2007–08 Melbourne Victory FC season

Melbourne Victory
2007–08 season
Manager	Ernie Merrick
A-League	5th
Pre-Season Challenge Cup	8th
AFC Champions League	Group Stage (2nd)
Top goalscorer	League: ; Daniel Allsopp (7); All: ; Daniel Allsopp (9)
Highest home attendance	31,884 vs Sydney FC (10 November 2007)
Lowest home attendance	14,558 vs Chonburi FC (21 May 2008)
Average home league attendance	24,439
Home colours	Away colours
	← 2006–07 2008–09 →

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	AUS	Michael Theoklitos
2	MF	AUS	Kevin Muscat (captain)
3	DF	AUS	Daniel Piorkowski
5	DF	AUS	Ljubo Milicevic
6	DF	AUS	Steve Pantelidis
7	DF	AUS	Matthew Kemp
8	MF	SCO	Grant Brebner
9	FW	AUS	Daniel Allsopp
10	FW	AUS	Archie Thompson
11	DF	ENG	Joe Keenan
12	DF	AUS	Rodrigo Vargas


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
13	MF	AUS	Kaz Patafta
14	MF	AUS	Adrian Caceres
15	FW	BRA	Leandro Love
16	MF	CRC	Carlos Hernández
17	MF	AUS	Daniel Vasilevski
18	MF	AUS	Leigh Broxham
19	MF	AUS	Evan Berger
20	GK	AUS	Eugene Galekovic
21	DF	AUS	Sebastian Ryall
30	GK	AUS	Mitchell Langerak

Transfers

In

Player	From	League	Date
Mitchell Langerak	AIS	VPL	23 February 2007
Ljubo Milicevic	BSC Young Boys	Swiss Super League	20 February 2007
Joe Keenan	Willem II	Eredivisie	30 March 2007
Matthew Kemp	Adelaide United	A-League	11 April 2007
Evan Berger	Marconi Stallions	NSWPL	29 May 2007
Carlos Hernández	LD Alajuelense	Primera División de Costa Rica	12 June 2007
Kaz Patafta	Benfica	Portuguese Liga	20 June 2007
Leandro Love	Vissel Kobe	J-League	25 July 2007
Sebastian Ryall	AIS	VPL	28 August 2007
Steven Pace	Preston Lions	VPL	30 October 2007
Nick Ward	Queens Park Rangers	Football League Championship	5 December 2007

Out

Player	To	League	Date
Michael Ferrante	Wellington Phoenix	A-League	1 March 2007
Mark Byrnes	released	-	1 March 2007
Fred	D.C. United	MLS	30 March 2007
James Robinson	Perth Glory	A-League	17 March 2007
Vince Lia	Wellington Phoenix	A-League	21 March 2007
Simon Storey	Partick Thistle F.C.	Scottish First Division	21 March 2007
Kristian Sarkies	Adelaide United	A-League	30 March 2007
Adrian Leijer	Fulham F.C.	Premier League	4 August 2007
Eugene Galekovic	Adelaide United	A-League	30 October 2007

Matches

Pre-season matches

30 May 2007	Melbourne Victory	1 : 4	Juventus	Telstra Dome, Melbourne
				Attendance: 43,357

6 June 2007

Richmond Eagles

0 : 1

Melbourne Victory

Kevin Bartlett Reserve, Melbourne

13 June 2007

Oakleigh Cannons

2 : 3

Melbourne Victory

Jack Edwards Reserve, Melbourne

20 June 2007

South Melbourne

1 : 5

Melbourne Victory

Bob Jane Stadium, Melbourne

4 July 2007

China

1 : 0

Melbourne Victory

Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground, Hong Kong

7 July 2007	Tianjin Teda	1 : 1	Melbourne Victory	TEDA Football Stadium, Tianjin
		(5–6 pen.)

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

2007 Pre-Season Cup

Group A
Pos	Team v t e	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: ^{[citation needed]}

15 July 2007 Group Stage	Melbourne Victory	1 : 1	Adelaide United	Aurora Stadium, Launceston
				Attendance: 8,061

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

4 August 2007 Play-offs	Melbourne Victory	1 : 2	Wellington Phoenix	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
				Attendance: 4,100

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

16 September 2007 Round 4	Melbourne Victory	0 : 0	Central Coast Mariners	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10			Vidmar 90+2'	Attendance: 27,351 Referee: Mark Shield

21 September 2007 Round 5	Newcastle Jets	2 : 2	Melbourne Victory	EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
20:00 UTC+10	A Griffiths 5' Musialik 21'		Thompson 65' Caceres 83'	Attendance: 11,179 Referee: Matthew Breeze

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 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

26 October 2007 Round 10	Melbourne Victory	0 : 2	Newcastle Jets	Telstra Dome, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+10	Pantelidis 66'		A. Griffiths 8' J. Griffiths 88'	Attendance: 27,123 Referee: Matthew Breeze

4 November 2007 Round 11	Central Coast Mariners	2 : 1	Melbourne Victory	Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford
17:00 UTC+11	Petrovski 83', 73' 90' Pondeljak 88'		Keenan 22' Hernández 77' Vargas 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 34' 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

20 January 2008 Round 21	Sydney FC	2 : 2	Melbourne Victory	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+11	Corica 4' Brosque 62'	(Report) (Summary)	Milligan 46' (o.g.) Allsopp 76'	Attendance: 33,458 Referee: Peter O'Leary

Ladder

Pos	Team v t e	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^[a]
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^[b]	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:

^ 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.
^ 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

14 February 2008

Whittlesea Zebras

1 : 3

Melbourne Victory

Epping Stadium, Melbourne

26 February 2008

Melbourne Victory

2 : 1

Adelaide United

Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

4 March 2008

Adelaide United

1 : 1

Melbourne Victory

Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

Matches

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Gamba Osaka	6	4	2	0	14	8	+6	14
Melbourne Victory	6	2	1	3	10	11	−1	7
Chunnam Dragons	6	1	3	2	8	10	−2	6
Chonburi	6	1	2	3	7	10	−3	5

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

12 March 2008	Melbourne Victory	2 : 0	Chunnam Dragons	Telstra Dome, Melbourne
				Attendance: 23,356

19 March 2008	Chonburi FC	3 : 1	Melbourne Victory	Suphachalasai Stadium, Bangkok
				Attendance: 10,000

9 April 2008	Melbourne Victory	3 : 4	Gamba Osaka	Telstra Dome, Melbourne
				Attendance: 23,857

23 April 2008	Gamba Osaka	2 : 0	Melbourne Victory	Osaka Expo '70 Stadium, Suita
				Attendance: 8,132

7 May 2008	Chunnam Dragons	1 : 1	Melbourne Victory	Gwang-Yang Stadium, Gwangyang
				Attendance: 3,000

21 May 2008	Melbourne Victory	3 : 1	Chonburi FC	Telstra Dome, Melbourne
				Attendance: 9,558

References

^ "Victory sign Costa Rican star". The Australian. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
^ 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.

[table_note_res_GS0.87670236168276-3] 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.

[table_note_WP0.87670236168276-4] Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

[1] "Victory sign Costa Rican star". The Australian. 12 June 2007. Retrieved 28 June 2011.

[Victory20k-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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