2015–16 Adelaide United FC season
| Company type | Football club |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sports |
| Founded | 2003 |
| Headquarters | Adelaide , Australia |
| Products | Football team |
The 2015–16 season represented the twelfth year since the establishment of Adelaide United FC in 2003. During this period, the club participated in the A-League for the eleventh time, contested the FFA Cup for their second occasion, and competed in the AFC Champions League for the fifth time.
A managerial transition took place when Josep Gombau stepped down due to family commitments, leading to technical director Guillermo Amor assuming his inaugural role as head coach. Adelaide's journey in the FFA Cup concluded at the quarter-final stage with a loss to rivals Melbourne Victory FC, marking their initial defeat in this tournament.
The A-League season commenced with a 0–0 draw against Melbourne Victory at Adelaide Oval. This was followed by a challenging eight-match stretch without a victory, placing the team 13 points behind the league leaders. Beginning from round nine, Adelaide United embarked on an impressive unbeaten streak spanning 14 games, which propelled them to the top of the standings after a commanding 4–0 win over Wellington Phoenix FC. Although facing setbacks against Melbourne City FC and Western Sydney Wanderers FC, they clinched the Premiership by a narrow one-point margin after securing victories in their final three fixtures and benefiting from Melbourne Victory’s draw with Brisbane Roar.
In the semi-final clash with Melbourne City, Adelaide secured a win through goals by Bruce Djite—including a penalty—Dylan McGowan, and Pablo Sánchez, despite a response from Nick Fitzgerald. Hosting their third Grand Final at Adelaide Oval, they faced second-placed Western Sydney Wanderers. Goals from Bruce Kamau and Isaías gave Adelaide an early advantage, with Scott Neville reducing the deficit for Western Sydney before Pablo Sánchez’s decisive strike ensured a 3–2 triumph. This victory marked Adelaide United’s inaugural Australian championship and remains their most recent Grand Final appearance.
Following this achievement, several key players departed prior to the subsequent season, including Bruce Kamau, Pablo Sánchez, Craig Goodwin, Stefan Mauk, and Bruce Djite.
Kits
| Template:Football kit | Template:Football kit | Template:Football kit | Template:Football kit | Template:Football kit |
Coaching staff
| Role | Individual |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Guillermo Amor |
| Assistant coaches | Template:Country data ESPTemplate:Namespace detect showall Pau Martí Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Valkanis |
| General manager | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Ante Kovacevic |
| Goalkeeping coach | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Peter Blazincic |
| High performance manager | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Greg King |
| Club doctor | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall James Ilic |
| Head trainer | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Peter Duke |
| Head physiotherapist | Template:Country data AUSTemplate:Namespace detect showall Peter Chitti |
Incoming transfers
| No. | Position | Player | Previous club | Transfer type/fee | Contract duration | Date signed | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Western Sydney Wanderers | Free transfer | 2 years | 27 June 2015 | |
| 14 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Template:Sort | Free transfer | 1 year | 4 July 2015 | |
| 19 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Template:Sort | Loan deal | 1 year | 26 July 2015 | |
| 17 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | 'Unattached' | Free transfer | 1 year | 16 August 2015 | |
| 6 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Melbourne City | (Player swap) | 2.5 years | 23 January 2016 | |
| 18 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | 'Unattached' | 'Guest player'
1 week 3 February 2016 |
Outgoing transfers
| No. | Position | Player | Destination club | Transfer type/fee | Date completed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Newcastle Jets | Free transfer | 30 June 2015 | |
| 14 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Unattached | Contract expired | 30 June 2015 | |
| 19 | Template:Sort | Template:Sort | Unattached | Contract ended | 30 June 2015 | |
| 20 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Central Coast Mariners | Free transfer | 8 July 2015 | |
| 17 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Template:Sort | \$1,300,000 | 20 July 2015 | |
| 32 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Unattached | \Mutual termination | \28 December 2015 | |
| 5 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | \[[Melbourne City FC\|\Melbourne City\]\] | \Player swap | \23 January 2016 | |
| 18 | Template:Sort \3 \MF | \Template:Sortname \James \Jeggo\ | \{{sort \Sturm Graz \{{flagicon \AUT\} \[[SK Sturm Graz\|\Sturm Graz\]\]\}\} | \$400,000 | \27 January 2016 |
Contract Renewals
| No. | Role | Player Name | Duration of Contract | Date Signed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Two years | 11 August 2015 |
| 21 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | Three years | 29 September 2015 |
| 23 | Template:Sort | Template:Sortname | One and a half years | 23 February 2016 |
Appearances and Goals
!colspan="14"|Players who left the club but made appearances this season