Sydney FC
| Logo | |||
| Full name | Sydney Football Club | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Bling FC | ||
| Founded | 2004 | ||
| Ground | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | ||
| Capacity | 41,159 (soon 45,500) | ||
| Chairman |  Walter Bugno | ||
| Manager |  Terry Butcher | ||
| League | A-League | ||
| 2005–06 | 1st (final) 2nd (league) | ||
|
| |||
Sydney Football Club, founded in 2004, is an A-League club based in Sydney, Australia. Its home ground is Aussie Stadium in the suburb of Moore Park. The club has gained a reputation as the "glamour team" of the competition due to the club's high-profile personnel, which include former Manchester United star Dwight Yorke, investor and actor Anthony LaPaglia and a former World Cup winner in first-season coach Pierre Littbarski. Generally known simply as Sydney FC, they were the inaugural A-League champions in 2005-06, defeating the Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the Grand Final. In December, 2005, Sydney FC finished in 5th place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship.
History
Sydney FC was founded in 2004, as Sydney's representative in the newly formed A-League competition.
They went into the inaugural A-League season as favorites after a successful preseason in which the club lost only one match. On June 11, 2005 the club won the 2005 Oceania Club Championships, having qualified for this tournament by winning the Australian World Club Qualification Competition in May of that year. After 11 consecutive victories, Sydney suffered their first ever defeat at the hands of Perth Glory in the Pre-Season Cup semi-final after an injury-time goal from Perth's Nick Ward.
Sydney FC's first home league match was against Melbourne Victory on August 28, 2005. This event drew a record crowd for a regular season match in Australia. The stated figure was 25,208, though this is likely to be an underestimation of the true crowd size as the number of people who 'walked up' to the game meant that ticket sellers at the gate were unable to cope. For only the second time in the history of the SCG Trust (the operators of Aussie Stadium), the gates were opened twenty minutes after the game had started, permitting around two–thousand fans to enter for free [1] . The club went on to improve this record in Round 21 (25,557).
In December 2005, Sydney FC competed in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship as Oceania's entry to the tournament following their 2005 Oceania Club Championships success in June. On December 12, in front of a crowd of over 28,000 at Japan's Toyota Stadium, Sydney FC narrowly lost to Costa Rican champions Deportivo Saprissa 1-0, denying the club a semi–final match against European champion Liverpool. Four days later, Sydney FC defeated the African "Club of the Century" Al-Ahly 2–1 to finish the competition in fifth place.
At the conclusion of the twenty–one game regular season, Sydney FC finished in second place, seven points behind Adelaide United. However, in the Major Semi–Final they defeated Adelaide 4–3 on aggregate, ensuring a home Grand Final which produced a sell–out crowd of 41,689 (above the stated capacity of Aussie Stadium) against the Central Coast Mariners on March 5, 2006. Sydney won the match 1–0 after Dwight Yorke set up Steve Corica for the deciding goal.
After the first season, coach Pierre Littbarski left the club following a dispute over his contract which involved a significant pay cut from his reported $700,000 first year salary. [2] [3] He was replaced by former England international and Motherwell manager Terry Butcher on May 17, 2006. [4] During the 2006 off-season, Sydney FC recruited Ruben Zadkovich (previously on a short-term contract with Sydney FC), Alex Brosque (Queensland Roar) and Jeremy Brockie (New Zealand Knights).
Benito Carbone is expected to trial with Sydney FC in September 2006 as a potential replacement for Dwight Yorke who was the previous marquee player at the club.[5]
Seasons
Stadium
- Main article: Aussie Stadium
Sydney FC play their home matches at Aussie Stadium (formerly called Sydney Football Stadium). Chosen for its easy access, with shuttle buses running from nearby Central Station on match days, it has been the venue for several Australian international matches (notably the 1993 World Cup Qualifyer against Argentina). The stadium's capacity is stated at 41,159, though the attendance of the A-League grand final exceeded this number by over 500. Aussie Stadium is currently being renovated to expand the capacity to 45,500.
Media repots during the 2006 off-season suggested that the club was considering moving its home games to Telstra Stadium due to the cost of operating at Aussie Stadium, reported at $110,000 per game. [6] However, Aussie Stadium remains Sydney FC's home venue.
Supporters
In the inaugural A-League season Sydney FC averaged an attendance of 19,647 (16,668 during the regular season), a record for an association football club in an Australian national league.[7]
The most vocal supporters sit at the home end, around Bay 23 of Aussie Stadium, and are known as "The Cove". The term came from the original name given to the settlement of Sydney — Sydney Cove. This settlement was located on the piece land that is now the Circular Quay ferry terminal. Most Cove members attend every home match while a smaller group travel around the country to support the team at away matches. They sing football/Sydney FC chants, wear club colours (sky blue in particular), wave banners and flags and generally try to help lift the team and demonstrate fervent support. Some members make unofficial Cove merchandise such as scarves, flags, banners, patches and clothing to distribute or sell. The Cove creates a vivacious atmosphere during Sydney FC matches reminiscent of the activities of European Ultras. This provides for a starkly different level of crowd participation when compared to other football codes and sporting events in Australia.
On July 7, 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. [8] It was released prior to the start of the 06-07 season.
Current squad
As of September 8, 2006 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
- Coach: Terry Butcher
- Assistant Coach: Ian Crook
See also: List of Sydney F.C. players
Transfers
In
| Player | From | Fee | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Brosque |
Queensland Roar | - | February 11 2006 |
 Ruben Zadkovich |
Notts County | - | March 5 2006 |
| Jeremy Brockie |
New Zealand Knights | - | March 16 2006 |
| Matthew Bingley |
-* | September 5, 2006 | |
| Joel Thiessen |
-* | September 7, 2006 |
Out
| Player | To | Fee | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Packer |
Queensland Roar | - | March 23 2006 |
 Dwight Yorke |
Sunderland | £200,000[9] | August 31 2006 |
* Indicates short-term signing
Managers
- Pierre Littbarski (2005-06)
- Terry Butcher (2006-present)
Achievements
- A-League:
- Champions (1): 2005–06
- World Club Championship – Australian Qualifying Tournament:
- Winners (1): 2005
- Oceania Club Championship:
- Winners (1): 2005
Records
- Record Victory: 9–2 vs. Sobou FC (Lahi), 2 June 2005
- Record Defeat: 0–5 vs. Melbourne Victory, 16 October 2005
- Undefeated Streak: 11, 7 May 2005 – 6 August 2005
- Record Crowd (regular season): 25,557 vs. Adelaide United, 3 February 2006
- Record Crowd (finals series): 41,689 vs Central Coast Mariners, 5 March 2006
- Record tranfer fee recieved: £200,000 for Dwight Yorke from Sunderland A.F.C
- Record transfer fee paid:-
Top Scorers
- Sasho Petrovski – 9
- Dwight Yorke – 7
- David Carney – 6
- Steve Corica – 5
External links
- Official Sydney FC website
- Official A-League website
- Sydney FC Unofficial Supporters' site including forum
- Sydney FC Club Song Jimmy Barnes - Sydney FC for me (Video)
References
- ^ "Sydney FC urge fans to pre purchase tickets". August 29 2005.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Littbarski commits to Sydney". April 13 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Littbarski quits, blasting club 'lies'". May 4 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Butcher named as boss of Sydney". May 17 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/is-benito-the-dwight-choice/2006/09/08/1157222304534.html
- ^ "Sydney FC look further afield for a new home". April 22, 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "National Soccer League Attendances". AusFootballReview. Retrieved 2006-08-15.
- ^ "Barnesy and The Cove record Sydney FC club song". July 7, 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Black Cats Sign Yorke". August 31, 2006.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help)