United (docuseries)
| Company type | Docuseries |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television |
| Founded | December 7, 2022 |
| Founder | Dan Jones (writer and director) |
Key people | Silvio Salum (executive producer), Vasili Papanicolou (executive producer) |
| Products | Sports documentary series |
| Parent | Network Ten, Amazon Prime Video |
| Website | www |
United is a sports docuseries produced by Network Ten and Amazon Prime Video that documents the 2021–22 season of Australian A-League Men club Western United. The series highlights the team’s remarkable progression from finishing 10th the previous year to securing their inaugural A-League Men championship.
This six-part series, both written and directed by Dan Jones, was executive produced by Silvio Salum and Vasili Papanicolou and premiered on 7 December 2022.
Background
Founded in 2018 as the Western Melbourne Group, Western United entered the A-League Men competition in the 2019–20 season. Despite interruptions caused by the pandemic, the club reached the semi-finals that season. However, the following year, 2020–21, proved challenging as they dropped to 10th place amid difficulties such as lacking a permanent home venue, enduring substantial financial setbacks, and dismissing head coach Mark Rudan. Subsequently, John Aloisi was appointed to lead the team for the 2021–22 campaign.
Plot
The 2021–22 season for Western United commenced with a defeat against Melbourne Victory. They then achieved their first victory after ten matches, which was quickly followed by a streak of four consecutive wins. After another loss to Melbourne Victory, the team embarked on a nine-game unbeaten run. Although their league position fluctuated between second and third place during this period, they concluded the regular season with a club-record total of 45 points (13 wins, 6 draws, and 7 losses), securing a spot in the finals.
In the elimination final, Western United edged out Wellington Phoenix with a 1–0 victory. The semi-finals saw them overturn a first-leg 1–0 deficit against Melbourne Victory by winning the second leg 4–1. Ultimately, Western United clinched their first championship title by defeating Melbourne City 2–0 in the Grand Final.
Players
First-team players
The docuseries features appearances from several first-team players.[1]
Non-playing staff
Coaching and medical staff
Age as of 1 July 2021
| Role | Country | Individual[1] | Age | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-team Head Coach | Template:Country data AUS | John Aloisi | 45 | Former Australian international with 55 caps and 27 goals; previously managed Melbourne Heart and Brisbane Roar before joining Western United in July 2021. |
| First-team Assistant Coaches | Template:Country data AUS | Hayden Foxe | 44 | Played professionally in Germany, Japan, England, and Belgium; earned 11 caps for Australia; served as assistant coach at Melbourne Heart, Western Sydney Wanderers, and Perth Glory; joined Western United in July 2021. |
| Template:Country data AUS | John Anastasiadis | 52 | Former player for Heidelberg United, PAOK, and South Melbourne; coached Victorian clubs before becoming assistant coach at Western United in January 2019. |
| Role | Country | Individual | Age | Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-team Goalkeeping Coach | Template:Country data AUS | Michael Theo | 40 | Played for Bulleen Zebras, South Melbourne, Football Kingz, Blackpool; appointed goalkeeping coach in 2021. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First-team Analyst | Template:Country data AUS | Vince Ierardo | style="text-align:center;" | Former assistant coach at Melbourne Victory; joined Western United as first-team analyst in July 2019. | rowspan="2" ! Lead Strength & Conditioning Coaches (First Team) | Template:Country data AUS | Andrew Rondinelli | style="text-align:center;" | Took on lead strength & conditioning coach role in October 2019. | Template:Country data AUS | Massimo Murdocca | 39 | Played for NSL teams Carlton and South Melbourne; won two championships with Brisbane Roar; represented Australia at youth levels. | Academy Director | Template:Country data AUS | Anthony Frost | style="text-align:center;" | Previously coached at Melbourne City academy and assisted Australia under-20s; appointed as Western United’s inaugural Academy Director in November 2021. | Women's First-team Head Coach | Template:Country data AUS | Mark Torcaso | 40 | Managed Calder United prior to joining Western United Women in June 2022. | Lead Physiotherapist | Template:Country data AUS | Ashley Lynch | style="text-align:center;" | Assumed role of Lead Physiotherapist in September 2021. | Rehabilitation Physiotherapist | Template:Country data AUS | Daniel Hanna | style="text-align:center;" | Joined as Rehabilitation Physiotherapist in October 2019. | Medical Consultant | Template:Country data AUS | David Bolzonello | style="text-align:center;" | Head Doctor | Template:Country data AUS | Anthony Hipsley | style="text-align:center;" |
Management team
| Role | Country | Individual | Age | Details | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Template:Country data AUS | Jason Sourasis | style="text-align:center;" | Became chairman of Western United in February 2019. | |||||||||||||||
| Chief Executive Officer | Template:Country data AUS | Chris Pehlivanis | style="text-align:center;" | Serving as CEO since October 2019. | |||||||||||||||
| Board Members | Template:Country data AUS | Steve Horvat | style="text-align:center;" | 50 | Former Australian international with 32 caps; appointed Director of Football in December 2018. | John Tripodi | style="text-align:center;" | Levent Shevki | style="text-align:center;" | Serving as Legal Counsel since January 2019. | Daniel Trenton | style="text-align:center;" |
Production and release
The journey of Western United as they aimed to secure their inaugural A-League Men Championship was captured in a six-part documentary series, which was introduced with an official preview on 30 November 2022. The entire series was made available at once on 7 December 2022.