# 2018–19 Melbourne Victory FC season

The 2018–19 Melbourne Victory FC season was the club's 14th season since its establishment in 2004. The club participated in the A-League for the 14th time and the AFC Champions League for the seventh time.

## Players
### Squad information

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Matt Acton |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Storm Roux |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Corey Brown |
| 4 | MF | JPN | Keisuke Honda |
| 5 | DF | GER | Georg Niedermeier |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Leigh Broxham (vice-captain) |
| 7 | FW | AUS | Kenny Athiu |
| 8 | MF | AUS | Terry Antonis |
| 9 | FW | NZL | Kosta Barbarouses |
| 10 | FW | AUS | James Troisi |
| 11 | FW | SWE | Ola Toivonen |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Birkan Kirdar |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | DF | AUS | Thomas Deng |
| 15 | MF | ESP | Raúl Baena (on loan from Granada) |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Josh Hope |
| 17 | DF | AUS | James Donachie |
| 19 | MF | AUS | Rahmat Akbari (on loan from Brisbane Roar) |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Lawrence Thomas |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Carl Valeri (Captain) |
| 23 | FW | NZL | Jai Ingham |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Elvis Kamsoba |
| 25 | MF | AUS | Anthony Lesiotis |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Matthew Sutton (Scholarship) |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| 3 | DF | Corey Brown | | Free transfer | 2 years | 22 June 2018 |
| 2 | DF | Storm Roux | | Free transfer | 2 years | 22 June 2018 |
| 22 | DF | Nick Ansell | | Free transfer | 2 years | 18 July 2018 |
| 5 | DF | Georg Niedermeier | Freiburg | Free transfer | 1 year | 18 July 2018 |
| 4 | MF | Keisuke Honda | | Free transfer | 1 year | 6 August 2018 |
| 11 | FW | Ola Toivonen | | | 2 years | 30 August 2018 |
| 15 | MF | Raúl Baena | Granada | Loan | 1 year | 31 August 2018 |
| 19 | MF | Rahmat Akbari | Brisbane Roar | Loan | 1 year | 19 October 2018 |
| 24 | FW | Elvis Kamsoba | Avondale | Free transfer | 1.5 years | 3 January 2019 |
| 25 | MF | Anthony Lesiotis | Melbourne City | Free transfer | 1.5 years | 3 January 2019 |
| 17 | DF | James Donachie | Jeonnam Dragons | Loan | 4 months | 1 February 2019 |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| 11 | FW | Mitch Austin | | End of contract | 15 May 2018 |
| 15 | MF | Cameron McGilp | | End of contract | 15 May 2018 |
| 18 | MF | Matías Sánchez | | End of contract | 15 May 2018 |
| 22 | MF | Stefan Nigro | | Free transfer | 15 May 2018 |
| 31 | FW | Christian Theoharous | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Free transfer | 19 May 2018 |
| 17 | DF | James Donachie | Jeonnam Dragons | Free transfer | 19 June 2018 |
| 19 | FW | Pierce Waring | | Free transfer | 19 June 2018 |
| 8 | FW | Besart Berisha | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | Undisclosed Fee | 29 June 2018 |
| 4 | DF | Rhys Williams | Al-Qadsiah | $456,000 | 12 July 2018 |
| 41 | FW | Leroy George | | Mutual contract termination | 12 July 2018 |
| 26 | FW | Nicholas Sette | | Mutual contract termination | 23 January 2019 |
| 22 | DF | Nick Ansell | Jeonnam Dragons | | 24 January 2019 |

### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Notes |
| 13 | MF | | Birkan Kirdar | 16 | 2 year contract |
| 26 | FW | | Nicholas Sette | 18 | 1 year contract |

### Contract extensions

| No. | Name | Position | Duration | Date |
| 20 | Lawrence Thomas | Goalkeeper | 2 years | 30 May 2018 |
| 6 | Leigh Broxham | Midfielder | 1 year | 30 May 2018 |
| 21 | Carl Valeri | Defensive midfielder | 1 year | 30 May 2018 |
| 16 | Joshua Hope | Attacking midfielder | 1 year | 1 June 2018 |
| 7 | Kenny Athiu | Forward | 2 years | 18 June 2018 |
| 14 | Thomas Deng | Defender | 1 year | 26 October 2018 |

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Manager | Kevin Muscat |
| Assistant manager | Carlos Pérez Salvachúa |
| Goalkeeping coach | Jess Vanstrattan |
| Youth Team Manager | Gareth Naven |
| Youth Team Assistant Manager | Vaughan Coveny |
| Youth Team Developmental Manager | Grant Brebner |
| Youth goalkeeping coach | Vacant |
| Strength & Conditioning Coach | Anthony Crea |
| Physiotherapist | Justin Dougherty |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | A-League Finals Series | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Matt Acton | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Storm Roux | 34 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 21+4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Corey Brown | 30 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 21+2 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | | Keisuke Honda | 23 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 16+2 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Georg Niedermeier | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 14+3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | | Leigh Broxham | 33 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 21+5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Kenny Athiu | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7+7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Terry Antonis | 30 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 23+1 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Kosta Barbarouses | 34 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26+1 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | | James Troisi | 31 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 24+1 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | | Ola Toivonen | 25 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 18+2 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | | Birkan Kirdar | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | | Thomas Deng | 34 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 23+3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | | Raúl Baena | 23 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 13+6 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Josh Hope | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5+8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | | James Donachie | 14 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | | Rahmat Akbari | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Lawrence Thomas | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 22+0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Carl Valeri | 27 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18+2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Jai Ingham | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | | Elvis Kamsoba | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Anthony Lesiotis | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Aaron Anderson† | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | | Benjamin Carrigan† | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | | Thiel Iradukunda† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | | Matthew Sutton† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | MF | | Brandon Lauton† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | | Jack Palazzolo† | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | FW | | Yazid Said† | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players no longer at the club ||||||||||||||
| 22 | DF | | Nick Ansell | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | | Nicholas Sette | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: 22 May 2019
* Source: au.soccerway.com
* = Number of bookings; = Number of sending offs after a second yellow card; = Number of sending offs by a direct red card.
† = Scholarship or NPL/NYL-listed player

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| A-League | — | 3rd | 20 October 2018 | 27 April 2019 |
| A-League Finals | Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | 3 May 2019 | 12 May 2019 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Round of 16 | 7 August 2018 | 21 August 2018 |
| AFC Champions League | Group stage | Group stage | 5 March 2019 | 22 May 2019 |

### A-League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Perth Glory | 27 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 56 | 23 | +33 | 60 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Sydney FC (C) | 27 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 43 | 29 | +14 | 52 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 15 | 5 | 7 | 50 | 32 | +18 | 50 | Qualification for 2020 AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 and Finals series |
| 4 | Adelaide United | 27 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 37 | 32 | +5 | 44 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne City | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 40 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 46 | 43 | +3 | 40 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 10 | 5 | 12 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 35 | |
| 8 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 24 | |
| 9 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 4 | 6 | 17 | 38 | 71 | −33 | 18 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 70 | −39 | 13 | |
* 1 2 3 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.
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 27 April 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com

#### 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 | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A |
| Result | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | D | D | W | L | W | D | W | W | W | L | D | D | L | W | W | L | W | L | W |
| Position | 9 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |

#### Matches

Win  Draw  Loss

#### Finals series
### AFC Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sanfrecce Hiroshima | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 15 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Daegu FC | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 9 | |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 17 | −13 | 1 | |