| 2007-2008 season | |||
| Chairman | George Perry; Andrew Kemeny |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Branko Čulina; John Kosmina |
||
| A-League | 3rd (League) 4th (Finals) |
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| A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup | 7th | ||
| Pan-Pacific Championship | 4th | ||
| Top goalscorer | League: Alex Brosque (8 goals) All: Alex Brosque (11 goals) |
||
| Highest home attendance | League: 33,458 (20 January 2008, vs Melbourne); All: 80,295 (27 November 2007 vs Los Angeles Galaxy) |
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| Lowest home attendance | 10,732 (7 December 2007, vs Newcastle Jets) | ||
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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 A-League 2007-08 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, finishing fourth after losing to American MLS sides Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy.
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As A-League 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. 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.
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.
| 11 July 2007 |
Sunshine Coast Select XI | 1–2 | Sydney FC | Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Holmes | Report | Ufuk Talay |
| 18 July 2007 |
Sydney University SFC | 0–3 | Sydney FC | Valentine Sports Park, Sydney Attendance: 100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | David Zdrilic 25' Mark Rudan 44' Ben Vidaic 80' |
| 8 August 2007 |
Manly United FC | 2–3 | Sydney FC | Cromer Park, Sydney Attendance: 1,900 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Mailer 20' Brad Groves 77' |
Report | Adam Biddle 15' Michael Enfield 40' Ufuk Talay 75' |
| 17 August 2007 |
Penrith Nepean United | 2–1 | Sydney FC | CUA Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 5,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Long 44' Ben Gough ??' (pen.) |
Report | Mark Milligan 27' |
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.
| 14 July 2007 |
Queensland Roar | 0–0 | Sydney FC | Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast Attendance: 4,892 Referee: Chris Beath |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Tiatto 43' | Report | Ufuk Talay 13' Terry McFlynn 66' |
| 22 July 2007 |
Wellington Phoenix | 3–0 | Sydney FC | Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 6,039 Referee: Peter O'Leary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Ferrante 1' Shane Smeltz 13', 89' Mark Rudan (og) 14' Ross Aloisi 64' Cleberson 77' |
Report | Ufuk Talay 84' |
| 29 July 2007 |
Sydney FC | 0–3 | Central Coast Mariners | Canberra Stadium, Canberra Attendance: 5,735 Referee: Ben Williams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clint Bolton 51' Nikolas Tsattalios 63' Tony Popovic 65' Alex Brosque 68' |
Report | Matthew Osman 36' Adam Kwasnik 44' Andre Gumprecht 51' Mile Jedinak 55' Nigel Boogaard 90' |
| Team | Pts | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | BP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Central Coast Mariners | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 3 |
| Queensland Roar | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Wellington Phoenix | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Sydney FC | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 August 2007 |
Sydney FC | 2–3 | Newcastle Jets | Parramatta Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 2,611 Referee: Peter Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Popovic 21' Brendon Santalab 47' Ruben Zadkovich 79' Ufuk Talay 83' |
Report | Joel Griffiths 5', 76' Adam D'Apuzzo 9' Jobe Wheelhouse 29' Scott Tunbridge 56' Steve Eagleton 82' |
| 11 August 2007 |
Melbourne Victory | 0–1 | Sydney FC | Olympic Park, Melbourne Attendance: 3,400 Referee: Simon Przydacz |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Alex Brosque 34' 47' Adam Biddle 58' Shannon Cole 79' Terry McFlynn 87' |
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.[10]
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.[11] 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 moneys 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 be 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 opportunites.
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 lots of 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.
| Round 1 24 August 2007 |
Sydney FC | 0 – 1 | Central Coast Mariners | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 18,457 Referee: Peter Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ufuk Talay 43' | Report | Dean Heffernan 41' Mile Jedinak 42' Sasho Petrovski 7', 52' Andre Gumprecht 61' |
| Round 2 1 September 2007 |
Sydney FC | 2–2 | Adelaide United | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 14,233 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ufuk Talay 12' Alex Brosque 74' |
Report | Richie Alagich 8' Bobby Petta 45' Nathan Burns 76' |
| Round 3 9 September 2007 |
Perth Glory | 0–0 | Sydney FC | Members Equity Stadium, Perth Attendance: 7,907 Referee: Craig Zetter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyler Simpson 61' | Report | Patrick da Silva 29' Iain Fyfe 45' Mark Rudan 81' |
| Round 4 14 September 2007 |
Sydney FC | 1–2 | Wellington Phoenix | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 11,491 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adam Casey 6' Mark Rudan 56' Brendon Santalab 64' Ruben Zadkovich 86' David Zdrilic 89' |
Report | Felipè 8' Daniel 29' (pen), 30' Ross Aloisi 85' Glen Moss 86' |
| Round 5 22 September 2007 |
Queensland Roar | 0–1 | Sydney FC | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 16,582 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh McCloughlan 33' Danny Tiatto 45' |
Report | Ruben Zadkovich 37' Ufuk Talay 43' Terry McFlynn 67' Patrick da Silva 69' Brendon Santalab 87' |
| Round 6 29 September 2007 |
Sydney FC | 1–0 | Newcastle Jets | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 13,755 Referee: Craig Zetter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Brosque 36', 72' Ruben Zadkovich 84' |
Report | Matt Thompson 6' Adam D'Apuzzo 12' Adam Griffiths 22' |
| Round 7 6 October 2007 |
Sydney FC | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 18,436 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruben Zadkovich 8' Steve Corica 25' Juninho Paulista 63' Alex Brosque 75' Mark Rudan 90' |
Report | Kevin Muscat 12' Grant Brebner 36' Joseph Keenan 40' Danny Allsopp 81' Archie Thompson 90+3' |
| Round 8 12 October 2007 |
Perth Glory | 3–3 | Sydney FC | Members Equity Stadium, Perth Attendance: 6,876 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simon Colosimo 41' Naum Sekulovski 48' Jamie Harnwell 52' James Robinson 59' Mitchell Prentice 69', 73' |
Report | Alex Brosque 40', 90+3' David Zdrilic 52' Patrick da Silva 71' |
| Round 9 20 October 2007 |
Sydney FC | 0–1 | Adelaide United | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 12,922 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Rudan 57' Robbie Middleby 85' |
Report | Lucas Pantelis 52', 73' Dez Giraldi 52' Robert Cornthwaite 69' |
| Round 10 28 October 2007 |
Sydney FC | 3–2 | Central Coast Mariners | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 17,652 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Brosque 16', 25' Tony Popovic 31' Ufuk Talay 86' Clint Bolton 87' |
Report | John Hutchinson 27', 50', 56' Mile Jedinak 53' Dean Heffernan 54' Tony Vidmar 64' |
| Round 11 3 November 2007 |
Newcastle Jets | 0–1 | Sydney FC | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle Attendance: 16,433 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denni 25' Adam Griffiths 26' Ante Covic 84' |
Report | Mark Milligan 22' Ruben Zadkovich 47' Michael Bridges 69', 86' |
| Round 12 10 November 2007 |
Melbourne Victory | 0–0 | Sydney FC | Telstra Dome, Melbourne Attendance: 31,844 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Brebner 41' Kevin Muscat 87' |
Report | Iain Fyfe 32' |
| Round 13 17 November 2007 |
Wellington Phoenix | 1–1 | Sydney FC | Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 8,062 Referee: Peter Green |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ross Aloisi 29' Steven Old 61', 90+2' Kristian Rees 76' Vaughan Coveny 78' |
Report | Popovic 27', 70' Talay 90+3' (pen) |
| Round 14 25 November 2007 |
Sydney FC | 0–0 | Queensland Roar | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 16,659 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Bridges 39' | Report | Stuart McLaren 17' Liam Reddy 23' Andrew Packer 42', 82' |
| Round 16 7 December 2007 |
Sydney FC | 1–0 | Newcastle Jets | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 10,732 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbie Middleby 35' Ruben Zadkovich 52' Tony Popovic 66' Steve Corica 90+2' |
Report | Mark Bridge 71' Andrew Durante 80' |
| Round 17 15 December 2007 |
Sydney FC | 2–4 | Perth Glory | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 12,402 Referee: Michael Hester |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Corica 50' Mark Milligan 64' Michael Bridges 90', 90+2' |
Report | Billy Celeski 34', 35', 77' (pen) Leo Bertos 49' Dino Djulbic 61' James Downey 90' |
| Round 15 22 December 2007 |
Central Coast Mariners | 4–5 | Sydney FC | Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Attendance: 17,514 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile Jedinak 3' John Aloisi 15' Danny Vukovic 16' John Hutchinson 44' Greg Owens 63' (pen) Alex Wilkinson 83' Adam Kwasnik 86', 90+4' |
Report | Iain Fyfe 33' Terry McFlynn 50' Tony Popovic 62' Adam Biddle 71' Brendon Santalab 76' Mark Robertson 78' Ufuk Talay 90', 90+5' (pen) |
| Round 18 28 December 2007 |
Adelaide United | 1–3 | Sydney FC | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide Attendance: 25,039 Referee: Matthew Breeze |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristian Sarkies 20' Travis Dodd 28' Robert Cornthwaite 33' Eugene Galekovic 66' Cássio 76' |
Report | Iain Fyfe 31' Mark Milligan 40' Brendon Santalab 44' Steve Corica 54' Robbie Middleby 65', 67' Brendan Renaud 83' |
| Round 19 4 January 2008 |
Wellington Phoenix | 0–2 | Sydney FC | Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 14,288 Referee: Ben Williams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristian Rees 14' Shane Smeltz 81' Tony Lochhead 85' Ross Aloisi 91' |
Report | Ufuk Talay 26' Terry McFlynn 79' Alex Brosque 83' |
| Round 20 13 January 2008 |
Queensland Roar | 0–0 | Sydney FC | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 31,933 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Packer 33' Simon Lynch 39' |
Report | Terry McFlynn 16' |
| Round 21 20 January 2008 |
Sydney FC | 2–2 | Melbourne Victory | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 33,458 Referee: Peter O'Leary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Corica 4' Alex Brosque 62' Brendon Santalab 82' |
Report | Leigh Broxham 7' Sebastian Ryall 44' Mark Milligan (og) 46' Kevin Muscat 47' Danny Allsopp 76' |
| # | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 34 |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 34 |
| 3 | Sydney FC | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 32 |
| 4 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 31 |
| 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 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 37 | -12 | 20 |
| Semi-final - Leg 1 25 January 2008 |
Sydney FC | 0–0 | Queensland Roar | Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 23,450 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Milligan 7' Brendan Renaud 43' Ufuk Talay 56' |
Report | Sasa Ognenovski 22' Matt McKay 55' Josh McCloughan 73' |
| Semi-final - Leg 2 8 February 2008 |
Queensland Roar | 2–0 | Sydney FC | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 36,321 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Packer 3' Reinaldo 12' Massimo Murdocca 48' Liam Reddy 74' Sasa Ognenovski 83' (pen) |
Report | Brendan Renaud 15' Robbie Middleby 20' Ufuk Talay 67' Tony Popovic 82' |
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.
| 27 November 2007 |
Sydney FC | 5–3 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Telstra Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 80,295 Referee: Mark Shield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Brosque 5', 25' Ruben Zadkovich 29' Robbie Middleby 49', 53' Adam Biddle 76' Iain Fyfe 87' |
Report | Kevin Harmse 31', 76' David Beckham 45', 64' Edson Buddle 49' Landon Donovan 90' |
Sydney represented Australia in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship held in Hawaii.[13] 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.
| 20 February 2008 |
Houston Dynamo | 3–0 | Sydney FC | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA Attendance: 15,128 Referee: Alex Prus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dwayne De Rosario 28' Stuart Holden 29' Chris Wondolowski 43' |
Report | Brendon Santalab 49' Ryan Walsh 57' |
| 23 February 2008 |
Los Angeles Galaxy | 2–1 | Sydney FC | Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA Attendance: 23,087 Referee: Brian Hall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ely Allen 3' Josh Tudela 45' Michael Gavin 72' |
Report | Brendan Renaud 43' Terry McFlynn 49' Mark Robertson 51' |
| # | 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
Players included in a Sydney FC squad in the 2007-08 season: 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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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.[14] 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,[15] Hakan Şükür,[16] Christian Vieri,[17] Jay-Jay Okocha[18] and John Aloisi.[19] On 3 August 2007 Sydney announced, (two days after media reports broke the story[20]) 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.[21] The short-term agreement fell through less than a week later, Filan citing outside issues.[22]
| Player | From | League | Fee | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Enfield | Los Angeles Galaxy | Major League Soccer | Free | 7 April 2007 [23] |
| Brendon Santalab | Újpest FC | Borsodi Liga | Free | 22 June 2007 [24] |
| Ivan Necevski | Blacktown City Demons | NSW Premier League | Free | 22 June 2007 [25] |
| Nikolas Tsattalios | Sydney FC (promoted from short-term deal) | A-League | – | 2 July 2007[26] |
| Tony Popović | Al-Arabi | Qatari League | Free | 11 July 2007 [27] |
| Ben Vidaic | Sydney United | NSW Premier League | Free | 31 July 2007 [28] |
| Juninho Paulista | Flamengo (free agent) | Brazilian Série A | – | 3 August 2007 [29] |
| Adam Biddle | Blacktown City Demons | NSW Premier League | Free | 6 August 2007 [30] |
| Patrick da Silva | Nacional Atlético Clube (SP) | Campeonato Paulista Série A2 | Free | 18 August 2007[31] |
| Brendan Renaud | Blacktown City Demons | NSW Premier League | Free | 12 December 2007[32] |
| Player | To | League | Fee | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nikolai Topor-Stanley | Perth Glory | A-League | – | 24 May 2007 .[33][34] |
| Justin Pasfield | Sydney United (released) | NSW Premier League | – | 24 May 2007 [35] |
| Noel Spencer | Newcastle United Jets | A-League | – | 24 May 2007 [36] |
| Luka Glavas | Heidelberg United (released) | Victorian Premier League | – | 24 May 2007 [37] |
| Dean Bouzanis | Liverpool FC (loan terminated - delisted) | Premier League | – | June 2007 [38] |
| David Carney | Sheffield United | Premier League | A$125,000 | 4 August 2007 [39][40] |
| Mark Rudan | Avispa Fukuoka | J. League Div 2 | A$100,000 | 17 December 2007 [41][42] |
| Brendan Renaud | Retired | – | – | 23 February 2008 |
| Player | From | Start date | End date | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Nash | APIA Leichhardt | 23 August 2007 | 10 October 2007 | Injury cover for Ivan Necevski [43] |
| 21 December 2007 | 24 December 2007 | Injury cover for Clint Bolton [44] | ||
| Michael Herbet | Waverley Old Boys | 6 September 2007 | 12 September 2007 | Cover for Clint Bolton while on international duty [45] |
| Matthew Jurman | AIS | 6 September 2007 | 12 September 2007 | Cover for Mark Milligan/Ruben Zadkovich while on international duty [45] |
| Robbie Cattanach | Manly United FC | 6 September 2007 | 12 September 2007 | Cover for Alex Brosque while on international duty [45] |
| Michael Bridges | Hull City (loan) | 17 October 2007 | 21 January 2008 | Injury cover for Michael Enfield[46][47] |
| Mark Robertson | FC Sopron | 13 December 2007 | 24 February 2008 | Injury cover for Adam Casey[48] |
| Ryan Walsh | Blacktown City Demons | 20 February 2008 | 24 February 2008 | Injury cover for Robbie Middleby at Pan-Pacific Championship[49] |
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.[50]
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 HBA Health Insurance, that will appear on the back of the shirt below the player number.
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