2021–22 Melbourne Victory FC season
| 2021–22 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | Anthony Di Pietro |
| Manager | Tony Popovic |
| Stadium | AAMI Park |
| A-League Men | 2nd |
| A-League Men Finals Series | Semi-finals |
| FFA Cup | Winners |
| AFC Champions League | Qualifying play-off round |
| Top goalscorer | League: Nicholas D'Agostino (10) All: Nicholas D'Agostino (12) |
| Highest home attendance | 17,754 (9 April 2022 vs. Melbourne City |
| Lowest home attendance | 5,022 (23 March 2022 vs. Western United |
| Average home league attendance | 9,473 |
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. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
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 |  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 |  Rai Marchán
|
Andorra
|
Free transfer | 1 year | 27 July 2021 | [9] |
| 20 | GK |  Ivan Kelava
|
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 |  Roderick Miranda
|
Unattached | Free transfer | 2 years | 1 October 2021 | [12] |
| 9 | FW |  Francesco Margiotta
|
Unattached | Free transfer | 1 year | 20 October 2021 | [13] |
| 19 | GK | Jerrad Tyson |  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 |
|
Lleyton Brooks | 20 | 1 year scholarship contract[16] |
| 24 | FW |
|
Nishan Velupillay | 20 | 2 year scholarship contract[17] |
| 35 | DF |
|
Zaydan Bello | 19 | 2 year scholarship contract[17] |
Transfers out[edit]
| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | GK |  Max Crocombe
|
Unattached | End of contract | 11 June 2021 | [18] |
| 2 | DF | Storm Roux
|
Unattached | End of contract | [18] | |
| 3 | DF |  Adama Traoré
|
Unattached | End of contract | [18] | |
| 4 | DF | Nick Ansell | Unattached | End of contract | [18] | |
| 19 | DF | Dylan Ryan |  Willem II
|
End of loan | 30 June 2021 | [19] |
| 7 | FW |  Callum McManaman
|
Tranmere Rovers
|
Mutual contract termination | 9 July 2021 | [20][21] |
| 9 | FW |  Rudy Gestede
|
Unattached | End of contract | [20] | |
| 8 | MF | Jacob Butterfield
|
Unattached | End of contract | 15 July 2021 | [22] |
| 17 | FW |  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 |  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 | 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 Friendly | Box Hill United  | 0–2 | Melbourne Victory | Box Hill |
| 19:00 AEST | Report |
|
Stadium: Wembley Park Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 30 October 2021 Friendly | Hume City | 1–3 | Melbourne Victory | Melbourne |
| 16:00 AEDT | ?  |
Report | Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 3 November 2021 Friendly | Port Melbourne | 0–5 | Melbourne Victory | Port Melbourne |
| 19:00 | Report |
|
Stadium: SS Anderson Reserve Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 6 November 2021 Friendly | North Geelong Warriors | 0–10 | Melbourne Victory | Geelong |
| 20:00 | Report | Stadium: GMHBA Stadium Attendance: 0 (behind closed doors) |
| 13 November 2021 Friendly | Avondale | 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 | 50.00 |
| A-League Men Finals | 17 May 2022 | A-League Men Finals | Semi-finals | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 50.00 |
| FFA Cup | 24 Nov 2021 | 5 February 2022 | A-League play-off round | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 83.33 |
| Total | 34 | 19 | 10 | 5 | 56 | 34 | +22 | 55.88 | |||
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:
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:
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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 |
| 16 February 2022 10 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 2–0 | Melbourne Victory | Sydney |
| 19:55 AEDT | Report | Stadium: CommBank Stadium Attendance: 4,321 Referee: Alireza Faghani |
| 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]
| 17 May 2022 Semi-final 1st leg | Western United | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory | Melbourne |
| 19:05 AEST | Report |
|
Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 7,295 Referee: Alireza Faghani |
| 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]
| 24 November 2021 Play-off | Perth Glory | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (3–4 p) | Melbourne Victory | Adelaide |
| 19:30 ACDT |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Marden Sports Complex Attendance: 430 Referee: Daniel Elder |
| Penalties | ||||
Final rounds[edit]
| 1 December 2021 Round of 32 | Adelaide City  | 0–1 | Melbourne Victory | Adelaide |
| 19:30 ACDT | Report | Stadium: Marden Sports Complex Attendance: 1,550 Referee: Daniel Cook |
| 30 December 2021 Round of 16 | Gold Coast Knights  | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Melbourne Victory | Gold Coast |
| 19:30 AEST |
|
Report |
|
Stadium: Croatian Sports Centre Attendance: 2,417 Referee: Chris Beath |
| 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]
| 8 March 2022 Preliminary round | Melbourne Victory | w/o |  Shan United | |
| Withdrawal |
| 15 March 2022 Play-off round | Vissel Kobe  | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | 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]
- ^ "Melbourne Victory name Steve Kean as interim manager". ESPN. AAP. 19 April 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Jason Geria". Melbourne Victory. 14 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Josh Brillante". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Jason Davidson". Melbourne Victory. 16 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Stefan Nigro". Melbourne Victory. 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Matthew Spiranovic". Melbourne Victory. 20 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Chris Ikonomidis". Melbourne Victory. 21 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Brendan Hamill". Melbourne Victory. 26 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Rai Marchán". Melbourne Victory. 27 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Ivan Kelava". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Nick D'Agostino". Melbourne Victory. 14 August 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Portuguese defender Roderick Miranda". Melbourne Victory. 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Italian forward Francesco Margiotta". Melbourne Victory. 20 October 2021.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Australian midfielder Luka Prso". Melbourne Victory. 19 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Brooks and Kirdar re-sign with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 18 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Velupillay and Bello re-sign with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 6 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Players depart Victory first team". Melbourne Victory. 11 June 2021.
- ^ "Defenders depart Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 30 June 2021.
- ^ a b "Players depart Victory first team". Melbourne Victory. 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Callum McManaman and Elliott Nevitt both sign for Tranmere". Tranmere Rovers. 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Jacob Butterfield departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 15 July 2021.
- ^ "Elvis Kamsoba departs Melbourne Victory". Melbourne Victory. 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Sydney FC sign exciting attacking talent". Sydney FC. 22 July 2021.
- ^ @joeylynchy (11 September 2021). "Brandon Lauton trialling with Western United" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ @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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory signs Ben Folami". Melbourne Victory. 12 July 2021.
- ^ "Broxham signs contract extension". Melbourne Victory. 13 July 2021.
- ^ "Anderson re-signs with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 19 July 2021.
- ^ "Robbie Kruse re-signs with Victory". Melbourne Victory. 21 July 2021.
- ^ Paquette, Catherine (13 October 2021). "Victory sign A-League defender, loan him to Wellington". FTBL.
- ^ "Brimmer capable of building on promising season". Melbourne Victory. 28 October 2021. Archived from the original on 30 October 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
- ^ "Melbourne Victory re-signs Jake Brimmer". Melbourne Victory. 19 January 2022.
- ^ a b "Melbourne Victory re-signs Lleyton Brooks and Jay Barnett". Melbourne Victory. 1 February 2022.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
External links[edit]
- Melbourne Victory official website