2009–10 A-League

A-League
Season2009–10
Dates6 August 2009 – 20 March 2010
ChampionsSydney FC (2nd title)
PremiersSydney FC (1st title)
AFC Champions LeagueSydney FC, Melbourne Victory
Matches played135
Goals scored348 (2.58 per match)
Top goalscorerShane Smeltz
(19 goals)
Best goalkeeperEugene Galekovic
Biggest home winWellington Phoenix 6–0 Gold Coast United
(25 October 2009)
Biggest away winMelbourne Victory 0–4 Central Coast Mariners
(7 November 2009)
North Queensland Fury 1–5 Central Coast Mariners
(21 November 2009)
Highest scoringMelbourne Victory 6–2 Perth Glory
(16 January 2010)
(8 goals)
Highest attendance30,668
Lowest attendance2,616
Average attendance9,796 ( 2384)

The 2009–10 A-League was the 33rd season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the fifth season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. The season marked the addition of two new teams from Queensland. Gold Coast United FC and the North Queensland Fury FC made their A-League debuts at the start of the season.[1] Because of this, Queensland Roar were renamed to Brisbane Roar, as they were no longer the only A-League club from Queensland. With the inception of the two new clubs, many club transfers took place both within Australia and New Zealand, and around the world.

The length of the regular season was longer than in previous years, with 27 rounds rather than 21, plus finals. The season began on 6 August, with Melbourne hosting the Central Coast at home.[2] As well as these major changes to the league, the Pre-Season Challenge Cup was no longer held as part of the 2009–10 season due to a busier regular season schedule,[3] and clubs attracting higher profile pre-season friendlies. The Premiership and Championship double was completed by Sydney FC with victory over Melbourne in the final match of the regular season and on penalties in the Championship Grand Final.

Clubs

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Team City Home Ground Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Hindmarsh Stadium 17,000
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52,500
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Bluetongue Stadium 20,119
Gold Coast United Gold Coast Skilled Park 27,400
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Etihad Stadium 56,347
Newcastle Jets Newcastle Energy Australia Stadium 26,164
North Queensland Fury Townsville Dairy Farmers Stadium 26,500
Perth Glory Perth ME Bank Stadium 20,500
Sydney FC Sydney Sydney Football Stadium 45,500
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Westpac Stadium 36,000

Transfers

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Managerial changes

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Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Table Incoming manager Date of appointment Table
Sydney FC Australia John Kosmina Sacked 31 January 2009[4] 5th (08–09) Czech Republic Vítězslav Lavička 4 February 2009[5] Pre-season
Newcastle Jets Australia Gary van Egmond Resigned 27 June 2009 8th (08–09) Australia Branko Čulina 30 June 2009[6] Pre-Season
Brisbane Roar Australia Frank Farina Sacked 14 October 2009[7] 6th (09–10) Australia Ange Postecoglou 16 October 2009[8] Round 10

Foreign players

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Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Visa 5 Non-Visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
Adelaide United Brazil Alemão Brazil Cássio Brazil Cristiano Ghana Lloyd Owusu South Korea Shin In-seob Argentina Marcos Flores3
Brisbane Roar Belgium Pieter Collen Brazil Henrique Brazil Reinaldo Costa Rica Steven Bryce Indonesia Sergio van Dijk Scotland Bob Malcolm
Central Coast Mariners England Nicky Travis Scotland Chris Doig Wales Jonathan Brown Wales Matt Crowell Malta John Hutchinson2 Jamaica Wolry Wolfe4
New Zealand Michael McGlinchey
Gold Coast United Brazil Jefferson Brazil Robson Ivory Coast Adama Traoré Netherlands Bas van den Brink Scotland Charlie Miller Brazil Anderson3 Brazil Milson
Melbourne Victory Costa Rica Marvin Angulo Costa Rica Carlos Hernández Thailand Surat Sukha New Zealand Glen Moss2
Scotland Grant Brebner1
Brazil Ney Fabiano
Thailand Sutee Suksomkit
Newcastle Jets England Michael Bridges Italy Marcello Fiorentini South Korea Song Jin-hyung Iraq Ali Abbas3
North Queensland Fury England Robbie Fowler England James Robinson Japan Kojiro Kaimoto New Zealand Jeremy Brockie Scotland Scott Wilson England Terry Cooke3
Netherlands Antilles Dyron Daal3
Sri Lanka Jack Hingert2
Perth Glory England Andy Todd Netherlands Victor Sikora Serbia Branko Jelić Scotland Steven McGarry Brazil Amaral4
Ivory Coast Eugène Dadi
Sydney FC Slovakia Karol Kisel South Korea Byun Sung-hwan Switzerland Stephan Keller Northern Ireland Terry McFlynn1
Wellington Phoenix Barbados Paul Ifill Brazil Daniel Brazil Diego Walsh China Jiang Chen England Chris Greenacre Ivory Coast Eugène Dadi4
Malta Manny Muscat2

The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
2Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
3Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
4Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

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Club Marquee Junior Marquee Captain Vice-Captain
Adelaide United None None Australia Travis Dodd[9] Australia Lucas Pantelis[9]
Brisbane Roar None Australia Michael Zullo[10] Australia Matt McKay[11] None
Central Coast Mariners None None Australia Alex Wilkinson[12] Malta John Hutchinson[13]
Gold Coast United Australia Jason Culina[14] Australia Tahj Minniecon[15] Australia Jason Culina[16][17] Australia Michael Thwaite[16][17]
Melbourne Victory Australia Archie Thompson[18][19] None Australia Kevin Muscat[20] Australia Rodrigo Vargas[21]
Newcastle Jets Italy Fabio Vignaroli[22] Australia Adam D'Apuzzo[23] Australia Matt Thompson[24] None
North Queensland Fury England Robbie Fowler[25] None England Robbie Fowler[26] None
Perth Glory Australia Mile Sterjovski[27] None Australia Jacob Burns[28] None
Sydney FC Australia John Aloisi[29] Australia Mark Bridge[23] Australia Steve Corica[30] None
Wellington Phoenix None None New Zealand Andrew Durante[31] New Zealand Tim Brown[31]

Regular season

[edit]

League table

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Sydney FC (C) 27 15 3 9 35 23 +12 48 Qualification for 2011 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series
2 Melbourne Victory 27 14 5 8 47 32 +15 47
3 Gold Coast United 27 13 5 9 39 35 +4 44 Qualification for Finals series
4 Wellington Phoenix 27 10 10 7 37 29 +8 40
5 Perth Glory 27 11 6 10 40 34 +6 39
6 Newcastle Jets 27 10 4 13 33 45 −12 34
7 North Queensland Fury 27 8 8 11 29 46 −17 32
8 Central Coast Mariners 27 7 9 11 32 29 +3 30
9 Brisbane Roar 27 8 6 13 32 42 −10 30
10 Adelaide United 27 7 8 12 24 33 −9 29
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions

Home and away season

[edit]

The 2009–10 A-League season was played over 27 rounds, followed by a finals series.[2]

Round 1

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6 August 2009 Melbourne Victory 0–2 Central Coast Mariners Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
19:30 UTC+10 Report
Summary
Simon 10'
McGlinchey 16'
Attendance: 18,885
Referee: Matthew Breeze
7 August 2009 Adelaide United 1–0 Perth Glory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
20:00 UTC+9:30 T. Dodd 30' (pen.) Report
Summary
Attendance: 13,847
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 2

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Round 3

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23 August 2009 Perth Glory 2–0 Newcastle Jets ME Bank Stadium, Perth
15:00 UTC+8 Shroj 24'
Pellegrino 73'
Report
Summary
Attendance: 9,398
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 4

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Round 5

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5 September 2009 Gold Coast United 2–1 Sydney FC Skilled Park, Gold Coast
17:00 UTC+10 Smeltz 45+1', 56' Report
Summary
Corica 75' Attendance: 6,406
Referee: Strebre Delovski

Round 6

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13 September 2009 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
15:00 UTC+10 Hernández 4' Report
Summary
T. Brown 30' Attendance: 17,644
Referee: Craig Zetter
13 September 2009 Perth Glory 2–2 Gold Coast United ME Bank Stadium, Perth
15:00 UTC+8 Jelić 14'
Sikora 16'
Report
Summary
Burns 53' (o.g.)
Smeltz 90+1'
Attendance: 9,408
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 7

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Round 8

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Round 9

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Round 10

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Round 11

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Round 12

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Round 13

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31 October 2009 Gold Coast United 0–2 North Queensland Fury Skilled Park, Gold Coast
20:00 UTC+10 Report
Summary
Fowler 64', 76' (pen.) Attendance: 2,616
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 14

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6 November 2009 Adelaide United 0–2 Brisbane Roar Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10:30 Report
Summary
van Dijk 35' (pen.), 51' Attendance: 11,209
Referee: Australia Craig Zetter
8 November 2009 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Perth Glory Westpac Stadium, Wellington
17:00 UTC+13 Ifill 82' Report
Summary
Shroj 68' Attendance: 6,930
Referee: Matthew Gillett

Round 15

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22 November 2009 Perth Glory 2–0 Sydney FC ME Bank Stadium, Perth
16:00 UTC+8 Bulloch 57'
Jelić 88'
Report
Summary
Attendance: 8,932
Referee: Strebre Delovski

Round 16

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29 November 2009 Brisbane Roar 4–1 Wellington Phoenix Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
18:00 UTC+10 Reinaldo 17', 56'
van Dijk 79'
D. Dodd 90+1'
Report
Summary
Greenacre 27' Attendance: 6,307
Referee: Alan Milliner

Round 17

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Round 18

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Round 19

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16 December 2009 Brisbane Roar 2–0 North Queensland Fury Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:30 UTC+10 van Dijk 20', 42' Report
Summary
Attendance: 11,530
Referee: Matthew Gillett

Round 20

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18 December 2009 Adelaide United 1–1 Wellington Phoenix Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+10:30 Alemão 57' Report
Summary
Cáceres 77' Attendance: 9,070
Referee: Craig Zetter
19 December 2009 Central Coast Mariners 2–3 Brisbane Roar Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
18:00 UTC+11 Travis 35'
Macallister 77'
Report
Summary
Oar 10'
van Dijk 22'
McKay 90+1'
Attendance: 5,684
Referee: Alan Milliner

Round 21

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26 December 2009 Gold Coast United 5–1 Brisbane Roar Skilled Park, Gold Coast
17:00 UTC+10 Rees 45+1', 53'
Smeltz 50' (pen.), 61', 77'
Report
Summary
McKay 7' Attendance: 10,024
Referee: Strebre Delovski

Round 22

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