2007–08 Adelaide United FC season

Adelaide United FC
Industry	Professional football (soccer)
Founded	2003
Headquarters	Adelaide, Australia
Products	Football team

The 2007–08 Adelaide United FC season represented the club's third campaign in the A-League, concluding with a sixth-place finish. Among the significant acquisitions were former Socceroo Paul Agostino as the marquee player, Ivorian midfielder Jonas Salley, and ex-Olyroo Kristian Sarkies. The signing of Brazilian striker Cássio was particularly impactful, as he earned the Club Champion award during his inaugural season. Defensive depth was bolstered by AIS alumni Shaun Ontong and Matthew Mullen following the departures of Kristian Rees, Adam van Dommele, and Aaron Goulding.

Injuries played a major role in undermining the team's consistency, ending Adelaide’s previous streak of top-two finishes and preventing them from qualifying for the finals for the first time.

Adelaide secured their spot in the 2008 AFC Champions League by finishing as runners-up in the prior A-League season. Placed in Group E alongside Bình Dương F.C., Changchun Yatai, and Pohang Steelers, they began with an impressive 2–0 victory away at Pohang. The group stage featured strong performances including wins over Bình Dương and a home triumph against Pohang, culminating in a crucial away draw versus Changchun that ensured progression to the knockout rounds—the first Australian side to achieve this milestone.

In the quarter-finals, Adelaide faced the J-League champions Kashima Antlers, managing a 1–1 draw on Japanese soil and securing a 1–0 win at home to advance to the semi-finals. There, they confronted Uzbek runners-up FC Bunyodkor, delivering a commanding 3–0 home victory despite a narrow 1–0 defeat away, advancing 3–1 on aggregate and becoming the first Australian club to reach the AFC Champions League final.

The final saw Adelaide compete against Japanese team Gamba Osaka. Although qualifying for the prestigious 2008 FIFA Club World Cup as AFC representatives or highest-ranked non-Japanese team, Adelaide suffered heavy defeats in both legs—3–0 away and 2–0 at home—resulting in a 5–0 aggregate loss.

Transfers in

Name	Position	Previous club
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Paul Agostino	Forward	TSV 1860 München
Template:Country data CIV Template:Namespace detect showall Jonas Salley	Midfield	New Zealand Knights
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Kristian Sarkies	Forward	Melbourne Victory
Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Cássio	Defender	Santa Cruz
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Shaun Ontong	Defender	AIS
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Matthew Mullen	Midfield	AIS
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Isyan Erdogan	Defender	Preston Lions
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Milan Susak	Defender	FK Vojvodina
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Eugene Galekovic	Goalkeeper	Melbourne Victory

Transfers out

Name	Position	Destination club
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Greg Owens	Midfield	Central Coast Mariners
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Ross Aloisi	Midfield	Wellington Phoenix
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Matthew Kemp	Defender	Melbourne Victory
Template:Country data CHN Template:Namespace detect showall Shengqing Qu	Forward	released
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Carl Veart	Forward	retired
Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall Fernando	Forward	released
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Kristian Rees	Defender	Whittlesea Zebras
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Aaron Goulding	Defender	released
Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall Adam van Dommele	Defender	South Melbourne

Goal scorers

Total	Player		Goals by Round
Total	Player		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21
6	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Bruce Djite	1				1	2				1											1
5	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Travis Dodd			1					2					1							1
5	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Lucas Pantelis								1	1				1		1
4	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Nathan Burns	1	1					1					1
4	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Paul Agostino							1	2	1
2	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Richie Alagich	1							1
1	Template:Country data BRA Template:Namespace detect showall	Diego		1
1	Template:Country data AUS Template:Namespace detect showall	Kristian Sarkies									1

Indicates a goal scored via a penalty kick

Pre-season

Round	Date	Home team	Result	Away team	Attendance	Venue
1	15 July 2007	Melbourne Victory	1–1	Adelaide United	8,061	Aurora Stadium
2	20 July 2007	Adelaide United	1–1	Perth Glory	3,513	Hindmarsh Stadium
3	27 July 2007	Adelaide United	4–1	Newcastle Jets	3,800	Hindmarsh Stadium
Playoff	5 August 2007	Adelaide United	3–2	Queensland Roar	5,221	Hindmarsh Stadium
Grand Final	12 August 2007	Adelaide United	2–1	Perth Glory	9,606	Hindmarsh Stadium

Matches

Round	Date	Home team	Result	Away team	Attendance	Venue
1	25 August 2007	Queensland Roar	2–2	Adelaide United	16,828	Suncorp Stadium
2	1 September2007	Sydney FC	2–2	Adelaide United	14,233	Sydney Football Stadium
3	7 September2007	Adelaide United	1–1	Melbourne Victory	12,231	Hindmarsh Stadium
4	(15 September2007) Newcastle Jets		EnergyAustralia Stadium ]]
5	(22 September2007)		Westpac Stadium ]]
6	(30 September2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
7	(7 October2007)		Members Equity Stadium ]]
8	(12 October2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
9	(20 October2007)		Sydney Football Stadium ]]
10	(28 October2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
11	(2 November2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
12	(10 November2007)		Bluetongue Stadium ]]
13	(18 November2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
14	(23 November2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
15	(30 November2007)		Westpac Stadium ]]
16	(8 December2007)		Telstra Dome ]]
17	(14 December2007)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]
18	(28 December2007)		Adelaide Oval ]]
19	(4 January2008)		EnergyAustralia Stadium ]]
20	(13 January2008)		Members Equity Stadium ]]
21	(20 January2008)		Hindmarsh Stadium ]]

Group stage

Round	Date	Host team	Result	Visiting team	Crowd	Venue
1	12 March 2008	Pohang Steelers	0 – 2 Cornthwaite Template:Goal Djite Template:Goal	Adelaide United	8,436	Steelyard Stadium
2	19 March 2008	Adelaide United	0–0	Changchun Yatai	10,510	Hindmarsh Stadium
3	9 April 2008	Bình Dương	1 – 2 Diego Template:Goal Alagich Template:Goal	Adelaide United	15,000	Gò Đậu Stadium
4	23 April 2008	Adelaide United	4 – 1 Pantelis Template:Goal Dodd Template:Goal, Template:Goal Diego Template:Goal	Bình Dương	13,802	Hindmarsh Stadium
5	7 May 2008	Adelaide United	1 – 0 Diego Template:Goal	Pohang Steelers	11,805	Hindmarsh Stadium
6	22 May 2008	Changchun Yatai	0–0	Adelaide United	20,000	Changchun City Stadium

Knockout stage

Round	Date	Host team	Result	Visiting team	Crowd size	Venue
Quarter (1)	17 September 2008	Kashima Antlers	1 – 1 Dodd Template:Goal	Adelaide United	7,004	Kashima Soccer Stadium
Quarter (2)	24 September 2008	Adelaide United	1 – 0 Cornthwaite Template:Goal	Kashima Antlers	16,965	Hindmarsh Stadium
Semi (1)	8 October 2008	Adelaide United	3 – 0 Diego Template:Goal Barbiero Template:Goal Cristiano Template:Goal	Bunyodkor	16,998	Hindmarsh Stadium
Semi (2)	22 October 2008	Bunyodkor	1–0	Adelaide United	17,000	MHSK Stadium
Final (1)	5 November 2008	Gamba Osaka	3–0	Adelaide United	20,639	Osaka Expo '70 Stadium
Final (2)	12 November 2008	Adelaide United	0–2	Gamba Osaka	17,000	Hindmarsh Stadium