Melbourne Victory FC – National Young League
Current Squad
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Team Performance History
2016-2017
Melbourne Victory finished fifth on the Conference A ladder with one win from eight games, finishing with five points and a goal difference of -10.
Squad: Aaron Anderson, Benjamin Carrigan, Joshua Cavallo, Lucas Derrick, Felix Dimitrakis, Callum Goulding, Stephen Hatzikourtis (gk), Matthew Hennessey, Joshua Hope, Joshua Kelic, Cameron McGlip, Sebastian Pasquali, Brady Quinn, Nicholas Sette, Aleksandar Stanisavljevic, Christian Theoharous, Jonathan Vakirtzis, Andrew Viscgilio, Pierce Waring, James Xydias
Manager: Gareth Naven
Top Scorer: Pierce Waring (6 goals)
2015-2016
Melbourne Victory finished fourth on the Conference A ladder with three wins from eight games, finishing with nine points and a goal difference of -5.
Squad: Jordan Brown, Christian Cavallo, Wyatt Chant, Thomas Deng, Lucas Derrick, Kieran Dover, Anthony Duzel, Callum Goulding, Joseph Katebian, John Maclean, Damien Miskulin, Stefan Nigro, Dion Paola, Lucas Spinella, Pierce Waring
Manager: Gareth Naven
Captain: Joey Katebian
Top Scorer: Joey Katebian (10 goals)
2014-2015
Melbourne Victory finished fifth on the ladder with eight wins from 18 games, finishing with 27 points and a goal difference of +1.
It was a season which saw a number of future stars get their chance in the first team under coach Kevin Muscat. Defender Milos Ridesic was in the provisional squad for an early season fixture against Sydney FC, but fellow youngster Christian Cavallo was preferred in his place. The fullback didn’t make it off the bench, however English-born Kieran Dover did, making his debut late in the 0-0 draw with the Sky Blues. Thomas Deng, George Howard and Joey Katebian were all named for the game against Central Coast Mariners later on in the season, with George Howard appearing off the bench for his debut in a 2-1 win. Stefan Nigro pushed hard for senior selection, as did Lucas Spinella, who spent time on the bench in the absence of Nathan Coe towards the end of the season.
Squad: Damian Miskulin, Milos Ridesic, Thomas Deng, John Vakirtzis, Christopher Cristaldo, Jordan Brown, Joseph Katebian, George Howard, Kieran Dover, Fraser Maclaren, Stefan Nigro, Lucas Spinella, Jordan O’Doherty, Brendan Gonano, John Maclean, Lucas Derrick, Reece Caldecourt, Cristian Cavallo
Manager: Darren Davies
Captain: Christopher Cristaldo
Top Scorer: Andrew Nabbout (8 goals)
2013-2014
Melbourne Victory finished third on the ladder with nine wins from 18 games, finishing with 31 points and a goal difference of +14.
The team struggled for consistency over the season, with a run of nine games towards the start of the season ending WWWLLLWWW. The reigning champions saw Dylan Murnane earn a senior contract mid-season, while highly touted playmaker Jordan Brown made his debut in early-2014 after penning a senior deal at the beginning of the season. Keegan Coulter spent some time on the senior bench as the Victory’s third-choice keeper.
Squad: John Buceto, Keegan Coulter, Christopher Cristaldo, Anthony Duzel, Luc Jeggo, James Karvelis, Damien Miskulin, Dylan Murnane, Anthony Proia, Milos Ridesic, Gian Tapia, Jordan Brown
Manager: Darren Davies
Captain: Luc Jeggo
Top Scorer: Andrew Nabbout (11 goals)
2012-2013 (Champions)
Melbourne Victory finished first on the ladder with 12 wins from 18 games, finishing with 37 points and a goal difference of +37.
It was a landmark season for a free scoring Melbourne Victory Youth, who ran away with the NYL title courtesy of their superior goal difference over challengers Central Coast Mariners. It was a sensational season, which saw them not only score the most goals in the competition, but also concede the least as well. On the attacking front, the Victory saw 18 separate goal scorers – 13 multiple – make their mark on the season, with Chris Cristaldo (9), Luke O’Dea (7), Theo Markelis (6), John Buceto (5) and Connor Pain (4) doing the brunt of the work. Andrew Nabbout made the biggest impact that season out of the Youth Team bunch, appearing nine times in the league and nabbing four goals in his debut year. Jimmy Jeggo, Nick Ansell, Scott Galloway and Connor Pain also enjoyed breakout seasons with the seniors, while Jesse Makarounas, Luc Jeggo, Jason Geria, Luke O’Dea and the aforementioned Cristaldo made their debuts.
Squad: Julius Davies, Theo Markelis, Christopher Cristaldo, Luke O’Dea, John Buceto, Connor Pain, Andrew Nabbout, Jake Nakic, Luc Jeggo, James Jeggo, Matthew Foschini, Hernan Espindola, Jesse Makarounas, Dylan Murnane, Lawrence Thomas, Nicholas Ansell, Jason Geria, Scott Galloway, Kobbie Boahene, Phil Petrovski, Luke Radonich, Jordan Brown
Manager: Darren Davies
Captain: Luke O’Dea
Top Scorer: Christopher Cristaldo (9 goals)
2011-2012
Melbourne Victory finished tenth (last) on the ladder with four wins from 18 games, finishing with 15 points and a goal difference of -19.
It took ten games for the Victory to get their first points of the season, with a 2-0 win over Newcastle Jets coming with the turn of the new year. The first month was particularly rough as a 6-0 hiding to Central Coast Mariners was sandwiched in between 5-1 losses to Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC. They picked up their form in the latter half of the season, collecting 12 out of an available 21 points, losing just once in their final seven fixtures. The aid of several rotating senior figures in the latter games helped their fortunes on the pitch with players like Roddy Vargas, Tom Pondeljak, Tando Velaphi and Billy Celeski making appearances to keep up match fitness away from the first team.
Squad: Rani Dowisha, Daniel Chaabani, James Riccobene, Petar Franjic, Adam Nakic, Daniel Petrov, Luc Jeggo, Hernan Espindola, Christopher Cristaldo, Damir Lokvancic, Liam Francis, James Jeggo, Luke O’Dea, John Buceto, Brendan Hamill, Sebastian Mattei, Keegan Coulter, Paulo Retre, Nicholas Ansell, Melvin Becket, Marko Stevanja, Lawrence Thomas, Kobbie Boahene
Manager: Darren Davies
Captain: James Jeggo
Top Scorer: Geoffrey Srahah (6 goals)
2010-2011
Melbourne Victory finished eighth on the ladder with seven wins from 19 games, finishing with 21 points and a goal difference of -13.
It was a dire season on the pitch for the Victory, but a ‘young youth’ team gave plenty of players in the 15-17 years old bracket the chance to develop their game. A number of players went on to graduate to the first team, with Nick Ansell, Diogo Ferreira, Matthew Foschini, Petar Franjic and Jimmy Jeggo all going on to make 20 plus appearances in the first team.
Squad: Nicholas Ansell, Daniel Chaabani, Christopher Cristaldo, Rani Dowisha, Diogo Ferreira, Matthew Foschini, Petar Franjic, Stephen Hatzikostas, James Jeggo, Luc Jeggo, James Kalafatidis, Damir Lokvancic, Sebastian Mattei, Andrew Mullett, Jake Nakic, Luke O”Dea, Luke Pilkington, John Reale, Paulo Retre, Jason Ricciuti, Anthony Selemidis, Semir Sivic, David Stirton, Tedros Yabio
Manager: Mehmet Durakovic
Captain: Matthew Foschini
Top Scorer: James Kalafatidis, Damir Lokvancic, Geoff Kellaway (5 goals)
2009-2010
Melbourne Victory finished sixth on the ladder with seven wins from 24 games, finishing with 29 points and a goal difference of -1.
Two new sides joined the competition that season in the A.I.S and the newly formed – and now defunct – Gold Coast United. The Victory started the season in good form, losing only one of their first nine games in the league, sitting on 16 points after 10 rounds. They couldn’t go on with however as they secured only one win in their next 11 games as they fell out of finals contention. Nick Ansell, Jimmy Jeggo and Mate Dugandzic are two of the bigger names to have come out of the crop of players, and have gone on to become regulars at A-League level.
Squad: Sebastian Mattei, Stefaan Sardelic, Diogo Ferreira, Petar Franjic, Brad Norton, Luke Pilkington, Aziz Behich, Stephen Hatzikostas, Antonio La Verde, Craig Sweeney, Kliment Taseki, Simon Tolli, Matthew Demo, Tedros Yabio, Mate Dugandzic, Matthew Foschini, Nathan Elasi, Luke O’Dea, David Stirton, John Reale, Christian Georopoulos, James Jeggo, Nicholas Ansell, Curran Ferns
Manager: Mehmet Durakovic
Captain: Aziz Behich
Top Scorer: Nathan Elasi (10 goals)
2008-2009
Melbourne Victory finished sixth on the ladder with six wins from 18 games, finishing with 19 points and a goal difference of -5.
They were joined in the inaugural season of the National Youth League by six other A-League outfit affiliates, with the top two in the league going on to play a Grand Final match at the end of the season. The Victory finished 16 points shy of second placed Adelaide United and a further six points shy of Minor Premiers and overall winners Sydney FC. The shining light of the 2008-09 squad was future Socceroos full-back Aziz Behich, who also went on to make five appearances for the Victory first team.
Squad: Robert Wynne, Mijo Marinovic, Nathan Elasi, Milos Lujic, Matthew Foschini, Mathew Theodore, Aziz Behich, Ante Cicak, Cameron Drake, Stephen Hatzikostas, Dimitri Hatzimouratis, Sebastian Mattei, Antonio La Verde, Craig Sweeney, Tedros Yabio
Captain: Mathew Theodore
Manager: Mehmet Durakovic
Leading Goal Scorer: Nathan Elasi (10 goals)