2021–22 Melbourne Victory FC season

Melbourne Victory
2021–22 season
ChairmanAnthony Di Pietro
ManagerTony Popovic
StadiumAAMI Park
A-League Men2nd
A-League Men Finals SeriesSemi-finals
FFA CupWinners
AFC Champions LeagueQualifying play-off round
Top goalscorerLeague: Nicholas D'Agostino (10)
All: Nicholas D'Agostino (12)
Highest home attendance17,754 (9 April 2022 vs. Melbourne City
Lowest home attendance5,022 (23 March 2022 vs. Western United
Average home league attendance9,473

The 2021–22 season was the 17th in the history of Melbourne Victory Football Club. This was Melbourne Victory's 17th season in the A-League Men. In addition to the domestic league, Melbourne Victory also participated in the FFA Cup.

The season was documented in the Network Ten, Paramount+ and Amazon Prime Video series Dream Big.

Review

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Melbourne Victory's 2020–21 campaign had seen their first ever last-place finish in a league season, after they finished 12th forcing the club to play an FFA Cup Round of 32 play-off against ninth-placed Perth Glory. Before their 2021–22 season, Melbourne Victory announced on 19 April 2021 that Tony Popovic would be managing the club for three years.[1]

Players

[edit]

First team squad

[edit]
As of 4 January 2022

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Australia AUS Matt Acton
2 DF Australia AUS Jason Geria
3 DF Australia AUS Jason Davidson
4 MF Spain ESP Rai Marchán
5 DF Australia AUS Matthew Spiranovic
6 MF Australia AUS Leigh Broxham (vice-captain)
7 MF Australia AUS Chris Ikonomidis
8 MF Australia AUS Joshua Brillante (captain)
9 FW Italy ITA Francesco Margiotta
10 FW Australia AUS Robbie Kruse
11 FW Australia AUS Ben Folami
13 MF Australia AUS Birkan Kirdar (scholarship)
14 MF Australia AUS Jay Barnett
No. Pos. Nation Player
15 DF Australia AUS Aaron Anderson (scholarship)
16 DF Australia AUS Stefan Nigro
17 DF Australia AUS Brendan Hamill
18 FW Australia AUS Nicholas D'Agostino
19 MF Australia AUS Luka Prso
20 GK Croatia CRO Ivan Kelava
21 DF Portugal POR Roderick Miranda (vice-captain)
22 MF Australia AUS Jake Brimmer
23 FW New Zealand NZL Marco Rojas
24 FW Australia AUS Nishan Velupillay (scholarship)
26 MF Australia AUS Lleyton Brooks (scholarship)
34 FW Australia AUS Gianluca Iannucci
35 DF Australia AUS Zaydan Bello (scholarship)

Transfers

[edit]

Transfers in

[edit]
No. Position Player Transferred from Type/fee Contract length Date Ref
2 DF Jason Geria Unattached Free transfer 1 year 14 July 2021 [2]
8 MF Joshua Brillante Greece Xanthi Free transfer 3 years 15 July 2021 [3]
3 DF Jason Davidson Unattached Free transfer 1 year 16 July 2021 [4]
16 DF Stefan Nigro Central Coast Mariners Free transfer 3 years 19 July 2021 [5]
5 DF Matthew Spiranovic Unattached Free transfer 1 year 20 July 2021 [6]
7 MF Chris Ikonomidis Perth Glory Free transfer 3 years 21 July 2021 [7]
17 DF Brendan Hamill Western United Free transfer 2 years 26 July 2021 [8]
4 MF Spain Rai Marchán Spain Andorra Free transfer 1 year 27 July 2021 [9]
20 GK Croatia Ivan Kelava Greece Xanthi Free transfer 1 year 30 July 2021 [10]
18 FW Nicholas D'Agostino Unattached Free transfer 3 years 14 August 2021 [11]
21 DF Portugal Roderick Miranda Unattached Free transfer 2 years 1 October 2021 [12]
9 FW Italy Francesco Margiotta Unattached Free transfer 1 year 20 October 2021 [13]
19 GK Jerrad Tyson Australia Green Gully Injury replacement 2 months 4 November 2021 [14]
19 MF Luka Prso Unattached Free transfer 1.5 years 19 January 2022 [15]

From youth squad

[edit]
N
Pos.
Nat.
Name
Age
Notes
26 MF Australia Lleyton Brooks 20 1 year scholarship contract[16]
24 FW Australia Nishan Velupillay 20 2 year scholarship contract[17]
35 DF Australia Zaydan Bello 19 2 year scholarship contract[17]

Transfers out

[edit]
No. Position Player Transferred to Type/fee Date Ref
20 GK New Zealand Max Crocombe Unattached End of contract 11 June 2021 [18]
2 DF New Zealand Storm Roux Unattached End of contract [18]
3 DF Ivory Coast Adama Traoré Unattached End of contract [18]
4 DF Nick Ansell Unattached End of contract [18]
19 DF Dylan Ryan Netherlands Willem II End of loan 30 June 2021 [19]
7 FW England Callum McManaman England Tranmere Rovers Mutual contract termination 9 July 2021 [20][21]
9 FW Benin Rudy Gestede Unattached End of contract [20]
8 MF England Jacob Butterfield Unattached End of contract 15 July 2021 [22]
17 FW Burundi Elvis Kamsoba Sydney FC End of contract 22 July 2021 [23][24]
16 DF Brandon Lauton Unattached End of contract 11 September 2021 [25][26]
44 DF North Macedonia Matthew Bozinovski Wellington Phoenix Loan 13 October 2021 [27]
19 GK Jerrad Tyson Unattached End of contract 4 January 2022 [28]

Contract extensions

[edit]
No. Name Position Duration Date Notes
13 Birkan Kirdar Midfielder 2 years 18 June 2021 scholarship contract[16]
11 Ben Folami Striker 2 years 12 July 2021 permanent contract following loan[29]
6 Leigh Broxham Midfielder 1 year 13 July 2021 [30]
15 Aaron Anderson Centre-back 1 year 19 July 2021 scholarship contract[31]
10 Robbie Kruse Striker 1 year 21 July 2021 [32]
44 North Macedonia Matthew Bozinovski Defender 2 years 13 October 2021 [33]
22 Jake Brimmer Midfielder 28 October 2021 [34]
22 Jake Brimmer Midfielder 2.5 years 19 January 2022 [35]
14 Jay Barnett Defensive midfielder 1 year 1 February 2022 [36]
26 Lleyton Brooks Winger 1 year 1 February 2022 [36]

Competitions

[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss   Cancelled or postponed

Pre-season and friendlies

[edit]
4 August 2021 (2021-08-04) Friendly Box Hill United Victoria (state) 0–2 Melbourne Victory Box Hill
19:00 AEST Report
Stadium: Wembley Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
30 October 2021 (2021-10-30) Friendly Hume City Victoria (state) 1–3 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
16:00 AEDT ? Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
3 November 2021 (2021-11-03) Friendly Port Melbourne Victoria (state) 0–5 Melbourne Victory Port Melbourne
19:00 Report
Stadium: SS Anderson Reserve
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
6 November 2021 (2021-11-06) Friendly North Geelong Warriors Victoria (state) 0–10 Melbourne Victory Geelong
20:00 Report Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
13 November 2021 (2021-11-13) Friendly Avondale Victoria (state) 2–2 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:30 Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)

Overview

[edit]
Competition First match Last match Starting round Record
Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
A-League 20 Nov 2021 TBD Matchday 1 26 13 9 4 42 25 +17 050.00
A-League Men Finals 17 May 2022 A-League Men Finals Semi-finals 2 1 0 1 2 4 −2 050.00
FFA Cup 24 Nov 2021 5 February 2022 A-League play-off round 6 5 1 0 12 5 +7 083.33
Total 34 19 10 5 56 34 +22 055.88

Last updated: 19 February 2022
Source: Competitions

A-League

[edit]

League table

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 Melbourne City 26 14 7 5 55 33 +22 49 Qualification for finals series and 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage[a]
2 Melbourne Victory 26 13 9 4 42 25 +17 48 Qualification for finals series[b]
3 Western United (C) 26 13 6 7 40 30 +10 45
4 Adelaide United 26 12 7 7 38 31 +7 43
5 Central Coast Mariners 26 12 6 8 49 35 +14 42
Source: A-Leagues
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Points per game; 5) Least red cards; 6) Least yellow cards; 7) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
(C) Champions
Notes:
  1. ^ Determined by which of the Premiers for the 2021–22 or 2022–23 seasons accrued the most combined points over both seasons.[37] Melbourne City qualified as they were Premiers in both seasons.
  2. ^ The top two teams enter the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the finals series at the elimination-finals.

Matches

[edit]

The league fixtures were announced on 23 September 2021.[38]

20 November 2021 1 Western United 0–1 Melbourne Victory Geelong
19:45 AEDT Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 8,120
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
28 November 2021 2 Melbourne Victory 3–0 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
16:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 13,026
Referee: Alex King
5 December 2021 3 Melbourne Victory 0–3 Perth Glory Melbourne
18:45 AEDT Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 14,122
Referee: Kurt Ams
11 December 2021 4 Adelaide United 1–2 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 8,145
Referee: Adam Kersey
18 December 2021 5 Melbourne City 2–2 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 19,640
Referee: Chris Beath
26 December 2021 6 Melbourne Victory 3–1 Western United Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 13,186
Referee: Shaun Evans
8 January 2022 9 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Adelaide United Melbourne
19:45 AEDT Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,912
Referee: Shaun Evans
25 January 2022 8 Melbourne Victory 2–2 Sydney FC Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 10,496
Referee: Alireza Faghani
9 February 2022 12 Wellington Phoenix 1–0 Melbourne Victory Wollongong
19:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: WIN Stadium
Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors)
Referee: Ben Abraham
12 February 2022 14 Melbourne Victory 1–2 Newcastle Jets Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,181
Referee: Daniel Elder
19 February 2022 15 Melbourne Victory 1–0 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 8,017
Referee: Adam Kersey
4 March 2022 17 Melbourne Victory 3–1 Macarthur FC Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 7,011
Referee: Kurt Ams
9 March 2022 11 Central Coast Mariners 1–1 Melbourne Victory Gosford
17:05 AEDT
Stadium: Central Coast Stadium
Attendance: 2,003
Referee: Stephen Lucas
19 March 2022 18 Melbourne City 1–1 Melbourne Victory Melbourne
19:45 AEDT
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 18,080
Referee: Alex King
23 March 2022 13 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Western United Melbourne
19:05 AEDT
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 5,022
Referee: Alireza Faghani
27 March 2022 20 Melbourne Victory 1–1 Western Sydney Wanderers Melbourne
18:05 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,014
Referee: Shaun Evans
2 April 2022 21 Adelaide United 0–1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
19:45 AEST Report
Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 8,044
Referee: Alex King
6 April 2022 22 Perth Glory 0–1 Melbourne Victory Perth
22:05 AWST Report Stadium: HBF Park
Attendance: 3,342
Referee: Tim Danaskos
9 April 2022 23 Melbourne Victory 3–0 Melbourne City Melbourne
19:45 AEST
Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 17,754
Referee: Chris Beath
12 April 2022 7 Melbourne Victory 0–0 Brisbane Roar Melbourne
19:05 AEST Report Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 6,127
Referee: Kurt Ams
16 April 2022 24 Newcastle Jets 1–2 Melbourne Victory Newcastle
19:45 AEST Report Stadium: McDonald Jones Stadium
Attendance: 5,649
Referee: Jonathon Barreiro
23 April 2022 25 Macarthur FC 1–4 Melbourne Victory Campbelltown
17:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: Campbelltown Stadium
Attendance: 3,188
Referee: Daniel Elder
25 April 2022 16 Brisbane Roar 1–1 Melbourne Victory Brisbane
14:05 AEST
Report
Stadium: Moreton Daily Stadium
Attendance: 7,127
Referee: Lachlan Keevers
29 April 2022 26 Melbourne Victory 3–1 Wellington Phoenix Melbourne
19:45 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 8,287
Referee: Shaun Evans
7 May 2022 19 Sydney FC 1–4 Melbourne Victory Sydney
19:45 AEST Report
Stadium: Netstrata Jubilee Stadium
Attendance: 11,404
Referee: Alex King

Finals series

[edit]
21 May 2022 Semi-final 2nd leg Melbourne Victory 1–4
(2–4 agg.)
Western United Melbourne
17:15 AEST
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 15,349
Referee: Alex King

FFA Cup

[edit]

Preliminary rounds

[edit]

Final rounds

[edit]
1 December 2021 Round of 32 Adelaide City South Australia 0–1 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
19:30 ACDT Report
Stadium: Marden Sports Complex
Attendance: 1,550
Referee: Daniel Cook
5 January 2022 Quarter-final Adelaide United 1–2 Melbourne Victory Adelaide
19:15 ACDT
Report Stadium: Coopers Stadium
Attendance: 3,156
Referee: Alex King
29 January 2022 Semi-final Melbourne Victory 4–1 Wellington Phoenix Geelong
17:35 AEDT
Report
Stadium: GMHBA Stadium
Attendance: 2,034
Referee: Daniel Elder
5 February 2022 Final Melbourne Victory 2–1 Central Coast Mariners Melbourne
20:00 AEDT
Report
Stadium: AAMI Park
Attendance: 15,343
Referee: Shaun Evans

AFC Champions League

[edit]

Qualifying play-offs

[edit]
15 March 2022 Play-off round Vissel Kobe Japan 4–3 (a.e.t.) Australia Melbourne Victory Kobe, Japan
19:00 UTC+9
Report
Stadium: Noevir Stadium Kobe
Attendance: 7,861
Referee: Hanna Hattab (Syria)

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Melbourne Victory name Steve Kean as interim manager". ESPN. AAP. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Jason Geria". Melbourne Victory. 14 July 2021.
  3. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Josh Brillante". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Jason Davidson". Melbourne Victory. 16 July 2021.
  5. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Stefan Nigro". Melbourne Victory. 19 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Matthew Spiranovic". Melbourne Victory. 20 July 2021.
  7. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Chris Ikonomidis". Melbourne Victory. 21 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Brendan Hamill". Melbourne Victory. 26 July 2021.
  9. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Rai Marchán". Melbourne Victory. 27 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Ivan Kelava". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Nick D'Agostino". Melbourne Victory. 14 August 2021.
  12. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Portuguese defender Roderick Miranda". Melbourne Victory. 1 October 2021.
  13. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Italian forward Francesco Margiotta". Melbourne Victory. 20 October 2021.
  14. ^ "Injury Update: Matt Acton". Melbourne Victory. 5 November 2021. Ivan Kelava and current NPL Victoria goalkeeper Marko Bulic will be joined by Jerrard Tyson who has signed with the club on an injury-replacement contract.
  15. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Australian midfielder Luka Prso". Melbourne Victory. 19 January 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Brooks and Kirdar re-sign with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 18 June 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Velupillay and Bello re-sign with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 6 July 2021.
  18. ^ a b c d "Players depart Victory first team". Melbourne Victory. 11 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Defenders depart Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 30 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Players depart Victory first team". Melbourne Victory. 9 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Callum McManaman and Elliott Nevitt both sign for Tranmere". Tranmere Rovers. 9 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Jacob Butterfield departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Elvis Kamsoba departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 22 July 2021.
  24. ^ "Sydney FC sign exciting attacking talent". Sydney FC. 22 July 2021.
  25. ^ @joeylynchy (11 September 2021). "Brandon Lauton trialling with Western United" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  26. ^ @TomWilliamsPol (11 September 2021). "It appears that Melbourne Victory have released Brandon Lauton and that he is now on trial with Western United" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  27. ^ "Wellington Phoenix Agrees To Loan Deal For Matthew Bozinovski". Wellington Phoenix. 13 October 2021. Archived from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  28. ^ Melbourne Victory [@gomvfc] (4 January 2022). "Goalkeeper Jerrad Tyson has concluded his time at Melbourne Victory. Jerrad has been an integral part of our FFA Cup run and a valued member of our football community over the last few months" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  29. ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Ben Folami". Melbourne Victory. 12 July 2021.
  30. ^ "Broxham signs contract extension". Melbourne Victory. 13 July 2021.
  31. ^ "Anderson re-signs with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 19 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Robbie Kruse re-signs with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 21 July 2021.
  33. ^ Paquette, Catherine (13 October 2021). "Victory sign A-League defender, loan him to Wellington". FTBL.
  34. ^ "Brimmer capable of building on promising season". Melbourne Victory. 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  35. ^ "Melbourne Victory re-signs Jake Brimmer". Melbourne Victory. 19 January 2022.
  36. ^ a b "Melbourne Victory re-signs Lleyton Brooks and Jay Barnett". Melbourne Victory. 1 February 2022.
  37. ^ "A big AFC change has sparked a new A-Leagues table scramble: How it works". Australian Professional Leagues. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  38. ^ "Western United to host opening round of 2021/22 A-League Season". Western United FC. 23 September 2021. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
[edit]