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For the Adelaide W-League team, see Adelaide United FC W-League.
Adelaide United Football Club is an Australian professional association football (soccer) club based in Adelaide, South Australia. It currently participates in the A-League as the sole team from the state of South Australia. Adelaide is one of the most successful clubs in the A-League. The club's home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium. The club was founded in 2003 to fill the place vacated by Adelaide City in the former National Soccer League (NSL). Adelaide United were premiers in the inaugural 2005–06 A-League season, finishing 7 points clear of the rest of the competition, before finishing 3rd in the finals, The Reds (the team's new nickname) were also Grand Finalists in the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons. The 2006-07 season saw Brazilian international Romario join the club for a four-game stint. Adelaide have the best winning record of all clubs in the A-League. Adelaide is the only A-League club to be present at the Asian Champions League more than once, making them the most successful Australian club in Asia. Adelaide however have not won the domestic A-league Championship. The 2007–08 season was a season to forget for Adelaide as they battled a huge amount of player injury throughout the season. This effectively ended their finals hopes and it was the first time Adelaide failed to make the top two in A-League history.
[edit] History[edit] National Soccer LeagueMain article: Adelaide United season 2003–04 In August 2003, Adelaide City withdrew from the National Soccer League, leaving Adelaide with no NSL presence for the first time since the beginning of the league in 1977. In response, Adelaide United was created in September 2003, and a team was scraped together within a couple of weeks. In October, Adelaide United won its first NSL match, against the Brisbane Strikers 1-0 in front of a crowd in excess of 16,000 people. After an impressive home-and-away season, including a seven-match unbeaten streak during November and December 2003, Adelaide United reached the NSL preliminary final, losing to Perth Glory. The NSL came to an abrupt close at the end of the 2003-04 season. [edit] A-LeagueAdelaide United were announced as one of eight teams to compete in the first season of the A-League, and are, along with the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets, one of only three teams to survive from the National Soccer League's last season. United began preparation earlier than most of the other clubs and had announced two thirds of the 20 man squad before February 2005. The club focused on bringing several Adelaide born players back to South Australia, such as Angelo Costanzo, Travis Dodd and Lucas Pantelis, who had previously played for Adelaide City SC in the NSL. Shengqing Qu was signed from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua as the clubs "marquee" signing (a ruling allowing each club one player to be paid outside the salary cap) in March 2005. Aurelio Vidmar announced his retirement before the A-League had even started. He was replaced before the fifth round by striker Fernando from Brazil, a former 'player of the year' in the old NSL. By moving to Adelaide, he was reunited with former coach John Kosmina who introduced him to Australian audiences at the Brisbane Strikers. Adelaide United established links with American club Miami FC, setting up a 'sister club' relationship, with whom they played a number of friendlies and leading to signing Diego from them. The team also signed Brazilian legend Romario for a 5 game guest stint in November/December 2006. [edit] A-League 2006-07Main article: Adelaide United season 2006–07 Adelaide United advanced to the 2006-07 Grand Final after winning 4-3 on penalties (1-1 AET) against the Newcastle Jets. Adelaide United played Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome in the Grand Final on 18 February 2007 losing 6-0 whilst playing most of the game with only 10 men after captain Ross Aloisi was sent off for his second bookable offense. Following a controversial post grand final interview, Ross Aloisi was sacked as captain of Adelaide United, and left the club to move to Wellington Phoenix. He was replaced as captain by Angelo Costanzo on 22 February 2007. At the same as this announcement was made, it was also announced that coach John Kosmina would be sacked. It was widely speculated that Kosmina had been told to resign by the board of Adelaide United the Thursday after the grand final.[1][2] Assistant Coach Aurelio Vidmar was appointed interim coach. On 22 October 2007, former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina took up the role as the new head coach of Sydney FC. [edit] A-League 2007-08Main article: Adelaide United season 2007–08 For the 2007-08 season Adelaide recruited ex-Socceroo Paul Agostino "marquee", Ivorian Jonas Salley and current Olyroo Kristian Sarkies.[3] They also signed Issy Erdogan of Preston Lions. One of the success stories of the season was the signing of former Flamengo FC player Cássio on a free transfer from Brazilian club. Cássio, who joined from Santa Cruz FC, won the Club Champion award in his first season.Shaun Ontong and Matthew Mullen from the AIS, were also signed to replenish their defensive stocks after the departure of Kristian Rees, Adam van Dommele and Aaron Goulding. [edit] A-League 2008-09Main article: Adelaide United season 2008–09 For the 2008–09 season, Adelaide United made some significant signings to strengthen the squad, most notably striker Cristiano from Willem II for two years on a free transfer. Another key signing to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Richie Alagich was Alemão formerly of CA Juventus. Saša Ognenovski joined the club from Queensland Roar to help shore up the defence, midfielder Paul Reid joined from Brighton & Hove Albion F.C., while promising youngsters Scott Jamieson, Daniel Mullen, Mark Birighitti and Robert Younis also signed. Bobby Petta, Shaun Ontong, Milan Susak, Dez Giraldi and Robert Bajic were all released, Bruce Djite was sold for an A-League record of AU$850,000 to Genclerbirligi, whilst Nathan Burns also transferred to pursue his European dreams, joining Greek first division outfit AEK Athens[4] for A$500,000[5]. Kristian Sarkies, Lucas Pantelis and Fabian Barbiero all had their contracts renewed. This season, Adelaide United passed the one millionth spectator milestone of total crowds since the inception of the A-League. They reached this achievement when their 7,052nd fan passed through the gate, for the Round 3 match against Wellington. Adelaide United are only the third A-League club to do so thus far, the other two being Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC. [6] The round 18 A-League match against Sydney FC at the Adelaide Oval saw $23,002 donated to the Starlight Foundation as $1 from every ticket sold for the match went to the charity.[7] By the end of round 21, Adelaide had become runners-up for the Premier's plate, equaling Melbourne's 38 points on the ladder, having needed to win 2–0 against the Central Coast Mariners to win the premiership and only securing a 1–0 win. The Reds, along with Melbourne, the Queensland Roar and Central Coast, proceeded to the finals where they lost 6–0 over two legs against Melbourne[8] and hosted Queensland on 21 February to determine who would go through to the Grand Final. A 25th minute goal from Fabian Barbiero gave Adelaide the lead, and they held on to that until the final whistle.[9] The Grand Final was held on 28 February at the Telstra Dome. After only ten minutes, Cristiano was contentiously sent off by referee Matthew Breeze after attempting to header the ball and accidentally catching Melbourne defender Rodrigo Vargas on the side of the head with an elbow. Down to ten men for the remainder of the game, Adelaide managed to keep the scoreline at 0–0 until a 60th minute goal from Tom Pondeljak gave the home side a one-goal lead.[10] Melbourne's 2008-09 top-scorer Daniel Allsopp was sent off in the 65th minute due to an incident with Robert Cornthwaite, but Adelaide were still left goal-less at the final whistle. [edit] A-League 2009-10Main article: Adelaide United season 2009–10 [edit] AFC Champions League[edit] 2007 CampaignAdelaide United were selected, along with Sydney FC, as the first Australian representatives to play in the 2007 AFC Champions League. They received their Asian berth as A-League premiers. Adelaide was drawn into Group G with Chinese champion Shandong Luneng Taishan, Korean champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Vietnamese league and Super Cup champions Gach Dong Tam Long An. Adelaide lost to Shandong 1-0, defeated Long An 2-0, drew with Seongnam 2-2, then lost to the Korean team 1-0. The Reds broke Shandong's winning streak in a 2-2 draw, before finishing its campaign with a 3-0 win over Long An, thanks to a hat trick from Travis Dodd. This match marked the last Adelaide United appearances of Fernando Rech and Carl Veart as the 1-0 loss to Seongyam knocked Adelaide out of Quarter Finals contention. Adelaide finished 3rd in its group, ahead of Long An and behind Shandong; with group winner Seongnam making the semi-finals. Dodd scored on 4 occasions, Rech 3 times, and Olyroos players Bruce Djite and Nathan Burns one a piece. [edit] 2008 CampaignAdelaide United participated in the 2008 AFC Champions League after finishing runner-up in the 2006-07 regular season and finals series to Melbourne Victory. Adelaide was drawn into Group E, along with V-League and Super Cup winners Bình Dương F.C., CSL champions Changchun Yatai, and K-League winners Pohang Steelers. In their opening match of the 2008 campaign, Adelaide United defeated Pohang 2-0 in Korea. United drew against Changchun 0-0 in their second game, defeated Bình Dương 2-1 in Vietnam and followed this up with a 4-1 victory in the return leg. In their final group tie at home, Adelaide defeated Pohang 1-0, setting up a deciding away tie against Changchun to determine the Group E winner. In Changchun, Adelaide withstood considerable pressure to achieve an historic 0-0 draw, thus becoming the first Australian team to ever progress to the knockout stage of the Asian Champions League. Adelaide drew J-League and Emperor's Cup champions Kashima Antlers in a two legged Quarter final starting in Japan, where they managed a 1-1 draw. Adelaide captain Travis Dodd scored first in the opening half, but right before halftime the Japanese side were gifted an equaliser when Robert Cornthwaite scored passed his own goalkeeper. In the return leg at the Hindmarsh Stadium a week later, Adelaide became the first Australian team to progress to the semifinals of the competition with a 1-0 win. Cornthwaite redeemed himself from his own goal in the first leg by scoring the only goal of the game midway through the second half. Adelaide drew 2007 Uzbek League Runners-up FC Bunyodkor in the semi-final, after the Uzbeks knocked out Saipa F.C. in their quarter-final. In the first leg of the semi-final, Adelaide won 3-0 with Diego, Barbiero, and Cristiano (via a penalty) scoring. The match was witnessed by 16,998 fans (498 over capacity) at the Hindmarsh Stadium.[11] In the second leg of the semi finals Adelaide United lost 1-0 to FC Bunyodkor but went through to the final 3-1 on aggregate[12]. Thus they became the first Australian team to make it to the final of Asia's premier club competition.[13] In the two legged final, they took on Japanese team Gamba Osaka who deposed 2007 champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the other semifinal.[14] This result ensured that Adelaide would participate in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup either as the AFC representatives or as the highest placed non-Japanese team - as the rules do not allow more than one Japanese team to participate.[15] Adelaide lost heavily over two legs to Gamba Osaka. The score was 3-0 to Osaka at Osaka and 2-0 to Osaka at Adelaide, the Japanese club winning 5-0 on aggregate.[16] [edit] 2010 CampaignAdelaide will again compete 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.[17] This will mark the return of Adelaide United to the continental club champions' tournament after a 1 year absence. On 7th 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.[18] [edit] FIFA Club World Cup[edit] 2008Because of their performance in the 2008 AFC Champions League, Adelaide United filled the position of the Japanese host team in the 2008 edition of the FIFA Club World Cup. Their first match was a play-off against OFC Champions League 2007-08 champions Waitakere United from New Zealand. The Reds defeated Waitakere 2-1 via two set plays from Paul Reid to secure a rematch with ACL rivals Gamba Osaka on 14 December[19]. After a third meeting in three weeks, Adelaide came up against Gamba Osaka yet again at Toyota Stadium. The Reds fought valiantly and created many opportunities, in particular Travis Dodd,[20] but ultimately lost 0-1 after a 23rd minute shot by Gamba midfielder, Yasuhito Endō.[21] On 18 December, Adelaide played in the fifth-place match against Egyptian club Al-Ahly, defeating them 1-0 to be rewarded the Club World Cup's fifth-place winnings of US$1.5 million.[22] Adelaide United were also awarded the Fair Play award upon the completion of the tournament.[23] [edit] Colours and BadgeAdelaide United's original strip was made using the three South Australian state colours: red, blue and gold. The shirt was mainly red with a large yellow stripe down both sleeves with blue being used for the short colour and the stripe running down each side of the top. The badge also uses the state colours in a stylized swoosh, above what appears to be a football made with the Southern Cross, as opposed to the traditional hexagonal panels of a football. Since their inception into the A-League, Adelaide United's kits, along with the rest of the league, have been manufactured by Reebok. United's kit has moved towards a predominately all-red kit, both top and shorts, with blue and gold trim. Originally, the away strip was predominantly white, with red sleeves and gold trim however in 2009 the club launched a predominantly black 'clash' strip. The launch of the new national league also saw Adelaide launch a new badge; while keeping a similar look and feel as its predecessor the new badge takes the form of more traditional football badge with its shield like border. [edit] StadiumAdelaide United play their home matches at Hindmarsh Stadium with the exceptions being on 28 December 2007 and 3 January 2009 when United played their A-League match against Sydney FC at Adelaide Oval. Even though Adelaide lost the first of these two encounters 3-1, it was South Australia's largest football crowd in history with 25,039 people filling the stands, many others turning away at the gate.[24] The second match in 2009 saw 23,002 people attend the game.[7] Hindmarsh Stadium seating capacity is 17,000. Adelaide United's first home game in the now defunct National Soccer League saw over 15,000 supporters watch Adelaide win 1-0 over the Brisbane Strikers[25]. A-League crowds have averaged 10,947 in 2005-06 and over 12,000 supporters attending in both 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. The record attendance for Hindmarsh Stadium was a full house of 17,000 on 12 November 2008 against Gamba Osaka in the historic second leg of the ACL final.[26] [edit] RivalriesAdelaide's two main rivals are considered to be Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory: Sydney and Adelaide were two of the leading teams in the inaugural A-League season where Sydney finished as champions and Adelaide as premiers. Results in recent seasons have heavily favoured Sydney with Adelaide having their worst win/loss ratio against them compared to other A-League teams. The rivalry was further intensified during the 2006-07 season when ex-Reds manager John Kosmina was hired as Sydney FC coach. [27] Adelaide was again one of two of the leading teams in the 2006-07 season this time against Melbourne what saw an altercation between John Kosmina, the Adelaide United manager, and Kevin Muscat after the Victory captain knocked Kosmina over after entering the technical area to retrieve a ball[28]. Season events culminated in the years grandfinal what saw Adelaide captain, Ross Aloisi, sent off and Melbourne win 6-0[29](see Adelaide-Melbourne rivalry). Arguably Perth Glory are also close rivals of Adelaide's not only because the team is Perth's closest geographical A-League opponent but also because the two clubs are two of the three former NSL teams in the A-League (the 3rd being the Newcastle Jets). In the last NSL season Perth Glory knocked Adelaide United out of the preliminary final.[30] [edit] Affiliated clubs
[edit] Current SquadSee also: Adelaide United W-League [edit] First Team Roster
[edit] Youth Team Roster
[edit] Former PlayersFor a list of notable players including captains and club champions, see List of Adelaide United FC players.
[edit] Technical Staff
[edit] ManagersLast updated 12 December 2009
[edit] HonoursDomestic
[edit] Top Goal ScorersExcludes goals scored in NSL. Appearances in brackets. Active players are indicated in bold. Last updated 12 December 2009
[edit] Game Record HoldersExcludes games played in NSL. Active players are indicated in bold. Last updated 12 December 2009
[edit] Adelaide United A-League HistoryBrackets indicate statistics including A-League finals.
*Second finals draw went to a penalty shoot-out which Adelaide United won 4-3 which then led to a Grand Final berth.
*The finals draw went to a penalty shoot-out which Adelaide United won 5-4 to be crowned Pre-Season Champions 2006 [edit] Records
[edit] All-time A-League win/loss (including finals)Last updated 12 December 2009
[edit] All-time A-League win/loss record by stadium (including finals)Last updated 12 December 2009
[edit] All-time International Competition Win/LossLast updated 18 December 2008
[edit] Home Attendances by Season (includes finals)Last updated 5 December 2009
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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