2005–06 Melbourne Victory FC season

Melbourne Victory were considered to be one of the future "powerhouse" football clubs in Australia prior to the 2005/06 A-League season, with Socceroos Kevin Muscat and Archie Thompson returning to Melbourne from successful club careers in Europe. It was widely believed that they would be contenders for the A-League championship. However, the team ended up finishing a disappointing seventh and missed out on the finals.

Melbourne Victory
2005–06 season
ManagerErnie Merrick
A-League7th
Pre-Season Challenge CupSemi-Final
Top goalscorerArchie Thompson (8)
Highest home attendance18,260 vs Sydney FC (16 October 2005)
Lowest home attendance10,078 vs New Zealand Knights (4 February 2006)
Average home league attendance14,158

Players

First-team squad

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  AUS Michael Theoklitos
2 MF  AUS Kevin Muscat (captain)
3 DF  AUS Daniel Piorkowski
4 DF  AUS Mark Byrnes
5 DF  BEL Geoffrey Claeys
6 DF  AUS Steve Pantelidis
7 FW  AUS Michael Ferrante
8 MF  AUS Andy Vlahos
9 FW  AUS Daniel Allsopp
10 FW  AUS Archie Thompson
No. Pos. Nation Player
11 MF  AUS Vince Lia
12 MF  AUS Carl Recchia
13 MF  AUS Kristian Sarkies
15 DF  AUS Adrian Leijer
16 DF  AUS Simon Storey
17 MF  AUT Richard Kitzbichler
18 MF  AUS Chris Tadrosse
19 FW  AUS Ricky Diaco
20 GK  AUS Eugene Galeković

Transfers

In

Player From Country/State & League From Date
Michael TheoklitosBulleen Zebras VPL
Kevin MuscatMillwall English Championship
Daniel PiorkowskiMelbourne Knights VPL
Mark ByrnesFC Hameenlinna Finnish First Division
Geoffrey ClaeysExcelsior Mouscron Jupiler League
Steve PantelidisHeidelberg United FC VPL
Michael FerranteFawkner Blues VPL
Andy VlahosCercle Brugge Jupiler League
Danny AllsoppHull City English Championship
Archie ThompsonLierse SK Jupiler League
Vince LiaFawkner Blues VPL
Carl RecchiaSouth Melbourne FC VPL
Kristian SarkiesSouth Melbourne FC VPL
Adrian LeijerMelbourne Knights VPL
Simon StoreyAltona Magic VPL
Richard KitzbichlerAustria Wien Austrian Bundesliga
Chris TadrosseBlacktown City FC NSW Premier League
Ricky DiacoBulleen Zebras VPL
Eugene GalekovicSC Beira-Mar Primeira Liga

Matches

2005-06 Hyundai A-League fixtures
28 August 2005 Round 1 Sydney FC 1 : 1 Melbourne Victory Aussie Stadium, Sydney
17:00 UTC+10 Yorke 44' Thompson 73' Attendance: 25,208
Referee: Mark Shield
4 September 2005 Round 2 Melbourne Victory 2 : 2 Perth Glory Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10 Kitzbichler 11'
Muscat 85' (pen)		 Caceres 40'
Despotovski 56'		 Attendance: 17,960
Referee: Matthew Breeze
9 September 2005 Round 3 Adelaide United 1 : 0 Melbourne Victory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
19:30 UTC+9:30 Brain 1'
Alagich  15'		 Attendance: 8,785
Referee: Peter O'Leary
18 September 2005 Round 4 Queensland Roar 1 : 1 Melbourne Victory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
15:00 UTC+10 Baird 62'
McKay  40'		 Allsopp 88' Attendance: 15,444
Referee: Ben Williams
25 September 2005 Round 5 Melbourne Victory 1 : 0 Newcastle Jets Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+10 Thompson 68' Attendance: 13,831
Referee: Craig Zetter
30 September 2005 Round 6 Central Coast Mariners 1 : 2 Melbourne Victory Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+10 Heffernan 33' Thompson 73'
Leijer 81'		 Attendance: 9,313
Referee: Ben Williams
10 October 2005 Round 7 Melbourne Victory 3 : 0 New Zealand Knights Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
19:00 UTC+10 Kitzbichler 23'
Muscat 62'
Diaco 64'		 Attendance: 11,010
Referee: Peter Green
16 October 2005 Round 8 Melbourne Victory 5 : 0 Sydney FC Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
13:00 UTC+10 Kitzbichler 34'
Muscat 53' 78'
Thompson 57' 69'		 Talay  58' Attendance: 18,206
Referee: Matthew Breeze
23 October 2005 Round 9 Perth Glory 2 : 1 Melbourne Victory Members Equity Stadium, Perth
17:00 UTC+8 Deane 22'
Sekulovski 55'		 Thompson 39' Attendance: 12,312
Referee: Mark Shield
28 October 2005 Round 10 Melbourne Victory 0 : 1 Adelaide United Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+10 Veart 83' Attendance: 16,201
Referee: Matthew Breeze
4 November 2005 Round 11 Melbourne Victory 0 : 1 Queensland Roar Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11 Matt McKay 15' Attendance: 13,239
Referee: Mark Shield
11 November 2005 Round 12 Melbourne Victory 0 : 0 Newcastle Jets Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11 Attendance: 12,407
Referee: Simon Przydacz
18 November 2005 Round 13 Melbourne Victory 0 : 2 Central Coast Mariners Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11 Hutchinson 38'
Heffernan 75'		 Attendance: 13,892
Referee: Ben Williams
28 November 2005 Round 14 New Zealand Knights 2 : 3 Melbourne Victory North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
20:00 UTC+11 Christie 31'
Devine 41' (pen)		 Muscat 41' (pen)
Kitzbichler 44'
Kitzbichler 75'		 Attendance: 1,922
Referee: Peter O'Leary
3 December 2005 Round 15 Sydney FC 2 : 1 Melbourne Victory Aussie Stadium, Sydney
19:00 UTC+11 Corica 24'
Carney 81'		 Allsopp 88' Attendance: 17,272
Referee: Mark Shield
29 December 2005 Round 16 Melbourne Victory 2 : 2 Perth Glory Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
20:00 UTC+11 Thompson 23'
Allsopp 45'		 Mori 24'
Ward 67'		 Attendance: 14,754
Referee: Peter O'Leary
5 January 2006 Round 17 Adelaide United 1 : 0 Melbourne Victory Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide
20:00 UTC+11 Dodd 14' Attendance: 13,427
Referee: Mark Shield
15 January 2006 Round 18 Queensland Roar 0 : 1 Melbourne Victory Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
19:00 UTC+11 Thompson 55' Attendance: 12,710
Referee: Mark Shield
21 January 2006 Round 19 Newcastle Jets 1 : 0 Melbourne Victory EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
17:00 UTC+11 Coveny 36' Attendance: 9,073
Referee: Matthew Breeze
27 January 2006 Round 20 Central Coast Mariners 3 : 1 Melbourne Victory Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
20:00 UTC+11 Spencer 28'
Spencer 63'
Heffernan 88'		 Michael Ferrante 13' Attendance: 11,925
Referee: Simon Przydacz
3 February 2006 Round 21 Melbourne Victory 2 : 1 New Zealand Knights Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne
17:00 UTC+11 Byrnes 2'
Muscat 21' (pen)		 Brockie 90' Attendance: 10,078
Referee: Angelo Nadi

Ladder
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Adelaide United 21 13 4 4 33 25 +8 43 Finals series and 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage
2 Sydney FC (C) 21 10 6 5 35 28 +7 36
3 Central Coast Mariners 21 8 8 5 35 28 +7 32 Finals series
4 Newcastle Jets 21 9 4 8 27 29 −2 31
5 Perth Glory 21 8 5 8 34 29 +5 29
6 Queensland Roar 21 7 7 7 27 22 +5 28
7 Melbourne Victory 21 7 5 9 26 24 +2 26
8 New Zealand Knights[lower-alpha 1] 21 1 3 17 15 47 −32 6
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion
Notes:
  1. New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

2005–06 end-of-season awards
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