Melbourne Victory

Melbourne Victory – Quick Stats

Most Appearances: Kevin Muscat (116)
Top Goal Scorer: Archie Thompson (50)
A-League Championships: 2
Best Regular Season Finish: 1st (2006-2007, 2008-2009)
Best AFC Champions League Result: Group stages (2008, 2010)

About the Melbourne Victory A-League Football Club

Melbourne Victory were the first non-NSL side to be officially founded as an A-League club in 2003, two years before the league commenced. The club decided to base themselves at the 18,000 capacity Olympic Park and went on to average over 14,000 in their first season. Ernie Merrick was hired as head coach in early 2005, after a 12-year stint at the Victorian Institute of Sport. The club’s first two signings – Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat, who was made club captain – proved to be their biggest for the 2005-2006 season. The pair returned from Europe along with the likes of Andy Vlahos and Danny Allsopp, which helped provide Melbourne with an impressive roster for their maiden campaign. Although they were favourites in many people’s eyes to win the A-League’s first championship crown, the Victory proved to be a severe disappointment in season one and ended the year in seventh place, with only the abysmal New Zealand Knights finishing below them.

During the off-season, an under-pressure Merrick brought in four new imports – including three Brazilians – in the hope of improving on their poor performance from the previous campaign. Of these, the two stand-outs were former Scottish Premier League midfielder Grant Brebnar and playmaker Fred. With a vastly improved midfield behind them, strikers Thompson and Allsopp were able to form a lethal combination in front of goal as the Victory marched to a runaway Premiership after 21 rounds. The club’s 6-0 demolition of Adelaide United in the grand final capped off a dream 12-month turnaround and the city of Melbourne took great delight in their side’s championship glory.

Their success from season two wasn’t confined to results on the pitch either. Prior to the start of the 2006-2007 season, Victory officials had decided to schedule an early round blockbuster match against then champions Sydney FC to be played at the 56,000 capacity Etihad Stadium. A crowd of almost 40,000 turned up to witness the Victory triumph 3-2 over their northern rivals and the club swiftly decided to switch their remaining home fixtures to the larger venue. Melbourne went on to smash the record average attendance for a club in a single season of Australian domestic football, setting the bar at a whopping 27,728.

Season three turned out to be a reality check for the reigning champions, who – after an impressive start – spiralled into a grave form slump that saw them miss the finals. New signing Carlos Herandez failed to fill the void left by the departure of Fred, who signed with MLS club D.C United shortly after the 2007 grand final. The following season however – after the Victory had bowed out in the group stages of the AFC Champions League – Hernandez found his feet and began to emulate Fred’s wizardry from two years prior. Melbourne finished the 2008-2009 season as premiers for the second time and again went on to clinch the championship by defeating Adelaide in the grand final, although this time by the more modest scoreline of 1-0.

The Victory made a better fist of defending their title last season than they did in 2007-2008, finishing the regular season in second place behind Sydney. They were aiming to become the first ever back-to-back A-League champions but fell agonisingly short of that feat when they were defeated in a grand final penalty shoot-out by the sky blues. That loss was compounded by Thompson being ruled out for up to 12 months with a horrendous knee injury and as a result the Victory struggled in their second ACL attempt, finishing in last place in their group.

Now in version six of the A-League, Melbourne are unarguably the most stable club in the competition as coach Merrick and captain Muscat still remain in their respective roles from 2005. That is something no other side can boast on either count, let alone both.

Current Key Players: Carlos Hernandez, Archie Thompson, Kevin Muscat, Adrian Leijer, Ricardinho.