2009–10 Adelaide United FC season

The 2009–10 Adelaide United FC season was the club's fifth A-League season. It includes the A-League 2009–10 season as well as any other competitions of the 2009–10 football (soccer) season.

Adelaide United
2009–10 season
ChairmanMel Patzwald
Head CoachAurelio Vidmar
A-League10th
Top goalscorerLeague: Lucas Pantelis (5)
All: Lucas Pantelis (5)
Highest home attendance15,038 (vs Melbourne Victory, 18 September 2009)
Lowest home attendance8,244 (vs Brisbane Roar, 6 February 2010)
Average home league attendance10,765
Adelaide United playing against Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors in the AFC Champions League in 2010.

After a stellar season in the A-League and internationally, Adelaide United began its pre-season without a financial owner; Nick Bianco relinquished his A-League licence back to Football Federation Australia (FFA).[1] Regardless of this situation, the FFA ensured that Adelaide would have the funds available to recruit in the off-season and to maintain the club, whilst they would negotiate the new ownership deals. Adelaide United managed to secure major sponsors Modern Solar as well as Jim's Plumbing for their 2009–10 season.

At the end of the 2008–09 regular season Adelaide United released veteran Angelo Costanzo as well as Jonas Salley, Isyan Erdogan and Jason Spagnuolo,[2][3] with Diego Walsh moving to New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix [4] and Saša Ognenovski moving to K-League side Seongnam Ilhwa.[5] Veteran Adelaide players Michael Valkanis, Daniel Beltrame and Paul Agostino retired at the end of the 2008–09 season.[6]

Adelaide made a number of signings to replace the players which left in the off-season, most notably former Sydney FC defenders, Iain Fyfe and Mark Rudan, Korean youngster Inseob Shin and former Drogheda United midfielder Adam Hughes. Arguably the biggest off-season signing was former Cheltenham Town and Brentford striker, Lloyd Owusu, a capped Ghanaian international. The Reds also elevated a handful of players from their Youth squad to the senior team, namely Francesco Monterosso, Michael Marrone and Joe Costa.

After making a rather average start to the 2009–10 season, the Reds made their final signing in promising young Bulleen Lions winger, Mathew Leckie prior to the Round 5 clash against Wellington Phoenix.[7] Leckie made an immediate impression, and scored his first goal in his second game off the bench against North Queensland Fury and would soon become a fan favourite.

With two rounds to go, and Adelaide sitting at the base of the table, the Reds made a surprise announcement that Argentine playmaker, Marcos Flores, who had signed on for 2 years starting with the club's third AFC Champions League venture, was to make his debut as an injury replacement for fellow import Cristiano. The South American made his presence felt in the final two games of the regular season, and helped Adelaide United finish the season with two consecutive wins.[8][9] This however, was still not enough to lift the club up from its 2009–10 wooden spoon status – the club's worst performing season in its short history.

Adelaide competed in the Champions League in 2010 after finishing second on the 2008–09 A-League league table, and runner-up in the Finals series to cross-border rivals, Melbourne Victory.[10] This will mark the return of Adelaide United to the continental club champions' tournament after a 1-year absence.

On 7 December 2009, Adelaide were drawn into Group H of the Champions League alongside 2009 Asian Champions Pohang Steelers, Chinese sister club Shandong Luneng and the winners of the 2009 Japanese Emperor's Cup.[11] Because Gamba Osaka, the winner of the Emperor's Cup, had already qualified through league placing, 4th placed Sanfrecce Hiroshima became Adelaide United's final opponent in Group H of the Champions League.[12]

In Adelaide's first match of the campaign played on 24 February against Pohang Steelers, Adelaide secured an important victory at Hindmarsh Stadium winning 1–0 courtesy of a fantastic individual effort by youngster Mathew Leckie on the stroke of half-time. They then continued their winning form by beating Shandong Luneng 2–0 and then coming from a 1–2 deficit to beat Sanfrecce Hiroshima 3–2. Despite not quite playing to the standard set in their opening three matches, Adelaide United managed to hold on to top spot in the group by securing a 0–0 draw against Pohang in Korea in between narrow 1–0 losses to Hiroshima in Hiroshima and then to Shandong Luneng at Hindmarsh in Adelaide.

Other results fell Adelaide's way and they finished on top of Group H resulting in a home match in the Round of 16. In an exciting, nerve-racking match, Adelaide lost to Jeonbuk Motors 3–2. Adelaide came back twice in the game, including a goal in the final seconds of the match. Jeonbuk won the match with a goal in the second half of extra time.[13]

Players edit

Squad information edit

First Team Roster edit

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 Eugene Galeković
2 DF   AUS Robert Cornthwaite
3 DF   BRA Alemão
4 DF   AUS Iain Fyfe
5 DF   AUS Daniel Mullen (Youth)
6 DF   BRA Cássio
7 MF   AUS Lucas Pantelis
8 MF   AUS Kristian Sarkies
9 FW   BRA Cristiano
10 MF   AUS Adam Hughes
11 FW   GHA Lloyd Owusu
12 MF   AUS Paul Reid
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 MF   AUS Travis Dodd (Captain)
14 DF   AUS Scott Jamieson
15 FW   AUS Francesco Monterosso (Youth)
16 MF   KOR Inseob Shin (Youth)
17 DF   AUS Michael Marrone
18 MF   AUS Fabian Barbiero
19 MF   AUS Mathew Leckie (Youth)
20 GK   AUS Mark Birighitti (Youth)
21 DF   AUS Mark Rudan
23 MF   AUS Joe Costa (Youth)
24 MF   ARG Marcos Flores (Injury replacement player)
25 FW   AUS Evan Kostopoulos (Youth)

Youth Team Roster edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   AUS Codey Larkin
GK   AUS Nick Munro
DF   AUS Michael Doyle
DF   AUS Dane Milovanovic
DF   AUS Perry Mitris
DF   AUS Alex Sunasky
MF   AUS Joel Allwright
MF   AUS Andrew Ciarla
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   AUS Nathan Farrell
MF   AUS Kingsley Francis
MF   AUS Matthew Mullen
MF   AUS Brett Rayner
MF   AUS Liam Wooding
MF   AUS Joe Wright
FW   AUS Evan Kostopoulos

2009–10 Transfers edit

First Team edit

Youth Team edit

Technical Staff edit

Position Name
Head coach   Aurelio Vidmar
Assistant coach   Phil Stubbins
Specialist coach   Carl Veart
Goalkeeping coach   Peter Blazincic
Youth Team Coach   Joe Mullen

Statistics edit

Squad statistics edit

No. Pos. Name A-League A-League
Finals
Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals    
1 GK   Eugene Galeković 27 0 0 0 27 0 3 0
2 DF   Robert Cornthwaite 19 0 0 0 19 0 4 0
3 DF   Alemão 16 1 0 0 16 1 0 0
4 DF   Iain Fyfe 26 1 0 0 26 1 4 0
5 DF   Daniel Mullen 13 0 0 0 13 0 1 0
6 DF   Cássio 19 2 0 0 19 2 2 0
7 MF   Lucas Pantelis 23 5 0 0 23 5 2 1
8 MF   Kristian Sarkies 11 0 0 0 11 0 1 0
9 FW   Cristiano 24 3 0 0 24 3 1 0
10 DF   Adam Hughes 26 1 0 0 26 1 6 0
11 FW   Lloyd Owusu 16 1 0 0 16 1 2 0
12 MF   Paul Reid 8 0 0 0 8 0 1 0
13 MF   Travis Dodd 23 4 0 0 23 4 5 0
14 DF   Scott Jamieson 24 0 0 0 24 0 3 0
15 FW   Francesco Monterosso 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0
16 MF   Inseob Shin 13 0 0 0 13 0 0 0
17 DF   Michael Marrone 16 0 0 0 16 0 1 0
18 MF   Fabian Barbiero 18 3 0 0 18 3 0 1
19 MF   Mathew Leckie 20 3 0 0 20 3 2 0
20 GK   Mark Birighitti 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
21 DF   Mark Rudan 19 0 0 0 19 0 5 0
23 MF   Joe Costa 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
24 MF   Marcos Flores 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
25 FW   Evan Kostopoulos 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

Last updated: 12 February 2010.
Source: Adelaide United FC
Iain Fyfe was sent off in Round 19, but the red card was later rescinded by the Match Review Panel[15]

Goal scorers edit

Total Player Goals per Round
 1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9  10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27
5   Lucas Pantelis 2 1 1 1
4   Travis Dodd 1 1 1 1
3   Cristiano 2 1
  Mathew Leckie 1 1 1
  Fabian Barbiero 1 1 1
2   Cássio 1 1
1   Lloyd Owusu 1
  Iain Fyfe 1
  Adam Hughes 1
  Alemão 1
A goal was scored from a penalty kick
Two goals were scored from penalty kicks

Attendance at home games edit

Round Date Opponent Score
AUFC – Away
Attendance Weekday
1 7 August 2009 Perth Glory 1–0 13,847 Friday
3 21 August 2009 Gold Coast United 0–2 12,741 Friday
4 28 August 2009 North Queensland Fury 3–3 10,773 Friday
6 11 September 2009 Central Coast Mariners 1–0 10,262 Friday
7 18 September 2009 Melbourne Victory 0–2 15,038 Friday
9 5 October 2009 Newcastle Jets 1–1 12,090 Monday
11 16 October 2009 Sydney FC 2–1 10,291 Friday
14 6 November 2009 Brisbane Roar 0–2 11,209 Friday
15 20 November 2009 Gold Coast United 1–1 9,578 Friday
17 4 December 2009 Newcastle Jets 0–2 8,502 Friday
19 19 January 2010 Perth Glory 2–3 8,904 Tuesday
20 18 December 2009 Wellington Phoenix 1–1 9,070 Friday
23 15 January 2010 Central Coast Mariners 1–1 10,156 Friday
26 6 February 2010 Brisbane Roar 2–0 8,244 Saturday

Competitions edit

Pre-season edit

Match Date Home team Score Away team Attendance Stadium
1 2 June 2009 Para Hills Knights 0 – 1
Cristiano  
Adelaide United N/A The Paddocks
2 9 June 2009 North Eastern MetroStars 1 – 1
Sarkies   N/A' (pen.)
Adelaide United N/A TK Shutter Reserve
3 16 June 2009 Adelaide Raiders 1 – 4
Sarkies   19'
Cornthwaite   35'
Marrone   80'
Dodd   88' (pen.)
Adelaide United N/A Croatian Sports Centre
4 26 June 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 0
Dodd   25'
Perth Glory 1,961[16] Hindmarsh Stadium
5 2 July 2009 North Queensland Fury 3 – 2
Costa   40'
Alemão   50'
Adelaide United 2,547[17] Darwin Football Stadium
6 8 July 2009 Adelaide United 4 – 0
Monterosso   28'
Hughes   32',   72'
Jamieson   85'
South Australian State Team N/A Hindmarsh Stadium
7 26 July 2009 Melbourne Victory 2 – 1
Cássio   58'
Adelaide United 6,257[18] Aurora Stadium

A-League edit

League table edit

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

Matches edit

Round Date Home team Score Away team Attendance Stadium Match details
1 7 August 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 0
Dodd   30' (pen.)
Perth Glory 13,847 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
2 16 August 2009 Sydney FC 1 – 0 Adelaide United 14,924 Sydney Football Stadium Report
Summary
3 21 August 2009 Adelaide United 0 – 2 Gold Coast United 12,741 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
4 28 August 2009 Adelaide United 3 – 3
Pantelis   23', 90+2' (pen.)
Owusu   33'
North Queensland Fury 10,773 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
5 4 September 2009 Wellington Phoenix 1 – 1
Fyfe   42'
Adelaide United 7,523 Westpac Stadium Report
Summary
6 11 September 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 0
Cássio   33'
Central Coast Mariners 10,262 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
7 18 September 2009 Adelaide United 0 – 2 Melbourne Victory 15,038 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
8 27 September 2009 North Queensland Fury 0 – 2
Pantelis   60'
Leckie   90+2'
Adelaide United 6,745 Dairy Farmers Stadium Report
Summary
9 5 October 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 1
Cássio   76'
Newcastle Jets 12,090 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
10 9 October 2009 Perth Glory 1 – 0 Adelaide United 9,482 Members Equity Stadium Report
Summary
11 16 October 2009 Adelaide United 2 – 1
Cristiano   30', 54'
Sydney FC 10,291 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
12 24 October 2009 Melbourne Victory 3 – 1
Hughes   64'
Adelaide United 21,182 Etihad Stadium Report
Summary
13 31 October 2009 Central Coast Mariners 0 – 0 Adelaide United 5,437 Canberra Stadium Report
Summary
14 6 November 2009 Adelaide United 0 – 2 Brisbane Roar 11,209 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
15 20 November 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 1
Leckie   90+3'
Gold Coast United 9,578 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
16 28 November 2009 North Queensland Fury 2 – 1
Cristiano   90+1'
Adelaide United 5,356 Dairy Farmers Stadium Report
Summary
17 4 December 2009 Adelaide United 0 – 2 Newcastle Jets 8,502 Hindmarsh Stadium Report[permanent dead link]
Summary
18 12 December 2009 Brisbane Roar 0 – 1
Barbiero   78'
Adelaide United 5,801 Suncorp Stadium Report[permanent dead link]
Summary
19 19 January 2010 Adelaide United 2 – 3
Pantelis   13'
Dodd   53'
Perth Glory 8,904 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
20 18 December 2009 Adelaide United 1 – 1
Alemão   57'
Wellington Phoenix 9,070 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
21 27 December 2009 Sydney FC 1 – 0 Adelaide United 11,741 Sydney Football Stadium Report
Summary
22 9 January 2010 Gold Coast United 1 – 1
Dodd   20'
Adelaide United 4,505 Skilled Park Report
Summary
23 15 January 2010 Adelaide United 1 – 1
Dodd   43'
Central Coast Mariners 10,156 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
24 23 January 2010 Melbourne Victory 2 – 0 Adelaide United 20,361 Etihad Stadium Report
Summary
25 30 January 2010 Wellington Phoenix 1 – 0 Adelaide United 19,258 AMI Stadium Report
Summary
26 6 February 2010 Adelaide United 2 – 0
Barbiero   7'
Pantelis   51'
Brisbane Roar 8,244 Hindmarsh Stadium Report
Summary
27 12 February 2010 Newcastle Jets 1 – 2
Barbiero   8'
Leckie   74'
Adelaide United 6,880 EnergyAustralia Stadium Report[permanent dead link]
Summary

AFC Champions League edit

Group stage edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification ADE POH HIR SHA
1   Adelaide United 6 3 1 2 6 4 +2 10 Advance to knockout stage 1–0 3–2 0–1
2   Pohang Steelers 6 3 1 2 8 7 +1 10 0–0 2–1 1–0
3   Sanfrecce Hiroshima 6 3 0 3 11 11 0 9 1–0 4–3 0–1
4   Shandong Luneng 6 2 0 4 5 8 −3 6 0–2 1–2 2–3

Round of 16

References edit

  1. ^ "FFA take over Adelaide United FC licence". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 8 May 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  2. ^ "Costanzo, Diego and Salley will leave Adelaide United at season's end". foxsports.com.au. 20 January 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2009.
  3. ^ "Spagnuolo to leave Adelaide". sbs.com.au. 25 November 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2009.[permanent dead link]
  4. ^ "Wellington Phoenix sign Diego Walsh from Adelaide United". goal.com. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2009.
  5. ^ "Ognenovski wants to make most of final season with Reds". Adelaide United. 13 January 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2009.
  6. ^ Lynch, Michael (1 March 2009). "Reds' near miss vindicates Vidmar gamble". The Age. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2009.
  7. ^ "Reds make final signing". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  8. ^ "Reds finally display finals form to defeat Roar". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 6 February 2010. Archived from the original on 28 March 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  9. ^ "Reds' victory over Jets boosts confidence ahead of ACL". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 12 February 2009. Retrieved 1 March 2010.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^ "Adelaide books Grand Final date after beating Roar". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 21 February 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 27 July 2009.
  11. ^ "Pohang, Group H rivals nervously eye Emperor's Cup". The Asian Football Confederation. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ "Vidmar excited about heading back to Hiroshima". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  13. ^ "Reds' ACL dream ends in heartbreak". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ Migliaccio, Val (5 February 2010). "Hitch for Griffiths". The Advertiser. Adelaide: News Ltd. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
  15. ^ "Outcome of independent Match Review Panel – Round 19". A-League. 20 January 2010. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  16. ^ "Dodd's super goal proves too good for Glory in Friendly". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 26 June 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  17. ^ "Vidmar disappointed with narrow loss to Fury". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 2 July 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2009.
  18. ^ "Vidmar upbeat despite 2–1 loss to Melbourne". Adelaide United FC. A-League. 26 July 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2009.

External links edit