The 2008–09 A-League was the 32nd season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the fourth season of the A-League competition since its establishment in 2004. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion plans are on hold until the 2009–10 season. Based on their 2007–08 performances, the Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets competed in the 2009 AFC Champions League for the first time.
Changes to the league included: The introduction of both a youth league and women's league aligned with A-League clubs. An increase in the salary cap to A$1.9 million. The addition of a Junior Marquee player. (A player under the age of 23 who has up to A$150,000 of his salary outside of the cap. Injury replacement players can only match the injured players' salary, or have any excess included within the total Salary Cap.
Clubs
Team Location Stadium Capacity Adelaide United Adelaide Hindmarsh Stadium 17,000 Central Coast Mariners Gosford Bluetongue Stadium 20,119 Melbourne Victory Melbourne Telstra Dome 56,347 Newcastle Jets Newcastle Energy Australia Stadium 26,164 Perth Glory Perth Members Equity Stadium 18,156 Queensland Roar Brisbane Suncorp Stadium 52,500 Sydney FC Sydney Aussie Stadium 42,500 Wellington Phoenix Wellington Westpac Stadium 34,500
Foreign players Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Non-Visa foreigner(s) Former player(s) Adelaide United Alemão Cássio Cristiano Diego Walsh Jonas Salley1 Central Coast Mariners André Gumprecht Andrea Merenda3 John Hutchinson2 Melbourne Victory Ney Fabiano Carlos Hernández José Luis López Grant Brebner1 Newcastle Jets Jesper Håkansson Song Jin-hyung Edmundo Zura Perth Glory Adrian Trinidad Amaral James Robinson Eugène Dadi Victor Sikora3 Queensland Roar Reinaldo Sergio van Dijk Charlie Miller Henrique3 Seo Hyuk-su1 Sydney FC Bobby Petta Terry McFlynn Michael Enfield Wellington Phoenix Daniel Gao Leilei Chris Greenacre Manny Muscat2 Fred4 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 Club Marquee Junior Marquee Captain Vice-Captain Adelaide United Paul Agostino None Travis Dodd Lucas Pantelis Central Coast Mariners None None Alex Wilkinson None Melbourne Victory Archie Thompson Nick Ward Kevin Muscat None Newcastle Jets Edmundo Zura Adam D'Apuzzo Jade North Matt Thompson Ante Covic Adam Griffiths Perth Glory None Nikita Rukavytsya Jamie Coyne None Queensland Roar Craig Moore None Craig Moore None Sydney FC John Aloisi Mark Bridge Steve Corica None Wellington Phoenix None None Andrew Durante Tim Brown Jon McKain Richard Johnson
Pre-season Challenge Cup
All A-League clubs played the pre-season cup competition held in July and August, and were drawn into two groups. Group A consisted of Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory. Group B was Central Coast Mariners, Queensland Roar, Sydney FC and Wellington Phoenix.
The winner of each group, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix, met in Wellington on 6 August 2008 for the Pre-Season Cup Final.2008 Pre-Season Cup Draw , Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008 With the score at 0–0 after 90 minutes, the game went to penalties, Melbourne Victory eventually prevailing 8–7, thus becoming the first team in A-League history to claim all three available trophies, after winning the Premiership and Championship in the 2006–07 season.
Regular season The 2008–09 A-League season was played over 21 rounds, followed by a finals series.Hyundai A-League 2008/09 Season Draw , Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008
League table
Results Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
Round 13
Round 14
Round 15
Round 16
Round 17
Round 18
Round 19
Round 20
Round 21
Finals series Bracket
Semi-finals
Queensland Roar won 4–1 on aggregate.
Melbourne Victory won 6–0 on aggregate.
Preliminary final
Grand Final
Statistics Leading scorers
TotalPlayerTeamGoals per Round 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 12 Shane Smeltz Wellington Phoenix 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 2 11 Matt Simon Central Coast Mariners 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 2 11 Daniel Allsopp Melbourne Victory 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 11 Sergio van Dijk Queensland Roar 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 1 10 Eugène Dadi Perth Glory 1 2 1 1 2 1 2 10 Nikita Rukavytsya Perth Glory 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 8 Archie Thompson Melbourne Victory 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 8 Cristiano Adelaide United 2 2 1 2 1 8 Charlie Miller Queensland Roar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Travis Dodd Adelaide United 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Joel Griffiths Newcastle Jets 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Mile Jedinak Central Coast Mariners 1 1 2 1 1 6 Sasho Petrovski Central Coast Mariners 2 1 1 1 1 5 Ney Fabiano de Oliveira Melbourne Victory 1 1 1 1 1 5 Kevin Muscat Melbourne Victory 1 1 2 1 5 Alex Brosque Sydney FC 1 1 1 2 As of the end of the home and away season A goal was scored from a penalty kickTwo goals were scored from penalty kicks
Attendance These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances.
* Adelaide United played a one-off match at the Adelaide Oval against Sydney FC in their Round 18 match. This is why Adelaide United's highest single attendance exceeds the capacity of Hindmarsh Stadium.
Top 10 Attendances Attendance Round Date Home Score Away Venue Weekday Time of Day 53,273 Grand Final 28 February 2009 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Saturday Night 34,736 Major SF (L2) 14 February 2009 Melbourne Victory 4–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Saturday Night 31,654 Round 9 25 October 2008 Melbourne Victory 0–2 Sydney FC Telstra Dome Saturday Night 28,905 Round 21 23 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 2–0 Wellington Phoenix Telstra Dome Friday Night 27,196 Round 15 6 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Tuesday Night 25,398 Round 17 27 December 2008 Melbourne Victory 3–2 Sydney FC Telstra Dome Saturday Night 24,812 Round 4 12 September 2008 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Adelaide United Telstra Dome Friday Night 24,003 Round 20 16 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 3–0 Central Coast Mariners Telstra Dome Friday Night 23,705 Minor SF (L2) 13 February 2009 Queensland Roar 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Suncorp Stadium Friday Night 23,447 Round 18 2 January 2009 Melbourne Victory 2–1 Queensland Roar Telstra Dome Friday Night
Awards The Premiers' Plate was awarded to the Melbourne Victory, who finished on top of the ladder after the regular season. The Johnny Warren Medal was awarded to Shane Smeltz from the Wellington Phoenix. The Coach of the Year was awarded to Aurelio Vidmar of Adelaide United. The Reebok Golden Boot was awarded to Shane Smeltz of the Wellington Phoenix (12 goals - regular season). The Rising Star award was awarded to Scott Jamieson of Adelaide United. The Fair Play Award was awarded to the Queensland Roar. Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to Eugene Galekovic of Adelaide United. Referee of the Year was awarded to Matthew Breeze. Foreign Player of the Year was awarded to Charlie Miller of the Queensland Roar.
See also Adelaide United season 2008-09 Central Coast Mariners season 2008-09 Melbourne Victory season 2008-09 Newcastle United Jets FC season 2008-09 Perth Glory season 2008-09 Queensland Roar season 2008-09 Sydney FC season 2008-09 Wellington Phoenix season 2008-09 2008 Australian football code crowds
Notes
References
External links A-League official website, including fixtures Football Federation Australia SBS The World Game A-League section FOXSPORTS.com.au A-League section and Official A-League Fantasy competition