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

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

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

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

Player details

Squad

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

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

Transfers

With Branko Culina installed at the helm, he sought to reconstruct the Sydney squad which had been plagued by injuries and financial constraints the previous year. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Noel Spencer left for other A-League sides at the end of the Asian Champions League, but defender Nikolas Tsattalios was rewarded with a longer term contract. New signings from foreign leagues were unveiled in American Michael Enfield, Brendon Santalab and World Cup Socceroo Tony Popović. Popović's expected role in the club was further reinforced by being handed the captaincy for the A-League season.[2] 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,[3] Hakan Şükür,[4] Christian Vieri,[5] Jay-Jay Okocha[6] and John Aloisi.[7] On 3 August 2007 Sydney announced, (two days after media reports broke the story[8]) 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.[9] The short-term agreement fell through less than a week later, Filan citing outside issues.

In

Player From League Fee Date
United States Michael EnfieldLos Angeles GalaxyUnited States Major League SoccerFree7 April 2007[10]
Australia Brendon SantalabÚjpest FCHungary Borsodi LigaFree22 June 2007[11]
Australia Ivan NecevskiBlacktown City DemonsAustralia NSW Premier LeagueFree22 June 2007[12]
Australia Nikolas TsattaliosSydney FC (promoted from short-term deal)Australia A-League–2 July 2007[13]
Australia Tony PopovićAl-ArabiQatar Qatari LeagueFree11 July 2007[14]
Australia Ben VidaicSydney UnitedAustralia NSW Premier LeagueFree31 July 2007[15]
Brazil Juninho PaulistaFlamengo (free agent)Brazil Brazilian Série A–3 August 2007[16]
Australia Adam BiddleBlacktown City DemonsAustralia NSW Premier LeagueFree6 August 2007[17]
Brazil Patrick da SilvaNacional Atlético Clube (SP)Brazil Campeonato Paulista Série A2Free18 August 2007[18]
Australia Brendan RenaudBlacktown City DemonsAustralia NSW Premier LeagueFree12 December 2007[19]

Out

Player To League Fee Date
Australia Nikolai Topor-StanleyPerth GloryAustralia A-League–24 May 2007 .[20][21]
Australia Justin PasfieldSydney United (released)Australia NSW Premier League–24 May 2007[22]
Australia Noel SpencerNewcastle United JetsAustralia A-League–24 May 2007[23]
Australia Luka GlavasHeidelberg United (released)Australia Victorian Premier League–24 May 2007[24]
Australia Dean BouzanisLiverpool F.C. (loan terminated – delisted)England Premier League–June 2007[25]
Australia David CarneySheffield UnitedEngland Premier LeagueA$125,0004 August 2007[26][27]
Australia Mark RudanAvispa FukuokaJapan J. League Div 2A$100,00017 December 2007[28][29]
Australia Brendan RenaudRetired––23 February 2008

Short-term signings

Player From Start date End date Reason
Australia Matthew Nash Australia APIA Leichhardt 23 August 2007 10 October 2007 Injury cover for Ivan Necevski[30]
21 December 2007 24 December 2007 Injury cover for Clint Bolton[31]
France Michael Herbet Australia Waverley Old Boys 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Clint Bolton while on international duty[32]
Australia Matthew Jurman Australia AIS 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Mark Milligan/Ruben Zadkovich while on international duty[32]
Australia Robbie Cattanach Australia Manly United FC 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Alex Brosque while on international duty[32]
England Michael Bridges England Hull City (loan) 17 October 2007 21 January 2008 Injury cover for Michael Enfield[33][34]
Australia Mark Robertson Hungary FC Sopron 13 December 2007 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Adam Casey[35]
Australia Ryan Walsh Australia Blacktown City Demons 20 February 2008 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Robbie Middleby at Pan-Pacific Championship

Pre-season

AFC Champions League

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

Squad preparation

For the new season, Sydney have established an agreement with Macquarie University to use the Sport and Aquatic Centre as a training base[36] and also establishing an off-field relationship offering educational, corporate and research linkages.[37][38] 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.[39] Sydney will also play a series of friendly matches against NSW Premier League and State League sides, to engage with the Sydney football community.[40] These friendlies and Pre-season Cup matches also provided experience for trialling players Ben Vidaic, Cameron Watson, Daniel Severino, Robbie Cattanach, Shannon Cole, Chris Nunes, former short-term Sydney player Tolgay Özbey and goalkeepers Vendram Janjetovic and Matthew Nash.

Friendly matches

11 July 2007 Sunshine Coast Select XI 1–2 Sydney FC Sunshine Coast
Tyson Holmes Report Ufuk Talay Stadium: Maroochydore Regional Football Complex
8 August 2007 Manly United 2–3 Sydney FC Sydney
Andrew Mailer 20'
Brad Groves 77'		 Report Adam Biddle 15'
Michael Enfield 40'
Ufuk Talay 75'		 Stadium: Cromer Park
17 August 2007 Penrith Nepean United 2–1 Sydney FC Sydney
Mitchell Long 44'
Ben Gough approx. 75' (pen.)		 Report Mark Milligan 27' Stadium: CUA Stadium
Attendance: 5,000
27 November 2007 Hyundai Club Challenge Sydney FC Australia 5–3 United States Los Angeles Galaxy Sydney
Brosque 5', 25'
Zadkovich 29'
Middleby 53'
Fyfe 87'		 Report Beckham 45'
Buddle 49'
Donovan 90'		 Stadium: Telstra Stadium
Attendance: 80,295
Referee: Mark Shield

2007 A-League Pre-season Cup

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

Group stage

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Central Coast Mariners 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 3 10
2 Queensland Roar 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 1 6
3 Wellington Phoenix 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 2 5
4 Sydney FC 3 0 1 2 0 6 −6 0 1
Source:
14 July 2007 1 Queensland Roar 0–0 Sydney FC Sunshine Coast
19:00 AEST Report Stadium: Maroochydore Regional Football Complex
Attendance: 4,892
Referee: Chris Beath
22 July 2007 2 Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Sydney FC Wellington
14:00 NZST Shane Smeltz 13', 89'
Marko Rudan 14' (o.g.)		 Report Stadium: Westpac Stadium
Attendance: 6,039
Referee: Peter O'Leary
29 July 2007 3 Sydney FC 0–3 Central Coast Mariners Canberra
15:00 AEST Report Matthew Osman 36'
Adam Kwasnik 44'
Andre Gumprecht 51'		 Stadium: Canberra Stadium
Attendance: 5,735
Referee: Ben Williams

Playoffs

4 August 2007 Sydney FC 2–3 Newcastle Jets Sydney
19:30 AEST Ruben Zadkovich 79' Report Joel Griffiths 5', 76' Stadium: Parramatta Stadium
Attendance: 2,611
Referee: Peter Green
11 August 2007 Seventh place play-off Melbourne Victory 0–1 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:30 AEST Report Alex Brosque 34' Stadium: Olympic Park
Attendance: 3,400
Referee: Simon Przydacz

2007–08 A-League

On 5 August, David Carney was transferred for A$125,000 to English Championship side, Sheffield United. The former Sydney player signed a three-year deal with the club which has been reported to earn him around A$1.25 million a year.[41]

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.[42] 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.[43]

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

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

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

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

On 22 December, a crucial match against the Central Coast Mariners resulted in a 5–4 victory in favour of Sydney. The match, held at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, was described by critics as the best game ever to come from the A-League.[44] 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, 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 2008/09 Season. Although these rumours have been proved true, no statements have officially been released as neither player wanted to cause trouble at their present clubs.

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

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

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

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

League table

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

Matches

24 August 2007 1 Sydney FC 0–1 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
20:00 AEST Report
Summary		 Petrovski 7' Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 18,457
Referee: Peter Green
1 September 2007 2 Sydney FC 2–2 Adelaide United Sydney
17:00 AEST Talay 13'
Brosque 74'		 Report
Summary		 Alagich 9'
Burns 76'		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 14,233
Referee: Mark Shield
9 September 2007 3 Perth Glory 0–0 Sydney FC Perth
15:00 AWST Report
Summary		 Stadium: Members Equity Stadium
Attendance: 7,907
Referee: Craig Zetter
14 September 2007 4 Sydney FC 1–2 Wellington Phoenix Sydney
20:00 AEST Casey 6' Report
Summary		 Felipè 8'
Daniel 29' (pen.)		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 11,491
Referee: Matthew Breeze
22 September 2007 5 Queensland Roar 0–1 Sydney FC Brisbane
19:00 AEST Report
Summary		 Patrick 69' Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 16,582
Referee: Mark Shield
29 September 2007 6 Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets Sydney
19:00 AEST Brosque 36' Report
Summary		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: Craig Zetter
6 October 2007 7 Sydney FC 0–1 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:00 AEST Report
Summary		 Allsopp 82' Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 18,436
Referee: Mark Shield
12 October 2007 8 Perth Glory 3–3 Sydney FC Perth
20:00 AWST Harnwell 53'
Robinson 59'
Prentice 69'		 Report
Summary		 Brosque 40', 90+3'
Patrick 72'		 Stadium: Members Equity Stadium
Attendance: 6,876
Referee: Matthew Breeze
20 October 2007 9 Sydney FC 0–1 Adelaide United Sydney
19:00 AEST Report
Summary		 Pantelis 53' Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 12,922
Referee: Matthew Breeze
28 October 2007 10 Sydney FC 3–2 Central Coast Mariners Sydney
15:00 AEST Brosque 16', 26'
Popovic 32'		 Report
Summary		 Hutchinson 27', 56' Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 17,652
Referee: Mark Shield
3 November 2007 11 Newcastle Jets 0–1 Sydney FC Newcastle
19:00 AEDT Report
Summary		 Bridges 69' Stadium: EnergyAustralia Stadium
Attendance: 16,433
Referee: Matthew Breeze
10 November 2007 12 Melbourne Victory 0–0 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:00 AEDT Report
Summary		 Stadium: Telstra Dome
Attendance: 31,884
Referee: Mark Shield
17 November 2007 13 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Sydney FC Wellington
19:00 NZST R.Aloisi 29' Report
Summary		 Talay 90+3' (pen.) Stadium: Westpac Stadium
Attendance: 8,062
Referee: Peter Green
25 November 2007 14 Sydney FC 0–0 Queensland Roar Sydney
19:00 AEDT Report
Summary		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 16,569
Referee: Matthew Breeze
7 December 2007 16 Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets Sydney
20:00 AEDT Corica 90+3' Report
Summary		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 10,732
Referee: Matthew Breeze
15 December 2007 17 Sydney FC 2–4 Perth Glory Sydney
19:00 AEDT Corica 50'
Bridges 90'		 Report
Summary		 Celeski 34', 35', 77' (pen.)
Bertos 49'		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 12,402
Referee: Michael Hester
22 December 2007 15 Central Coast Mariners 4–5 Sydney FC Gosford
19:00 AEDT Jedinak 3'
J.Aloisi 16'
Owens 63' (pen.)
Kwasnik 86'		 Report
Summary		 Fyfe 33'
McFlynn 50'
Biddle 71'
Santalab 76'
Talay 90+5' (pen.)		 Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium
Attendance: 17,514
Referee: Matthew Breeze
Note: Match postponed due to heavy rain affecting pitch conditions.
28 December 2007 18 Adelaide United 1–3 Sydney FC Adelaide
19:30 ACST Sarkies 20' Report
Summary		 Santalab 44'
Corica 54'
Middleby 66'		 Stadium: Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 25,039
Referee: Matthew Breeze
4 January 2008 19 Wellington Phoenix 0–2 Sydney FC Wellington
19:30 NZST Report
Summary		 McFlynn 79'
Brosque 83'		 Stadium: Westpac Stadium
Attendance: 14,288
Referee: Ben Williams
13 January 2008 20 Queensland Roar 0–0 Sydney FC Brisbane
18:00 UTC+10 Report
Summary		 Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 31,933
Referee: Mark Shield
20 January 2008 21 Sydney FC 2–2 Melbourne Victory Sydney
17:00 UTC+11 Corica 4'
Brosque 62'		 Report
Summary		 Milligan 46' (o.g.)
Allsopp 76'		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 33,458
Referee: Peter O'Leary

Semi-finals

25 January 2008 First Leg Sydney FC 0–0 Queensland Roar Sydney
20:00 UTC+11 Report
Summary		 Stadium: Sydney Football Stadium
Attendance: 23,450
Referee: Mark Shield
8 February 2008 Second Leg Queensland Roar 2–0
(2–0 agg.)		 Sydney FC Brisbane
20:07 AEST
Report
Summary		 Stadium: Suncorp Stadium
Attendance: 36,221
Referee: Mark Shield

2008 Pan-Pacific Championship

Sydney represented Australia in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship held in Hawaii.[45] They placed fourth overall after losing both matches, first to MLS champions Houston Dynamo and then Los Angeles Galaxy in the third place playoff.

20 February 2008 Semi-final Houston Dynamo United States 3–0 Australia Sydney FC Honolulu, United States
De Rosario 28'
Holden 29'
Wondolowski 43'		 Report Stadium: Aloha Stadium
Attendance: 15,128
Referee: Alex Prus (United States)
23 February 2008 Third place play-off Los Angeles Galaxy United States 2–1 Australia Sydney FC Honolulu, United States
Allen 3'
Tudela 45'		 Report Renaud 43' Stadium: Aloha Stadium
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Brian Hall (United States)

Home attendance

# Opponent Round Attendance Result
1Central Coast Mariners118,457L 1–0
2Adelaide United214,233D 2–2
3Wellington Phoenix411,491L 1–2
4Newcastle United Jets613,755W 1–0
5Melbourne Victory718,436L 0–1
6Adelaide United912,922L 0–1
7Central Coast Mariners1017,652W 3–2
8Queensland Roar1416,659D 0–0
9Los Angeles GalaxyExhibition80,295W 5–3
10Newcastle United Jets1610,732W 1–0
11Perth Glory1712,402L 2–4
12Melbourne Victory2133,458D 2–2
13Queensland RoarSemi-final23,450D 0–0

A-League Regular Season Total: 180,197

A-League Regular Season Average: 16,382

Season Total: 283,942

Team kit

For the third A-League season, all clubs released new playing strip supplied by sponsor Reebok. Sydney FC retained the established colours in a new design, a sky blue home shirt with navy blue and orange secondary colours, and a white away shirt with sky blue trim.[46]

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.

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

Awards

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

References

  1. 1 2 "Club and Culina part by mutual consent". sydneyfc.com. 22 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  2. ↑ "Popovic appointed new club captain". sydneyfc.com. 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  3. ↑ "Fowler turns Sydney down". Smithies, T. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  4. ↑ "Sydney's Şükür punch plan". Smithies,T. & Davutovic,D. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  5. ↑ "Vieri to Sydney FC... maybe". 20 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  6. ↑ "Okocha in Sydney FC talks". BBC Sport. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  7. ↑ "Sydney FC chases Socceroo hero Aloisi". The Age. Australia. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  8. ↑ "Juninho is Sydney Marquee, 1 August 2007". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  9. ↑ "Oh what a Filan: Sydney get their hands on veteran keeper". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  10. ↑ Sydney FC signs American attacker on two-year deal. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  11. ↑ Sydney FC sign striker. Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine 22 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  12. ↑ Shot-stopping Sydneysider joins squad Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine 25 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  13. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (14 February 2007). "Culina granted audition as Sydney coach". Sydney Morning Herald. Melbourne. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  14. ↑ Socceroos World Cup hero signs deal Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine 11 July 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  15. ↑ "Ben clocks on for two seasons". 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  16. ↑ "Juninho signs as new marquee player". 3 August 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  17. ↑ "Biddle to link up following Grand Final". 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  18. ↑ "Patrick doubles the Brazilian contingent". sydneyfc.com. 18 August 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  19. ↑ Gatt, R (12 December 2007). "Now it's double Dutch for Socceroos staff". The Australian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  20. ↑ Topor-Stanley joins Perth Archived 11 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine theworldgame.com.au. 1 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  21. ↑ Topor-Stanley now a Glory boy The Daily Telegraph. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
  22. ↑ Who's Going Where in the Hyundai A-League Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, 13 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  23. ↑ "Jets To Unleash "Excitement Machine"". A.Ormond. 29 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
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  42. ↑ Juninho signs as marquee player, 3 August 2007 Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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