Melbourne Victory
Coach: Ange Postecoglou
Captain: Mark Milligan
Last Season: 3rd
It’s no surprise Victory is tipped as one of the Championship favourites for 2013-14. With his second season at the helm, Super-coach Ange Postecoglou has assembled one of the finest lists in the competition. Last season was evidently a transition period for the blue half of Melbourne and now entering their second season under Postecoglou’s reign, Australia’s most successful coach will be hoping he can do what he does best and that’s win titles.
Falling short of the mark last season, finishing in third position and exiting in the semi-finals to eventual champions Central Coast Mariners, Victory’s recruiting has sent a warning to the rest of the competition. Depth was something Victory lacked last season whereby Postecoglou has strengthened his list adding bringing in already established and quality players.
Victory’s attacking arsenal looks to be a daunting prospect for defenders around the country. Despite losing leading goal scorer and Johnny Warren Medalist Marco Rojas, Postecoglou has added an exceptional amount of attacking flair to his squad which can hopefully continue where the Kiwi Messi left off. Postecoglou will be hoping new signings Kosta Barbarouses and James Troisi can provide just as a lethal combination as Thompson and Rojas did – leaving defenders and goal keepers in their wake. 23-year-old Barbarouses joins Victory after spells in Russia and Greece, most notably Panathinaikos and will be striving to recreate the form he did under Postecoglou as he did during his breakthrough season with the Roar. Troisi however signed for Victory on loan but with the World Cup looming, the Socceroo will be making a case to be on that plane heading to Brazil.
Where to improve:
Defence was Victory’s main concern last season. Melbourne lacked stability and consistency at the back, conceding a total of 45 goals, the equal third most of the competition. However Postecoglou has recruited the vastly experienced Chilean international Pablo Contreras and the former Braga and Olympiacos centre half can hopefully return consistency to the back four like the Kevin Muscat days. Having been stripped of the captaincy, Adrian Leijer will be striving to recreate the former which bought interest from Fulham and a dissapoitning campaign. Injuries also hindered the back four with the likes of left back Adama Traore suffering a season ending injury, yet debuts were handed to full backs Scott Galloway and Jason Giera. With these youngsters now having experienced first team football, combined with Traore’s return, fans should be expecting more polished performances at the back.
Key Player
At the moment, key players seem to be all over the pitch for Melbourne but none more so than Captain Mark Milligan. Victory was able to keep the 28-year-old Socceroo at the club despite an alleged $1.5 million offer from Premier League side Crystal Palace during the winter. Although he will miss the Derby on international duty, Milligan was instrumental for Victory last season and his performances clearly warranted the clubs best and fairest along with the captaincy. Now carrying the extra duties involved with wearing the arm band, Postecoglou will be hoping his newly appointed skipper can lead by example on the pitch and continue his excellent form from last season. His defensive pressure and distribution is a key asset if they want to give the title a real shake for the 2013/14 season.
Another of Postecoglou’s additions, Mitch Nichols, whom he coached at Roar is expected to partner alongside Milligan in the centre of midfield. As was the case at Brisbane, if Nichols was on his game so were Brisbane and Victory supporters would be hoping he can produce his best performances in a navy blue shit upon reuniting with his former coach. With Nichols filling the role as a box-to-box midfielder, the recovery and return to full fitness for Gui Finkler is like a new signing for Victory, sorely missing his creativity linking forward after he ruptured his ACL before Christmas. And who could forget Archie Thompson? The always exciting forward will no doubt be hoping to play at the top of his game and whether he plays wide or central, Thompson will be in the box looking to score those crucial goals. Despite a lot of proven quality on the pitch, expect Postecoglou to hand opportunities to his younger players where he will be challenging them to step up and match the performances of Connor Pain and Andrew Nabbout who burst onto the scene last year. After becoming regulars last season and impressing against Liverpool, expect these young wingers to take their game to another level.
1. Nathan COE, 2. Pablo CONTRERAS (marquee), 3. Adama TRAORE, 4. Nick ANSELL, 5. Mark MILLIGAN (captain), 6. Leigh BROXHAM, 7. Guilherme FINKLER, 8. Jonathan BRU, 9, Kosta BARBAROUSES, 10. Archie THOMPSON, 11. Connor Pain, 13, Andrew NABBOUT, 14. James TROISI, 15. Mitch NICHOLS, 17. James JEGGO, 18. Francesco STELLA, 20. Lawrence THOMAS, 22. Jesse MAKAROUNAS, 23. Adrian LEIJER, 24. Scott GALLOWAY, 25. Jason GERIA, 27. Christopher CRISTALDO (youth), 31. Dylan MURNANE (youth)
In
Kosta Barbarouses (from FC Alania), Pablo Contreras (from Olympiakos), Rashid Mahazi (Northcote City), Mitch Nichols (Brisbane Roar), James Troisi (from Atalanta – loan)
Out
Marcos Flores (Central Coast Mariners), Diogo Ferreira (Brisbane Roar), Tando Velaphi, (Melbourne Heart), Marco Rojas (Stuttgart), Daniel Mullen (Dalian Aerbin), Billy Celeski (to Al Shaab), Sam Gallagher (Richmond), Spase Dilevski (released), Theo Markelis (released), Matthew Foschini (released)