The Melbourne Victory A-League 2006–07 season was their most successful A-League season. They defeated Adelaide United 6–0 in their first Grand Final, winning the Championship, Premiership and qualifying for the AFC Champions League 2008.
Season summary
Melbourne began the 2006–07 Hyundai A-League season hoping to vastly improve on their 7th place in the inaugural season. Coach Ernie Merrick had made a number of off-season signings to bolster the squad with skill and experience including 3 Brazilians Alessandro, Claudinho, Fred along with Scottish Premier League player Grant Brebner. After a hugely successful Round 2 fixture against Sydney FC at the Telstra Dome (now the Etihad Stadium) in front of a crowd of 39,730, Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to Telstra Dome. Melbourne became the first team to complete the A-League double in the history of the competition; clinching the premiership against the New Zealand Knights 4–0 at Olympic Park with 4 rounds of the A-League season remaining, then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the Grand Final at a sold out Telstra Dome to take the championship. Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 AFC Champions League as A-League Champions.
Players
First team squad
Transfers In PlayerFromCountry/State & League FromDate Adrian Caceres Perth Glory A-League 13 February 2006 Alessandro Sport Club Internacional Brazil Serie A July 2006 Claudinho Atlético Paranaense Brazil Serie A 24 May 2006 Fred Guarani Brazil Serie B 24 May 2006 Rodrigo Vargas Green Gully Cavaliers VPL July 2006 Grant Brebner Dundee United Scottish Premier League July 2006 James Robinson Richmond SC VPL 23 November 2006
Out PlayerToCountry/State & League FromDate Chris Tadrosse Released (KFC Uerdingen) Oberliga Nordrhein 24 January 2006 Richard Kitzbichler Released (Red Bull Salzburg) Austrian Bundesliga 31 January 2006 Ricky Diaco Released (Bulleen Zebras) VPL 15 February 2006 Carl Recchia Released (Fawkner-Whittlesea Blues) (Club Disabanded) VPL 15 February 2006 Andy Vlahos Released (Heidelberg United) VPL - Geoffrey Claeys Melbourne Victory retired A-League 21 November 2006 Claudinho Released 17 December 2006
Matches
Pre-season friendlies Melbourne started their 2006-07 pre-season with a number of practise matches against Victorian Premier League clubs. These included a laboured 1–0 win over Richmond SC, a 2–2 draw against Bulleen Zebras, a 4–0 victory against Green Gully, a 7–0 victory of Kingston City FC and 3-0 victories over Altona Magic and Oakleigh Cannons.
Victory also won the QNI North Queensland Trophy by beating leading Chinese Super League team Changchun Yatai 6–1 in the final. Michael Ferrante scored twice early on and then-trialist Grant Brebner added a spectacular thirty-yard free-kick to make it 3–0 at half-time, while Danny Allsopp scored three times in the second half to seal the win. The competition featured fellow A-League side Central Coast Mariners (Victory won 4–2 on penalties), the Young Socceroos (Victory lost 5–6 on penalties), and Changchun Yatai (Victory won 3–1 in the first meeting).
Melbourne kicked off their A-League Pre-Season Cup campaign with a disappointing 1–0 loss to Adelaide United at Launceston's Aurora Stadium in front of 6,834 spectators. The second match saw them play out a 1–1 draw away to Perth Glory, with Daniel Allsopp scoring Melbourne's only goal. Back at Olympic Park for the final group match, they were soundly beaten 3-1 by the Central Coast Mariners, ending the club's hopes of progressing to the next round of the competition. A "bonus round" match finished off the group stage, with the Melbourne defeating Newcastle Jets 3–2.
In the first match of a rather meaningless playoff section involving the lower placed teams of the group stage, Victory defeated the Queensland Roar 4–2 on penalties, having been locked at 0-0 after 120 minutes of play. The match was held at Epping Stadium in the outer north of Melbourne. The final match of the pre-season cup saw the Victory defeat Perth Glory 1–0 at Olympic Park in front of 2,215 loyal fans, and finish the competition in 5th place.
2006-07 Hyundai A-League fixtures
2006–07 Finals series
Ladder
2006–07 awards Victory Medal Kevin Muscat and Danny Allsopp Players' Player of the Year Danny Allsopp Clubman of the Year Fred Golden Boot Archie Thompson
References