# 1999–2000 Perth Glory SC season

The 1999–2000 Perth Glory SC season was the club's fourth in the Australian National Soccer League (NSL). The club won the NSL minor premiership as the leading team in the league. In the Grand Final, the Glory missed out on the NSL championship when they lost in a penalty shoot-out after surrendering a 3–0 half-time lead.

## Background

In 1998–99, Perth Glory finished third on the NSL table, being eliminated in the preliminary final by eventual losing grand-finalists Sydney United.
Perth Glory entered the 1999–2000 season as one of the favourites to win the championship, with SportsTAB offering odds of 4/1, placing them second to South Melbourne (7/2). Ray Gatt in The Australian predicted the Glory as champion, calling the signings of Kasey Wehrman, Peter Buljan and Hamilton Thorp "coups" while former Australia national soccer team coach Rale Rasic in Action Soccer tipped the Glory as runners-up.

## Season review
### Coaching

In February 2000, Glory chairman Nic Tana announced that coach Bernd Stange would be leaving the club at the end of the season. Despite club management and the board agreeing to a two-year contract extension, Tana as 75 percent club shareholder, had called a shareholder meeting and blocked the extension. The decision was unpopular with supporters with a protest occurring before the round 23 match against Canberra Cosmos. In late February, Tana reversed his decision and offered Stange a new one-year contract. In April, Stange finally agreed to the new deal.

### Final series

As minor premiers, Perth Glory won the right to proceed to week two of the NSL finals. In the first leg of the major semi-final, they lost to Wollongong Wolves 1–0 at Brandon Park, the Wolves' home ground.
The second leg of the major semi-final was held at Subiaco Oval, rather than their regular venue Perth Oval, to accommodate an expected larger crowd. In the match, Perth Glory win 2–0 over the Wolves, 2–1 on aggregate, to qualify for the grand final. The crowd of 42,764 was an Australian record for a club soccer match. In the wake of the record crowd, the Western Australian government announced a purpose-built stadium for the Glory in central Perth.
The 2000 National Soccer League Grand Final was held at Subiaco on 11 June. The match was seemingly over at halftime, with Perth Glory leading 3–0, however the Wolves came back to draw the match in the 89th minute. The score remained 3–3 at the completion of extra time, with the match going to a penalty shootout to determine the champion. Wollongong won the shootout 7–6 with James Afkos, son of Glory co-owner Paul Afkos, missing a penalty. The crowd of 43,242 was a new record for an Australian club soccer match, standing until 2006. The match was also the first national league grand final to feature teams not aligned with a particular ethnic group.

## Results
### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### League

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| Round 1 | 2 October 1999 | Gippsland Falcons | A | 1–0 | Boutsianis | 2,155 |
| Round 2 | 10 October 1999 | Marconi-Fairfield | H | 3–3 | Ergić, Despotovski, Boutsianis | 16,176 |
| Round 3 | 17 October 1999 | Melbourne Knights | A | 3–0 | Magdić (og), Boutsianis, Despotovski | 3,360 |
| Round 4 | 24 October 1999 | Adelaide Force | H | 0–0 | | 13,390 |
| Round 5 | 29 October 1999 | Canberra Cosmos | A | 1–1 | Boutsianis | 3,760 |
| Round 6 | 7 November 1999 | Brisbane Strikers | H | 1–2 | Despotovski | 14,077 |
| Round 7 | 12 November 1999 | Parramatta Power | A | 1–3 | A Edwards | 6,076 |
| Round 8 | 21 November 1999 | Melbourne Knights | H | 6–1 | Boutsianis, A Edwards (2), Ergić (2), S Miller | 11,027 |
| Round 9 | 28 November 1999 | Carlton | H | 4–2 | Ergić (2), S Miller, A Edwards | 11,838 |
| Round 10 | 5 December 1999 | Sydney United | A | 1–0 | Despotovski | 4,480 |
| Round 11 | 12 December 1999 | South Melbourne | H | 3–1 | A Edwards, Despotovski, Boutsianis | 12,385 |
| Round 12 | 17 December 1999 | Newcastle Breakers | A | 2–3 | Despotovski, T Halpin | 4,127 |
| Round 13 | 28 December 1999 | Marconi-Fairfield | H | 1–0 | Boutsianis | 13,153 |
| Round 14 | 3 January 2000 | Sydney Olympic | A | 1–1 | Boutsianis | 8,134 |
| Round 15 | 9 January 2000 | Gippsland Falcons | H | 1–0 | Ergić | 12,199 |
| Round 16 | 14 January 2000 | Northern Spirit | A | 1–1 | Boutsianis | 11,128 |
| Round 17 | 26 March 2000 | Football Kingz | H | 3–1 | G Naven, J Harnwell, Aurélio Schwertz | 9,784 |
| Round 18 | 26 January 2000 | Football Kingz | A | 1–4 | T Halpin | 3,878 |
| Round 19 | 30 January 2000 | Wollongong Wolves | H | 2–1 | Buljan, A Edwards | 9,657 |
| Round 20 | 6 February 2000 | Marconi-Fairfield | A | 1–1 | Ergić | 4,597 |
| Round 21 | 13 February 2000 | Melbourne Knights | H | 2–2 | Boutsianis (2) | 11,270 |
| Round 22 | 18 February 2000 | Adelaide Force | A | 2–1 | Boutsianis, A Edwards | 4,880 |
| Round 23 | 27 February 2000 | Canberra Cosmos | H | 3–2 | A Edwards (2), Boutsianis | 13,158 |
| Round 24 | 4 March 2000 | Brisbane Strikers | A | 3–1 | Trajkovski, A Edwards, Aurélio Schwertz | 2,307 |
| Round 25 | 12 March 2000 | Parramatta Power | H | 2–1 | Aurélio Schwertz, Trajkovski | 11,737 |
| Round 26 | 18 March 2000 | Melbourne Knights | A | 0–1 | | 5,457 |
| Round 27 | 24 March 2000 | Carlton | A | 1–3 | Despotovski | 1,749 |
| Round 28 | 2 April 2000 | Sydney United | H | 2–0 | A Edwards, Ergić | 10,275 |
| Round 29 | 9 April 2000 | South Melbourne | A | 2–1 | A Edwards (2) | 5,833 |
| Round 30 | 16 April 2000 | Newcastle Breakers | H | 1–2 | Aurélio Schwertz | 11,003 |
| Round 31 | 21 April 2000 | Marconi-Fairfield | A | 2–3 | Trajkovski, Milicevic | 5,721 |
| Round 32 | 25 April 2000 | Sydney Olympic | H | 1–0 | Ergić | 9,328 |
| Round 33 | 30 April 2000 | Wollongong Wolves | A | 1–0 | J Harnwell | 8,815 |
| Round 34 | 7 May 2000 | Northern Spirit | H | 1–0 | J Harnwell | 13,554 |

### Final series

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Scorers | Attendance |
| Major semi-final leg 1 | 21 May 2000 | Wollongong Wolves | A | 0–1 | | 8,326 |
| Major semi-final leg 2 | 27 May 2000 | Wollongong Wolves | H | 2–0 | Trajkovski, Ergić | 42,760 |
| 2000 NSL Grand Final | 11 June 2000 | Wollongong Wolves | H | 3–3 (a.s.d.e.t.) 6–7 (penalties) | Despotovski, Milicevic, J Harnwell | 43,242 |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | League | League | Finals | Finals | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Danny Milosevic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Robert Trajkovski | 32 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 35 | 4 |
| 3 | DF | Jamie Harnwell | 28 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 31 | 4 |
| 4 | FW | Aurelio Schwertz | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 4 |
| 5 | DF | Vinko Buljubasic | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Gareth Naven | 33 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 1 |
| 7 | DF | Scott Miller | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 2 |
| 8 | MF | Troy Halpin | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 2 |
| 9 | FW | Alistair Edwards | 30 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 33 | 13 |
| 10 | FW | Bobby Despotovski | 24 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 8 |
| 11 | FW | Kasey Wehrman | 17 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Peter Buljan | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 13 | MF | James Afkos | 26 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 27 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Dion Valle | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| 15 | MF | Edgar Aldrighi Junior | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Con Boutsianis | 21 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 13 |
| 17 | FW | Vas Kalogeracos | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Hamilton Thorp | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | John Carbone | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | Tony Franken | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Ivan Ergić | 30 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 10 |
| 22 | DF | Ljubo Milicevic | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 2 |
| 23 | GK | Jason Petkovic | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Aaron Cole | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Gary Faria | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Tom Tomich | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Statistics accurate as at the end of the 1999–2000 NSL season.

## Transfers
### In

| Player | To |
| Peter Buljan | Canberra Cosmos |
| Ivan Ergić | Australian Institute of Sport |
| Kasey Wehrman | Brisbane Strikers |
| Dion Valle | Macarthur Rams |
| Hamilton Thorp | Adelaide Sharks |
| Edgar Júnior | |
| Aurélio Schwertz | |
| Ljubo Milicevic | Melbourne Knights |
| Vyacheslav Melnikov | Pahang FA |

### Out

| Player | To |
| Danny Hay | Leeds United |
| Craig Deans | Carlton |
| Gavin Wilkinson | Kings FC |
| Paul Strudwick | Retired |
| John Markovski | Carlton |
| Vasco Trpcevski | Newcastle Breakers |
| Michael Garcia | Released |
| Gianfranco Circati | Released |
| Anthony Carbone | Sorrento |