2008 A-League Grand Final
The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the A-League season; this move created a stir of controversy and was protested by the Central Coast Mariners, who won the right to host the match, but to no avail. The first half of the game ended in a draw with neither sides scoring a goal, though each had good scoring opportunities. Gary van Egmond made a risky change to his sides playing with a back three. In the 64th minute Mark Bridge scored the only goal after Tony Vidmar slipped, giving the ball to Bridge in the last quarter; the game ended in controversy after Central Coast earned a corner late into extra time in the second half. As the ball was crossed into Newcastle's penalty area, it appeared to hit Newcastle player James Holland on the right arm, before it was cleared away.
Mariners players demanded a penalty, yet referee Mark Shield decided not to award one. The Mariners players, continued to scream at Shield, pressuring him for a penalty. Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic as a result of this frustration, hit Shields' arm away when the referee was penalizing one of Vukovic's teammates with a yellowcard. Shield immediately awarded Vukovic with a red card. Vukovic would be charged with striking a match official by the FFA, was subsequently banned for 9 months, 3 of those months suspended. Due to this, Vukovic missed a significant portion of the next A-League season as well as the Olympic Games. 2007–08 A-League List of A-League champions Full Match highlights on YouTube Official A-League Website
Danny Allsopp
Daniel Lee "Danny" Allsopp is a former Australian football player who played as a striker. He last played for Launceston City, he is a full international for the Australia national football team, is well known for being Melbourne Victory's second highest, the A-League's seventh highest all-time goalscorer, behind Archie Thompson, Shane Smeltz, Besart Berisha, Sergio van Dijk, Mark Bridge and Carlos Hernandez. Allsopp started his senior football career with Monbulk Rangers in 1994 as a 16-year-old, competing in the Victorian Provisional League Division 1; the following year he joined Croydon City in the Victorian State League Division 1 competition before joining then-NSL club South Melbourne in 1995. After two seasons with South, Allsopp made the move across town to Carlton S. C. for the 1997 NSL season. Allsopp spent the 1998 Victorian Premier League season with Port Melbourne Sharks moved to England to trial for Second Division club Manchester City, after scoring in City's first friendly match against Newquay as well as some reserve team matches, he was signed for the club for the 1998–99 season.
Allsopp's four goals in 25 games saw Manchester City promoted to the First Division, but he struggled to find a regular place in the team as the team in the 1999–2000 season, was loaned out to Notts County. He was loaned to Wrexham in early 2000, scored four goals in just three league matches by end of the 1999–2000 season; the following season, he went on loan to Bristol Rovers, where he failed to score a goal in his four league appearances. Allsopp returned on loan to Notts County, scored four goals in three matches before being bought for £300,000 by the club. In a three-season career, he scored 50 goals in 111 appearances before signing with Hull City for 2003–04; the move provided more success for Allsopp, as he scored 15 goals in his first season and seven in 2004–05 as a regular in the line-up. Allsopp negotiated an early release from Hull, decided to return to Australia to play for new club Melbourne Victory under Ernie Merrick, who had coached Allsopp during his time at the VIS. Despite making 20 starts in the 2005–06 season, Allsopp was not nearly as prolific as at his previous clubs, only managed three goals for the year.
The season featured Allsopp's 250th match in all league competitions. The 2006–07 season saw a remarkable turnaround in Allsopp's scoring record at Melbourne, he finished the season as the league Golden Boot winner as highest scorer in the home and away fixtures. His tally of 11 made him the first A-League player to score a double figure tally and was one goal more than second place, teammate Archie Thompson, his 35 shots on target was the equal highest with Newcastle Jets midfielder Nick Carle. During the 2009–10 A-League season it was confirmed that Allsopp had signed with Qatari side, Al-Rayyan Sports Club, for an undisclosed fee, he had less than a year left on his contract with Victory. On 22 September 2009, Allsopp made his debut for Al-Rayyan against Al-Kharatiyat, providing an assist for Amara Diane's goal. Allsopp joined Major League Soccer club D. C. United on 18 January 2010. Allsopp and D. C. United mutually agreed to terminate his contract after just one season with the club. On 24 December 2010 Allsopp rejoined with his team mates at the Melbourne Victory, in a contract that will keep him there until the end of the 2012–13 season.
On 18 October 2012 he announced his retirement from professional football. In 2013, Allsopp returned to play for Croydon City Arrows. 2014 was a successful year for both Croydon & Allsopp, with the club winning the Victorian State League 4 East competition & promotion to State League 3 and Allsopp winning both the league Best & Fairest and Golden Boot Awards. In 2013, Allsopp signed as a guest player for Launceston City FC, he featured in the round 15 National Premier Leagues Tasmania fixture between Launceston City FC and local rivals Northern Rangers FC. The match finished in a 6-0 win to Northern Rangers FC, with Allsopp picking up a yellow card for a reckless challenge. In 2014 Allsopp again featured for the Tasmanian State League club as a guest player, in a round 5 National Premier Leagues Tasmania match against City's sister club Hobart Zebras FC; the game finished in a 4-2 win with Allsopp scoring a hat-trick. This was a history making result for City and saw the end of a 25-game losing streak, with the club not winning a single league fixture since the new statewide league inception in 2013.
In 1995, he made his name in the under-17 World Championship, where he was tied top scorer with five goals, including one in Australia's 3–1 loss to eventual runners-up Brazil. His performance opened the door for his entrance into the Australian National Soccer League, signing with South Melbourne, he stayed with the club until 1997. Allsopp represented Australia again, this time at under-20 level in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia, with Australia making it through to the second round before being knocked out by Japan. On his return he was loaned out to VPL club Port Melbourne Sharks. Meanwhile, Allsopp had become a regular member of Australia's under-23 national team in 1999, played three matches for one goal in 2000, but was not selected in the squad for the 2000 Summer Olympics. Allsopp earned his first call-up to the Australia senior squad for a friendly match against Uruguay on June 2007 and came on as a 78th-minute substitute in the 2–1 defeat by the South Americans.
On 23 May he got his second international appearance for Australia when he came on as a substitute for James Troisi in a friendly against Ghana. National coach Pim Verbeek described Allsopp's performance against Indon
Scotland
Scotland is a country, part of the United Kingdom. Sharing a border with England to the southeast, Scotland is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, by the North Sea to the northeast and by the Irish Sea to the south. In addition to the mainland, situated on the northern third of the island of Great Britain, Scotland has over 790 islands, including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides; the Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707. By inheritance in 1603, James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland, thus forming a personal union of the three kingdoms. Scotland subsequently entered into a political union with the Kingdom of England on 1 May 1707 to create the new Kingdom of Great Britain; the union created a new Parliament of Great Britain, which succeeded both the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of England. In 1801, the Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland enacted a political union to create a United Kingdom.
The majority of Ireland subsequently seceded from the UK in 1922. Within Scotland, the monarchy of the United Kingdom has continued to use a variety of styles and other royal symbols of statehood specific to the pre-union Kingdom of Scotland; the legal system within Scotland has remained separate from those of England and Wales and Northern Ireland. The continued existence of legal, educational and other institutions distinct from those in the remainder of the UK have all contributed to the continuation of Scottish culture and national identity since the 1707 union with England; the Scottish Parliament, a unicameral legislature comprising 129 members, was established in 1999 and has authority over those areas of domestic policy which have been devolved by the United Kingdom Parliament. The head of the Scottish Government, the executive of the devolved legislature, is the First Minister of Scotland. Scotland is represented in the UK House of Commons by 59 MPs and in the European Parliament by 6 MEPs.
Scotland is a member of the British–Irish Council, sends five members of the Scottish Parliament to the British–Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Scotland is divided into councils. Glasgow City is the largest subdivision in Scotland in terms of population, with Highland being the largest in terms of area. "Scotland" comes from the Latin name for the Gaels. From the ninth century, the meaning of Scotia shifted to designate Gaelic Scotland and by the eleventh century the name was being used to refer to the core territory of the Kingdom of Alba in what is now east-central Scotland; the use of the words Scots and Scotland to encompass most of what is now Scotland became common in the Late Middle Ages, as the Kingdom of Alba expanded and came to encompass various peoples of diverse origins. Repeated glaciations, which covered the entire land mass of modern Scotland, destroyed any traces of human habitation that may have existed before the Mesolithic period, it is believed the first post-glacial groups of hunter-gatherers arrived in Scotland around 12,800 years ago, as the ice sheet retreated after the last glaciation.
At the time, Scotland was covered in forests, had more bog-land, the main form of transport was by water. These settlers began building the first known permanent houses on Scottish soil around 9,500 years ago, the first villages around 6,000 years ago; the well-preserved village of Skara Brae on the mainland of Orkney dates from this period. Neolithic habitation and ritual sites are common and well preserved in the Northern Isles and Western Isles, where a lack of trees led to most structures being built of local stone. Evidence of sophisticated pre-Christian belief systems is demonstrated by sites such as the Callanish Stones on Lewis and the Maes Howe on Orkney, which were built in the third millennium BCE; the first written reference to Scotland was in 320 BC by Greek sailor Pytheas, who called the northern tip of Britain "Orcas", the source of the name of the Orkney islands. During the first millennium BCE, the society changed to a chiefdom model, as consolidation of settlement led to the concentration of wealth and underground stores of surplus food.
The first Roman incursion into Scotland occurred in 79 AD. After the Roman victory, Roman forts were set along the Gask Ridge close to the Highland line, but by three years after the battle, the Roman armies had withdrawn to the Southern Uplands; the Romans erected Hadrian's Wall in northern England and the Limes Britannicus became the northern border of the Roman Empire. The Roman influence on the southern part of the country was considerable, they introduced Christianity to Scotland. Beginning in the sixth century, the area, now Scotland was divided into three areas: Pictland, a patchwork of small lordships in central Scotland; these societies were based on the family unit and had sharp divisions in wealth, although the vast majority were poor and worked full-time in subsistence agriculture. The Picts kept slaves through the ninth century. Gaelic influence over Pictland and Northumbria was facilitated by the large number of Gaelic-speaking clerics working as missionaries. Operating in the sixth ce
Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Australia. Construction started in October 1997, under the working name "Victoria Stadium", was completed in 2000 at a cost of A$460 million. Built as a replacement for Waverley Park, the stadium is used for Australian rules football and is the headquarters of the Australian Football League which, since 7 October 2016, has had exclusive ownership of the venue. Headquartered in the stadium precinct is Seven Network's digital broadcast centre; the stadium hosts a number of other sporting events, including some domestic Twenty20 cricket matches, Melbourne Victory soccer home matches, one-off rugby league and rugby union matches as well as number of special events and concerts. The stadium was announced on 31 October 1996 as a replacement for the much larger Waverley Park as a headquarters for the Australian Football League. Developed by the Docklands Stadium Consortium and thereafter controlled by the Seven Network, the remaining leasehold interest in the stadium was sold to James Fielding Funds Management on 21 June 2006 for A$330 million.
Under the terms of the agreement governing construction and operation of the venue, in 2025 the AFL were to win ownership of the stadium for a $30 fee. The stadium, like Waverley Park, was built for Australian rules football, unlike most grounds of a similar size in Australia which were designed for cricket; the first match to be played at the ground was between Essendon and Port Adelaide, before a crowd of 43,012, in Round 1 of the 2000 AFL season. Essendon won the match by 94 points, with Michael Long kicking the first goal at the ground; the first game, played with the roof closed was between the Western Bulldogs and the Brisbane Lions the following weekend. Docklands Stadium was the first stadium in Australia to have movable seating. All four level-one tiers of the stadium can be moved up to 18 metres forward into a rectangular configuration, it was first used for a Melbourne Storm game in July 2001. Despite the seating being a key feature of the stadium, it has been used, citing damage to turf, time to deploy the seats and a reduced capacity.
Docklands Stadium first featured rugby league football when it was used as the Melbourne Storm's home ground for one season in 2001. The Storm continued to play home games at the ground sporadically in the following years. Docklands was the venue for the third and deciding game of the 2006 State of Origin series and Australia's home game against New Zealand in the 2006 Tri-nations series. During the 2008 Rugby League World Cup Australia played England at the stadium and the opening games of the 2009 and 2012 State of Origin series were played here, the latter attracting 56,021, a new record for rugby league at the stadium. In 2015, LED electronic advertising was added around the perimeter of the ground on level 1 and 2. On 24 October 2015, the stadium hosted motorcycle speedway when it played host to the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix of Australia, the twelfth and final round of the 2015 Speedway Grand Prix World Championship season, it was the first time Australia had hosted a round of the SGP event since the final round of the 2002 season in Sydney.
With stadium capacity capped at 42,000 for the event, 26,609 fans saw 45 year old American rider Greg Hancock take out his 20th SGP Final. Danish rider Niels-Kristian Iversen finished second with Poland's Maciej Janowski finishing third; the reigning Australian Champion, Jason Doyle, qualified for the final but was outed in a crash in the first turn in which he suffered neck and chest injuries. A conscious Doyle was transported to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for observation. Doyle managed to win the 2017 meeting and that season's world title after he was forced to miss the 2016 meeting after he was injured in the previous meeting in To run, Poland which many thought cost him the 2016 title. In March 2016, it was announced that Collingwood president Eddie McGuire had taken a proposal to the state government for the stadium to be sold for redevelopment when the AFL gain ownership of the stadium in 2025, with a new similar size stadium built within the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct.
The plan was rejected by the AFL. Prior to the start of the 2016 AFL season the seats in the Medallion Club were replaced; the old seats in the Medallion Club section were relocated to other areas in the ground. On 7 October 2016, the AFL Commission announced that the league had acquired exclusive ownership of the stadium; the league elected to buy out the owners'share for a figure believed to be $200 million, rather than wait until 2025 when the league would automatically acquire ownership of the venue for $30. At the end of the 2016/17 Big Bash, the stadium was rated the most entertaining venue for T20 cricket in Australia; the stadium was constructed by Baulderstone Hornibrook and opened on 9 March 2000 as "Colonial Stadium". Colonial State Bank paid $32.5 million for 10 years of naming rights. In 2000, Commonwealth Bank took over Colonial State Bank and sold the naming rights to Telstra for about $50 million; the name was changed to "Telstra Dome" on 1 October 2002. During this time it was colloquially referred to as "The Dome", including by clubs which are sponsored by rival telecommunications companies.
On 1 March 2009, when the naming rights transferred to Etihad Airways, the ven
Sydney FC
Sydney Football Club known as Sydney FC, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia; the club has won three A-League Championships, three Premierships, one FFA Cup and won the Oceanian Champions League prior to Australia moving into the Asian Football Confederation. Prior to the 2018-19 A-League Season, the club's home ground was Allianz Stadium, a 45,500 seat rectangular multi-use venue in the suburb of Moore Park. With that stadium scheduled for demolition & rebuilding, the club will be playing at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Leichhardt Oval and Jubilee Oval for the next two seasons. Despite the club's migration, The SCG Trust agreed to renew Sydney FC's lease at Moore Park for a further 10 years on the 17 May 2017; as the only A-League team in the city for the first seven years of its existence, the club's fans hail from all across the Sydney Metropolitan Area.
Since its establishment, Sydney FC has had a reputation for signing high-profile players. In doing so, they have received the nickname'Bling FC' from pundits alike. Notable players who have represented the club include Dwight Yorke, Juninho Paulista, John Aloisi, Brett Emerton, Lucas Neill, Marc Janko, Filip Hološko, Miloš Ninković, Alessandro Del Piero; the first steps towards the foundation of Sydney FC taken in April 2004 when Soccer New South Wales announced its intention to bid for a licence in the new A-League competition. The bid was lodged with the Australian Soccer Association on 19 July, challenged only by a consortium headed by Nick Politis, known as the "Sydney Blues", for Sydney's place in the'one team per city' competition. A public row broke out between the two bidders after reports that the ASA were set to vote in favour of Sydney FC, causing Politis to withdraw his support for a team, leaving Sydney FC as the only candidate remaining. Sydney FC was launched as a member of the new 8-team A-League on 1 November 2004, with a 25% stake in the club held by Soccer NSW, the remainder owned.
Walter Bugno was announced as the inaugural chairman of the club. On 11 December 2004, Soccer NSW announced that it would pull out of its involvement with Sydney FC amid concerns over part owner Frank Lowy's autocratic style in establishing the club and lack of consultation with Soccer NSW on key Sydney FC issues; these included the choice of the Sydney Football Stadium over Parramatta Stadium as the team's home ground, the erosion of Soccer NSW's initial 100 per cent involvement to just 25 per cent. By February 2005, Sydney FC had filled 16 of its allowed 20 squad positions—attracting Socceroos Alvin Ceccoli, Clint Bolton, Steve Corica and David Zdrilic as well as youth internationals Justin Pasfield, Mark Milligan, Wade Oostendorp, Iain Fyfe and Jacob Timpano. German Pierre Littbarski was signed as Head Coach, to be assisted by former Norwich City player Ian Crook. Sydney FC played its first match against Manly United FC on 25 March 2005, winning 6–1. Shortly after, Sydney FC set off on a tour to the United Arab Emirates to play matches against local teams FC Hatta, Al Ain FC and Al Jazira, winning all three.
Whilst in Dubai, Sydney FC announced that it had agreed to terms with former Manchester United player Dwight Yorke as the club's "marquee player"– one paid outside of the $1.5million salary cap— for two seasons. Sydney FC's first competitive match was against Queensland Roar at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford as part of an Australian qualifying tournament to enter the 2005 Oceania Club Championship. After winning the match 3–0, Sydney went on to defeat Perth Glory and the Central Coast Mariners to qualify for the Oceania Club Championship, to be held in Tahiti. Despite an early scare against New Zealand club Auckland City FC, Sydney FC won all of its matches in the competition and qualified for the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship in Japan; the start of the 2005 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup marked Sydney FC's first match at Allianz Stadium, as well as Dwight Yorke's first appearance for the club. Yorke scored the first goal of Sydney FC's 3–1 win which stretched its unbeaten run to 9 competitive matches.
Upon reaching the semi-finals, Sydney's unbeaten run ended at 11 with Perth Glory midfielder Nick Ward scoring in injury time to inflict the new club's first loss. Sydney FC's first season was a success. Finishing second on the ladder behind Adelaide United they went on to defeat Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the 2006 A-League Grand Final with Steve Corica scoring in the second half of the game. However, the club's success wouldn't last long, with German manager Pierre Littbarski leaving the club due to being forced to accept a lower pay cheque and inaugural marquee player Dwight Yorke being signed by Premier League club Sunderland. Former English international Terry Butcher was signed as Sydney FC's new coach for 2006–07; however it was regarded as an overall failure, with Sydney playing poor football despite the signing of Alex Brosque and Benito Carbone as a Guest player. Sydney had 3 points deducted during the season, after it was found that they had breached the Salary cap, involving player David Zdrillic.
Despite the off field problems, Sydney managed to scrape into the finals series, however they lost in the semi-final to Newcastle Jets. Although Butcher lead the club into the finals, Sydney fans were unhappy with his tactics. In the end Butcher and Sydney FC went their separate ways at the end of the season. Sydney FC would go on to sign Branko Čulina for its 2007 Asian Champions League campaign, where they finished second in the group, one point behind ultimate champions and J-League heavyweights Urawa
Adelaide United FC
Adelaide United Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. The club participates in the A-League under licence from Football Federation Australia; the club was founded in 2003 to fill the place vacated by Adelaide City and West Adelaide in the former National Soccer League, is now the sole team from the state of South Australia in the A-League. Adelaide United's home ground is Hindmarsh Stadium. Adelaide United were premiers in the inaugural 2005–06 A-League season, finishing 7 points clear of the rest of the competition, before finishing third in the finals, they were Premiers again in 2015/16 finishing just one point ahead of second place Western Sydney. Adelaide United holds the record for the largest win in an A-League game. Adelaide defeated North Queensland Fury 8–1 at Hindmarsh Stadium on 21 January 2011, it was the first time – and, to date, remains the only time – a team had two players score hat-tricks in a single match: one to Marcos Flores and the other to Sergio van Dijk.
In 2014, Adelaide United were the winners of the first FFA Cup, beating Perth Glory 1–0 in the final, in 2016 won their first A-League Grand Final, beating the Western Sydney Wanderers 3–1 with goals from Bruce Kamau, Isaías and Pablo Sanchez. In 2018, Adelaide United became the first team to win two FFA Cup titles after defeating Sydney FC in the 2018 FFA Cup Final. In August 2003, Adelaide City withdrew from the National Soccer League, leaving Adelaide with no NSL presence for the first time since the beginning of the league in 1977. West Adelaide had withdrawn from the NSL in 1999. In response, Adelaide United was created on 12 September 2003, with builder and property developer Gordon Pickard funding the new club and former Soccer Australia and FIFA executive Basil Scarsella as Chairman. On 13 September, former Brisbane Strikers and Newcastle Breakers manager John Kosmina was announced as the manager, within the frame of a few weeks time a team was cobbled together with the remnants of the Adelaide City squad to compete in the clubs inaugural season.
On 17 October 2003, Adelaide United won its first NSL match, against Brisbane Strikers 1–0 in front of a crowd in excess of 16,000 people. After an impressive home-and-away season, including a seven-match unbeaten streak during November and December 2003, Adelaide United reached the NSL preliminary final, losing to Perth Glory; the NSL came to an end at the completion of the 2003–04 season after 28 seasons with The Reds only competing in the final season as governing body Australian Soccer Association shut down the league in preparation for the launch of the professional A-League 12 months on 26 August 2005. Adelaide United were announced as one of eight teams to compete in the first season of the A-League, are, along with the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets, one of only three teams to survive from the National Soccer League's last season. United began preparation earlier than most of the other clubs and had announced two thirds of the 20 man squad before February 2005; the club focused on bringing several Adelaide born players back to South Australia, such as Angelo Costanzo, Travis Dodd and Lucas Pantelis, who had played for Adelaide City SC in the NSL.
Shengqing Qu was signed from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua as the clubs "marquee" signing in March 2005. Aurelio Vidmar announced his retirement before the A-League had started, he was replaced before the fifth round by striker Fernando from Brazil, a former'player of the year' in the old NSL. By moving to Adelaide, he was reunited with former coach John Kosmina who introduced him to Australian audiences at the Brisbane Strikers. Adelaide United Director Mel Patzwald established links with American club Miami FC, setting up a'sister club' relationship, with whom they played a number of friendlies and leading to signing Diego from them; the team signed Brazilian legend Romário for a 5-game guest stint in November/December 2006. Furthermore, through Mel's connections established a sister club relationship with Chinese club and reigning Asian champions at the time Shandong Luneng. Continuing their good form from the final season of the NSL, Adelaide United finished as Premiers in the inaugural season of the Hyundai A-League.
The Reds were bundled out of the finals race in straight sets losing to Sydney FC in the two leg semi final and Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the preliminary final at Hindmarsh. Adelaide United started the season well by winning the A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup, beating reigning champions Central Coast Mariners 5–4 on penalties after 1–1 at the end of extra time. In the premiership season, The Reds finished runners up to Melbourne Victory. After a successful finals campaign, The Reds advanced to the 2006–07 Grand Final after winning 4–3 on penalties against the Newcastle Jets. Adelaide United played Melbourne Victory at the Telstra Dome in the Grand Final on 18 February 2007 losing 6–0. Coach John Kosmina was sacked the following week-however not only because of the grand final disaster but for alleged abuse of 2 Channel 10 reporters; the 2006–07 season saw Brazilian international Romário join the club for a four-game guest player stint. Adelaide United were selected, along with Sydney FC, as the first Australian representatives to play in the 2007 AFC Champions League.
They received their Asian berth as A-League premiers. Adelaide was drawn into Group G with Chinese champion Shandong Luneng Taishan, Korean champions Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma and Vietnamese league and Super Cup champions Gach Dong Tam Long An. Adelaide finished 3rd in its group; the Reds launched into the season by winning the A-League P
Player of the match
In team sports, a man of the match award is given to the outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is chosen from the winning team; some sports have unique traditions regarding these awards, they are sought-after in championship or all-star games. In Australia, the term "best and fairest" is used, both for individual games and season-long awards. In some competitions in North America, the terms "most valuable player" or "most outstanding player" are used. In ice hockey in North America, three players of the game, called the "three stars", are recognised. In sports where playoffs are decided by series rather than individual games, such as professional basketball and baseball, MVP awards are given for the series, in ice hockey's NHL, for performance in the entire playoffs. In football, the "man of the match" award goes to a player on the winning side. Players who score a hat-trick, or goalkeepers who keep a clean sheet under pressure get the award.
Hat-trick scorers receive the match ball whether or not they are named man of the match. The man of the match is chosen by a television commentator or a sponsor. However, not all competitions have an official man of the match award, so sometimes accolades are given by websites or newspapers instead. In the Premier League, for example, a player receives a small black and gold trophy for their man of the match performance. In Australian rules football, the player of the game is referred to as having been the "best on ground". Media outlets provide immediate, unofficial recognition, honorary on a 5–4–3–2–1 or 3–2–1 voting basis. Players may receive a Tissot watch as an award for their "best on ground" performance; the AFL recognises the player of the game as being the player awarded the maximum three votes by umpires in the Brownlow Medal count at season's end. Exceptions are made during the season for certain reserved games such as the Western Derby, The ANZAC Day clash, QClash, Showdown, where medallions are rewarded in presentations following the conclusion of the match.
On the day of the AFL Grand Final, a player will be awarded the Norm Smith Medal as being the best on ground voted by an independent panel of Australian rules football experts. In cricket, the man of the match award became; the man of the match title is awarded to the player whose contribution is seen as the most critical in winning the game. In one match held on 3 April 1996, the whole team from New Zealand was awarded the Men of the Match award, it was the first instance. In a test match played between 15,16,17,18 January 1999 between South Africa vs West Indies, the whole South African team was awarded man of the match In Test matches, Jacques Kallis holds the record for the highest number of awards won, with 23 in 166 matches played. In ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the highest number of man of the match titles, with 62 awards in 463 matches played. Tendulkar is followed by Sanath Jayasuriya, along with Ricky Ponting holds the record for the most Man of the Match titles as captain.
In the shortest form of the game, T20 Internationals, this record is held by Shahid Afridi, who has won 11 awards in 99 matches. In the Gaelic games of hurling and Gaelic football, the "man of the match" is awarded after important games. An unusual example was the 2008 All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Final, where the award was given to Brian Cody, the Kilkenny manager, rather than to a player. In the women's sports of camogie and ladies' Gaelic football, the term "player of the match" is used instead. In North American ice hockey, the three players who perform best in the game either those who accumulate the most points or outstanding goaltenders, are designated the Three stars of the game: the top-performing player is the first star, so on; this tradition originated in the 1930s as a promotion for a "Three Star" brand of gasoline. However, in international play, the three stars concept is used. Instead, other leagues may issue awards to one player. Both codes of rugby, rugby league and rugby union have man of the match or player of the match awards.
In televised or sponsored matches, a commentator or sponsor decides who gets the award, it is presented to the winner after the match. Examples of man of the match awards in professional men's rugby league are the Clive Churchill Medal in the National Rugby League Grand Final, the Karyn Murphy Medal in the NRL Women's Grand Final the Lance Todd Trophy in the Challenge Cup final and the Harry Sunderland Trophy in the Super League Grand Final. In college basketball and college football, the two collegiate sports with the most television coverage in the United States, a top player from each team is honoured as "players of the game." These athletes cannot collect material prizes due to NCAA regulations. Instead, television companies broadcasting the game or corporate sponsors will make donations to the scholarship funds of each school in the names of the winning players. In college basketball's Final Four events, a Most Outstanding Player award is given, for performance across both the semi-final and championship game.
A Most Outstanding Player award is given for each of the four regionals, based upon performances in the regional semifinals and final. The National Football League names an MVP for two prominent games on its schedule
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