2007–08 Adelaide United FC season

The 2007–08 Adelaide United FC season was the club's third season since the inception of the A-League. The club competed in the 2007–08 A-League and finished sixth on the ladder.

Adelaide United
2007–08 season
ChairmanMel Patzwald
ManagerAurelio Vidmar
A-League6th
Pre-Season CupChampions
AFC Champions LeagueGroup stages
Highest home attendance25,039 (vs Sydney FC, 28 December 2007)
Lowest home attendance10,256 (vs Newcastle Jets, 18 November 2007)
Average home league attendance12,697

For the 2007–08 season Adelaide recruited ex-Socceroo Paul Agostino "marquee", Ivorian Jonas Salley and ex-Olyroo Kristian Sarkies.[1] 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.

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 had failed to make the top two in A-League history.

Adelaide 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 score levelled when Robert Cornthwaite scored an own goal. In the return leg at the Hindmarsh Stadium a week later, Adelaide became the first Australian team to progress to the semi-finals 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 at Hindmarsh Stadium.[2]

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.[3] Thus they became the first Australian team to make it to the final of Asia's premier club competition.[4] In the two legged final, they took on Japanese team Gamba Osaka who deposed 2007 champions Urawa Red Diamonds in the other semi-final.[5]

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.[6]

Adelaide lost heavily over two legs to Gamba Osaka. The score was 3–0 to Gamba Osaka away and 2–0 to Osaka at home in Adelaide, the Japanese club winning 5–0 on aggregate.[7]

Players

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 Australia AUS Daniel Beltrame
2 DF Australia AUS Robert Cornthwaite
4 DF Australia AUS Angelo Costanzo
5 DF Australia AUS Michael Valkanis (captain)
6 DF Brazil BRA Cássio
7 MF Australia AUS Lucas Pantelis
8 MF Australia AUS Kristian Sarkies
9 FW Australia AUS Paul Agostino
13 MF Australia AUS Travis Dodd
15 MF Ivory Coast CIV Jonas Salley
17 DF Australia AUS Isyan Erdoğan
18 MF Australia AUS Fabian Barbiero
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 GK Australia AUS Eugene Galeković
21 MF Australia AUS Jason Spagnuolo
22 MF Brazil BRA Diego
28 MF Australia AUS Rostyn Griffiths
— DF Australia AUS Richie Alagich
— FW Australia AUS Bruce Djite
— FW Australia AUS Nathan Burns
— MF Australia AUS Shaun Ontong
— DF Australia AUS Milan Susak
— MF Netherlands NED Bobby Petta
— FW Australia AUS Dez Giraldi
— GK Australia AUS Robert Bajic

Transfers

Transfers in
Name Position Moving from
Australia Paul AgostinoForwardTSV 1860 München
Ivory Coast Jonas SalleyMidfieldNew Zealand Knights
Australia Kristian SarkiesForwardMelbourne Victory
Brazil CássioDefenderSanta Cruz
Australia Shaun OntongDefenderAIS
Australia Matthew MullenMidfieldAIS
Australia Isyan ErdoganDefenderPreston Lions
Australia Milan SusakDefenderFK Vojvodina
Australia Eugene GalekovicGoalkeeperMelbourne Victory

Transfers out
Name Position Moving to
Australia Greg OwensMidfieldCentral Coast Mariners
Australia Ross AloisiMidfieldWellington Phoenix
Australia Matthew KempDefenderMelbourne Victory
China Shengqing QuForwardreleased
Australia Carl VeartForwardretired
Brazil FernandoForwardreleased
Australia Kristian ReesDefenderWhittlesea Zebras
Australia Aaron GouldingDefenderreleased
Australia Adam van DommeleDefenderSouth Melbourne

Goal scorers
Total Player Goals per Round
 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 101112131415161718192021
6AustraliaBruce Djite11211
5AustraliaTravis Dodd1211
5AustraliaLucas Pantelis11111
4AustraliaNathan Burns1111
4AustraliaPaul Agostino121
2AustraliaRichie Alagich11
1BrazilDiego1
1AustraliaKristian Sarkies1
 A goal was scored from a penalty kick

Competitions

Pre-season
RoundDateHome teamScoreAway teamCrowdStadiumMatch Details
1 15 July 2007Melbourne Victory1–1Adelaide United8,061Aurora StadiumReport
2 20 July 2007Adelaide United1–1Perth Glory3,513Hindmarsh StadiumReport
3 27 July 2007Adelaide United4–1Newcastle Jets3,800Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Playoff 5 August 2007Adelaide United3–2Queensland Roar5,221Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Grand Final 12 August 2007Adelaide United2–1Perth Glory9,606Hindmarsh StadiumReport

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Central Coast Mariners 21 10 4 7 30 25 +5 34 Qualification for 2009 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series[lower-alpha 1]
2 Newcastle Jets (C) 21 9 7 5 25 21 +4 34
3 Sydney FC 21 8 8 5 28 24 +4 32 Qualification for 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship and Finals series
4 Queensland Roar 21 8 7 6 25 21 +4 31 Qualification for Finals series
5 Melbourne Victory 21 6 9 6 29 29 0 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[lower-alpha 2] 21 5 5 11 25 37 −12 20
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage.
    Winning 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.
  2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Matches
RoundDateHome teamScoreAway teamCrowdStadiumMatch Details
1 25 August 2007Queensland Roar2–2Adelaide United16,828Suncorp StadiumReport
Summary
2 1 September 2007Sydney FC2–2Adelaide United14,233Sydney Football StadiumReport
Summary
3 7 September 2007Adelaide United1–1Melbourne Victory12,231Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
4 15 September 2007Newcastle Jets1–0Adelaide United13,627EnergyAustralia StadiumReport
Summary
5 22 September 2007Wellington Phoenix2–2Adelaide United12,127Westpac StadiumReport
Summary
6 30 September 2007Adelaide United2–1Central Coast Mariners11,019Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
7 7 October 2007Perth Glory0–0Adelaide United6,252Members Equity StadiumReport
Summary
8 12 October 2007Adelaide United4–1Melbourne Victory13,372Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
9 20 October 2007Sydney FC0–1Adelaide United12,922Sydney Football StadiumReport
Summary
10 28 October 2007Adelaide United4–1Wellington Phoenix11,740Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
11 2 November 2007Adelaide United0–1Queensland Roar10,705Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
12 10 November 2007Central Coast Mariners2–0Adelaide United11,680Bluetongue StadiumReport
Summary
13 18 November 2007Adelaide United1–1Newcastle Jets10,256Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
14 23 November 2007Adelaide United1–1Perth Glory10,678Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
15 30 November 2007Wellington Phoenix1–2Adelaide United18,345Westpac StadiumReport
Summary
16 8 December 2007Melbourne Victory2–2Adelaide United22,466Telstra DomeReport
Summary
17 14 December 2007Adelaide United1–2Central Coast Mariners11,123Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary
18 28 December 2007Adelaide United1–3Sydney FC25,039Adelaide OvalReport
Summary
19 4 January 2008Newcastle Jets2–1Adelaide United13,047EnergyAustralia StadiumReport
Summary
20 13 January 2008Perth Glory3–2Adelaide United8,025Members Equity StadiumReport
Summary
21 20 January 2008Adelaide United2–0Queensland Roar10,803Hindmarsh StadiumReport
Summary

AFC Champions League
Main article: 2008 AFC Champions League

Group stage

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
Australia Adelaide United 6 4 2 0 9 2 +7 14
China Changchun Yatai 6 3 3 0 10 3 +7 12
South Korea Pohang Steelers 6 1 2 3 6 7 −1 5
Vietnam Bình Dương 6 0 1 5 4 17 −13 1
Source:
RoundDateHome teamScoreAway teamAttendanceStadium
1 12 March 2008Pohang Steelers0 – 2
Cornthwaite 3'
Djite 59'
Adelaide United8,436Steelyard Stadium
2 19 March 2008Adelaide United0–0Changchun Yatai10,510Hindmarsh Stadium
3 9 April 2008Bình Dương1 – 2
Diego 10'
Alagich 78'		Adelaide United15,000Gò Đậu Stadium
4 23 April 2008Adelaide United4 – 1
Pantelis 56'
Dodd 58', 62'
Diego 77'		Bình Dương13,802Hindmarsh Stadium
5 7 May 2008Adelaide United1 – 0
Diego 63'		Pohang Steelers11,805Hindmarsh Stadium
6 22 May 2008Changchun Yatai0–0Adelaide United20,000Changchun City Stadium

Knockout stage
FinalDateHome teamScoreAway teamAttendanceStadium
Quarter (1) 17 September 2008Kashima Antlers1 – 1
Dodd 38'
Adelaide United7,004Kashima Soccer Stadium
Quarter (2) 24 September 2008Adelaide United1 – 0
Cornthwaite 73'		Kashima Antlers16,965Hindmarsh Stadium
Semi (1) 8 October 2008Adelaide United3 – 0
Diego 57'
Barbiero 70'
Cristiano 89' (pen)		Bunyodkor16,998Hindmarsh Stadium
Semi (2) 22 October 2008Bunyodkor1–0Adelaide United17,000MHSK Stadium
Grand (1) 5 November 2008Gamba Osaka3–0Adelaide United20,639Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Grand (2) 12 November 2008Adelaide United0–2Gamba Osaka17,000Hindmarsh Stadium

References
  1. Sarkies joins United , A-League Official News
  2. Reds take giant leap towards AFC Champions League Final Archived 12 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Adelaide United into AFC Champions League Final
  4. Vidmar: ‘As big as the World Cup!’ Archived 27 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Nishino: We won the mental battle Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Adelaide toasted by Oz media Archived 28 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Gamba crowned kings of Asia Archived 25 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
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