover for Jacob Timpano.^[43]
Jonas Salley	New Zealand Knights FC	—	31 January 2007	2 February 2007	Injury cover for Terry McFlynn for remainder of finals series.^[44]

Team kit

Sydney retained playing strip from the previous season, supplied by Reebok, and shirt sponsorship with Healthe continued. The home and away strips were modified for the club's Asian Champions League campaign in early 2007, adding a gold trim for the tournament.

2006-07 home colours

2006-07 away colours

2006-07 goalkeeper

References

^ "Littbarski extends Sydney FC contract". The Age (Melbourne). 13 April 2006. http://www.theage.com.au/news/Sport/Littbarski-extends-Sydney-FC-contract/2006/04/13/1144521454394.html. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "Littbarski walks". The World Game. 3 May 2006. http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=70407. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "Butcher signs two year contract with Sydney FC". 17 May 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3926. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Sydney FC releases Packer for family reasons". 23 March 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3926. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Brosque confirms Sydney move". 11 February 2006. http://www.qldroar.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3337. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Kiwi Jeremy Brockie signs two year Sydney FC deal". 16 March 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3675. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Zadkovich inks two year Sydney FC deal". 5 March 2006. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060822041916/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3597. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "Sydney FC to play in Canberra and Wollongong". 26 May. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3980. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "Sydney FC qualifies for semis after 0-0 draw". 29 July 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821034102/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4417. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "10-man Sydney goes down 2-1 to Adelaide". 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821050903/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4587. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ "Sydney FC takes third spot". The World Game. 19 August 2006. http://www.theworldgame.com.au/home/index.php?pid=st&cid=74264. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
^ Collins, Ben (27 August 2006). "New season, same scoreline". http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4807&pageid=18. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ "Dome away from home announced for blockbuster". 1 May 2006. http://www.melbournevictory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=3826. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ "Butcher extremely proud of Sydney FC players". 6 September 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4904. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ "Yorke completes Sunderland move". BBC Sport. 31 August 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/5300876.stm. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b Timms, Aaron (2 September 2006). "Yorke's parting shot". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/yorkes-parting-shot/2006/09/01/1156817102921.html?page=fullpage. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ "Sydney FC set to unleash Carbone in Adelaide". 2 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061215001446/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=5324. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ Cockerill, Michael (4 October 2006). "Beni makes his case for full-time role but star quality won't come cheap". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/beni-makes-his-case-for-fulltime-role/2006/10/03/1159641325023.html. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ "Budget FC closes door on Benito". Fox Sports. 7 November 2006. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20710852-23215,00.html. Retrieved 28 December 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Bingley remains on board to ease player shortage". 31 October 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=5724. Retrieved 30 December 2006.
^ "A-League cap-holes exposed". The World Game. 28 December 2004. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071011091046/http://www.theworldgame.com.au/a-league/index.php?pid=st&cid=53112. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Sydney fined for contract breaches". The Australian. 28 August 2006. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20276750-23215,00.html. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ Smithies, Tom (16 September 2006). "FFA probe Sydney player deal". Fox Sports. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,20420023-23215,00.html. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Sydney FC penalised for regulations breach". 29 December 2006. http://www.a-league.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=6486. Retrieved 3 January 2007.
^ "Sydney FC not to appeal FFA sanctions". 4 January 2007. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=6546&pageid=489. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ News Display
^ "Branko is Sydney's man". Fox Sports. 13 February 2007. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,,21218247-23215,00.html?from=public_rss.
^ "Adam Casey Signs for Sydney". http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=6885&pageid=492. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
^ "New deals for Corica and Bolton". http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,21143462-5000940,00.html. Retrieved 2 February 2007.
^ "How A Sydney kid made cut at one of the greatest clubs". Sydney Morning Herald. 4 February 2007. http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/how-a-sydney-kid-made-cut-at-one-of-the-greatest-clubs/2007/02/03/1169919584241.html. Retrieved 4 February 2007.
^ "Sacked Mariners skipper thrown a lifeline". ABC News. 14 February 2007. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070218083137/http://www.abc.net.au/sport/content/200702/s1847716.htm. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
^ ^a ^b Cockerill, Michael (14 February 2007). "Culina granted audition as Sydney coach". Sydney Morning Herald (Melbourne). http://www.theage.com.au/news/soccer/culina-poised-to-make-early-mark/2007/02/14/1171405294352.html. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
^ "Perth Glory Squad Changes". perthglory.com.au. 25 January 2007. http://www.perthglory.com.au/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=6829&pageid=204. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
^ Transfer fee of £200,000; "Yorke completes Sunderland move". BBC Sport. 31 August 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/s/sunderland/5300876.stm. Retrieved 15 August 2007.
^ News Display
^ "Ceccoli trades Sydney for Japan". AAP. 16 February 2007. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21237702-23215,00.html.
^ News Display
^ "Sydney FC signs Topor-Stanley on short term deal". 7 July 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821034553/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4207. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ "Nikolai Topor-Stanley gets another four weeks". 14 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 August 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060821051330/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4608. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ "Zadkovich returns to ease player shortage". 7 September 2006. http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=4970. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ "Injury ends Benito Carbone's Sydney FC career". 17 October 2006. Archived from the original on 15 December 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20061215001247/http://www.sydneyfc.com/default.aspx?s=newsdisplay&id=5530. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
^ Cockerill, Michael (17 January 2007). "Butcher not looking over his shoulder ... Farina will be sideways glance away". The Sydney Morning Herald. http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/butcher-not-looking-over-his-shoulder/2007/01/16/1168709752510.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1. Retrieved 24 January 2007.
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Soccer in Australia

Football Federation Australia

National teams	Men (Olympic team U23 · Under-20 · Under-17) · Women · Women's Under-20

Current national leagues	A-League · Youth League · W-League

Former leagues	National Soccer League · National Soccer Youth League · Women's National Soccer League

Cup competitions	Australian Cup (defunct) • FFA Cup (proposed)

Domestic leagues	Australian Capital Territory • New South Wales (Northern, Southern) • Queensland • South Australia • Tasmania (Northern, Southern) • Victoria • Western Australia

A-League

Champions · Records · Foreign players · Players

Seasons	2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010–11 · 2011–12

Grand Finals	2006 · 2007 · 2008 · 2009 · 2010 · 2011

2011–12 Clubs	Adelaide United · Brisbane Roar · Central Coast Mariners · Gold Coast United · Melbourne Heart · Melbourne Victory · Newcastle Jets · Perth Glory · Sydney FC · Wellington Phoenix

Former Clubs	New Zealand Knights · North Queensland Fury

Associated competitions	W-League · National Youth League · A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup (defunct) · AFC Champions League · FFA Cup (proposed)

Sydney FC

Players · Records · W-League

History	Overview · History

Home stadium	Sydney Football Stadium

League	A-League

Seasons (6)	2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 · 2010-11 2011-12

Championships (2)	2006 · 2010

Premierships (1)	2009-10

Managers	Littbarski (2005-06) · Butcher (2006-07) · Culina (2007) · Kosmina (2007-09) · Lavička (2009-)

Captains	Rudan (2005-07) · Popovic (2007-08) · Corica (2008-10) · McFlynn (2010-)

Affiliated clubs	Shanghai Shenhua · Manly United Football Club · Macarthur Rams Football Club · Macquarie University

website: www.sydneyfc.com.au

2006–07 in Australian football

« 2004–05

2007–08 »

Domestic leagues

A-League (Pre-Season Challenge Cup, Grand Final)

Asian competitions

AFC Champions League

National team

Men's	Results ('06, '07) · 2006 FIFA World Cup (Group F) · 2007 AFC Asian Cup

Women's	2006 AFC Women's Asian Cup · 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup

Club seasons

A-League

Adelaide United · Central Coast Mariners · Melbourne Victory · New Zealand Knights · Newcastle Jets · Perth Glory · Queensland Roar · Sydney FC

2006–07 Sydney FC season

Contents

Pre-Season

A-League

Pre-Season Challenge Cup

Group stage

Results

Group table

Knockout stages

Results

Regular Season

Salary cap breaches

Results

Table

Finals series

Results

Post season

Asian Champions League

Friendly matches

Squad

Transfers

In

Out

Short-term signings

Team kit

References