Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first Asian football match played by the Mariners was against Pohang Steelers on 11 March 2009. They have since participated in the AFC Champions League on four occasions and the AFC Cup on one occasion, both organised by the Asian Football Confederation. The team won the 2023–24 AFC Cup and has made the knockout stage of Asian competition on one other occasion (2013 AFC Champions League).
Qualification for Asian club competitions is determined by a team's performance in the domestic league, the A-League Men, and domestic cup, the Australia Cup. The winners of the A-League Men Premiership (regular season) have always qualified, with the winners of the A-League Men Championship (finals series), Australia Cup winners and the next-best team(s) in the A-League Men regular season occasionally receiving a place.
John Hutchinson holds the club record for most appearances with 24. Marco Túlio is the club's record goalscorer in Asian football with eight goals. The Mariners' biggest winning margin in Asia is a 9–1 scoreline, this was achieved at home against Stallion Laguna in the 2023–24 AFC Cup.
History
2009 AFC Champions League The Mariners qualified for the 2009 AFC Champions League after finishing first in the 2007–08 A-League regular season. They played their first ever match in Asia against K-League side Pohang Steelers, finishing in a scoreless draw at Central Coast Stadium. In the next match, against Tianjin Teda, Adrian Caceres became the club's first ever goalscorer in Asian football when he deflected a shot from Shane Huke into the goal; the match finished in a 2-all draw. After picking up two points from their first two games, the team had a run of four consecutive losses which saw them eliminated in the group stage.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2009AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Pohang Steelers0–0 (H), 3–2 (A) Tianjin Teda2–2 (A), 0–1 (H) Kawasaki Frontale0–5 (H), 2–1 (A)
2012 AFC Champions League Central Coast returned to Asian competition in the 2012 AFC Champions League after finishing second in the 2010–11 A-League. The club drew their first three matches against Tianjin Teda, Nagoya Grampus and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, before suffering a 5-goal loss away to Seongnam. In the following match, against Tianjin Teda, the mariners produced their best-ever Champions League result to date, winning 5–1 at home in what was their first ever win in the competition. Needing an away win in their final group game against Nagoya Grampus to progress to the next round, the club suffered a 3–0 loss and were eliminated from the competition.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2012AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Tianjin Teda0–0 (A), 5–1 (H) Nagoya Grampus1–1 (H), 3–0 (A) Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma1–1 (H), 5–0 (A)
2013 AFC Champions League The Mariners were the only team to receive direct qualification to the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2011–12 A-League Premiership. This campaign included a 2–1 win over Guizhou Renhe, as well as an away win against Suwon Bluewings only two days after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final. A loss to Kashiwa Reysol in the final group game was not enough to prevent the Mariners from qualifying for the round of sixteen for the first time. In the next round, Central Coast came up against Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande and lost 5–1 over two legs. Evergrande went on to win the competition.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2013AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage Suwon Bluewings0–0 (H), 0–1 (A) Kashiwa Reysol3–1 (A), 0–3 (H) Guizhou Renhe2–1 (H), 2–1 (A)Round of 16 Guangzhou Evergrande1–2 (H), 3–0 (A)
2014 AFC Champions League The club qualified for the 2014 AFC Champions League after winning the 2013 A-League Grand Final, but were forced to deny rumours that they were considering withdrawing from the competition for financial reasons. A double from Mile Sterjovski gave the club a victory over Sanfrecce Hiroshima at home – the Mariners' first victory against Japanese opposition. The club also defeated Beijing Guoan. A loss in their final match against Sanfrecce eliminated the Mariners from the tournament.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2014AFC Champions LeagueGroup stage FC Seoul2–0 (A), 1–2 (H) Sanfrecce Hiroshima2–1 (H), 1–0 (A) Beijing Guoan2–1 (A), 1–0 (H)
2015 AFC Champions League The Mariners participated in the 2015 AFC Champions League after coming third in the 2013–14 A-League. They entered in the qualifying play-off, where they lost at home to Guangzhou R&F, and were therefore eliminated.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2015AFC Champions LeagueQualifying play-off round Guangzhou R&F1–3 (H)
2023–24 AFC Cup Central Coast qualified for the 2023–24 AFC Cup after finishing second in the 2022–23 A-League Men regular season.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score2023–24AFC CupGroup stage Terengganu1–0 (A), 1–1 (H) Stallion Laguna9–1 (H), 0–3 (A) Bali United6–3 (H), 1–2 (A)Zonal semi-final Phnom Penh Crown4–0 (H)Zonal final Macarthur2–3 (A)Inter-zone semi-final Odisha4–0 (H), 0–0 (A)Inter-zone final Abdysh-Ata Kant1–1 (A), 3–0 (H)Final Al Ahed0–1 (A)
2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite The Mariners qualified for the 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite as Premiers of the 2023–24 A-League Men. The Mariners lost several key players before the competition commenced and were elimiated in the league stage after losing seven of their eight games. The Mariners' sole positive result in the tournament was a 2–2 draw against Shanghai Shenhua, coming from two goals down through goals to Sabit Ngor and Bailey Brandtman. The Mariners' loss to Shandong Taishan was later expunged after the Chinese side withdrew from the competition.
Season Competition Round Opposition Score 2024–25 AFC Champions League Elite League stage Shandong Taishan 3–1 (A) Buriram United 1–2 (H) Shanghai Port 3–2 (A) Shanghai Shenhua 2–2 (H) Vissel Kobe 3–2 (A) Yokohama F. Marinos 0–4 (H) Johor Darul Ta'zim 1–2 (H) Kawasaki Frontale 2–0 (A)
Overall record By season +Central Coast Mariners FC record in Asian football by seasonSeasonPldWDLGFGAGDRound20096024513−8Group stage20126132711−4Group stage20138215614−8Round of 162014620447−3Group stage2015100113−2Qualifying play-off round2023–24139313710+27Winners2024–257016818–10League stageTotal471410236775–8
By country +Central Coast Mariners record in Asian football by countryCountryLeaguePldWDLGFGAGDWin% AustraliaA-League Men110032+1100% CambodiaCambodian Premier League110040+4100% ChinaChinese Super League133371822−423% IndiaIndian Super League211040+450% IndonesiaLiga 1220084+4100% JapanJ1 League11119728−219% KyrgyzstanKyrgyz Premier League211041+350% LebanonLebanese Premier League110010+1100% MalaysiaMalaysia Super League301224–20% PhilippinesPhilippines Football League2200121+11100% South KoreaK League8134412−812.5% ThailandThai League 1100112–10%
See also Australian soccer clubs in continental competitions
External links Central Coast Mariners official website Asian Football Confederation official website
References