Sydney FC

Sydney FC

Nickname(s)	Sky Blues
Founded	2004
Ground	Sydney Football Stadium
Capacity	45,500
Owner	David Traktovenko
Chairman	Scott Barlow
Manager	Frank Farina
League	A-League
2012–13	A-League, 7th
Home colours Third colours

Sydney FC is a professional football (soccer) club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football (soccer) competition, the A-League. Sydney FC were inaugural winners of the A-League in 2006 and are considered one of the most successful teams in Australia having won two national A-League Championships (2006 and 2010) and one Premiers' Plate (2010). Sydney also remain the only A-League team ever to win the OFC Champions League as since 2006 A-League teams have gained qualification to the AFC Champions League instead, in which Sydney has also competed. They finished 2nd in the group stage of the 2007 season of the tournament and also competed in the 2011 season. Having won titles in the W-League and in the National Youth League Sydney hold the distinction of being the only club to have won all 3 competitions.

Its home ground is Allianz Stadium, a 45,500 seat multi-use venue in the suburb of Moore Park. Right from the beginning Sydney FC was marketed as the "glamour club" of the new competition, with the involvement of the club's high-profile personnel, including investor and actor Anthony LaPaglia, ex-Manchester United star Dwight Yorke as the team's first "marquee player" and 1990 FIFA World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski as manager in the first season. Sydney went on to sign Former English International defender Terry Butcher as the 2006–07 season coach, Brazilian superstar midfielder Juninho Paulista in the 2007–08 season, Socceroo legends John Aloisi and Brett Emerton in their 2008–09 and 2011-12 seaons, and Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero in the 2012–13 season, with each as the highest paid footballer in Australia in their respective seasons. Current Australian captain Lucas Neill, striker Benito Carbone of Italy, and Japanese legend Kazuyoshi Miura have also made appearances in the sky blue jersey.

History

Main article: History of Sydney FC

Foundation

The first steps towards the foundation of Sydney FC were taken in April 2004 when Soccer New South Wales (now Football NSW) announced their intention to bid for a licence in the new Australian soccer competition. The preference was for the club to play out of Parramatta Stadium.

Sydney FC playing the Los Angeles Galaxy at ANZ Stadium during 2007.

The bid was lodged with the Australian Soccer Association (now Football Federation Australia) on 19 July, challenged only by a consortium headed by Nick Politis, known as the "Sydney Blues", for Sydney's place in the 'one team per city' competition. A public row broke out between the two bidders after reports that the ASA were set to vote in favour of Sydney FC, causing Politis to withdraw his support for a team, and leaving Sydney FC as the only candidate remaining.

Sydney was officially launched as a member of the new 8-team A-League on 1 November 2004, with a 25% stake in the club held by Soccer NSW, the remainder privately owned. Walter Bugno was announced as the inaugural chairman of the club. On 11 December 2004, Soccer NSW announced that it would pull out of its involvement with Sydney FC amid concerns over part owner Frank Lowy's autocratic style in establishing the club and lack of consultation with Soccer NSW on key Sydney FC issues. These included the choice of the Sydney Football Stadium over Parramatta Stadium as the team's home ground, and the erosion of Soccer NSW's initial 100 per cent involvement to just 25 per cent.

By February 2005, Sydney had filled 16 of their allowed 20 squad positions—attracting Socceroos Alvin Ceccoli, Clint Bolton, Steve Corica and David Zdrilic as well as youth internationals Justin Pasfield, Mark Milligan, Wade Oostendorp, Iain Fyfe and Jacob Timpano. German Pierre Littbarski was signed as Head Coach, to be assisted by former Norwich City player Ian Crook. Sydney FC played its first ever match against Manly United FC on 25 March 2005, winning 6–1. Shortly after, Sydney set off on a tour to the United Arab Emirates to play matches against local teams FC Hatta, Al Ain FC and Al Jazira, winning all three. Whilst in Dubai, Sydney FC announced that they had agreed to terms with former Manchester United player Dwight Yorke to join Sydney as their "marquee player" – one paid outside of the $1.5 million salary cap — for two seasons.

Pre-League

Sydney FC's first competitive match was held against Queensland Roar at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as part of an Australian qualifying tournament to enter the 2005 Oceania Club Championship. After winning the match 3–0, Sydney went on to defeat Perth Glory and the Central Coast Mariners to win their first piece of silverware and qualify for the Oceania Club Championship, to be held in Tahiti. Despite an early scare against New Zealand club Auckland City FC, Sydney won all of their matches in the competition and qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan. The start of the 2005 Pre-Season Cup marked Sydney FC's first match at Allianz Stadium, as well as Dwight Yorke's first appearance for the club—Yorke scoring the first goal of Sydney's 3–1 win which stretched their unbeaten run to 9 competitive matches (15 including friendlies). Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sydney's unbeaten run finally ended at 11 with Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward scoring in injury time to inflict the new club's first ever loss.

A-League

Sydney FC's first season was ultimately a success. Finishing 2nd on the ladder behind Adelaide United they went on to defeat Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the 2006 A-League Grand Final with Steve Corica scoring in the second half. However their success wouldn't last long, with German manager Pierre Littbarski leaving the club due to being forced to accept a lower pay cheque and inaugural marquee player Dwight Yorke being signed by Premier League club Sunderland. Former English international Terry Butcher was signed as their new coach for the 2006–07 season, however it was regarded as an overall failure, with Sydney playing poor football, despite the signing of Alex Brosque and Benito Carbone as a Guest player. Sydney also had 3 points taken away during the season, after it was found that they had breached the Salary cap, involving player David Zdrillic. Despite the off field problems, Sydney scraped into the finals series, however lost out in the semi final to Newcastle Jets. Despite him leading Sydney into the finals, Sydney fans were unhappy with Butchers tactics, and both Butcher and Sydney FC went their separate ways. Sydney would then sign Branko Čulina for their 2007 Asian Champions League campaign, where they finished second in the group, one point behind ultimate champions and J-League heavyweights Urawa Red Diamonds. Despite the ACL success, Sydney FC's start to the 07–08 season was poor, and the club sacked him, replacing him with former Adelaide United manager John Kosmina. Sydney FC played well for the rest of the season, but got knocked out in the finals by Brisbane Roar.

Kosmina couldn't repeat the success of the previous season, replacing Brazilian international Juninho with Socceroos hero John Aloisi on a million dollar contract. However Aloisi didn't perform well at all during the season, and came under heavy fire, along with manager Kosmina, whose tactics were seen as controversial, and his relationship with the media, often becoming angry and frustrated didn't help causes either, many players fell out of favour with the coach, including Steve Corica and Clint Bolton and for the first time in the clubs history, they failed to make the play-offs. As a result Kosmina was fired, and new Owners were brought in – Russian billionaire David Traktovenko. The fresh change at the club was about to bear fruit, when Sydney announced they had signed Czech Republic manager Vítězslav Lavička. Lavicka completely changed the structure of the club, and for its first time turning it into a serious, European style football club. He kept faith in Steve Corica and John Aloisi and several others who had threatened to walk out on the club, and as a result, Sydney FC won its first premiership in the club's history. Sydney made it to the Grand Final of the 5th season of the A-League after defeating Wellington Phoenix in the preliminary final. The Grand Final was played against Melbourne Victory at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne. Sydney took the lead after 61 minutes through a Mark Bridge header, just seconds after Melbourne had a goal disallowed for offside. Melbourne equalised through Adrian Leijer in the 81st minute, and the game went on to a penalty shootout with no goals scored in extra time. Melbourne skipper Kevin Muscat missed his penalty, with his shot hitting the post. Sydney FC won the Grand Final 4–2 on penalties which handed them their second Hyundai A-League Championship.

For the 2012/2013 season the club acquired the services of Alessandro Del Piero. He will be paid $2 million for each year and become the highest-paid footballer to ever play in the A-League.

“This is huge for Sydney FC, huge for the A-League and huge for Australian football,” Sydney FC Chairman Scott Barlow said.
“We feel honoured that Alessandro has decided to play for Sydney FC and we share his excitement that a move to Sydney FC will create a lasting legacy for football in this country.”

Colours and badge

Sydney FC's badge since founding in 2004

The primary club colour of Sydney FC is sky blue, which represents the state colour of New South Wales. The secondary club colour is navy blue, with additional contrasting colours of orange and white.

The Sydney FC badge was created and used since the clubs founding in 2004. It features a football set centrally in a stylised crest shape. Above the ball is the shape of three shells of the Sydney Opera House, an internationally recognisable symbol of the city of Sydney. Below the ball is the Commonwealth Star, a seven-pointed star symbolising the Federation of Australia.

Current squads

See also: List of Sydney FC players

Senior squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
1	GK	AUS	Ivan Necevski
2	DF	AUS	Sebastian Ryall
3	DF	AUS	Marc Warren
4	DF	NED	Pascal Bosschaart
5	DF	AUS	Matthew Jurman
7	MF	AUS	Brett Emerton (Vice-Captain)
8	DF	AUS	Pedj Bojić
10	FW	ITA	Alessandro Del Piero
12	FW	AUS	Blake Powell
13	DF	BRA	Tiago
14	FW	AUS	Mitchell Mallia

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
15	MF	NIR	Terry McFlynn (Captain)
16	MF	AUS	Joel Chianese
18	MF	AUS	Peter Triantis
19	MF	AUS	Nick Carle
20	GK	AUS	Vedran Janjetović
22	MF	IRQ	Ali Abbas
23	MF	AUS	Rhyan Grant
24	MF	AUS	Hagi Gligor (Youth)
25	DF	AUS	Daniel Petkovski (Youth)
29	FW	AUS	Joel Griffiths
—	FW	AUS	Corey Gameiro

Youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
–	GK	AUS	Anthony Bouzanis
–	GK	AUS	Ryan Norval
–	DF	AUS	Daniel Petkovski
–	DF	AUS	Keifer Dotti
–	DF	AUS	Roberto Speranza
–	DF	AUS	Luke Jenner
–	DF	AUS	Luke Clifford
–	DF	AUS	Aaron Calver

No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
–	MF	AUS	Lukas Stergiou
–	MF	AUS	Christopher Naumoff
–	MF	AUS	Hagi Gligor
–	MF	AUS	Peter Triantis
–	FW	AUS	Alec Urosevski
–	FW	AUS	Nikola Taneski
–	FW	AUS	Josh MacDonald
–	FW	AUS	Tom Slater

Sponsorship

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor	Minor Sponsor
2005–2007	Reebok	Healthe	HBA Insurance
2007–2009		Bing Lee/JVC
2009-2011		Bing Lee/Sony	MBF Health Insurance Pulsar
2011-12	adidas	UNICEF	Sydney Children's Hospital CMRI
2012-		Webjet	Destination NSW Caltex

Other sponsors include:

• Adidas
• St.George Bank
• PWC
• Bsc
• Crinitis
• Spotless
• Macquarie University
• JB Metropolitan Distributors
• Hyundai Motor Company (In Association with A-League)
• Nova 96.9 Official Radio Sponsor.
• The Daily Telegraph Official Newspaper Sponsor

Stadium

Main article: Sydney Football Stadium

Sydney FC play their home matches at Allianz Stadium (commonly known as SFS), located in the Sydney suburb of Moore Park. It was built in 1988 to be the premium "rectangular field" for rugby league matches. It is also now used for association football and rugby union for major matches and domestic competition.

The stadium has easy access from the city centre, with shuttle buses running from nearby Central Station on match days. It has been the venue for several Australian international matches (notably World Cup Qualifier against Argentina in 1993). The stadium's capacity was stated at 41,159 prior to renovations in 2007, although the attendance of the 2006 A-League grand final exceeded this number by over 500. The currently stated capacity is 45,500.

Sydney FC have played matches at other Sydney venues. Parramatta Stadium in western Sydney was the venue for an AFC Champions League match against Indonesian football side Persik Kediri in April 2007 when the SFS was unavailable due to a NRL match being played there. A friendly match against Los Angeles Galaxy was played at ANZ Stadium in November 2007 due to its greater capacity, which drew a crowd of 80,295. Some argued that if the home stadium of Sydney FC was moved to the ANZ Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park, then it would have attracted much larger crowds, making it an easier travel distance from the stadium to the south and south-west districts of Sydney. However, as of 2012 these districts are now represented in the A-League so such a move would be unnecessary. In December 2011, Sydney played a (2–0 winning) match at Kogarah Oval against Brisbane Roar, as the SFS was unavailable due to concerts being held at the ground that weekend.

Panorama of Allianz Stadium prior to Sydney FC defeating Melbourne Victory 2–0 to win the 2009–10 Hyundai A-League Premiership in front of 25,407 fans

Training ground

Sydney FC's primary training ground is at Macquarie University in North Ryde where they use the grounds, and they also have advantage of the aquatic centre which they use for post match recovery sessions. Occasionally Sydney will train at the SFS and have been seen after home games having recovery sessions at local beaches such as Coogee Beach, Bondi Beach and Maroubra.

Supporters

Sydney supporters at the northern end at the Allianz Stadium

Sydney FC draw support from right across Sydney, and is one of the most heavily supported clubs in Australia, as they were the only A-League team from Australia's largest city until 2012. The largest supporter group of Sydney FC is known as "The Cove", and are located in Bay 23 (at the northern end) of Allianz Stadium. The name came from the original name given to the colonial settlement of Sydney — Sydney Cove. This settlement was located on the piece of land that is now the Circular Quay ferry terminal.

Cove members attend every home match and also travel as a group around the country to support the team at away matches. As a vocal group, The Cove demonstrates its support by singing football chants, wearing club colours, standing up, waving flags and holding banners. On 7 July 2006, Australian rock singer Jimmy Barnes recorded a club song entitled 'Sydney FC For Me' with 25 members of The Cove singing back-up vocals. It was released prior to the start of the 2006–07 season. Sydney FC's Cove is also noted as being one of the largest supporters groups in Australia.

Rivalries

See also Sydney FC league record by opponent

• Melbourne Victory — The Big Blue — The clash between Australia's two largest cities is considered the biggest rivalry in the League by both sets of fans. Sydney and Melbourne have been historical rivals for over a century, and their football teams' rivalry is no exception. This rivalry has become arguably the most bitter in the A-League, with matches between the two teams characterised by spiteful confrontations, controversy and consistently record-breaking crowds.

• Western Sydney Wanderers — The Sydney Derby  — With the introduction of the Wanderers into the competition, Sydney FC now contest a true local derby for the first time. The two teams played their first match on 20 October 2012 at the Wanderers' home ground, Parramatta Stadium. Sydney FC won the match 0–1 in front of a near-capacity crowd of 19,126 fans.

• Central Coast Mariners — The South NSW Derby  — Things hotted up in the first season when Sydney took the Championship title by defeating Central Coast. The minor rivalry was expressed in a fantastic 5–4 game in season three, with Sydney victorious due to a penalty kick in stoppage time.

• Newcastle Jets — The third of three local New South Wales derbies for Sydney FC. Newcastle defeated Sydney FC in the 2006/07 season 3–2 on aggregate to progress to the minor semi finals. Sydney then defeated Newcastle on the final day of the 2011/12 season 3–2 at home, to secure a Final Series berth at the Jets' expense.

• Brisbane Roar — The clash between the 'two state of origins' was first ignited in the 2007–08 Hyundai A-league finals when Brisbane Roar (then known as Queensland Roar) secured victory over Sydney FC after two hard fought legs with the second leg being played in front of a club record crowd of 36,211 at Suncorp. After being stagnant for the seasons to follow, the rivalry between the biggest club in their respective states re-ignited after Sydney FC ended the Brisbane Roar's record-breaking 36-game unbeaten streak in the A-League on 4 December 2011. The return clash in Brisbane saw an on field clash between Sydney's Pascal Bosschaart and Brisbane's Besart Berisha following Brisbane Roar's last-gasp 2–1 victory at Suncorp Stadium.

Affiliated clubs

• Shanghai Shenhua — In December 2008 Sydney management released a statement that Sydney had signed a permanent sister-club relationship with Chinese Super League Club Shanghai Shenhua, both clubs will trade players, as well as coaching tips and medical and training methods.

Academy

On 21 December 2009, Sydney FC inaugurated an elite academy to develop young players. The main goal of the academy was stated as to produce better players by providing technical and tactical knowledge, as well as to identify potential new talent that could represent Sydney in the National Youth League and A League in future. This began a continued commitment from Sydney to invest in and develop junior talent for the benefit of grassroots soccer. The initial 26 players taken in were drawn from the NSW State League clubs and consisted of junior players aged between 14–18 years old. They started training with the academy at Macquarie University.

Captains

Captains by Years (2005–present) Hyundai A-League games only.

Name	Nat	Period
Mark Rudan		2005–07
Tony Popovic		2007–08
Steve Corica		2008–10
Terry McFlynn		2010–

Club official

Management

• Chairman:Scott Barlow
• Vice Chairman: TBD
• Director: Michael Crismale
• Director: Jeremy Nicholas
• Director: Jamie Samaha
• Director: Mark Arbib
• Chief Executive Officer: Tony Pignata
• Financial Director: John Bradley
• General Manager, Media and Communications: David Mason
• General Manager, Commercial: Nic Barbato
• General Manager, Community, Marketing and Fan Relationships: Rawya Jammal

Senior sporting staff

• Head Coach: Frank Farina
• Assistant Coach: Rado Vidosic
• Strength/Conditioning Coach: Anthony Crea
• Goalkeeping Coach: Željko Kalac
• Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Daniel Biggs
• Club Doctor: Dr. Andrew McDonald
• Club Physio: Stan Ivancic
• Assistant/Masseur: Joe Niutta

Youth sporting staff

• Head Coach: Steve Corica
• Assistant Youth Coach: Miro Vlastelica
• Goalkeeping Coach: Davide Del Giovine
• Physiotherapist: Daniel Kurlapski, Abid Mujala

Managers by Years (2005–present) Hyundai A-League games only.

Name	Nat	Period	Honours	Managed	Won	Drawn	Lost	Win %
Pierre Littbarski		Feb 2005 – June 2006	2004–05 Oceania Club Champions 2005–06 Hyundai A-League Champions	24	12	7	5	50%
Terry Butcher		July 2006 – February 2007		23	9	8	6	39%
Branko Culina		April 2007 – October 2007	AFC Champions League 2007 Group Stage	9	2	3	4	22%
John Kosmina		October 2007 – March 2009		35	13	11	11	37%
Vítězslav Lavička		February 2009 – May 2012	2009–10 Hyundai A-League Premiers 2009–10 Hyundai A-League Champions AFC Champions League 2011 Group Stage	89	35	22	32	39%
Ian Crook		May 2012–11 November 2012		6	2	0	4	33%
Steve Corica (Caretaker)		12 November 2012 – 27 November 2012		2	0	0	2	0%
Frank Farina		28 November 2012 – present		13	6	3	4	46%

Honours

Domestic

• A-League:

Premiers (1): 2009–10

Runners-Up (1): 2005–06

• A-League Finals Series:

Champions (2): 2006, 2010

Continental

• Oceania Club Championship

Champions (1): 2005

• AFC Champions League

Group Stage: 2007, 2011

International

• FIFA Club World Cup

Fifth-place (1): 2005

Records and statistics

Player

• Most appearances:
  • A-League: Terry McFlynn – 169 (2004 - present)
• Most goals:
  • A-League: Alex Brosque - 30
  • Season: 2012-13 Alessandro Del Piero - 14
• Record transfer fee received: A$500,000 for Dwight Yorke from Sunderland A.F.C. .

Team

• Record victory: 9–2 (vs Sobou FC — Oceania Club Championship, 2 June 2005)
• Record A-League victory: 7–1 (vs Wellington Phoenix — 2012-13, 19 January 2013)
• Record Consecutive Home Wins: 6 (27 December 2012 - 9 March 2013)
• Record defeat: 2-7 (vs Central Coast Mariners — A-League, 3 November 2012)
• Undefeated streak: 11 matches (7 May 2005 – 6 August 2005)
• A-League Regular Season Attendance: 35,419 (vs Newcastle Jets — 13 October 2012)
• A-League Finals Series Attendance: 41,689 (vs Central Coast Mariners — 5 March 2006)
• Record Average Regular Season Attendance: 18,637 (2012-13)
• Record Season Total Attendance: 242,278 (2012-13)
• Record Attendance: 80,295 (vs Los Angeles Galaxy — 27 November 2007)

Season

See also: Sydney FC in International Competition

Season	League								Finals	Continental	Club World Cup
	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	Pts	Position
2005–06	21	10	6	5	35	28	36	2nd	Champions	Champions	5th
2006–07	21	8	8	5	29	19	32	4th	Semi-Finals	Group Stage
2007–08	21	8	8	5	28	24	32	3rd	Semi Finals
2008–09	21	7	5	9	33	32	26	5th
2009–10	27	15	3	9	35	23	48	1st	Champions
2010–11	30	8	10	12	35	40	34	9th		Group Stage
2011–12	27	10	8	9	37	42	38	5th	Finals Week 1
2012–13	27	9	5	13	41	51	32	7th
Pld = Played, W = Games won, D = Games drawn, L = Games lost, GF = Goals scored, GA = Goals against, GD = Goal difference, Pts = Points, Italic = in progress

See also

• Sydney FC W-League

External links

• Official website
• Sydney FC on Twitter