Melbourne Victory
2007–08 season
ManagerErnie Merrick
A-League5th
Pre-Season Challenge Cup8th
AFC Champions LeagueGroup Stage (2nd)
Top goalscorerLeague:
Daniel Allsopp (7)
All:
Daniel Allsopp (9)
Highest home attendance31,884 vs Sydney FC (10 November 2007)
Lowest home attendance14,558 vs Chonburi FC (21 May 2008)
Average home league attendance24,439

Season summary

Looking to capitalise on their successful 2006–07 campaign, Melbourne made some strong off-season signings including Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández to cover the hole left by the departure of Fred to MLS club D.C. United.[1] Again with the league's largest crowds and a record membership of over 20,000,[2] Melbourne were undefeated after 7 rounds but the season slipped 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 finished 5th, 4 points out of the finals.

Players

First team squad

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 Michael Theoklitos
2 MF Australia AUS Kevin Muscat (captain)
3 DF Australia AUS Daniel Piorkowski
5 DF Australia AUS Ljubo Milicevic
6 DF Australia AUS Steve Pantelidis
7 DF Australia AUS Matthew Kemp
8 MF Scotland SCO Grant Brebner
9 FW Australia AUS Daniel Allsopp
10 FW Australia AUS Archie Thompson
11 DF England ENG Joe Keenan
12 DF Australia AUS Rodrigo Vargas
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF Australia AUS Kaz Patafta
14 MF Australia AUS Adrian Caceres
15 FW Brazil BRA Leandro Love
16 MF Costa Rica CRC Carlos Hernández
17 MF Australia AUS Daniel Vasilevski
18 MF Australia AUS Leigh Broxham
19 MF Australia AUS Evan Berger
20 GK Australia AUS Eugene Galekovic
21 DF Australia AUS Sebastian Ryall
30 GK Australia AUS Mitchell Langerak

Transfers

In
Player From League Date
Australia Mitchell LangerakAISAustralia VPL23 February 2007
Australia Ljubo MilicevicBSC Young BoysSwitzerland Swiss Super League20 February 2007
England Joe KeenanWillem IINetherlands Eredivisie30 March 2007
Australia Matthew KempAdelaide UnitedAustralia A-League11 April 2007
Australia Evan BergerMarconi StallionsAustralia NSWPL29 May 2007
Costa Rica Carlos HernándezLD AlajuelenseCosta Rica Primera División de Costa Rica12 June 2007
Australia Kaz PataftaBenficaPortugal Portuguese Liga20 June 2007
Brazil Leandro LoveVissel KobeJapan J-League25 July 2007
Australia Sebastian RyallAISAustralia VPL28 August 2007
Australia Steven PacePreston LionsAustralia VPL30 October 2007
Australia Nick WardQueens Park RangersEngland Football League Championship5 December 2007
Out
Player To League Date
Australia Michael FerranteWellington PhoenixAustralia A-League1 March 2007
Australia Mark Byrnesreleased-1 March 2007
Brazil FredD.C. UnitedUnited States MLS30 March 2007
England James RobinsonPerth GloryAustralia A-League17 March 2007
Australia Vince LiaWellington PhoenixAustralia A-League21 March 2007
Australia Simon StoreyPartick Thistle F.C.Scotland Scottish First Division21 March 2007
Australia Kristian SarkiesAdelaide UnitedAustralia A-League30 March 2007
Australia Adrian LeijerFulham F.C.England Premier League4 August 2007
Australia Eugene GalekovicAdelaide UnitedAustralia A-League30 October 2007

Matches

Pre-season matches

  • The match against China was played over three 30-minute periods.

2007 Pre-Season Cup

Group A
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Adelaide United 3 1 2 0 6 3 +3 3 8
2 Perth Glory 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2 1 8
3 Newcastle Jets 3 1 0 2 2 5 −3 0 3
4 Melbourne Victory 3 0 1 2 2 4 −2 0 1
Source:
22 July 2007 Group Stage Melbourne Victory 0 : 1 Newcastle Jets Skilled Stadium, Geelong
Attendance: 8,500
28 July 2007 Group Stage Perth Glory 2 : 1 Melbourne Victory Darwin Football Stadium, Darwin
Attendance: 2,700
11 August 2007 Seventh Place Play-off Melbourne Victory 0 : 1 Sydney FC Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,400

2007-08 Hyundai A-League fixtures

25 August 2007 Round 1 Wellington Phoenix 2 : 2 Melbourne Victory Westpac Stadium, Wellington
16:00 UTC+12 Daniel 79'
Smeltz 84'		 Muscat 19' (pen)
Allsopp 60'		 Attendance: 14,421
Referee: Mark Shield
1 September 2007 Round 2 Melbourne Victory 0 : 0 Perth Glory Telstra Dome, Melbourne, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+10 Attendance: 31,545
Referee: Peter O'Leary
7 September 2007 Round 3 Adelaide United 1 : 1 Melbourne Victory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+9:30 Dodd 83' (pen) Vargas 80' Attendance: 13,231
Referee: Peter Green
28 September 2007 Round 6 Melbourne Victory 2 : 0 Queensland Roar Telstra Dome, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+10 Muscat 68' (pen)
Thompson 85'		 Attendance: 25,622
Referee: Ben Williams
6 October 2007 Round 7 Sydney FC 0 : 1 Melbourne Victory Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+10 Corica Red card 25' Allsopp 82' Attendance: 18,436
Referee: Mark Shield
12 October 2007 Round 8 Adelaide United 4 : 1 Melbourne Victory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+9:30 Milicevic 14' (o.g.)
Dodd 15', 54'
Pantelis 90+2'		 Thompson 45+2' Attendance: 13,372
Referee: Mark Shield
21 October 2007 Round 9 Melbourne Victory 2 : 1 Perth Glory Telstra Dome, Melbourne
16:30 UTC+10 Hernandez 24'
Thompson 34'		 Harnwell 42' Attendance: 25,598
Referee: Simon Przydacz
4 November 2007 Round 11 Central Coast Mariners 2 : 1 Melbourne Victory Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+11 Petrovski 83', Yellow card 73' Yellow-red card 90'
Pondeljak 88'		 Keenan Red card 22'
Hernández 77'
Vargas Red card 90'		 Attendance: 11,354
Referee: Mark Shield
10 November 2007 Round 12 Melbourne Victory 0 : 0 Sydney FC Telstra Dome, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+11 Attendance: 31,884
Referee: Mark Shield
16 November 2007 Round 13 Queensland Roar 1 : 0 Melbourne Victory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10 Kruse 10' Attendance: 17,207
Referee: Ben Williams
24 November 2007 Round 14 Melbourne Victory 1 : 1 Wellington Phoenix Telstra Dome, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+11 Muscat Yellow card 34' Yellow-red card 35'
Allsopp 43'		 Lia 58' Attendance: 20,938
Referee: Peter Green
2 December 2007 Round 15 Perth Glory 3 : 1 Melbourne Victory Members Equity Stadium, Perth
17:00 UTC+9 Harnwell 18'
Rukavytsya 27' 46'		 Caceres 38' Attendance: 8,030
Referee: Ben Williams
8 December 2007 Round 16 Melbourne Victory 2 : 2 Adelaide United Telstra Dome, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+11 Muscat 71' (pen)
Alagich 90+2' (o.g.)		 Agostino 18' 50' Attendance: 22,466
Referee: Peter Green
16 December 2007 Round 17 Melbourne Victory 1 : 3 Newcastle Jets Telstra Dome, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+11 Hernández 11' Denni 41'
J. Griffiths 54' 76'		 Attendance: 22,626
Referee: Matthew Breeze
31 December 2007 Round 18 Central Coast Mariners 2 : 5 Melbourne Victory Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
18:00 UTC+11 Jedinak 32'
J.Aloisi 63'		 Caceres 4'
Allsopp 23' 61'
Thompson 36'
Muscat 43' (pen)		 Attendance: 18,686
Referee: Mark Shield
5 January 2008 Round 19 Queensland Roar 1 : 2 Melbourne Victory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+10 Marcinho 73' Allsopp 56'
Thompson 63'		 Attendance: 21,475
Referee: Matthew Breeze
11 January 2008 Round 20 Melbourne Victory 3 : 0 Wellington Phoenix Telstra Dome, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11 Hernández 31'
Ward 35'
Patafta 88'		 Attendance: 25,489
Referee: Peter Green

Ladder

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.

2008 AFC Champions League

Warm-up matches

Matches

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Japan Gamba Osaka 6 4 2 0 14 8 +6 14
Australia Melbourne Victory 6 2 1 3 10 11 −1 7
South Korea Chunnam Dragons 6 1 3 2 8 10 −2 6
Thailand Chonburi 6 1 2 3 7 10 −3 5
Source:

References

  1. ↑ "Victory sign Costa Rican star". The Australian. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  2. ↑ Ormond, Aidan (31 August 2007). "Victory Hits The Magic 20K Mark". FourFourTwo Australia. Haymarket Group. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
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