2007–08 Sydney FC season

Sydney FC
2007–2008 season
Chairman George Perry;
Andrew Kemeny
Manager Branko Čulina;
John Kosmina
A-League 3rd (League)
4th (Finals)
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup 7th
Pan-Pacific Championship 4th
Top goalscorer League: Alex Brosque (8 goals)
All: Alex Brosque (11 goals)
Highest home attendance League: 33,458 (20 January 2008, vs Melbourne);
All: 80,295 (27 November 2007 vs Los Angeles Galaxy)
Lowest home attendance 10,732 (7 December 2007, vs Newcastle Jets)
← 2006–07 2008–09 →

The 2007–08 season is Sydney FC's third season of football (soccer) in Australia. The club finished seventh in the A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup and competed in the A-League 2007-08 season.

After a disappointing start to the season, the club sacked coach Branko Čulina in October,[1] and appointed John Kosmina. The team recovered from its poor start to finish third on the league table, securing a place in the finals series but being eliminated in the semi-final by Queensland Roar.

The club represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Championship in February 2008 and finished fourth after losing to American MLS sides Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy.

Pre-season

AFC Champions League

As A-League 2005-06 Champions, Sydney qualified for the 2007 AFC Champions League as one of the two teams representing Australia along with 2005–06 League Premiers, Adelaide United. Group matches were played from March to May 2007, during the A-League off-season. Sydney finished second in their group after two wins, three draws and one loss, a point behind Urawa Reds who progressed to the next stage of competition.

Squad preparation

For the new season, Sydney have established an agreement with Macquarie University to use the Sport and Aquatic Centre as a training base[2] and also establishing an off-field relationship offering educational, corporate and research linkages.[3][4] As part of preparations, the club staged a training camp on the Sunshine Coast with a match against a team of local players in the lead up to their opening Pre-season Cup match.[5] Sydney will also play a series of friendly matches against NSW Premier League and State League sides, to engage with the Sydney football community.[6] These friendlies and Pre-season Cup matches also provided experience for trialling players Ben Vidaic, Cameron Watson, Daniel Severino, Robbie Cattanach, Shannon Cole, Chris Nunes, former short-term Sydney player Tolgay Özbey and goalkeepers Vendram Janjetovic and Matthew Nash.

Friendly matches

11 July 2007
Sunshine Coast Select XI 1–2 Sydney FC
Tyson Holmes Report Ufuk Talay
Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast

18 July 2007
Sydney University SFC 0–3 Sydney FC
Report David Zdrilic  25'
Mark Rudan  44'
Ben Vidaic  80'
Valentine Sports Park, Sydney
Attendance: 100

8 August 2007
Manly United FC 2–3 Sydney FC
Andrew Mailer  20'
Brad Groves  77'		 Report Adam Biddle  15'
Michael Enfield  40'
Ufuk Talay  75'
Cromer Park, Sydney
Attendance: 1,900

17 August 2007
Penrith Nepean United 2–1 Sydney FC
Mitchell Long  44'
Ben Gough  approx. 75' (pen.)		 Report Mark Milligan  27'
CUA Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 5,000

2007 A-League Pre-season Cup

The Pre-season Cup competition consists of two groups of four teams, each team to play each other once. All teams then progress to a playoff stage with opponents based on group position, followed by finals series to determine the cup winner. Sydney finished the group stage bottom of Group B behind Central Coast Mariners, Queensland Roar and Wellington Phoenix. After a loss and a win in the final placings matches, they were ranked seventh.

Fixtures

Group stage

14 July 2007
Queensland Roar 0–0 Sydney FC
Danny Tiatto  43' Report Ufuk Talay  13'
Terry McFlynn  66'
Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast
Attendance: 4,892
Referee: Chris Beath

22 July 2007
Wellington Phoenix 3–0 Sydney FC
Michael Ferrante  1'
Shane Smeltz  13',  89'
Mark Rudan (og)  14'
Ross Aloisi  64'
Cleberson  77'		 Report Ufuk Talay  84'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 6,039
Referee: Peter O'Leary

29 July 2007
Sydney FC 0–3 Central Coast Mariners
Clint Bolton  51'
Nikolas Tsattalios  63'
Tony Popovic  65'
Alex Brosque  68'		 Report Matthew Osman  36'
Adam Kwasnik  44'
Andre Gumprecht  51'
Mile Jedinak  55'
Nigel Boogaard  90'
Canberra Stadium, Canberra
Attendance: 5,735
Referee: Ben Williams

Group B Table

Team Pts Pld W D L GF GA BP
Central Coast Mariners 103210613
Queensland Roar 63120321
Wellington Phoenix 53102442
Sydney FC 13012060

Playoffs

4 August 2007
Sydney FC 2–3 Newcastle Jets
Tony Popovic  21'
Brendon Santalab  47'
Ruben Zadkovich  79'
Ufuk Talay  83'		 Report Joel Griffiths  5',  76'
Adam D'Apuzzo  9'
Jobe Wheelhouse  29'
Scott Tunbridge  56'
Steve Eagleton  82'
Parramatta Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 2,611
Referee: Peter Green

11 August 2007
Melbourne Victory 0–1 Sydney FC
Report Alex Brosque  34'  47'
Adam Biddle  58'
Shannon Cole  79'
Terry McFlynn  87'
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,400
Referee: Simon Przydacz

2007–08 Hyundai A-League

On 5 August, David Carney was transferred for A$125,000 to English Championship side, Sheffield United. The former Sydney player signed a three-year deal with the club which has been reported to earn him around A$1.25 million a year.[7]

New players including former Socceroos regular Tony Popovic and former LA Galaxy Attacking Midfielder, Michael Enfield have signed with Sydney for the upcoming season. On 3 August 2007 Brazilian international Juninho Paulista, formerly of Celtic and Middlesbrough, signed with Sydney FC as their marquee player.[8] Sydney have also announced the signings of youth players Ben Vidaic and Adam Biddle.

Former Socceroos Tony Popovic has been named the new skipper alongside current Socceroos Mark Milligan as vice-captain for the coming 2007–08 season.[9]

On 15 October 2007 Michael Bridges was signed on a loan with Sydney FC, until the end of the 2007–08 season of the Hyundai A-League as a replacement for long-term casualty Michael Enfield, who has been ruled out for several months after sustaining a serious knee injury.

On 22 October 2007, it was announced that Branko Culina would be sacked from the club following disappointing results. It was announced on 23 October, that former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina will take the role as the new head coach of Sydney FC.[10]

Kosmina got the side of to a flying start under his tenure, his first match in charge, a clash with then table-topping rivals Central Coast, a thrilling 3–2 victory in front of a crowd of nearly 18,000 at the SFS, a sign of bigger things to come for the Blues. This was followed by an impressive 1–0 away victory over Newcastle Jets; with former England junior Michael Bridges recording his first goal for Sydney FC. An entertaining 0–0 draw at the Telstra Dome, with rivals Melbourne, followed, with Sydney FC still undefeated under Kosmina.

Sydney FC suffered their first loss under John Kosmina on 15 December losing 4–2 to bottom side Perth Glory. Sydney goals were scored by Steve Corica and Michael Bridges.

On 22 December, a crucial match against the Central Coast Mariners resulted in a 5–4 victory in favour of Sydney. The match, held at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, was described by critics as the best game ever to come from the A-League.[11] The crucial win moved Sydney FC up by 3 points to 4th place on the ladder, overtaking Adelaide United. The win was especially savoured after Sydney were down 2–0 after 15 minutes. The controversial sending-off of Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic in the 16th minute turned the match in favour of Sydney, who scored their 5th goal via an Ufuk Taly penalty with the final kick of the match in stoppage time.

On Friday 28 December 2007, Sydney FC came from behind for the second time in two weeks to defeat a 10-man Adelaide United 3–1 and keep its unbeaten away record intact in front of a record crowd of 25,039 in Adelaide. This result forced Adelaide down to 5th on the ladder. With 3rd place Newcastle Jets unable to secure a victory over Wellington Phoenix in Round 18, Sydney leap-frogged the Jets into 3rd place, with only 3 points behind the tied leaders.

A week later Sydney travelled across the Tasman to face Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium. Sydney came out of this match once again victorious winning 2–0 with goals from Northern Ireland superstar Terry McFlynn and current leading goalscorer for Sydney in 2007/2008 Alex Brosque. This kept them in 3rd position on the A-League ladder and in good contention for a finals berth. This win also ensured that the Phoenix would not reach the finals.

As of 30 December 2007 rumours suggesting that Sydney had signed Simon Colosimo from the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets striker Mark Bridge for the 2008/2009 Season. Although these rumours have been proved true, no statements have officially been released as neither player wanted to cause trouble at their present clubs.

On Sunday 13 January 2008 Sydney flew up to Brisbane to play the Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium. The game finished 0–0, with both sides taking a point. Sydney only needed a draw to secure their place for a 3rd consecutive finals appearance. The draw means that the top 4 teams (Sydney, Queensland Roar, Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets) are all on 31 points each, although Queensland are on top due to goal difference. Both teams had excellent chances to open the scoring for their club, but good keeping and failure to capitalise on good opportunities meant that many goals went begging. In the end the 32,000 strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium went home feeling disappointed that they didn't get their moneys worth for this State of Origin Match.

The final game of the 2007/2008 regular season saw Sydney's largest crowd of the season, it drew a large crowd of 33,458 people. Sydney needed to win by at least 2 goals, and they got off to a flying start, with Steve Corica scoring in the 3rd minute. For the rest of the half Melbourne looked shellshocked, and never really recovered from to shock early goal. But they hit back 25 seconds after the break, with Sydney's minds still back in the dressing room, Melbourne midfielder Nick Ward flew down the right wing and took a shot, which ended up rebounding into Sydney defender Mark Milligan, ending up as an own goal. With 15 minutes left in the game Alex Brosque scored, making the score 2–1. But 5 Minutes later Danny Allsopp scored for Melbourne, leaving the final score 2–2. Sydney failed to claim the minor premiership which ended up going to the Central Coast Mariners with their 2–0 victory over the Wellington Phoenix at Gosford. Sydney will now play Queensland Roar in the Semi-Final which is to be held at the Sydney Football Stadium.

On Friday 26 January Sydney played their first leg home final against the Queensland Roar in front of a crowd of 23,450 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The match which was supposed to be played up at Queensland's home ground Suncorp Stadium but it was moved to Sydney because of a concert by the '80s band The Police. Recent matches against the roar, had all been mostly uneventful affairs, including a 0–0 draw a couple of weeks beforehand, and it was the same again. Both sides had few chances during the 1st half, but Queensland's Brazilian import Reinaldo missed a golden opportunity when he air-swinged a cross in the opening 10 minutes. Sydney's best chance came in the 2nd half when Alex Brosque made a break, got around defender Andrew Packer and only had to slot the ball past the keeper but ended up booting the ball over the crossbar, and into the disappointed 'cove' supporters. Late in the 2nd half Sydney suffered a blow when midfielder Robbie Middleby was fouled heavily by Roar defender Sasa Ognenovski and injured his hamstring. Middleby is now expected to miss the next leg up in Brisbane, and possibly the Grand Final. Sydney had to chance to get a double late in the game when Brendon Santalab and Patrick missed golden opportunities.

Sydney and Queensland will now play the second leg of the minor semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on 8 February 2008. Two weeks later Sydney were up in Brisbane to face off in the second leg of the preliminary final. They had suffered a knock-back the day before they flew up with Marquee player Juninho ruled out with a knee injury that he picked up in training. Ruben Zadkovich was announced as his replacement. Sydney started the match well but with lots of poor decisions by referee Mark Shield including the sending off of Midfielder Robbie Middleby for a tackle, which did not even deserve a yellow. Queensland scored in the 14th minute through their Brazilian import Reinaldo and Sydney never looked like coming back after that. Referee Shield made another poor call when Sydney captain Tony Popović allegedly shoved Roar striker Tahj Minniecon in the penalty box, and Sasa Ognenovski converted the penalty past keeper Clint Bolton. Many Sydney fans were disgusted at the poor display shown by referee Mark Shield, as most games refereed under him have turned out to be fair challenges, and as a result the small Sydney group that had travelled across the border booed him off.

Home-and-Away fixtures

Round 1
24 August 2007
Sydney FC 0–1 Central Coast Mariners
Ufuk Talay  43' Report Dean Heffernan  41'
Mile Jedinak  42'
Sasho Petrovski  7',  52'
Andre Gumprecht  61'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 18,457
Referee: Peter Green

Round 2
1 September 2007
Sydney FC 2–2 Adelaide United
Ufuk Talay  12'
Alex Brosque  74'		 Report Richie Alagich  8'
Bobby Petta  45'
Nathan Burns  76'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 14,233
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 3
9 September 2007
Perth Glory 0–0 Sydney FC
Tyler Simpson  61' Report Patrick da Silva  29'
Iain Fyfe  45'
Mark Rudan  81'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 7,907
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 4
14 September 2007
Sydney FC 1–2 Wellington Phoenix
Adam Casey  6'
Mark Rudan  56'
Brendon Santalab  64'
Ruben Zadkovich  86'
David Zdrilic  89'		 Report Felipè  8'
Daniel  29' (pen),  30'
Ross Aloisi  85'
Glen Moss  86'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 11,491
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 5
22 September 2007
Queensland Roar 0–1 Sydney FC
Josh McCloughlan  33'
Danny Tiatto 45'		 Report Ruben Zadkovich  37'
Ufuk Talay  43'
Terry McFlynn  67'
Patrick da Silva  69'
Brendon Santalab  87'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 16,582
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 6
29 September 2007
Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets
Alex Brosque  36',  72'
Ruben Zadkovich  84'		 Report Matt Thompson  6'
Adam D'Apuzzo  12'
Adam Griffiths  22'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: Craig Zetter

Round 7
6 October 2007
Sydney FC 0–1 Melbourne Victory
Ruben Zadkovich  8'
Steve Corica Red card 25'
Juninho Paulista  63'
Alex Brosque  75'
Mark Rudan  90'		 Report Kevin Muscat  12'
Grant Brebner  36'
Joseph Keenan  40'
Danny Allsopp  81'
Archie Thompson  90+3'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 18,436
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 8
12 October 2007
Perth Glory 3–3 Sydney FC
Simon Colosimo  41'
Naum Sekulovski  48'
Jamie Harnwell  52'
James Robinson  59'
Mitchell Prentice  69',  73'		 Report Alex Brosque  40',  90+3'
David Zdrilic  52'
Patrick da Silva  71'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 6,876
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 9
20 October 2007
Sydney FC 0–1 Adelaide United
Mark Rudan  57'
Robbie Middleby  85'		 Report Lucas Pantelis  52',  73'
Dez Giraldi  52'
Robert Cornthwaite  69'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 12,922
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 10
28 October 2007
Sydney FC 3–2 Central Coast Mariners
Alex Brosque  16',  25'
Tony Popovic  31'
Ufuk Talay  86'
Clint Bolton  87'		 Report John Hutchinson  27',  50',  56'
Mile Jedinak  53'
Dean Heffernan  54'
Tony Vidmar  64'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 17,652
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 11
3 November 2007
Newcastle Jets 0–1 Sydney FC
Denni  25'
Adam Griffiths  26'
Ante Covic  84'		 Report Mark Milligan  22'
Ruben Zadkovich  47'
Michael Bridges  69',  86'

Round 12
10 November 2007
Melbourne Victory 0–0 Sydney FC
Grant Brebner  41'
Kevin Muscat  87'		 Report Iain Fyfe  32'
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 31,844
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 13
17 November 2007
Wellington Phoenix 1–1 Sydney FC
Ross Aloisi  29'
Steven Old Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 61', 90+2'
Kristian Rees  76'
Vaughan Coveny  78'		 Report Popovic Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 27', 70'
Talay  90+3' (pen)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 8,062
Referee: Peter Green

Round 14
25 November 2007
Sydney FC 0–0 Queensland Roar
Michael Bridges  39' Report Stuart McLaren  17'
Liam Reddy  23'
Andrew Packer Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 42', 82'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 16,659
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 16
7 December 2007
Sydney FC 1–0 Newcastle Jets
Robbie Middleby  35'
Ruben Zadkovich Red card 52'
Tony Popovic  66'
Steve Corica  90+2'		 Report Mark Bridge  71'
Andrew Durante  80'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 10,732
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 17
15 December 2007
Sydney FC 2–4 Perth Glory
Steve Corica  50'
Mark Milligan  64'
Michael Bridges  90',  90+2'		 Report Billy Celeski  34',  35',  77' (pen)
Leo Bertos  49'
Dino Djulbic  61'
James Downey 90'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 12,402
Referee: Michael Hester

Round 15
22 December 2007
Central Coast Mariners 4–5 Sydney FC
Mile Jedinak  3'
John Aloisi  15'
Danny Vukovic Red card 16'
John Hutchinson  44'
Greg Owens  63' (pen)
Alex Wilkinson  83'
Adam Kwasnik  86', Red card 90+4'		 Report Iain Fyfe  33'
Terry McFlynn  50'
Tony Popovic  62'
Adam Biddle  71'
Brendon Santalab  76'
Mark Robertson  78'
Ufuk Talay  90',  90+5' (pen)

Round 18
28 December 2007
Adelaide United 1–3 Sydney FC
Kristian Sarkies  20'
Travis Dodd  28'
Robert Cornthwaite Red card 33'
Eugene Galekovic  66'
Cássio  76'		 Report Iain Fyfe  31'
Mark Milligan  40'
Brendon Santalab  44'
Steve Corica  54'
Robbie Middleby  65',  67'
Brendan Renaud  83'
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Attendance: 25,039
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Round 19
4 January 2008
Wellington Phoenix 0–2 Sydney FC
Kristian Rees  14'
Shane Smeltz  81'
Tony Lochhead  85'
Ross Aloisi Red card 91'		 Report Ufuk Talay  26'
Terry McFlynn  79'
Alex Brosque  83'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 14,288
Referee: Ben Williams

Round 20
13 January 2008
Queensland Roar 0–0 Sydney FC
Andrew Packer  33'
Simon Lynch  39'		 Report Terry McFlynn  16'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 31,933
Referee: Mark Shield

Round 21
20 January 2008
Sydney FC 2–2 Melbourne Victory
Steve Corica  4'
Alex Brosque  62'
Brendon Santalab  82'		 Report Leigh Broxham  7'
Sebastian Ryall  44'
Mark Milligan (og)  46'
Kevin Muscat  47'
Danny Allsopp  76'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 33,458
Referee: Peter O'Leary

League table

Pos
 Team Pld
 W
 D
 L
 GF
 GA
 GD
 Pts
Qualification or relegation
1 Central Coast Mariners 21 10 4 7 30 25+5 34 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage
2 Newcastle Jets (C) 21 9 7 5 25 21+4 34
3 Sydney FC 21 8 8 5 28 24+4 32 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship
4 Queensland Roar 21 8 7 6 25 21+4 31 2008 A-League Finals Series
5 Melbourne Victory 21 6 9 6 29 290 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 21 5 5 11 25 37−12 20

Updated to games played on 20 January 2008
Source: theworldgame.sbs.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
1First place through to fourth place qualify for the 2008 A-League Finals Series.
2First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage.
3Winning 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.
4Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the 2009 AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Finals

Semi-final – Leg 1
25 January 2008
Sydney FC 0–0 Queensland Roar
Mark Milligan  7'
Brendan Renaud  43'
Ufuk Talay  56'		 Report Sasa Ognenovski  22'
Matt McKay  55'
Josh McCloughan  73'
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 23,450
Referee: Mark Shield

Semi-final – Leg 2
8 February 2008
Queensland Roar 2–0 Sydney FC
Andrew Packer  3'
Reinaldo  12'
Massimo Murdocca  48'
Liam Reddy  74'
Sasa Ognenovski  83' (pen)		 Report Brendan Renaud  15'
Robbie Middleby Red card 20'
Ufuk Talay  67'
Tony Popovic  82'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 36,321
Referee: Mark Shield

Hyundai Club Challenge

Sydney hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy in a one-off exhibition match at Telstra Stadium on 27 November, including high-profile Galaxy signing David Beckham. Sydney won the exciting match 5–3, which included a Beckham goal from a free kick.

27 November 2007
Sydney FC 5–3 Los Angeles Galaxy
Alex Brosque  5',  25'
Ruben Zadkovich  29'
Robbie Middleby  49',  53'
Adam Biddle  76'
Iain Fyfe  87'		 Report Kevin Harmse Yellow cardYellow cardRed card 31', 76'
David Beckham  45',  64'
Edson Buddle  49'
Landon Donovan  90'
Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 80,295
Referee: Mark Shield

Pan-Pacific Championship

Sydney represented Australia in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship held in Hawaii.[13] They placed fourth overall after losing both matches, first to American MLS champions Houston Dynamo and then Los Angeles Galaxy in the third place playoff.

20 February 2008
Houston Dynamo 3–0 Sydney FC
Dwayne De Rosario  28'
Stuart Holden  29'
Chris Wondolowski  43'		 Report Brendon Santalab  49'
Ryan Walsh  57'
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA
Attendance: 15,128
Referee: Alex Prus

23 February 2008
Los Angeles Galaxy 2–1 Sydney FC
Ely Allen  3'
Josh Tudela  45'
Michael Gavin  72'		 Report Brendan Renaud  43'
Terry McFlynn  49'
Mark Robertson  51'
Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, USA
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Brian Hall

Home Attendances

# Opponent Round Attendance Result
1 Central Coast Mariners 1 18,457 L 1–0
2 Adelaide United 2 14,233 D 2–2
3 Wellington Phoenix 4 11,491 L 1–2
4 Newcastle United Jets 6 13,755 W 1–0
5 Melbourne Victory 7 18,436 L 0–1
6 Adelaide United 9 12,922 L 0–1
7 Central Coast Mariners 10 17,652 W 3–2
8 Queensland Roar 14 16,659 D 0–0
9 Los Angeles Galaxy Exhibition 80,295 W 5–3
10 Newcastle United Jets 16 10,732 W 1–0
11 Perth Glory 17 12,402 L 2–4
12 Melbourne Victory 21 33,458 D 2–2
13 Queensland Roar Semi-final 23,450 D 0–0

A-League Regular Season Total: 180,197

A-League Regular Season Average: 16,382

Season Total: 283,942

Player details

For current squad details see Sydney FC Current squad

Squad

Players included in a Sydney FC squad in the 2007–08 season: Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Australia GK Clint Bolton
2 Australia DF Iain Fyfe
3 Australia DF Nikolas Tsattalios
4 Australia DF Mark Rudan
5 Australia DF Ryan Walsh
6 Australia DF Tony Popović (captain)
7 Australia MF Robbie Middleby
8 Australia MF Ruben Zadkovich
9 Australia FW David Zdrilic
10 Australia MF Steve Corica
11 Australia FW Brendon Santalab
12 Brazil FW Patrick da Silva
13 Australia FW Ben Vidaic
14 Australia FW Alex Brosque
15 Northern Ireland MF Terry McFlynn
16 Australia DF Mark Milligan
17 Australia DF Jacob Timpano
No. Position Player
18 Australia FW Adam Casey
19 United States MF Michael Enfield
20 Australia GK Ivan Necevski
21 Australia MF Adam Biddle
22 Brazil MF Juninho
23 Australia MF Ufuk Talay
24 Australia FW Robbie Cattanach
25 Australia MF Matthew Jurman
25 Australia DF Cameron Watson
25 Australia FW Daniel Severino
26 Australia MF Brendan Renaud
27 Australia MF Shannon Cole
28 Australia MF Chris Nunes
28 England FW Michael Bridges
29 Australia MF Mark Robertson
30 Australia GK Matthew Nash
40 France GK Michael Herbet

Transfers

With Branko Culina installed at the helm, he sought to reconstruct the Sydney squad which had been plagued by injuries and financial constraints the previous year. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Noel Spencer left for other A-League sides at the end of the Asian Champions League, but defender Nikolas Tsattalios was rewarded with a longer term contract. New signings from foreign leagues were unveiled in American Michael Enfield, Brendon Santalab and World Cup Socceroo Tony Popović. Popović's expected role in the club was further reinforced by being handed the captaincy for the A-League season.[14] The club also fulfilled their youth player quota, signing Joey striker Ben Vidaic and winger Adam Biddle.

The club also sought to find a new marquee player as they had been unable to land a household-name since the departure of Dwight Yorke at the start of the previous season. The club unsuccessfully courted a number of high-profile internationals including Philip Cocu, Robbie Fowler,[15] Hakan Şükür,[16] Christian Vieri,[17] Jay-Jay Okocha[18] and John Aloisi.[19] On 3 August 2007 Sydney announced, (two days after media reports broke the story[20]) that Brazilian international Juninho Paulista will be their marquee player on a one-year deal. This came the same time as David Carney agreed to move to English side Sheffield United following speculation of his departure following the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Sydney finalised their squad by signing a second Brazilian in striker Patrick da Silva.

With the season kicking off, new reserve goalkeeper Ivan Necevski suffered an injury in training expected to keep him out of action for up to two months. APIA Leichhardt custodian Matthew Nash impressed in his preseason trial to earn a short-term contract as cover. As first round matches were underway with Nash on the bench, Sydney agreed terms with veteran John Filan to join the club, having recently returned home after retiring at Wigan.[21] The short-term agreement fell through less than a week later, Filan citing outside issues.[22]


In

Player From League Fee Date
United States Michael Enfield Los Angeles Galaxy United States Major League Soccer Free 7 April 2007[23]
Australia Brendon Santalab Újpest FC Hungary Borsodi Liga Free 22 June 2007[24]
Australia Ivan Necevski Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 22 June 2007[25]
Australia Nikolas Tsattalios Sydney FC (promoted from short-term deal) Australia A-League – 2 July 2007[26]
Australia Tony Popović Al-Arabi Qatar Qatari League Free 11 July 2007[27]
Australia Ben Vidaic Sydney United Australia NSW Premier League Free 31 July 2007[28]
Brazil Juninho Paulista Flamengo (free agent) Brazil Brazilian Série A – 3 August 2007[29]
Australia Adam Biddle Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 6 August 2007[30]
Brazil Patrick da Silva Nacional Atlético Clube (SP) Brazil Campeonato Paulista Série A2 Free 18 August 2007[31]
Australia Brendan Renaud Blacktown City Demons Australia NSW Premier League Free 12 December 2007[32]

Out

Player To League Fee Date
Australia Nikolai Topor-Stanley Perth Glory Australia A-League – 24 May 2007 .[33][34]
Australia Justin Pasfield Sydney United (released) Australia NSW Premier League – 24 May 2007[35]
Australia Noel Spencer Newcastle United Jets Australia A-League – 24 May 2007[36]
Australia Luka Glavas Heidelberg United (released) Australia Victorian Premier League – 24 May 2007[37]
Australia Dean Bouzanis Liverpool F.C. (loan terminated – delisted) England Premier League – June 2007[38]
Australia David Carney Sheffield United England Premier League A$125,000 4 August 2007[39][40]
Australia Mark Rudan Avispa Fukuoka Japan J. League Div 2 A$100,000 17 December 2007[41][42]
Australia Brendan Renaud Retired – – 23 February 2008

Short-term signings

Player From Start date End date Reason
Australia Matthew Nash Australia APIA Leichhardt 23 August 2007 10 October 2007 Injury cover for Ivan Necevski[43]
21 December 2007 24 December 2007 Injury cover for Clint Bolton[44]
France Michael Herbet Australia Waverley Old Boys 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Clint Bolton while on international duty[45]
Australia Matthew Jurman Australia AIS 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Mark Milligan/Ruben Zadkovich while on international duty[45]
Australia Robbie Cattanach Australia Manly United FC 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Alex Brosque while on international duty[45]
England Michael Bridges England Hull City (loan) 17 October 2007 21 January 2008 Injury cover for Michael Enfield[46][47]
Australia Mark Robertson Hungary FC Sopron 13 December 2007 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Adam Casey[48]
Australia Ryan Walsh Australia Blacktown City Demons 20 February 2008 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Robbie Middleby at Pan-Pacific Championship[49]

Team kit

For the third A-League season, all clubs released new playing strip supplied by sponsor Reebok. Sydney FC retained the established colours in a new design, a sky blue home shirt with navy blue and orange secondary colours, and a white away shirt with sky blue trim.[50]

Sydney also signed new sponsorships with Sydney-based electronics retailer Bing Lee and electronic brand JVC. The home strip will feature Bing Lee as the main shirt sponsor with JVC on the shorts, while the away shirt will feature JVC prominently and Bing Lee on the shorts. A second shirt sponsorship was secured with HBA Health Insurance, that will appear on the back of the shirt below the player number.

2007–08 home colours
2007–08 away colours
2007–08 goalkeeper

Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Club and Culina part by mutual consent". sydneyfc.com. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  2. ↑ "Training HQ at Macquarie University". 2 July 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  3. ↑ "Sydney find training home". FourFourTwo Australia. 8 August 2007. Retrieved 8 August 2007.
  4. ↑ "Unique relationship with Macquarie Uni". 9 August 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2007.
  5. ↑ "Pre-season camp on Sunshine Coast". 9 July 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "Friendlies in the north, south and west". 9 July 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  7. ↑ Carney Makes Blades Parade, 5 August 2007
  8. ↑ Juninho signs as marquee player, 3 August 2007
  9. ↑ Millsy Gets Vice Captain, 7 August 2007
  10. ↑ "Club and Culina part by mutual consent". sydneyfc.com. 22 October 2007. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
  11. ↑ "It was the best A-League game ever". The Australian. 24 December 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2007.
  12. ↑ "Central Coast v Sydney FC rescheduled". sydneyfc.com. 3 December 2007. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
  13. ↑ "Sydney FC to represent Australia at the PPC". Pan-Pacific Championship. 8 February 2008. Archived from the original on 17 February 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2008.
  14. ↑ "Popovic appointed new club captain". sydneyfc.com. 2 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  15. ↑ "Fowler turns Sydney down". Smithies,T. 20 July 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  16. ↑ "Sydney's Şükür punch plan". Smithies,T. & Davutovic,D. 1 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  17. ↑ "Vieri to Sydney FC... maybe". 20 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  18. ↑ "Okocha in Sydney FC talks". BBC Sport. 14 May 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  19. ↑ "Sydney FC chases Socceroo hero Aloisi". The Age. Australia. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  20. ↑ Juninho is Sydney Marquee, 1 August 2007
  21. ↑ "Oh what a Filan: Sydney get their hands on veteran keeper". Sydney Morning Herald. 28 August 2007. Retrieved 28 August 2007.
  22. ↑ "Filan's about-face puts Sydney on spot". Sydney Morning Herald. 31 August 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2007.
  23. ↑ Sydney FC signs American attacker on two-year deal. 7 April 2007. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  24. ↑ Sydney FC sign striker. Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. 22 June 2007. Retrieved 22 June 2007.
  25. ↑ Shot-stopping Sydneysider joins squad Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. 25 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  26. ↑ Cockerill, Michael (14 February 2007). "Culina granted audition as Sydney coach". Sydney Morning Herald. Melbourne. Retrieved 15 February 2007.
  27. ↑ Socceroos World Cup hero signs deal Archived 14 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine. 11 July 2007. Retrieved 11 July 2007.
  28. ↑ "Ben clocks on for two seasons". 31 July 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2007.
  29. ↑ "Juninho signs as new marquee player". 3 August 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  30. ↑ "Biddle to link up following Grand Final". 2 August 2007. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
  31. ↑ "Patrick doubles the Brazilian contingent". sydneyfc.com. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 21 August 2007.
  32. ↑ Gatt, R (12 December 2007). "Now it's double Dutch for Socceroos staff". The Australian. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  33. ↑ Topor-Stanley joins Perth theworldgame.com.au. 1 April 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  34. ↑ Topor-Stanley now a Glory boy The Daily Telegraph. 2 April 2007. Retrieved 25 April 2007.
  35. ↑ Who's Going Where in the Hyundai A-League, 13 June 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  36. ↑ "Jets To Unleash "Excitement Machine"". A.Ormond. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.
  37. ↑ "Bergers Sign Perth Glory Striker". May 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
  38. ↑ "Necevski eyes Bolton's spot". 25 June 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
  39. ↑ "Carney Joins the Blades". 2 August 2007. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  40. ↑ "Carney sold... for just $125K". 4 August 2007. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  41. ↑ "Rudan leaves Sydney FC for Japan". Sydney Morning Herald. 10 December 2007. Retrieved 11 December 2007.
  42. ↑ Davutovic, D (11 December 2007). "Rudan leaves Sydney FC for Japan on good terms". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Retrieved 14 December 2007.
  43. ↑ "Hyundai A-League 2007/08 – Round 1 Preview". 23 August 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2007.
  44. ↑ "Kosmina backs Sydney FC despite injuries". sydneyfc.com. 21 December 2007. Retrieved 22 December 2007.
  45. 1 2 3 "Trio registered to cover call ups". sydneyfc.com. 6 September 2007. Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  46. ↑ "English striker Bridges signs on loan". sydneyfc.com. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 14 September 2007. Retrieved 17 October 2007.
  47. ↑ Henderson, P (21 January 2008). "Bridges jets out of Sydney". Fox Sports. Retrieved 22 January 2008.
  48. ↑ "Sydney FC signs midfielder Mark Robertson". sydneyfc.com. 13 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2007.
  49. ↑ Mason, David (21 February 2008). "Ryan Walsh to make Sydney FC debut against Houston". sydneyfc.com. Retrieved 21 February 2008.
  50. ↑ Young, Richie (7 August 2007). "Sydney gets plugged in". Retrieved 14 September 2007.
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