2007–08 Sydney FC season

The 2007–08 season is Sydney FC's third season of football (soccer) in Australia. The club finished seventh in the A-League Pre-season Challenge Cup and competed in the 2007–08 A-League season.

Sydney FC
2007–2008 season
ChairmanGeorge Perry;
Andrew Kemeny
ManagerBranko Čulina;
John Kosmina
A-League3rd (League)
Semi-finals (Finals)
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup7th
Pan-Pacific Championship4th
Top goalscorerLeague: Alex Brosque (8 goals)
All: Alex Brosque (11 goals)
Highest home attendanceLeague: 33,458 (20 January 2008, vs Melbourne);
All: 80,295 (27 November 2007 vs Los Angeles Galaxy)
Lowest home attendance10,732 (7 December 2007, vs Newcastle Jets)

After a disappointing start to the season, the club sacked coach Branko Čulina in October,[1] and appointed John Kosmina. The team recovered from its poor start to finish third on the league table, securing a place in the finals series but being eliminated in the semi-final by Queensland Roar.

The club represented Australia at the Pan-Pacific Championship in February 2008 and finished fourth after losing to American MLS sides Houston Dynamo and Los Angeles Galaxy.

Pre-season

AFC Champions League

As 2005–06 A-League Champions, Sydney qualified for the 2007 AFC Champions League as one of the two teams representing Australia along with 2005–06 League Premiers, Adelaide United. Group matches were played from March to May 2007, during the A-League off-season. Sydney finished second in their group after two wins, three draws and one loss, a point behind Urawa Reds who progressed to the next stage of competition.

Squad preparation

For the new season, Sydney have established an agreement with Macquarie University to use the Sport and Aquatic Centre as a training base[2] and also establishing an off-field relationship offering educational, corporate and research linkages.[3][4] As part of preparations, the club staged a training camp on the Sunshine Coast with a match against a team of local players in the lead up to their opening Pre-season Cup match.[5] Sydney will also play a series of friendly matches against NSW Premier League and State League sides, to engage with the Sydney football community.[6] These friendlies and Pre-season Cup matches also provided experience for trialling players Ben Vidaic, Cameron Watson, Daniel Severino, Robbie Cattanach, Shannon Cole, Chris Nunes, former short-term Sydney player Tolgay Özbey and goalkeepers Vendram Janjetovic and Matthew Nash.

Friendly matches
Sunshine Coast Select XI1–2Sydney FC
Tyson Holmes Report Ufuk Talay
Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast
Sydney University SFC0–3Sydney FC
Report David Zdrilic  25'
Mark Rudan  44'
Ben Vidaic  80'
Valentine Sports Park, Sydney
Attendance: 100
Manly United FC2–3Sydney FC
Andrew Mailer  20'
Brad Groves  77'		 Report Adam Biddle  15'
Michael Enfield  40'
Ufuk Talay  75'
Cromer Park, Sydney
Attendance: 1,900
Penrith Nepean United2–1Sydney FC
Mitchell Long  44'
Ben Gough  approx. 75' (pen.)		 Report Mark Milligan  27'
CUA Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 5,000

2007 A-League Pre-season Cup

The Pre-season Cup competition consists of two groups of four teams, each team to play each other once. All teams then progress to a playoff stage with opponents based on group position, followed by finals series to determine the cup winner. Sydney finished the group stage bottom of Group B behind Central Coast Mariners, Queensland Roar and Wellington Phoenix. After a loss and a win in the final placings matches, they were ranked seventh.

Fixtures

Group stage
Queensland Roar0–0Sydney FC
Danny Tiatto  43' Report Ufuk Talay  13'
Terry McFlynn  66'
Maroochydore Regional Football Complex, Sunshine Coast
Attendance: 4,892
Referee: Chris Beath
Wellington Phoenix3–0Sydney FC
Michael Ferrante  1'
Shane Smeltz  13',  89'
Mark Rudan (og)  14'
Ross Aloisi  64'
Cleberson  77'		 Report Ufuk Talay  84'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 6,039
Referee: Peter O'Leary
Sydney FC0–3Central Coast Mariners
Clint Bolton  51'
Nikolas Tsattalios  63'
Tony Popovic  65'
Alex Brosque  68'		 Report Matthew Osman  36'
Adam Kwasnik  44'
Andre Gumprecht  51'
Mile Jedinak  55'
Nigel Boogaard  90'
Attendance: 5,735
Referee: Ben Williams

Group B table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD BP Pts
1 Central Coast Mariners 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 3 10
2 Queensland Roar 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 1 6
3 Wellington Phoenix 3 1 0 2 4 4 0 2 5
4 Sydney FC 3 0 1 2 0 6 −6 0 1
Source:

Playoffs
Sydney FC2–3Newcastle Jets
Tony Popovic  21'
Brendon Santalab  47'
Ruben Zadkovich  79'
Ufuk Talay  83'		 Report Joel Griffiths  5',  76'
Adam D'Apuzzo  9'
Jobe Wheelhouse  29'
Scott Tunbridge  56'
Steve Eagleton  82'
Attendance: 2,611
Referee: Peter Green
Melbourne Victory0–1Sydney FC
Report Alex Brosque  34'  47'
Adam Biddle  58'
Shannon Cole  79'
Terry McFlynn  87'
Olympic Park, Melbourne
Attendance: 3,400
Referee: Simon Przydacz

2007–08 Hyundai A-League

On 5 August, David Carney was transferred for A$125,000 to English Championship side, Sheffield United. The former Sydney player signed a three-year deal with the club which has been reported to earn him around A$1.25 million a year.[7]

New players including former Socceroos regular Tony Popovic and former LA Galaxy Attacking Midfielder, Michael Enfield have signed with Sydney for the upcoming season. On 3 August 2007 Brazilian international Juninho Paulista, formerly of Celtic and Middlesbrough, signed with Sydney FC as their marquee player.[8] Sydney have also announced the signings of youth players Ben Vidaic and Adam Biddle.

Former Socceroos Tony Popovic has been named the new skipper alongside current Socceroos Mark Milligan as vice-captain for the coming 2007–08 season.[9]

On 15 October 2007 Michael Bridges was signed on a loan with Sydney FC, until the end of the 2007–08 season of the Hyundai A-League as a replacement for long-term casualty Michael Enfield, who has been ruled out for several months after sustaining a serious knee injury.

On 22 October 2007, it was announced that Branko Culina would be sacked from the club following disappointing results. It was announced on 23 October, that former Adelaide United coach John Kosmina will take the role as the new head coach of Sydney FC.[1]

Kosmina got the side of to a flying start under his tenure, his first match in charge, a clash with then table-topping rivals Central Coast, a thrilling 3–2 victory in front of a crowd of nearly 18,000 at the SFS, a sign of bigger things to come for the Blues. This was followed by an impressive 1–0 away victory over Newcastle Jets; with former England junior Michael Bridges recording his first goal for Sydney FC. An entertaining 0–0 draw at the Telstra Dome, with rivals Melbourne, followed, with Sydney FC still undefeated under Kosmina.

Sydney FC suffered their first loss under John Kosmina on 15 December losing 4–2 to bottom side Perth Glory. Sydney goals were scored by Steve Corica and Michael Bridges.

On 22 December, a crucial match against the Central Coast Mariners resulted in a 5–4 victory in favour of Sydney. The match, held at Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, was described by critics as the best game ever to come from the A-League.[10] The crucial win moved Sydney FC up by 3 points to 4th place on the ladder, overtaking Adelaide United. The win was especially savoured after Sydney were down 2–0 after 15 minutes. The controversial sending-off of Mariners goalkeeper Danny Vukovic in the 16th minute turned the match in favour of Sydney, who scored their 5th goal via an Ufuk Taly penalty with the final kick of the match in stoppage time.

On Friday 28 December 2007, Sydney FC came from behind for the second time in two weeks to defeat a 10-man Adelaide United 3–1 and keep its unbeaten away record intact in front of a record crowd of 25,039 in Adelaide. This result forced Adelaide down to 5th on the ladder. With 3rd place Newcastle Jets unable to secure a victory over Wellington Phoenix in Round 18, Sydney leap-frogged the Jets into 3rd place, with only 3 points behind the tied leaders.

A week later Sydney travelled across the Tasman to face Wellington Phoenix at Westpac Stadium. Sydney came out of this match once again victorious winning 2–0 with goals from Northern Ireland superstar Terry McFlynn and current leading goalscorer for Sydney in 2007/2008 Alex Brosque. This kept them in 3rd position on the A-League ladder and in good contention for a finals berth. This win also ensured that the Phoenix would not reach the finals.

As of 30 December 2007 rumours suggesting that Sydney had signed Simon Colosimo from the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets striker Mark Bridge for the 2008/2009 Season. Although these rumours have been proved true, no statements have officially been released as neither player wanted to cause trouble at their present clubs.

On Sunday 13 January 2008 Sydney flew up to Brisbane to play the Queensland Roar at Suncorp Stadium. The game finished 0–0, with both sides taking a point. Sydney only needed a draw to secure their place for a 3rd consecutive finals appearance. The draw means that the top 4 teams (Sydney, Queensland Roar, Central Coast Mariners, Newcastle Jets) are all on 31 points each, although Queensland are on top due to goal difference. Both teams had excellent chances to open the scoring for their club, but good keeping and failure to capitalise on good opportunities meant that many goals went begging. In the end the 32,000 strong crowd at Suncorp Stadium went home feeling disappointed that they didn't get their money's worth for this State of Origin Match.

The final game of the 2007/2008 regular season saw Sydney's largest crowd of the season, it drew a large crowd of 33,458 people. Sydney needed to win by at least 2 goals, and they got off to a flying start, with Steve Corica scoring in the 3rd minute. For the rest of the half Melbourne looked shellshocked, and never really recovered from to shock early goal. But they hit back 25 seconds after the break, with Sydney's minds still back in the dressing room, Melbourne midfielder Nick Ward flew down the right wing and took a shot, which ended up rebounding into Sydney defender Mark Milligan, ending up as an own goal. With 15 minutes left in the game Alex Brosque scored, making the score 2–1. But 5 Minutes later Danny Allsopp scored for Melbourne, leaving the final score 2–2. Sydney failed to claim the minor premiership which ended up going to the Central Coast Mariners with their 2–0 victory over the Wellington Phoenix at Gosford. Sydney will now play Queensland Roar in the Semi-Final which is to be held at the Sydney Football Stadium.

On Friday 26 January Sydney played their first leg home final against the Queensland Roar in front of a crowd of 23,450 at the Sydney Football Stadium. The match which was supposed to be played up at Queensland's home ground Suncorp Stadium but it was moved to Sydney because of a concert by the '80s band The Police. Recent matches against the roar, had all been mostly uneventful affairs, including a 0–0 draw a couple of weeks beforehand, and it was the same again. Both sides had few chances during the 1st half, but Queensland's Brazilian import Reinaldo missed a golden opportunity when he air-swinged a cross in the opening 10 minutes. Sydney's best chance came in the 2nd half when Alex Brosque made a break, got around defender Andrew Packer and only had to slot the ball past the keeper but ended up booting the ball over the crossbar, and into the disappointed 'cove' supporters. Late in the 2nd half Sydney suffered a blow when midfielder Robbie Middleby was fouled heavily by Roar defender Sasa Ognenovski and injured his hamstring. Middleby is now expected to miss the next leg up in Brisbane, and possibly the Grand Final. Sydney had to chance to get a double late in the game when Brendon Santalab and Patrick missed golden opportunities.

Sydney and Queensland will now play the second leg of the minor semi-final at Suncorp Stadium on 8 February 2008. Two weeks later Sydney were up in Brisbane to face off in the second leg of the preliminary final. They had suffered a knock-back the day before they flew up with Marquee player Juninho ruled out with a knee injury that he picked up in training. Ruben Zadkovich was announced as his replacement. Sydney started the match well but with lots of poor decisions by referee Mark Shield including the sending off of Midfielder Robbie Middleby for a tackle, which did not even deserve a yellow. Queensland scored in the 14th minute through their Brazilian import Reinaldo and Sydney never looked like coming back after that. Referee Shield made another poor call when Sydney captain Tony Popović allegedly shoved Roar striker Tahj Minniecon in the penalty box, and Sasa Ognenovski converted the penalty past keeper Clint Bolton. Many Sydney fans were disgusted at the poor display shown by referee Mark Shield, as most games refereed under him have turned out to be fair challenges, and as a result the small Sydney group that had travelled across the border booed him off.

Home-and-Away fixtures
Sydney FC0–1Central Coast Mariners
Ufuk Talay  43' Report Dean Heffernan  41'
Mile Jedinak  42'
Sasho Petrovski  7',  52'
Andre Gumprecht  61'
Attendance: 18,457
Referee: Peter Green
Sydney FC2–2Adelaide United
Ufuk Talay  12'
Alex Brosque  74'		 Report Richie Alagich  8'
Bobby Petta  45'
Nathan Burns  76'
Attendance: 14,233
Referee: Mark Shield
Perth Glory0–0Sydney FC
Tyler Simpson  61' Report Patrick da Silva  29'
Iain Fyfe  45'
Mark Rudan  81'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 7,907
Referee: Craig Zetter
Sydney FC1–2Wellington Phoenix
Adam Casey  6'
Mark Rudan  56'
Brendon Santalab  64'
Ruben Zadkovich  86'
David Zdrilic  89'		 Report Felipè  8'
Daniel  29' (pen),  30'
Ross Aloisi  85'
Glen Moss  86'
Attendance: 11,491
Queensland Roar0–1Sydney FC
Josh McCloughlan  33'
Danny Tiatto 45'		 Report Ruben Zadkovich  37'
Ufuk Talay  43'
Terry McFlynn  67'
Patrick da Silva  69'
Brendon Santalab  87'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 16,582
Referee: Mark Shield
Sydney FC1–0Newcastle Jets
Alex Brosque  36',  72'
Ruben Zadkovich  84'		 Report Matt Thompson  6'
Adam D'Apuzzo  12'
Adam Griffiths  22'
Attendance: 13,755
Referee: Craig Zetter
Sydney FC0–1Melbourne Victory
Ruben Zadkovich  8'
Steve Corica  25'
Juninho Paulista  63'
Alex Brosque  75'
Mark Rudan  90'		 Report Kevin Muscat  12'
Grant Brebner  36'
Joseph Keenan  40'
Danny Allsopp  81'
Archie Thompson  90+3'
Attendance: 18,436
Referee: Mark Shield
Perth Glory3–3Sydney FC
Simon Colosimo  41'
Naum Sekulovski  48'
Jamie Harnwell  52'
James Robinson  59'
Mitchell Prentice  69',  73'		 Report Alex Brosque  40',  90+3'
David Zdrilic  52'
Patrick da Silva  71'
Members Equity Stadium, Perth
Attendance: 6,876
Sydney FC0–1Adelaide United
Mark Rudan  57'
Robbie Middleby  85'		 Report Lucas Pantelis  52',  73'
Dez Giraldi  52'
Robert Cornthwaite  69'
Attendance: 12,922
Sydney FC3–2Central Coast Mariners
Alex Brosque  16',  25'
Tony Popovic  31'
Ufuk Talay  86'
Clint Bolton  87'		 Report John Hutchinson  27',  50',  56'
Mile Jedinak  53'
Dean Heffernan  54'
Tony Vidmar  64'
Attendance: 17,652
Referee: Mark Shield
Newcastle Jets0–1Sydney FC
Denni  25'
Adam Griffiths  26'
Ante Covic  84'		 Report Mark Milligan  22'
Ruben Zadkovich  47'
Michael Bridges  69',  86'
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Attendance: 16,433
Melbourne Victory0–0Sydney FC
Grant Brebner  41'
Kevin Muscat  87'		 Report Iain Fyfe  32'
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 31,844
Referee: Mark Shield
Wellington Phoenix1–1Sydney FC
Ross Aloisi  29'
Steven Old  61'  90+2'
Kristian Rees  76'
Vaughan Coveny  78'		 Report Popovic  27'  70'
Talay  90+3' (pen)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 8,062
Referee: Peter Green
Sydney FC0–0Queensland Roar
Michael Bridges  39' Report Stuart McLaren  17'
Liam Reddy  23'
Andrew Packer  42'  82'
Attendance: 16,659
Sydney FC1–0Newcastle Jets
Robbie Middleby  35'
Ruben Zadkovich  52'
Tony Popovic  66'
Steve Corica  90+2'		 Report Mark Bridge  71'
Andrew Durante  80'
Attendance: 10,732
Sydney FC2–4Perth Glory
Steve Corica  50'
Mark Milligan  64'
Michael Bridges  90',  90+2'		 Report Billy Celeski  34',  35',  77' (pen)
Leo Bertos  49'
Dino Djulbic  61'
James Downey 90'
Attendance: 12,402
Central Coast Mariners4–5Sydney FC
Mile Jedinak  3'
John Aloisi  15'
Danny Vukovic  16'
John Hutchinson  44'
Greg Owens  63' (pen)
Alex Wilkinson  83'
Adam Kwasnik  86',  90+4'		 Report Iain Fyfe  33'
Terry McFlynn  50'
Tony Popovic  62'
Adam Biddle  71'
Brendon Santalab  76'
Mark Robertson  78'
Ufuk Talay  90',  90+5' (pen)
Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 17,514
  • Match rescheduled from 1 December 2007 due to unplayable pitch[11]
Adelaide United1–3Sydney FC
Kristian Sarkies  20'
Travis Dodd  28'
Robert Cornthwaite  33'
Eugene Galekovic  66'
Cássio  76'		 Report Iain Fyfe  31'
Mark Milligan  40'
Brendon Santalab  44'
Steve Corica  54'
Robbie Middleby  65',  67'
Brendan Renaud  83'
Attendance: 25,039
Wellington Phoenix0–2Sydney FC
Kristian Rees  14'
Shane Smeltz  81'
Tony Lochhead  85'
Ross Aloisi  91'		 Report Ufuk Talay  26'
Terry McFlynn  79'
Alex Brosque  83'
Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 14,288
Referee: Ben Williams
Queensland Roar0–0Sydney FC
Andrew Packer  33'
Simon Lynch  39'		 Report Terry McFlynn  16'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 31,933
Referee: Mark Shield
Sydney FC2–2Melbourne Victory
Steve Corica  4'
Alex Brosque  62'
Brendon Santalab  82'		 Report Leigh Broxham  7'
Sebastian Ryall  44'
Mark Milligan (og)  46'
Kevin Muscat  47'
Danny Allsopp  76'
Attendance: 33,458
Referee: Peter O'Leary

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Central Coast Mariners 21 10 4 7 30 25 +5 34 Finals Series and 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage[lower-alpha 1]
2 Newcastle Jets (C) 21 9 7 5 25 21 +4 34
3 Sydney FC 21 8 8 5 28 24 +4 32 Finals Series and 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship
4 Queensland Roar 21 8 7 6 25 21 +4 31 Finals Series
5 Melbourne Victory 21 6 9 6 29 29 0 27
6 Adelaide United 21 6 8 7 31 29 +2 26
7 Perth Glory 21 4 8 9 27 34 −7 20
8 Wellington Phoenix[lower-alpha 2] 21 5 5 11 25 37 −12 20
Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champion.
Notes:
  1. First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage.
    Winning the 2008 A-League Grand Final earns qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League Group stage, unless the Grand Final winners are also first place, in which case the Grand Final runner up qualifies.
  2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Finals
Sydney FC0–0Queensland Roar
Mark Milligan  7'
Brendan Renaud  43'
Ufuk Talay  56'		 Report Sasa Ognenovski  22'
Matt McKay  55'
Josh McCloughan  73'
Attendance: 23,450
Referee: Mark Shield
Queensland Roar2–0Sydney FC
Andrew Packer  3'
Reinaldo  12'
Massimo Murdocca  48'
Liam Reddy  74'
Sasa Ognenovski  83' (pen)		 Report Brendan Renaud  15'
Robbie Middleby  20'
Ufuk Talay  67'
Tony Popovic  82'
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 36,321
Referee: Mark Shield
  • Queensland Roar win 2–0 on aggregate

Hyundai Club Challenge

Sydney hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy in a one-off exhibition match at Telstra Stadium on 27 November, including high-profile Galaxy signing David Beckham. Sydney won the exciting match 5–3, which included a Beckham goal from a free kick.

Sydney FC5–3Los Angeles Galaxy
Alex Brosque  5',  25'
Ruben Zadkovich  29'
Robbie Middleby  49',  53'
Adam Biddle  76'
Iain Fyfe  87'		 Report Kevin Harmse  31'  76'
David Beckham  45',  64'
Edson Buddle  49'
Landon Donovan  90'
Attendance: 80,295
Referee: Mark Shield

Pan-Pacific Championship

Sydney represented Australia in the inaugural Pan-Pacific Championship held in Hawaii.[12] They placed fourth overall after losing both matches, first to American MLS champions Houston Dynamo and then Los Angeles Galaxy in the third place playoff.

Houston Dynamo3–0Sydney FC
Dwayne De Rosario  28'
Stuart Holden  29'
Chris Wondolowski  43'		 Report Brendon Santalab  49'
Ryan Walsh  57'
Attendance: 15,128
Referee: Alex Prus
Los Angeles Galaxy2–1Sydney FC
Ely Allen  3'
Josh Tudela  45'
Michael Gavin  72'		 Report Brendan Renaud  43'
Terry McFlynn  49'
Mark Robertson  51'
Attendance: 23,087
Referee: Brian Hall

Home attendance
# Opponent Round Attendance Result
1Central Coast Mariners118,457L 1–0
2Adelaide United214,233D 2–2
3Wellington Phoenix411,491L 1–2
4Newcastle United Jets613,755W 1–0
5Melbourne Victory718,436L 0–1
6Adelaide United912,922L 0–1
7Central Coast Mariners1017,652W 3–2
8Queensland Roar1416,659D 0–0
9Los Angeles GalaxyExhibition80,295W 5–3
10Newcastle United Jets1610,732W 1–0
11Perth Glory1712,402L 2–4
12Melbourne Victory2133,458D 2–2
13Queensland RoarSemi-final23,450D 0–0

A-League Regular Season Total: 180,197

A-League Regular Season Average: 16,382

Season Total: 283,942

Player details
For current squad details see Sydney FC Current squad

Squad

Players included in a Sydney FC squad in the 2007–08 season: 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 Clint Bolton
2 DF  AUS Iain Fyfe
3 DF  AUS Nikolas Tsattalios
4 DF  AUS Mark Rudan
5 DF  AUS Ryan Walsh
6 DF  AUS Tony Popović (captain)
7 MF  AUS Robbie Middleby
8 MF  AUS Ruben Zadkovich
9 FW  AUS David Zdrilic
10 MF  AUS Steve Corica
11 FW  AUS Brendon Santalab
12 FW  BRA Patrick da Silva
13 FW  AUS Ben Vidaic
14 FW  AUS Alex Brosque
15 MF  NIR Terry McFlynn
16 DF  AUS Mark Milligan
17 DF  AUS Jacob Timpano
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW  AUS Adam Casey
19 MF  USA Michael Enfield
20 GK  AUS Ivan Necevski
21 MF  AUS Adam Biddle
22 MF  BRA Juninho
23 MF  AUS Ufuk Talay
24 FW  AUS Robbie Cattanach
25 MF  AUS Matthew Jurman
25 DF  AUS Cameron Watson
25 FW  AUS Daniel Severino
26 MF  AUS Brendan Renaud
27 MF  AUS Shannon Cole
28 MF  AUS Chris Nunes
28 FW  ENG Michael Bridges
29 MF  AUS Mark Robertson
30 GK  AUS Matthew Nash
40 GK  FRA Michael Herbet

Transfers

With Branko Culina installed at the helm, he sought to reconstruct the Sydney squad which had been plagued by injuries and financial constraints the previous year. Nikolai Topor-Stanley and Noel Spencer left for other A-League sides at the end of the Asian Champions League, but defender Nikolas Tsattalios was rewarded with a longer term contract. New signings from foreign leagues were unveiled in American Michael Enfield, Brendon Santalab and World Cup Socceroo Tony Popović. Popović's expected role in the club was further reinforced by being handed the captaincy for the A-League season.[13] The club also fulfilled their youth player quota, signing Joey striker Ben Vidaic and winger Adam Biddle.

The club also sought to find a new marquee player as they had been unable to land a household-name since the departure of Dwight Yorke at the start of the previous season. The club unsuccessfully courted a number of high-profile internationals including Philip Cocu, Robbie Fowler,[14] Hakan Şükür,[15] Christian Vieri,[16] Jay-Jay Okocha[17] and John Aloisi.[18] On 3 August 2007 Sydney announced, (two days after media reports broke the story[19]) that Brazilian international Juninho Paulista will be their marquee player on a one-year deal. This came the same time as David Carney agreed to move to English side Sheffield United following speculation of his departure following the 2007 AFC Asian Cup. Sydney finalised their squad by signing a second Brazilian in striker Patrick da Silva.

With the season kicking off, new reserve goalkeeper Ivan Necevski suffered an injury in training expected to keep him out of action for up to two months. APIA Leichhardt custodian Matthew Nash impressed in his preseason trial to earn a short-term contract as cover. As first round matches were underway with Nash on the bench, Sydney agreed terms with veteran John Filan to join the club, having recently returned home after retiring at Wigan.[20] The short-term agreement fell through less than a week later, Filan citing outside issues.[21]

In
Player From League Fee Date
Michael EnfieldLos Angeles Galaxy Major League SoccerFree7 April 2007[22]
Brendon SantalabÚjpest FC Borsodi LigaFree22 June 2007[23]
Ivan NecevskiBlacktown City Demons NSW Premier LeagueFree22 June 2007[24]
Nikolas TsattaliosSydney FC (promoted from short-term deal) A-League–2 July 2007[25]
Tony PopovićAl-Arabi Qatari LeagueFree11 July 2007[26]
Ben VidaicSydney United NSW Premier LeagueFree31 July 2007[27]
Juninho PaulistaFlamengo (free agent) Brazilian Série A–3 August 2007[28]
Adam BiddleBlacktown City Demons NSW Premier LeagueFree6 August 2007[29]
Patrick da SilvaNacional Atlético Clube (SP) Campeonato Paulista Série A2Free18 August 2007[30]
Brendan RenaudBlacktown City Demons NSW Premier LeagueFree12 December 2007[31]

Out
Player To League Fee Date
Nikolai Topor-StanleyPerth Glory A-League–24 May 2007 .[32][33]
Justin PasfieldSydney United (released) NSW Premier League–24 May 2007[34]
Noel SpencerNewcastle United Jets A-League–24 May 2007[35]
Luka GlavasHeidelberg United (released) Victorian Premier League–24 May 2007[36]
Dean BouzanisLiverpool F.C. (loan terminated – delisted) Premier League–June 2007[37]
David CarneySheffield United Premier LeagueA$125,0004 August 2007[38][39]
Mark RudanAvispa Fukuoka J. League Div 2A$100,00017 December 2007[40][41]
Brendan RenaudRetired––23 February 2008

Short-term signings
Player From Start date End date Reason
Matthew Nash APIA Leichhardt 23 August 2007 10 October 2007 Injury cover for Ivan Necevski[42]
21 December 2007 24 December 2007 Injury cover for Clint Bolton[43]
Michael Herbet Waverley Old Boys 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Clint Bolton while on international duty[44]
Matthew Jurman AIS 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Mark Milligan/Ruben Zadkovich while on international duty[44]
Robbie Cattanach Manly United FC 6 September 2007 12 September 2007 Cover for Alex Brosque while on international duty[44]
Michael Bridges Hull City (loan) 17 October 2007 21 January 2008 Injury cover for Michael Enfield[45][46]
Mark Robertson FC Sopron 13 December 2007 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Adam Casey[47]
Ryan Walsh Blacktown City Demons 20 February 2008 24 February 2008 Injury cover for Robbie Middleby at Pan-Pacific Championship[48]

Team kit

For the third A-League season, all clubs released new playing strip supplied by sponsor Reebok. Sydney FC retained the established colours in a new design, a sky blue home shirt with navy blue and orange secondary colours, and a white away shirt with sky blue trim.[49]

Sydney also signed new sponsorships with Sydney-based electronics retailer Bing Lee and electronic brand JVC. The home strip will feature Bing Lee as the main shirt sponsor with JVC on the shorts, while the away shirt will feature JVC prominently and Bing Lee on the shorts. A second shirt sponsorship was secured with HBA Health Insurance, that will appear on the back of the shirt below the player number.

2007–08 home colours
2007–08 away colours
2007–08 goalkeeper

Awards
  • Sydney FC Players Player Award: Alex Brosque
  • SMH Members Player of the Year Award: Steve Corica
  • Chairman Award: John Kosmina
  • Forward of the Year: Alex Brosque
  • Midfielder of the Year: Steve Corica
  • Defender of the Year: Tony Popovic
  • Young Player of the Year Award: Adam Biddle
  • Golden Boot: Alex Brosque
  • Fans Goal of the Year Award: Brendon Santalab (Goal v Adelaide United Round 18)

gollark: Over here in the UK it's somewhat better, because our two choices are not *that* insane.
gollark: Everyone assumes that, but it isn't subliminal pizza advertising and is hyperbolic geometry or something.
gollark: Yes. Logic.
gollark: Also... Trump... not good?
gollark: Well, if you want political fighting, then communism bad, communism bad, communism bad. There you go, politics.

References
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