# 2006–07 Melbourne Victory FC season

The Melbourne Victory A-League 2006–07 season was their most successful A-League season. They defeated Adelaide United 6–0 in their first Grand Final, winning the Championship, Premiership and qualifying for the AFC Champions League 2008.

## Season summary

Melbourne began the 2006–07 Hyundai A-League season hoping to vastly improve on their 7th place in the inaugural season. Coach Ernie Merrick had made a number of off-season signings to bolster the squad with skill and experience including 3 Brazilians Alessandro, Claudinho, Fred along with Scottish Premier League player Grant Brebner. After a hugely successful Round 2 fixture against Sydney FC at the Telstra Dome (now the Etihad Stadium) in front of a crowd of 39,730, Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to Telstra Dome. Melbourne became the first team to complete the A-League double in the history of the competition; clinching the premiership against the New Zealand Knights 4–0 at Olympic Park with 4 rounds of the A-League season remaining, then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the Grand Final at a sold out Telstra Dome to take the championship. Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 AFC Champions League as A-League Champions.

## Players
### First team squad

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 | Michael Theoklitos |
| 2 | MF | AUS | Kevin Muscat (captain) |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Daniel Piorkowski |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Mark Byrnes |
| 5 | DF | BEL | Geoffrey Claeys |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Steve Pantelidis |
| 7 | FW | AUS | Michael Ferrante |
| 8 | MF | BRA | Fred |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Daniel Allsopp |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Archie Thompson |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Vince Lia |
| 12 | DF | AUS | Rodrigo Vargas |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Kristian Sarkies |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Adrian Caceres |
| 15 | DF | AUS | Adrian Leijer |
| 16 | DF | AUS | Simon Storey |
| 17 | MF | SCO | Grant Brebner |
| 18 | MF | BRA | Alessandro |
| 19 | FW | BRA | Claudinho |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Eugene Galeković |
| 21 | FW | ENG | James Robinson |
| 22 | MF | AUS | Leigh Broxham |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Antun Kovacic |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Peter Gavalas |

### Transfers

In
| Player | From | Country/State & League From | Date |
| Adrian Caceres | Perth Glory | A-League | 13 February 2006 |
| Alessandro | Sport Club Internacional | Brazil Serie A | July 2006 |
| Claudinho | Atlético Paranaense | Brazil Serie A | 24 May 2006 |
| Fred | Guarani | Brazil Serie B | 24 May 2006 |
| Rodrigo Vargas | Green Gully Cavaliers | VPL | July 2006 |
| Grant Brebner | Dundee United | Scottish Premier League | July 2006 |
| James Robinson | Richmond SC | VPL | 23 November 2006 |
Out
| Player | To | Country/State & League From | Date |
| Chris Tadrosse | Released (KFC Uerdingen) | Oberliga Nordrhein | 24 January 2006 |
| Richard Kitzbichler | Released (Red Bull Salzburg) | Austrian Bundesliga | 31 January 2006 |
| Ricky Diaco | Released (Bulleen Zebras) | VPL | 15 February 2006 |
| Carl Recchia | Released (Fawkner-Whittlesea Blues) (Club Disabanded) | VPL | 15 February 2006 |
| Andy Vlahos | Released (Heidelberg United) | VPL | - |
| Geoffrey Claeys | Melbourne Victory retired | A-League | 21 November 2006 |
| Claudinho | Released | | 17 December 2006 |

## Matches
### Pre-season friendlies

Melbourne started their 2006-07 pre-season with a number of practise matches against Victorian Premier League clubs. These included a laboured 1–0 win over Richmond SC, a 2–2 draw against Bulleen Zebras, a 4–0 victory against Green Gully, a 7–0 victory of Kingston City FC and 3-0 victories over Altona Magic and Oakleigh Cannons.
Victory also won the QNI North Queensland Trophy by beating leading Chinese Super League team Changchun Yatai 6–1 in the final. Michael Ferrante scored twice early on and then-trialist Grant Brebner added a spectacular thirty-yard free-kick to make it 3–0 at half-time, while Danny Allsopp scored three times in the second half to seal the win. The competition featured fellow A-League side Central Coast Mariners (Victory won 4–2 on penalties), the Young Socceroos (Victory lost 5–6 on penalties), and Changchun Yatai (Victory won 3–1 in the first meeting).
Melbourne kicked off their A-League Pre-Season Cup campaign with a disappointing 1–0 loss to Adelaide United at Launceston's Aurora Stadium in front of 6,834 spectators. The second match saw them play out a 1–1 draw away to Perth Glory, with Daniel Allsopp scoring Melbourne's only goal. Back at Olympic Park for the final group match, they were soundly beaten 3-1 by the Central Coast Mariners, ending the club's hopes of progressing to the next round of the competition. A "bonus round" match finished off the group stage, with the Melbourne defeating Newcastle Jets 3–2.
In the first match of a rather meaningless playoff section involving the lower placed teams of the group stage, Victory defeated the Queensland Roar 4–2 on penalties, having been locked at 0-0 after 120 minutes of play. The match was held at Epping Stadium in the outer north of Melbourne. The final match of the pre-season cup saw the Victory defeat Perth Glory 1–0 at Olympic Park in front of 2,215 loyal fans, and finish the competition in 5th place.

### 2006-07 Hyundai A-League fixtures
## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Melbourne Victory (C) | 21 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 41 | 20 | +21 | 45 | Qualification for 2008 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Adelaide United | 21 | 10 | 3 | 8 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 33 | Qualification for 2008 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 32 | 30 | +2 | 30 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Sydney FC | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 29 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 25 | 27 | −2 | 29 | |
| 6 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 24 | |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 30 | −6 | 20 | |
| 8 | New Zealand Knights | 21 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 13 | 39 | −26 | 19 | Disbanded at end of season |
* ↑ Sydney FC were penalised three competition points following round 18 due to salary cap breaches which occurred during the 2005–06 season
* ↑ New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

## 2006–07 awards

* Victory Medal
** Kevin Muscat and Danny Allsopp
* Players' Player of the Year
** Danny Allsopp
* Clubman of the Year
** Fred
* Golden Boot
** Archie Thompson