2006–07 Melbourne Victory FC season

File:Melbourne Victory 2007 A-League Grand Final.jpg

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,{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-09-02/record-crowd-sees-victory-down-10-man-sydney/1253922|title=Record crowd sees Victory down 10-man Sydney|first=Stuart|last=Watt|date=2 September 2006|access-date=30 June 2011|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC News)}} Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to Telstra Dome.{{cite web|url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/victory-makes-move-to-docklands/story-e6frf4gl-1111112244589|title=Victory makes move to Docklands|first=Peter|last=Desira|date=21 September 2006|access-date=2 July 2011|work=Fox Sports|publisher=Premier Media Group}} 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,{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/12/17/1813420.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120718090320/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/12/17/1813420.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 July 2012|title=Victory hammer Knights to take minor premiership|date=17 December 2006|access-date=28 June 2011|work=ABC News}} then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the Grand Final at a sold out Telstra Dome to take the championship.{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/02/18/1850651.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071112190348/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/02/18/1850651.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 November 2007|title=Thompson haul guides Victory to A-League crown|first=Chris|last=Paine|date=18 February 2007|access-date=28 June 2011|work=ABC News}} Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 AFC Champions League as A-League Champions.

{{Fs start}}

{{Fs player|no=1|nat=Australia|name=Michael Theoklitos|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no=2|nat=Australia|pos=MF|name=Kevin Muscat|other=captain}}

{{Fs player|no=3|nat=Australia|pos=DF|name=Daniel Piorkowski}}

{{Fs player|no=4|nat=Australia|pos=DF|name=Mark Byrnes}}

{{Fs player|no=5|nat=Belgium|pos=DF|name=Geoffrey Claeys}}

{{Fs player|no=6|nat=Australia|name=Steve Pantelidis|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=7|nat=Australia|name=Michael Ferrante|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=8|nat=Brazil|name=Fred|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=9|nat=Australia|name=Daniel Allsopp|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=10|nat=Australia|name=Archie Thompson|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=11|nat=Australia|name=Vince Lia|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=12|nat=Australia|name=Rodrigo Vargas|pos=DF}}

{{Fs mid}}

{{Fs player|no=13|nat=Australia|name=Kristian Sarkies|pos=MF|}}

{{Fs player|no=14|nat=Australia|name=Adrian Caceres|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=15|nat=Australia|name=Adrian Leijer|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=16|nat=Australia|name=Simon Storey|pos=DF}}

{{Fs player|no=17|nat=Scotland|name=Grant Brebner|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=18|nat=Brazil|name=Alessandro|pos=MF}}

{{Fs player|no=19|nat=Brazil|name=Claudinho|pos=FW}}

{{Fs player|no=20|nat=Australia|name=Eugene Galeković|pos=GK}}

{{Fs player|no=21|nat=England|name=James Robinson|pos=FW|}}

{{Fs player|no=22|nat=Australia|name=Leigh Broxham|pos=MF|}}

{{Fs player|no=23|nat=Australia|pos=MF|name=Antun Kovacic}}

{{Fs player|no=30|nat=Australia|pos=GK|name=Peter Gavalas}}

{{Fs end}}

In

Out

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.

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 1

| date = 25 August 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 2 : 0

| team2 = 20px Adelaide United

| goals1 = Muscat {{goal|29|pen}}
Claudinho {{goal|78}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Melbourne

| attendance = 15,781

| referee = Matthew Breeze

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 2

| date = 2 September 2006

| time = 19:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 3 : 2

| team2 = 20px Sydney FC

| goals1 = Allsopp {{goal|8|}}
Muscat {{goal|11|pen}}
Allsopp {{goal|51|}}

| goals2 = Fyfe {{goal|18}}
Vargas {{goal|83|OG}}
Rudan {{sent off|0|13}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 39,730

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 3

| date = 9 September 2006

| time = 19:30 UTC+9:30

| team1 = New Zealand Knights 20px

| score = 0 : 3

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Allsopp {{goal|9|}}
Thompson {{goal|22|}}
Muscat {{goal|35|}}

| stadium = North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

| attendance = 2,107

| referee = Matthew Breeze

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 4

| date = 17 September 2006

| time = 15:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 1 : 0

| team2 = 20px Central Coast Mariners

| goals1 = Thompson {{goal|51|}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

| attendance = 17,617

| referee = Angelo Nardi

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 5

| date = 24 September 2006

| time = 17:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Perth Glory 20px

| score = 1 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Tarka {{goal|90}}

| goals2 = Caceres {{goal|55|}}
Muscat {{goal|72|pen}}

| stadium = Members Equity Stadium, Perth

| attendance = 7,983

| referee = Peter Green

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 6

| date = 1 October 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 4 : 1

| team2 = 20px Queensland Roar

| goals1 = Fred {{goal|11|}}
Muscat {{goal|22|pen}}
Muscat {{goal|57|pen}}
Allsopp {{goal|82|}}

| goals2 = Milicic {{goal|16}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 25,921

| referee = Simon Przydacz

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 7

| date = 8 October 2006

| time = 19:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Newcastle Jets 20px

| score = 0 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Allsopp {{goal|69|}}
Allsopp {{goal|89|}}

| stadium = EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle

| attendance = 4,635

| referee = Peter Green

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 8

| date = 14 October 2006

| time = 13:00 UTC+10

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 0 : 1

| team2 = 20px Adelaide United

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Owens {{goal|83}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 32,368

| referee = Matthew Breeze

| result = L}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 9

| date = 21 October 2006

| time = 20:00UTC+10

| team1 = Sydney FC 20px

| score = 1 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Corica {{goal|8}}

| goals2 = Thompson {{goal|50}}
Thompson {{goal|73}}

| stadium = Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

| attendance = 20,881

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 10

| date = 27 October 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+10

| team1 = New Zealand Knights 20px

| score = 0 : 4

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Fred {{goal|5}}
Thompson {{goal|57}}
Caceres {{goal|59}}
Allsopp {{goal|72}}
Caceres {{sent off|0|87}}

| stadium = North Harbour Stadium, Auckland

| attendance = 2,357

| referee = Simon Przydacz

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 11

| date = 3 November 2006

| time = 19:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 3 : 3

| team2 = 20px Central Coast Mariners

| goals1 = Allsopp {{goal|5}}
Thompson {{goal|11}}
Allsopp {{goal|86}}
Vargas {{sent off|0|23}}
Muscat {{sent off|0|45}}

| goals2 = McMaster {{goal|7}}
Petrie {{goal|12}}
Kwasnik {{goal|23|pen}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 28,118

| referee = Peter Green

| result = D}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 12

| date = 9 November 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 1 : 0

| team2 = 20px Perth Glory

| goals1 = Brebner {{goal|89}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 22,890

| referee = Craig Zetter

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 13

| date = 17 November 2006

| time = 19:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Queensland Roar 20px

| score = 0 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Parker {{goal|18|OG}}
Thompson {{goal|47}}

| stadium = Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

| attendance = 14,797

| referee = Simon Przydacz

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 14

| date = 25 November 2006

| time = 17:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 0 : 1

| team2 = 20px Newcastle Jets

| goals1 =

| goals2 = Rodriguez {{goal|61}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 27,753

| referee = Matthew Breeze

| result = L}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 15

| date = 1 December 2006

| time = 19:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Adelaide United 20px

| score = 1 : 3

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Fernando {{goal|43}}
Bajic {{sent off|0|13}}

| goals2 = Muscat {{goal|16|pen}}
Allsopp {{goal|62}}
Fred {{goal|86}}
Brebner {{sent off|0|21}}

| stadium = Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

| attendance = 16,378

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 16

| date = 8 December 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 0 : 0

| team2 = 20px Sydney FC

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 50,333

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = D}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 17

| date = 17 December 2006

| time = 20:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 4 : 0

| team2 = 20px New Zealand Knights

| goals1 = Allsopp {{goal|34|}}
Caceres {{goal|39|}}
Allsopp {{goal|44|}}
Thompson {{goal|45|}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne

| attendance = 15,563

| referee = Angelo Nardi

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 18

| date = 30 December 2006

| time = 17:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Central Coast Mariners 20px

| score = 1 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Kwasnik {{goal|53}}

| goals2 = Fred {{goal|23}}
Thompson {{goal|27}}

| stadium = Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

| attendance = 15,404

| referee = Simon Przydacz

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 19

| date = 7 January 2007

| time = 17:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Perth Glory 20px

| score = 2 : 2

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Harnwell {{goal|29|}}
Byrnes {{goal|43|OG}}

| goals2 = Sarkies {{goal|59}}
Sarkies {{goal|76}}
Ferrante {{sent off|0|75}}

| stadium = Members Equity Stadium, Perth

| attendance = 6,462

| referee = Peter Green

| result = D}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 20

| date = 12 January 2007

| time = 20:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 1 : 2

| team2 = 20px Queensland Roar

| goals1 = Thompson {{goal|80}}

| goals2 = Mori {{goal|18}}
Vidosic {{goal|90}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 28,937

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = L}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Round 21

| date = 19 January 2007

| time = 17:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Newcastle Jets 20px

| score = 4 : 0

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 = Bridge {{goal|36}}
Bridge {{goal|48}}
Coveny {{goal|51}}
Griffiths {{goal|73}}

| goals2 =

| stadium = EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle

| attendance = 19,601

| referee = Matthew Breeze

| result = L}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Major Semi Final Leg 1

| date = 27 January 2007

| time = 16:30 UTC+11

| team1 = Adelaide United 20px

| score = 0 : 0

| team2 = 20px Melbourne Victory

| goals1 =

| goals2 =

| stadium = Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide

| attendance = 15,575

| referee = Simon Przydacz

| result = D}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Major Semi Final Leg 2

| date = 4 February 2007

| time = 17:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 2 : 1

| team2 = 20px Adelaide United

| goals1 = Allsopp {{goal|48}}
Robinson {{goal|90}}

| goals2 = Dodd {{goal|4}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 47,413

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = W}}

{{football box collapsible

| round = Grand Final

| date = 18 February 2007

| time = 16:00 UTC+11

| team1 = Melbourne Victory 20px

| score = 6 : 0

| team2 = 20px Adelaide United

| goals1 = Thompson {{goal|21||29||40||56||73}}
Sarkies {{goal|90}}

| goals2 = Aloisi {{sent off|0|34}}

| stadium = Telstra Dome, Melbourne

| attendance = 55,436

| referee = Mark Shield

| result = W}}

{{:2006–07 A-League|transcludesection=Standings|showteam=MV}}

• Victory Medal
• Kevin Muscat and Danny Allsopp
• Players' Player of the Year
• Danny Allsopp
• Clubman of the Year
• Fred
• Golden Boot
• Archie Thompson

{{Reflist}}

{{Melbourne Victory FC seasons}}

{{2006–07 in Australian football}}

2006-07

Category:2006–07 A-League season by team

Category:Australian soccer championship–winning seasons