# 2007–08 Melbourne Victory FC season
## Season summary

Looking to capitalise on their successful 2006–07 campaign, Melbourne made some strong off-season signings including Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández to cover the hole left by the departure of Fred to MLS club D.C. United. Again with the league's largest crowds and a record membership of over 20,000, Melbourne were undefeated after 7 rounds but the season slipped away with some poor home performances and a mounting injury list. A late season rally gave Melbourne a hope of making the finals up to the second last round but they finished 5th, 4 points out of the finals.

## 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 |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Ljubo Milicevic |
| 6 | DF | AUS | Steve Pantelidis |
| 7 | DF | AUS | Matthew Kemp |
| 8 | MF | SCO | Grant Brebner |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Daniel Allsopp |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Archie Thompson |
| 11 | DF | ENG | Joe Keenan |
| 12 | DF | AUS | Rodrigo Vargas |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Kaz Patafta |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Adrian Caceres |
| 15 | FW | BRA | Leandro Love |
| 16 | MF | CRC | Carlos Hernández |
| 17 | MF | AUS | Daniel Vasilevski |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Leigh Broxham |
| 19 | MF | AUS | Evan Berger |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Eugene Galekovic |
| 21 | DF | AUS | Sebastian Ryall |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Mitchell Langerak |

### Transfers
#### In

| Player | From | League | Date |
| Mitchell Langerak | AIS | VPL | 23 February 2007 |
| Ljubo Milicevic | BSC Young Boys | Swiss Super League | 20 February 2007 |
| Joe Keenan | Willem II | Eredivisie | 30 March 2007 |
| Matthew Kemp | Adelaide United | A-League | 11 April 2007 |
| Evan Berger | Marconi Stallions | NSWPL | 29 May 2007 |
| Carlos Hernández | LD Alajuelense | Primera División de Costa Rica | 12 June 2007 |
| Kaz Patafta | Benfica | Portuguese Liga | 20 June 2007 |
| Leandro Love | Vissel Kobe | J-League | 25 July 2007 |
| Sebastian Ryall | AIS | VPL | 28 August 2007 |
| Steven Pace | Preston Lions | VPL | 30 October 2007 |
| Nick Ward | Queens Park Rangers | Football League Championship | 5 December 2007 |

#### Out

| Player | To | League | Date |
| Michael Ferrante | Wellington Phoenix | A-League | 1 March 2007 |
| Mark Byrnes | released | - | 1 March 2007 |
| Fred | D.C. United | MLS | 30 March 2007 |
| James Robinson | Perth Glory | A-League | 17 March 2007 |
| Vince Lia | Wellington Phoenix | A-League | 21 March 2007 |
| Simon Storey | Partick Thistle F.C. | Scottish First Division | 21 March 2007 |
| Kristian Sarkies | Adelaide United | A-League | 30 March 2007 |
| Adrian Leijer | Fulham F.C. | Premier League | 4 August 2007 |
| Eugene Galekovic | Adelaide United | A-League | 30 October 2007 |

## Matches
### Pre-season matches

* The match against China was played over three 30-minute periods.

### 2007 Pre-Season Cup

Group A :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | BP | Pts |
| 1 | Adelaide United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | Perth Glory | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 1 | 8 |
| 3 | Newcastle Jets | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Melbourne Victory | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 0 | 1 |

### 2007-08 Hyundai A-League fixtures
## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 30 | 25 | +5 | 34 | Qualification for 2009 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets (C) | 21 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 34 | Qualification for 2009 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Sydney FC | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 28 | 24 | +4 | 32 | Qualification for 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship and Finals series |
| 4 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 21 | +4 | 31 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Melbourne Victory | 21 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 27 | |
| 6 | Adelaide United | 21 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 31 | 29 | +2 | 26 | |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 21 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 27 | 34 | −7 | 20 | |
| 8 | Wellington Phoenix | 21 | 5 | 5 | 11 | 25 | 37 | −12 | 20 | |
* ↑ First place qualifies for the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage. Winning the 2008 A-League Grand Final earns qualification for the 2009 AFC Champions League group stage, unless the Grand Final winners are also first place, in which case the Grand Final runner up qualifies.
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.

## 2008 AFC Champions League
### Matches

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| Gamba Osaka | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 14 | 8 | +6 | 14 |
| Melbourne Victory | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 | 7 |
| Chunnam Dragons | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 10 | −2 | 6 |
| Chonburi | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 10 | −3 | 5 |