2006–07 Adelaide United FC season
| Company type | Football club |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Adelaide , Australia |
Key people | John Kosmina (head coach, until 2007), Aurelio Vidmar (interim head coach) |
| Products | Football team |
| Website | www |
The 2006–07 season marked Adelaide United FC's second campaign in the A-League and their third year competing at the highest national level. Building upon their 2005–06 achievement of securing the Premiership and finishing third in the finals series, Adelaide commenced their season with a 2–2 draw against local side Adelaide Galaxy and followed that with a 2–1 victory over a State Select team during pre-season matches. They subsequently captured the Pre-Season Cup title by overcoming Central Coast Mariners in a penalty shootout during the final.
Adelaide United concluded the 2006–07 Premiership in second place and progressed to the Grand Final after a tense 4–3 penalty shootout victory (1–1 after extra time) against the Newcastle Jets. However, in the Grand Final held at the Telstra Dome, they suffered a heavy 6–0 defeat to Melbourne Victory, largely hampered by playing most of the match with ten players following captain Ross Aloisi's dismissal with a red card. The aftermath saw Aloisi removed from his captaincy role and transferred to Wellington Phoenix after a contentious post-game interview. Angelo Costanzo was appointed as his successor on 22 February 2007.
At the same time, head coach John Kosmina was relieved of his duties amid rumors that board pressure led to his resignation shortly after the final. Assistant coach Aurelio Vidmar stepped in as interim manager. On 22 October 2007, Kosmina resumed coaching as head coach of Sydney FC.
Review
During the 2006–07 season, Brazilian international Romário joined Adelaide United for a brief four-match guest appearance. As reigning A-League premiers, Adelaide became among Australia's inaugural entrants into the 2007 AFC Champions League, placed in Group G alongside champions from China, South Korea, and Vietnam.
Adelaide secured third place in their group, finishing ahead of Vietnam's Long An but behind Shandong Luneng and Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma, who advanced to the semi-finals. Travis Dodd led the team’s scoring with four goals, followed by Fernando Rech with three.
Romário's signing was significant as he chased his career milestone of 1,000 goals. Despite interest from wealthier clubs such as those backed by the Sultan of Brunei, Adelaide successfully secured his services for four A-League fixtures. The agreement also included Romário participating in two matches for Miami FC against Adelaide and an FFSA Select Team before joining United’s league campaign.
The club extended long-term contracts to Jason Spagnuolo and Greg Owens following their impressive performances in the previous season. Additionally, Qu Shengqing re-signed for another A-League term while Nathan Burns was recruited from the AIS program.
Pre-season friendlies featured a 2–2 draw against Galaxy and a match versus a Super League Select team. Throughout the regular season, Adelaide displayed inconsistent form—recording a victory over Melbourne Victory in group stages but settling for draws against Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory. They reached their first final by edging Sydney FC on penalties after Kristian Rees scored a dramatic injury-time winner.
Adelaide pursued an improvement on their inaugural minor premiership by focusing on success in the Finals Series. Early away defeats to Melbourne and Auckland exposed offensive challenges despite contributions from key players like Qu Shengqing and Travis Dodd.
A commanding 5–1 home triumph over Newcastle Jets highlighted proficient set-piece execution alongside an impactful debut from Bobby Petta. Following this, they secured a 3–0 win against Perth Glory, exploiting weaknesses in their opposition’s attack.
In their encounter with Queensland Roar, despite Roar dominating possession, goalkeeper Robert Bajic thwarted numerous attempts to maintain a clean sheet. A disciplinary issue involving Qu Shengqing attracted attention from Football Federation Australia.
A defensive lapse resulted in a heavy 4–1 loss to Sydney FC, where Romário’s former teammate Benito Carbone played a pivotal role in Sydney’s offense. Despite efforts from Jason Spagnuolo and Carl Veart, Adelaide struggled to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
The squad bounced back with a narrow victory over Central Coast Mariners featuring goals from Carl Veart and Kristian Rees. Subsequent strong performances included contests against Melbourne Victory that were marred by a contentious confrontation between coach John Kosmina and Victory captain Kevin Muscat, leading to Kosmina’s suspension.
Adelaide rose to second place on the ladder thanks to impressive offensive displays from emerging talents Nathan Burns and Bruce Djite, supported by assists from Jason Spagnuolo. Nonetheless, defensive vulnerabilities remained an issue.
A closely fought match against Newcastle Jets ended unfavorably due to Carl Veart missing a critical penalty late in the game. Against Perth Glory, Greg Owens scored twice during a resilient midfield-driven 3–2 victory.
Adelaide dominated Queensland Roar once again en route to another win, with Travis Dodd scoring off Carl Veart’s assist. Matches against Sydney FC were evenly contested but ultimately favored Sydney due to their clinical finishing.
Romário concluded his stint on a high note delivering an outstanding performance contributing to a win over Newcastle Jets. New signing Diego made an immediate impact on debut by assisting Fernando Rech’s goal.
In closing rounds, Nathan Burns emerged as a key goal scorer with multiple strikes securing vital wins that solidified Adelaide's second-place finish for the season.
Incoming Transfers
Loan Signings
| No. | Position | Player | Origin Club | Loan Duration | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | 1 month loan | 1 November 2006 |
Outgoing Transfers
3|| Template:Sort 17|| Template:Sort 8|| Template:Sort| No. | Position | Player | Destination Club | Transfer Type/Fee | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Template:Sort | Undisclosed fee | 1 July 2006 | |
| 16 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Template:Sort | Free transfer | 1 July 2006 | |
| 30 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | {{sort |Adelaide City |Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Adelaide City } } | Undisclosed fee | 1 May 2007 | |
| Template:Sortname | {{sort |Whittlesea Zebras |Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Whittlesea Zebras } } | Undisclosed fee | 1 May 2007 | |||
| Template:Sortname | {{sort |South Melbourne |Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall South Melbourne } } | Free transfer | 1 May 2007 | |||
| Template:Sortname | 'Retirement' | 16 May 2007 |
Loans Out
| No. | Position | Player | Destination Club | Date |
|---|
|- |11 || !scope="row"| | |1 December 2006 | |}
Appearances and Goals
| No. | Pos. | Player Name | A-League | Pre-Season Challenge Cup | AFC Champions League | Overall | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Summary
| Competition | Performance Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
| A-League | ||||||||
| Pre-Season Challenge Cup | ||||||||
| AFC Champions League | ||||||||
| Overall
External Links | ||||||||