# 2003–04 Adelaide United FC season

The 2003–04 season was the first in the history of Adelaide United Football Club since its establishment in 2003. The club participated in the National Soccer League for the first and only time.

## Season summary

Despite the rush to form the team, and starting five weeks into the season (the first four rounds of matches were squeezed in later in the season), the team lost just twice in its first 13 matches. Hectic catch up phases in November and December (7 matches in 31 days for 4 wins and 3 draws) and February (6 matches in 24 days for 4 wins and 2 losses) passed by with success. Aside from the debut win over Brisbane, regular season highlights included a 2–1 away win over Parramatta Power, a resounding 2–0 home victory against South Melbourne, and a 1–0 win over an in-form Marconi and the effective sealing of third spot.
Despite the high position, many people expected the wheels to fall off in the finals. But the finals phase served up two more fairytale results. Everything came together for the first leg of the Elimination Final, and the 3–0 win over the Brisbane Strikers was the team's first win by more than two goals. The roller coaster ride passed deep into a trough the following week in Brisbane with a 4–1 loss – but United won the Elimination Final over all due to the away goals rule, progressing to the Minor Semi-Final versus South Melbourne. This attracted the club's largest ever crowd, officially 16,558, in a tough win on penalties. The team was then outclassed by the eventual premiers, Perth Glory, 5–0 at Subiaco Oval in the Preliminary Final.
Built up from the core of Adelaide City's 2002–03 squad, the Adelaide United team forged ahead with a burgeoning team spirit that became their signature attribute. The previous season's Adelaide City players Mike Valkanis, Aaron Goulding, Kristian Rees and captain Aurelio Vidmar merged superbly with the return to Adelaide of Alagich (from Brisbane), Aloisi (Italy) and others to form an outfit which performed consistently all season. Coach John Kosmina, also returning after 25 years to his home city, is a clear favourite of the fans.
With the winding-down of the NSL, the team has become a founding member of the A-League.

## Players
### Squad information

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 | David Scarsella |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Richie Alagich |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Aaron Goulding |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Michael Valkanis |
| 7 | MF | AUS | David Terminello |
| 8 | FW | AUS | Carl Veart |
| 9 | FW | NZL | Shane Smeltz |
| 10 | MF | AUS | Aurelio Vidmar |
| 11 | MF | AUS | Goran Lozanovski |
| 12 | MF | AUS | Shane Thompson |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Sean Widera |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Aaron Westervelt |
| 16 | FW | AUS | Michael Brooks |
| 17 | FW | AUS | Mimi Saric |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Fred Agius |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Elias Demourtzidis |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Adriano Pellegrino |
| 22 | GK | AUS | Nick Crossley |
| 23 | MF | AUS | Nick Budin |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Matthew Kemp |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| 2 | DF | Richie Alagich | Brisbane Strikers | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 6 | MF | Ross Aloisi | Pro Sesto | Free transfer | 5 years | July 2003 |
| 20 | GK | Robert Bajic | Rochedale Rovers | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 16 | FW | Michael Brooks | Para Hills Knights | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 23 | MF | Nick Budin | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 22 | GK | Nick Crossley | Modbury Jets | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 19 | FW | Elias Demourtzidis | Sydney Olympic | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 4 | DF | Aaron Goulding | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 24 | MF | Matthew Kemp | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 11 | MF | Goran Lozanovski | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 21 | MF | Adriano Pellegrino | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 3 | DF | Kristian Rees | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 17 | FW | Mimi Saric | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 1 | GK | David Scarsella | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 9 | FW | Shane Smeltz | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 13 | FW | Félix Tagawa | Brisbane Strikers | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 7 | MF | David Terminello | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 5 | DF | Michael Valkanis | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 8 | FW | Carl Veart | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 10 | FW | Aurelio Vidmar | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 15 | MF | Aaron Westervelt | Adelaide City | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |
| 14 | MF | Sean Widera | Croydon Kings | Free transfer | 1 year | July 2003 |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| | FW | Félix Tagawa | A.S. Dragon | Free transfer | December 2003 |
| 6 | MF | Ross Aloisi | Selangor | Free transfer | March 2004 |
| 20 | GK | Robert Bajic | Enfield City | Free transfer | March 2004 |
| 3 | DF | Kristian Rees | Modbury Jets | Free transfer | March 2004 |

## Competitions
### Overall record

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| National Soccer League | 17 October 2003 | 29 February 2004 | Matchday 5 | 3rd | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 045.83 |
| National Soccer League Finals | 7 March 2004 | 28 March 2004 | Qualifying final | Preliminary final | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 10 | −4 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 28 | 13 | 7 | 8 | 34 | 35 | −1 | 046.43 |
Source: Competitions

### National Soccer League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Perth Glory (C) | 24 | 18 | 3 | 3 | 56 | 22 | +34 | 57 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 2 | Parramatta Power | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 58 | 30 | +28 | 51 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 3 | Adelaide United | 24 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 28 | 25 | +3 | 40 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 4 | Marconi Stallions | 24 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 38 | Qualification to Finals series |
| 5 | South Melbourne | 24 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 39 | 21 | +18 | 37 | Qualification to Finals series |
| Matchday | 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 |
| Ground | A | H | A | B | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | B | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | L | W | ✖ | W | W | D | D | L | L | D | W | W | D | W | W | ✖ | L | D | D | W | L | W | W | W | L |
| Position | 6 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 |

#### Matches
### N.S.L. Finals Series
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos. | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League | National Soccer League Finals | National Soccer League Finals | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | David Scarsella | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Richie Alagich | 24 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 28 | 3 |
| 4 | DF | Aaron Goulding | 24 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Michael Valkanis | 20+1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| 7 | MF | David Terminello | 8+8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 8 | MF | Carl Veart | 23 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 12 |
| 9 | FW | Shane Smeltz | 4+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 10 | MF | Aurelio Vidmar | 23 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 27 | 2 |
| 11 | MF | Goran Lozanovski | 12+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Shane Thompson | 7+4 | 1 | 1+1 | 0 | 13 | 1 |
| 15 | MF | Aaron Westervelt | 11+7 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 23 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Michael Brooks | 0+5 | 2 | 0+3 | 1 | 8 | 3 |
| 17 | FW | Mimi Saric | 5+9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 18 | MF | Fred Agius | 6+3 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 13 | 1 |
| 19 | FW | Elias Demourtzidis | 5+6 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Adriano Pellegrino | 7+10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| 23 | MF | Nick Budin | 8+7 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 19 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | Matthew Kemp | 8 | 1 | 2+1 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| Players sold but featured this season |||||||||
| 3 | DF | Kristian Rees | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Ross Aloisi | 22 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 26 | 4 |
| 20 | GK | Robert Bajic | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| — | FW | Félix Tagawa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Disciplinary record

| Rank | Position | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League | National Soccer League Finals | National Soccer League Finals | Total | Total |
| 1 | FW | Aurelio Vidmar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 2 | FW | Elias Demourtzidis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 3 | MF | Ross Aloisi | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Carl Veart | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Nick Budin | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Michael Valkanis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Aaron Westervelt | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Goran Lozanovski | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Adriano Pellegrino | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 8 | DF | Kristian Rees | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Fred Agius | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | GK | David Scarsella | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | David Terminello | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Shane Thompson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

| Rank | Name | National Soccer League | National Soccer League Finals | Total |
| 1 | David Scarsella | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | Robert Bajic | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | Total | 10 | 1 | 11 |