2013–14 Melbourne Victory FC season

For the W-League team's 2013–14 season, see 2013–14 Melbourne Victory W-League season.

The 2013–14 Melbourne Victory season is the ninth A-League season for the club.

Melbourne Victory

2013–14 season
Chairman	Anthony Di Pietro
Manager	Ange Postecoglou (until 31 October 2013) Kevin Muscat (from 31 October 2013)
Stadium	Etihad Stadium, AAMI Park
A-League	4th
A-League Finals series	Semi-finals
AFC Champions League	Group stage
Top goalscorer	James Troisi (12)
Home colours Away colours
← 2012–13 2014–15 →

History

The 2013–14 season was Melbourne Victory's ninth season in the A-League. On Monday 13 May 2013, Melbourne Victory announced their first signing of the season by signing Brisbane Roar Mitch Nichols on a two-year deal, reuniting him with his former Roar manager Ange Postecoglou.^[1] He became Postecoglou's first new signing ahead of the 2013/14 A-League season. On 9 June it was speculated that Melbourne Victory was the prime club looking to sign Greece national team captain, Giorgos Karagounis,^[2][3][4][5] after it was confirmed he was to be released by Premier League club Fulham.^[6] After it was confirmed the Karagounis talks had come to a halt, Fulham then had second thoughts about the release and decided to pursue Karagounis' signature, which in the end they did.^[7][8][9] Argentine Marque player Marcos Flores was released with mutual consent on 5 July.^[10][11] Following Flores' departure to Central Coast Mariners, Victory attempted to sign Italian international Fabrizio Miccoli as their marquee player^[12][13] however he signed with Lecce.^[14] Following these two disappointments for the Melbourne Victory stakeholders, the victory hosted one of the most notable sporting events in Australian Sporting history. This event was a Melbourne Victory against Liverpool at the MCG in front of 95,446 spectators. The full Liverpool squad was brought to Melbourne, including stars such as Steven Gerrard, Luis Suárez, Kolo Touré, Simon Mignolet, and Brad Jones. Melbourne lost the game 0–2 in what was considered a 'thriller', and has since sparked rumours of the development of a sister club relationship.^[15][16] Following the Liverpool match, Kosta Barbarouses was signed on a 3-year deal.^[17][18] On 17 September, Adrian Leijer handed over the captaincy role to Mark Milligan.^[19][20] On 23 October 2013, it was revealed that Ange Postecoglou will coach the Socceroos and it was rumoured that Kevin Muscat would take over as coach of Melbourne Victory.^[21][22] On 31 October 2013, Muscat was officially appointed as Melbourne Victory's coach.^[23]

Players

Senior squad

As of 21 January 2014.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Nathan Coe 2 DF  CHI Pablo Contreras 3 DF  CIV Adama Traoré 4 DF  AUS Nick Ansell 5 MF  AUS Mark Milligan (Captain) 6 MF  AUS Leigh Broxham (Vice-Captain) 7 MF  BRA Guilherme Finkler 9 FW  NZL Kosta Barbarouses 10 FW  AUS Archie Thompson 11 FW  AUS Connor Pain 13 FW  AUS Andrew Nabbout 14 MF  AUS James Troisi (On loan from Atalanta)

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 MF  AUS Rashid Mahazi 17 MF  AUS James Jeggo 18 MF  AUS Francesco Stella 20 GK  AUS Lawrence Thomas 21 MF  AUS Tom Rogić (On loan from Celtic) 22 FW  AUS Jesse Makarounas 23 DF  AUS Adrian Leijer (2nd Vice-Captain) 24 DF  AUS Scott Galloway 25 DF  AUS Jason Geria 26 MF  AUS Jordan Brown 27 MF  AUS Christopher Cristaldo 31 DF  AUS Dylan Murnane

Transfers

Winter

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 MF  AUS Mitch Nichols (Free transfer from Brisbane Roar)[1] 9 FW  NZL Kosta Barbarouses (Free transfer from Alania Vladikavkaz)[17][18] 2 DF  CHI Pablo Contreras (Free transfer from Olympiacos)[24] 14 FW  AUS James Troisi (Loan from Atalanta)[25] 16 MF  AUS Rashid Mahazi (Free transfer from Northcote City)[26]

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  AUS Tando Velaphi (Released)[27] 2 DF  AUS Matthew Foschini (Free transfer to Salgaocar)[28] 9 MF  ARG Marcos Flores (Free transfer to Central Coast Mariners)[10][11] 11 FW  NZL Marco Rojas (Free transfer to VfB Stuttgart)[29] 13 DF  AUS Diogo Ferreira [27] 14 MF  AUS Billy Celeski (Transfer to Al Shaab)[30] 15 DF  AUS Sam Gallagher (Released)[27] 16 FW  AUS Theo Markelis (Released)[31] 21 DF  AUS Spase Dilevski (Released)[27] 25 MF  AUS Luke O'Dea (Transfer to Melbourne Heart Youth)[32] 33 DF  AUS Daniel Mullen (Loan return to Dalian Aerbin)[33]

Summer

In

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 MF  AUS Tom Rogić (Loan from Celtic)[34]

Out

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 8 MF  MRI Jonathan Bru (Released)[35] 15 MF  AUS Mitch Nichols (To Cerezo Osaka)[36]

Competitions

Overall

Competition	Started round	Current position / round	Final position / round	First match	Last match
A-League	—	—	4th	12 October 2013	12 April 2014
AFC Champions League	Qualifying play-off	—	Group stage	15 February 2014	22 April 2014
National Youth League	—	—	3rd	26 October 2013	1 March 2014

Pre-season

Richmond SC v Melbourne Victory

2 July 2013	Richmond SC	1–2	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
	Armenian 9'	Report	J. Jeggo 25' Nabbout 35'	Stadium: Kevin Bartlett Reserve

Bentleigh Greens v Melbourne Victory

9 July 2013	Bentleigh Greens	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
	Milovanović 24'	Report	Nabbout 76'	Stadium: Kingston Heath Soccer Complex

Port Melbourne Sharks v Melbourne Victory

16 July 2013	Port Melbourne Sharks	0–1	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
		Report	Geria 22'	Stadium: SS Anderson Reserve

Melbourne Victory v Liverpool

24 July 2013	Melbourne Victory	0–2	Liverpool	Melbourne
		Report	Gerrard 36' Aspas 90+3'	Stadium: MCG Attendance: 95,446

Hume City v Melbourne Victory

8 September 2013	Hume City	0–3	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
Sunday 14:00		Report	Makarounas 11' Stella 50' Cristaldo 85'	Stadium: Broadmeadows Valley Park

Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory

14 September 2013	Brisbane Roar	1–0	Melbourne Victory	Ipswich
Saturday 15:15	Yeboah 83'	Report		Stadium: Qld Group Stadium Attendance: 2,542 Referee: Alan Milliner

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets

18 September 2013	Melbourne Victory	0–1	Newcastle Jets	Melbourne
Wednesday 14:00		Report	Virgili 49' (pen.)	Stadium: AAMI Park Referee: Lucien Laverdure

Tasmania XI v Melbourne Victory

29 September 2013	Tasmania XI	1–6	Melbourne Victory	Kingston
Sunday 12:00	Brassington 11'	Report	Finkler 8', 28', 39' Proia 36', 60' Duzel 90'	Stadium: Twin Ovals

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney Wanderers

29 September 2013	Melbourne Victory	3–0	Western Sydney Wanderers	Kingston
Sunday 14:30	Nichols 1' Barbarouses 27' Čović 76' (o.g.)	Report		Stadium: Twin Ovals Attendance: 5,290

Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United

3 October 2013	Melbourne Victory	1–2	Adelaide United	Melbourne
Thursday 15:30	Barbarouses 83'	Report	Neumann 23' Elrich 72'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: Closed to the public Referee: Shaun Evans

A-League

Main article: 2013–14 A-League

Matches

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne Heart

12 October 2013 1	Melbourne Victory	0–0	Melbourne Heart	Melbourne
Saturday 19:45		Report		Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 45,202 Referee: Peter Green

Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory

18 October 2013 2	Adelaide United	2–2	Melbourne Victory	Adelaide
Friday 19:30	Cirio 21' (pen.) Jerónimo 25'	Report	Finkler 79' Troisi 90+3'	Stadium: Coopers Stadium Attendance: 16,504 Referee: Alan Milliner

Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar

25 October 2013 3	Melbourne Victory	1–0	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
Friday 19:30	Troisi 56'	Report		Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 21,693 Referee: Ben Williams

Melbourne Victory v Wellington Phoenix

4 November 2013 4	Melbourne Victory	3–2	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
Monday 19:30	A. Thompson 9' Troisi 22', 31'	Report	Brockie 37' Ifill 85'	Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 23,226 Referee: Matthew Gillett

Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory

9 November 2013 5	Sydney FC	3–2	Melbourne Victory	Sydney
Saturday 19:30	Garcia 3' Ryall 15' Del Piero 37' (pen.)	Report	A. Thompson 17' Troisi 27'	Stadium: Allianz Stadium Attendance: 18,784 Referee: Peter Green

Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne Victory

16 November 2013 6	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–0	Melbourne Victory	Sydney
Saturday 19:45	Bridge 82'	Report		Stadium: Pirtek Stadium Attendance: 15,854 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United

23 November 2013 7	Melbourne Victory	3–0	Adelaide United	Melbourne
Saturday 19:45	Barbarouses 14' A. Thompson 68' Nichols 76'	Report		Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 20,064 Referee: Ben Williams

Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory

29 November 2013 8	Central Coast Mariners	0–0	Melbourne Victory	Gosford
Friday 19:30		Report		Stadium: Bluetongue Stadium Attendance: 5,787 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Melbourne Victory v Newcastle Jets

8 December 2013 9	Melbourne Victory	1–2	Newcastle Jets	Melbourne
Sunday 17:00	Troisi 50'	Report	N. Burns 44', 66'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 18,113 Referee: Alan Milliner

Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory

13 December 2013 10	Melbourne Victory	2–0	Perth Glory	Melbourne
Friday 19:30	Traoré 36' Finkler 90'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 17,008 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne Heart v Melbourne Victory

21 December 2013 11	Melbourne Heart	1–3	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30	Kalmar 81'	Report	Nichols 38', 63' Troisi 60'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 26,491 Referee: Ben Williams

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney Wanderers

28 December 2013 12	Melbourne Victory	1–1	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30	Finkler 90+4'	Report	Šantalab 71'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 22,133 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar

4 January 2014 13	Melbourne Victory	0–3	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30		Report	Miller 28' McKay 56' Petratos 67'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 23,121 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory

10 January 2014 14	Newcastle Jets	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Newcastle
Friday 19:30	Nichols 42' (o.g.)	Report	Nabbout 49'	Stadium: Hunter Stadium Attendance: 12,270 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory

18 January 2014 15	Wellington Phoenix	5–0	Melbourne Victory	Wellington
Saturday 17:30	Hernández 21', 45+2' (pen.) Cunningham 45+1' Brockie 85' Huysegems 87'	Report		Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,813 Referee: Adam Kersey

Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC

26 January 2014 16	Melbourne Victory	0–5	Sydney FC	Melbourne
Sunday 17:00		Report	Despotović 11' Del Piero 20' (pen.), 54' Ryall 25' Carle 87'	Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 24,354 Referee: Ben Williams

Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory

31 January 2014 17	Perth Glory	1–1	Melbourne Victory	Perth
Friday 21:45	Šernas 50'	Report	Finkler 37' (pen.)	Stadium: nib Stadium Attendance: 10,151 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory

8 February 2014 18	Central Coast Mariners	1–3	Melbourne Victory	Gosford
Saturday 17:30	Ibini 11'	Report	Troisi 45+1', 62' A. Thompson 50'	Stadium: Central Coast Stadium Attendance: 9,138 Referee: Matthew Gillett

Melbourne Victory v Western Sydney Wanderers

14 January 2014 Rescheduled 19	Melbourne Victory	3–1	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
Tuesday 19:30	A. Thompson 52' Barbarouses 62' Finkler 90+5'	Report	Jurić 90+4'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 14,774 Referee: Ben Williams

Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United

22 February 2014 20	Melbourne Victory	4–3	Adelaide United	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30	Finkler 15', 56' A. Thompson 66' Barbarouses 75'	Report	Cirio 3', 45', 83'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 18,341 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Melbourne Heart v Melbourne Victory

1 March 2014 21	Melbourne Heart	4–0	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30	Engelaar 9' Dugandžić 15' Williams 83' Kewell 86'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 25,546 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Melbourne Victory v Central Coast Mariners

7 March 2014 22	Melbourne Victory	3–1	Central Coast Mariners	Melbourne
Friday 19:30	J. Jeggo 31' Troisi 77' (pen.) Barbarouses 90+2'	Report	Anderson 63'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 15,031 Referee: Ben Williams

Perth Glory v Melbourne Victory

15 March 2014 23	Perth Glory	1–2	Melbourne Victory	Perth
Saturday 22:15	Milligan 27' (o.g.)	Report	Milligan 40' (pen.) A. Thompson 90'	Stadium: nib Stadium Attendance: 7,068 Referee: Shaun Evans

Brisbane Roar v Melbourne Victory

22 March 2014 24	Brisbane Roar	1–0	Melbourne Victory	Brisbane
Saturday 19:30	Brattan 90+2'	Report		Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 17,965 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC

29 March 2014 25	Melbourne Victory	1–1	Sydney FC	Melbourne
Saturday 19:30	Troisi 64'	Report	Chianese 48'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 20,447 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Newcastle Jets v Melbourne Victory

5 April 2014 26	Newcastle Jets	2–2	Melbourne Victory	Newcastle
Saturday 17:30	Taggart 18' Leijer 23' (o.g.)	Report	Milligan 21', 85' (pen.)	Stadium: Hunter Stadium Attendance: 10,185 Referee: Strebre Delovski

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Victory

12 April 2014 27	Wellington Phoenix	1–4	Melbourne Victory	Wellington
Saturday 15:30	Brockie 90'	Report	Thompson 1' Troisi 29' Finkler 45' Milligan 59' (pen.)	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 5,336 Referee: Chris Beath

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Brisbane Roar (C)	27	16	4	7	43	25	+18	52	Qualificaition for 2015 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series
2	Western Sydney Wanderers	27	11	9	7	34	29	+5	42
3	Central Coast Mariners	27	12	6	9	33	36	−3	42	Qualification for 2015 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off and finals series[a]
4	Melbourne Victory	27	11	8	8	42	43	−1	41	Qualification for Finals series
5	Sydney FC	27	12	3	12	40	38	+2	39
6	Adelaide United	27	10	8	9	45	36	+9	38
7	Newcastle Jets	27	10	6	11	34	34	0	36
8	Perth Glory	27	7	7	13	28	37	−9	28
9	Wellington Phoenix[b]	27	7	7	13	36	51	−15	28
10	Melbourne Heart	27	6	8	13	36	42	−6	26

Updated to match(es) played on 13 April 2014. Source: ultimatealeague.com
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Since the winner of 2014 A-League Grand Final (Brisbane Roar) qualified for the 2015 AFC Champions League group stage, the 2nd and 3rd placed teams qualified for the group stage and the qualifying play-off of 2015 AFC Champions League.
2. Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
27	11	8	8	42	43	−1	41	7	3	3	22	19	+3	4	5	5	20	24	−4

Last updated: 13 April 2014.
Source: Competitive Matches

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Ground	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	A
Result	D	D	W	W	L	L	W	D	L	W	W	D	L	D	L	L	D	W	W	W	L	W	W	L	D	D	W
Position	6	5	4	3	3	6	5	4	6	4	3	3	4	4	4	4	4	4	3\4[a]	3	5	3	2	3	5	5	4

1. Round 19 was played early (between rounds 14 and 15) due to clash with ACL games. The first position (3) is after the round 19 match. The second position (4) is after the rest of round 19 matches.

Updated to match(es) played on 13 April 2014. Source: Matches
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

League Goalscorers per Round

Total	Player		Goals per Round
			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
12		James Troisi		1	1	2	1				1		1							2				1			1		1
8		Archie Thompson				1	1		1											1	1	1			1				1
		Guilherme Finkler		1								1		1					1		1	2							1
4		Kosta Barbarouses							1												1	1		1
		Mark Milligan																							1			2	1
3		Mitch Nichols							1				2
1		Adama Traoré										1
		Andrew Nabbout														1
		James Jeggo																						1
42	TOTAL		0	2	1	3	2	0	3	0	1	2	3	1	0	1	0	0	1	3	3	4	0	3	2	0	1	2	4

AFC Champions League

Main article: 2014 AFC Champions League

Qualifying play-off

Melbourne Victory v Muangthong United

15 February 2014 1	Melbourne Victory	2–1	Muangthong United	Geelong, Australia
Saturday 19:45 AEDT	Troisi 58' Broxham 83'	Report	Gjurovski 22' Thonglao  90+4'	Stadium: Kardinia Park Attendance: 8,304 Referee: Masaaki Toma (Japan)

Group stage

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		GUA	JEO	MEL	YFM
1	Guangzhou Evergrande	6	3	1	2	10	8	+2	10	Advance to knockout stage		—	3–1	4–2	2–1
2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	6	2	2	2	8	7	+1	8			1–0	—	0–0	3–0
3	Melbourne Victory	6	2	2	2	9	9	0	8			2–0	2–2	—	1–0
4	Yokohama F. Marinos	6	2	1	3	7	10	−3	7			1–1	2–1	3–2	—

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Guangzhou Evergrande v Melbourne Victory

26 February 2014 1	Guangzhou Evergrande	4–2	Melbourne Victory	Guangzhou, China
Wednesday 20:00 CST	Huang B W 59' Diamanti 65', 85' Elkeson 71'	Report	Contreras 36' Broxham 41'	Stadium: Tianhe Stadium Attendance: 39,841 Referee: Abdulrahman Abdou (Qatar)

Melbourne Victory v Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors

12 March 2014 2	Melbourne Victory	2–2	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	Melbourne, Australia
Wednesday 19:30 AEDT	Ansell 31' Barbarouses 81'	Report	Lee Dong-Gook 76', 79'	Stadium: Docklands Stadium Attendance: 6,128 Referee: Mohamed Al Zarouni (United Arab Emirates)

Melbourne Victory v Yokohama F. Marinos

18 March 2014 3	Melbourne Victory	1–0	Yokohama F. Marinos	Melbourne, Australia
Tuesday 19:30 AEDT	Barbarouses 9'	Report		Stadium: Melbourne Rectangular Stadium Attendance: 6,357 Referee: Mohd Amirul Izwan Bin Yaacob (Malaysia)

Yokohama F. Marinos v Melbourne Victory

2 April 2014 4	Yokohama F. Marinos	3–2	Melbourne Victory	Yokohama, Japan
Wednesday 19:30 JST	Ito 21' Nakamachi 27' Hyodo 89'	Report	Troisi 7' (pen.) J. Jeggo 90+2'	Stadium: International Stadium Yokohama Attendance: 7,395 Referee: Liu Kwok Man (Hong Kong)

Melbourne Victory v Guangzhou Evergrande

15 April 2014 5	Melbourne Victory	2–0	Guangzhou Evergrande	Melbourne, Australia
Tuesday 19:30 AEST	Milligan 2' Troisi 90+1'	Report		Stadium: Docklands Stadium Attendance: 13,120 Referee: Fahad Al-Mirdasi (Saudi Arabia)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors v Melbourne Victory

22 April 2014 6	Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors	0–0	Melbourne Victory	Jeonju, South Korea
Tuesday 19:00 KST		Report		Stadium: Jeonju World Cup Stadium Attendance: 12,891 Referee: Nawaf Shukralla (Bahrain)

Goalscorers

3 goals

• James Troisi

2 goals

• Kosta Barbarouses
• Leigh Broxham

1 goal

• Nick Ansell
• Pablo Contreras
• James Jeggo
• Mark Milligan

Awards

• Player of the Week (Round 25) – Mark Milligan^[37]