The 12th season of the A-League kicks off with a bang this weekend, with a record-breaking crowd expected for the Sydney derby later today at ANZ stadium.
This is timely given the FFA is currently negotiating a new broadcast deal, aimed at doubling the revenue to $80 million. FFA CEO David Gallop says the new deal is crucial to underpin any future move to expand the number of teams in the A-League.
Neos Kosmos looks at how the current 10 teams are shaping up for the new A-League season.
Adelaide United
Coach: Guillermo Amor Last Season: 1st
Marquee: James Holland
Reds coach Guillermo Amor has a very impressive playing resume and proved last season he was a fine coach to boot, taking the Reds to their first ever A-League title in his first year as senior coach. The departure of several key players from his grand final winning team means that its four top scorers from last season have gone.
The Reds retain their strong defence and their Spanish midfielder Isaias and forward Cirio. Influential playmaker Carrusca is also ready for another season.
In: Nikola Mileusnic (Adelaide City), Henrique (Roar), Ben Garuccio (Melbourne City), Ryan Kitto (Newcastle Jets), Jesse Makarounas (Melb Victory), Mark Marino (Melbourne City), James Holland
Out: Bruce Djite, Stefan Mauk, Eli Babalj, Craig Goodwin, Bruce Kamau, Pablo Sanchez
The new signings come mainly from other A-League clubs, and with no major new imported recruits to speak of, United is likely to struggle to repeat its success of last season, unless of course coach Amor can pull another rabbit out of his hat.
Brisbane Roar
Coach: John Aloisi
Last season: 3rd
Marquee: Brett Holman, Thomas Broich
After just missing out on a place in the grand final in his first season in charge of the Roar, coach John Aloisi will be hoping his team can go one better this season. Last season his team defied all the dire predictions arising from the uncertain financial state surrounding the club to finish in the top four.
The off season changes to the Roar squad have probably been among the smallest in the competition.
In: Brett Holman, Thomas Kristensen, Arana Rodriguez
Out: Corona; Henrique, James Donachie and Steven Lustica
The Roar has picked up experienced Socceroo Brett Holman, in a move designed to cover the loss of influential playmaker Corona. Aloisi has further strengthened his midfield with the signing of Danish International Thomas Kristensen.
A late addition to the squad has been Spanish winger Arana Rodriguez, who will boost Aloisi’s attacking stocks, where Tommy Oar and Jamie Maclaren are expected to feature prominently.
Last season the Roar suffered from poor away form and a suspect defence exemplified by the 5-4 loss to WSW, which cost it a place in the grand final. With ACL qualification matches beginning in February, Aloisi may look to deepen the squad mid-season.
Player to watch: Young Socceroo Jayden Prasad and veteran Thomas Broich in what could be his farewell season.
Central Coast Mariners
Coach: Paul Okon
Last season: 10th
Marquee: Nil
Whether this turns out to be a poisoned chalice or a great opportunity for first-time senior coach Paul Okon, only time will tell. Appointed to the Mariners’ coaching job in August, Okon has the task of shaping his largely inherited squad into a competitive unit. Influenced by the coaching style of Socceroos boss Ange Postecoglou, Okon will try to instil an energetic, proactive style, but with a more secure defence than last year’s team, which conceded 70 goals in 27 matches, and won just three games all season.
In: Sydney City trio Michael Tavares, Jacques Faty, and Ivan Necevski; Phoenix duo Blake Powell, Kawabena Appiah, Connor Pain, Adam Berry, Jake Adleson.
Out: Joshua Rose, Mitch Austin, Anthony Kalik, Luis Garcia, Dan Heffernan, Francesco Stella, Tomislav Uskok
Sengalese cousins Tavares and Faty add much needed experience to a young squad, while Powell, who scored nine goals for Phoenix last season, gives Okon options in attack.
Mariners fans may need to be patient, with a generally young squad and new coach facing a tough opening month of fixtures against heavyweights Perth Glory, Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide.
Melbourne City
Coach: John Van’t Schip
Last season: 4th
Marquee: Bruno Fornaroli, Nicolas Colazo, Tim Cahill (guest)
After capturing the biggest A-League signing of the off-season in Socceroo legend Tim Cahill, Melbourne City fans are rubbing their hand with gleeful anticipation of watching the Timmy and Bruno show. Last season City scored a season record 63 goals, spearheaded by Golden Boot winner Bruno Fornaroli. However it conceded more than any top six side and had the third worse defensive record in the competition with 44 goals conceded in 27 games.
Coach Van’t Schip has made some very experienced and quality signings in the off season as he looks to strengthen the team’s defence and offset the loss of both Aaron Mooys and Harry Novillo, who were both instrumental in City’s potent attack last season.
In: Tim Cahill, Nicolas Colazo (ex Boca Juniors), Fernando Brandan, Luke Brattan, Bruce Kamau (Adelaide United), Michael Jakobsen, Josh Rose, Manny Muscat
Out: Aaron Mooy, Harry Novillo, Alex Wilkinson, Aaron Hughes, Patrick Kisnorbo, Michael Zullo, Ben Garuccio, Jack Clisby, Jacob Melling.
With many of last season’s defenders having left, Van’t Schip will be looking to new signings Jakobsen and Muscat to strengthen his back four.
City kicks off its campaign against the Phoenix in NZ followed by three games in Melbourne beginning with the Melbourne derby, during which Cahill will make his league debut.
Melbourne Victory
Coach: Kevin Muscat
Last season: 6th
Marquee: Oliver Bozanic, Beshart Berisha
The club with the biggest supporter base in the league will be keen to make up for the disappointment of last season when it missed out on a top four finish after starting as favourite.
While it may have missed out on recruiting international marquees Michael Essien and Diamanti, Victory has been bolstered by the return of former players James Troisi and Marco Rojas, who will be the main supply lines to Berisha.
In: James Trois, Marco Rojas, Mitch Austin, Alan Baro, James Donachie, Stefan Nigro, Alastair Bray
Out: Kosta Barbarouses, Gui Finkler , Matthieu Delpierre , Archie Thompson, Jessie Makarounas, Danny Vukovic
Probably the biggest loss from last season’s squad is experienced Frenchman Matthieu Delpierre, however the return of skipper Carl Valeri from illness and the signing of central defenders Baro and Donachie will strengthen Victory’s defensive stocks. With good pre-season form and a strong run in the FFA Cup, expect Victory to be challenging for a top two finish.
Newcastle Jets
Coach: Mark Jones
Last season: 8th
Marquee: nil
New coach Mark Jones is the Jets’ fourth coach in four seasons − a reflection of the Jets’ struggles to reach finals in recent years.
The former assistant coach for the Jets 2008 championship-winning team takes over from sacked coach Scott Miller, who last season had the Jets fans hoping to make finals until late in the season, an improvement on the disastrous 2014-15 season.
Perhaps with just three weeks to prepare following the tumult of the preseason, Jones won’t be burdened by the weight of expectation that a more experienced coach would encounter.
In: Wayne Brown , Devante Clut, Jack Duncan, Andrew Hoole, Aleksandr Kokko
Out: Mark Birighitti (Swansea City), Enver Alivodic, Leonardo and Cameron Watson (all released)
Finnish striker Kokko will partner Danish attacker Morten Nordstrand up front, while Wayne Brown and Andrew Hoole will bolster the midfield. Coach Jones and his Jets face a testing first three matches against the top three from last season, Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar and Western Sydney Wanderers.
Perth Glory
Coach: Ken Lowe
Last season: 5th
Marquee: Diego Castro
While big things are predicted for the men from the West this season, the Glory will be keen to avoid the same slow start as last season, which ultimately may have cost it a top-four finish, despite going on a streak of 10 wins from 11 games.
In: Adam Taggart, Rhys Williams, Rostyn Griffiths, Brandon Wilson, Joel Chianese, Milan Smiljanic, Liam Reddy
Out: Diego Ferreira, Ante Covic, Hagi Gligor, Gyorgy Sandor, Ruben Zadkovich, Jerrad Tyson
Only Melbourne City scored more goals than Glory last season, and it seems to have further strengthened its goal-scoring stocks in the off season with coach Lowe signing former Golden Boot winner Adam Taggart, as well as Chianese to support last season’s prolific trio of Harold, Keogh and Castro.
Many are tipping Glory for a top four finish.
Sydney FC
Coach: Graham Arnold Last season: 7th
Marquee: Bobo; Filip Holosko
Sydney fell away badly last season following a promising start to the season. A disastrous 11-match winless streak saw it plummet out of the finals race.
Coach Graham Arnold has instigated a major clear out of last season’s squad with 13 players leaving. He’s opted for quality over quantity this time around with a smaller squad, something he is able to work with given Sydney won’t have ACL commitments this season.
In: Bobo; Bernie Ibini (Club Brugge loan), Danny Vukovic (ex Melbourne Victory), Josh Brilliante (Fiorentina), Alex Wilkinson and Michael Zullo (both Melbourne City)
Out: Michael Tavares, Jacques Faty, Alis Abbas, Zac Anderson, Anthony Bouzanis
Brazilian striker Bobo and former player Bernie Ibini will give Arnold more options and flexibility in the final third where by his own admission the team relied too heavily on injured skipper Alex Brosque last season. Expect the Sky Blues to challenge for a top four spot.
Wellington Phoenix
Coach: Ernie Merrick
Last Season: 9th
Marquees: Nil
Coach Merrick is confident that his new signings have given him the strongest he’s had at Phoenix, and says the club is aiming for a top four finish. He looks to have the attack to score many goals particularly with the additions of Barbarouses and Finkler.
However, questions remain about the Nix defence. He’ll have to ensure the defensive weakness of last season during which the team conceded 54 goals, is overcome. With the loss of experienced defenders Manny Muscat and Ben Sigmund, as well as holding midfielder Albert Riera, he’ll be looking to Italian defender Marco Rossi to team up with skipper Andrew Durante.
In: Kosta Barbarouses, Gui Finkler (Melbourne Victory), Ryan Lowry, Adam Parkhouse, Marco Rossi (Perugia), Jacob Tratt
Out: Kwabena Appiah, Blake Powell, Manny Muscat, Ben Sigmund and Albert Riera
Western Sydney Wanderers
Coach: Tony Popovic
Last season: 2nd
Marquee: Nicholas Martinez
Last season, the Wanderers bounced back to make its third grand final in the five years of its existence.
Despite the strong performance last season, coach Popovic has made sweeping changes to his squad, with 15 of last season’s squad leaving.
In: Aritz Borda, Steven Lustica, Bruno Pinatares, jumpei kusukami, Nicolas Martinez, Kerem Bulut, Jerrad Tyson
Out: Scott Jamieson, Alberto, Alessi, Andreu, Mark Bridge, Romeo Castelen, D’Cunha, Alusine Fofanah, Golgol Mebrahtu, Jacob Pepper, Federico Piovaccari, liam Reddu, Matt Sim, Dario Vidovic
The pre-season departures of Bridge, Castelen and Vidosic means a loss of firepower and coach Popovic will be hoping Bulut will be able to shoulder a lot of the goal scoring responsibilities. Argentine playmaker Martinez joins from Olympiakos, and will partner Mitch Nichols in the middle.
The Wanderers will be playing home games away from Pirtek stadium this season as it undergoes a rebuild.
Round 1 Fixture:
Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory
Friday 7 October
7.50 pm
Suncorp Stadium
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City
Saturday 8 October
5.30 pm
Westpac Stadium
Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC
Saturday 8 October
7.50 pm
ANZ Stadium
Perth Glory v Central Coast Mariners
Saturday 8 October
10.00 pm
NIB Stadium
Newcastle Jets v Adelaide United
Sunday 9 October
5.00 pm
Hunter Stadium