# 2015–16 Melbourne City FC season

The 2015–16 season was the sixth in the history of Melbourne City Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, the club participated in the FFA Cup for the second time.

## Players
### Squad information

    As of 5 February 2016
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 | DEN | Thomas Sørensen |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Alex Wilkinson |
| 3 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Connor Chapman |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Ivan Franjic |
| 7 | FW | AUS | Corey Gameiro |
| 8 | MF | AUS | Aaron Mooy |
| 9 | FW | MTQ | Harry Novillo |
| 11 | DF | AUS | Michael Zullo |
| 14 | MF | AUS | James Brown |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Jason Trifiro |
| 17 | FW | SRI | Wade Dekker |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Paulo Retre |
| 19 | MF | AUS | Ben Garuccio |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Dean Bouzanis |
| 22 | DF | AUS | Jack Clisby |
| 23 | FW | URU | Bruno Fornaroli |
| 24 | DF | AUS | Patrick Kisnorbo (Captain) |
| 25 | MF | AUS | Jacob Melling |
| 26 | FW | AUS | Marc Marino |
| 27 | MF | AUS | Nick Fitzgerald |
| 28 | FW | AUS | Steve Kuzmanovski |
| 29 | MF | AUS | Anthony Cáceres (On Loan from Manchester City) |
| 33 | MF | AUS | Osama Malik |

### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Notes |
| 17 | FW | | Wade Dekker | 21 | |
| 30 | FW | | Hernan Espindola | 20 | |

### Transfers in

| No. | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving from | Type | Transfer window | Ends | Transfer fee |
| 5 | DF | Ivan Franjic | 27 | Free agent | Transfer | Pre-season | 2018 | Free |
| 28 | FW | Steve Kuzmanovski | 18 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 7 | FW | Corey Gameiro | 22 | Sydney FC | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 3 | MF | Aaron Hughes | 35 | Free agent | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 11 | DF | Michael Zullo | 26 | Utrecht | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 23 | FW | Bruno Fornaroli | 27 | Danubio | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 1 | GK | Thomas Sørensen | 39 | Free agent | Transfer | Pre-season | 2017 | Free |
| 16 | MF | Jason Trifiro | 27 | Free agent | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 27 | DF | Callum Richardson | 19 | Burnley | Transfer | Pre-season | 2016 | Free |
| 20 | GK | Dean Bouzanis | 20 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Transfer | Mid-season | 2016 | Free |
| 29 | MF | Anthony Cáceres | 23 | Manchester City | Loan | Mid-season | 2016 | Free |
| 33 | MF | Osama Malik | 25 | Adelaide United | Transfer | Mid-season | 2018 | Free |
| 27 | MF | Nick Fitzgerald | 23 | Free agent | Transfer | Mid-season | 2016 | Free |
| 2 | DF | Alex Wilkinson | 31 | Free agent | Transfer | Mid-season | 2016 | Free |

### Transfers out

| N | Pos. | Name | Age | Moving to | Type | Transfer window | Transfer fee |
| 3 | DF | Rob Wielaert | 36 | | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 7 | MF | Iain Ramsay | 27 | | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 11 | MF | Damien Duff | 36 | | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 23 | FW | Mate Dugandzic | 25 | | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 27 | DF | Kew Jaliens | 36 | | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 27 | DF | Ross Archibald | 20 | Fortuna Düsseldorf II | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 1 | GK | Andrew Redmayne | 26 | Western Sydney Wanderers | Transfer | Pre-season | Free |
| 16 | FW | Joshua Kennedy | 32 | | Retired | Pre-season | |
| 8 | MF | Massimo Murdocca | 30 | Avondale FC | End of contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 17 | DF | Jason Hoffman | 26 | Newcastle Jets | Transfer | Pre-season | Free |
| 13 | MF | Jonatan Germano | 27 | | End of Contract | Pre-season | Free |
| 20 | GK | Tando Velaphi | 28 | | Released | Mid-season | Free |
| 15 | FW | David Williams | 27 | | Released | Mid-season | Free |
| 10 | MF | Robert Koren | 35 | | Released | Mid-season | Free |
| 21 | MF | Stefan Mauk | 20 | Adelaide United | Transfer | Mid-season | Free |
| 27 | DF | Callum Richardson | 20 | | End of contract | Mid-season | Free |
| 6 | MF | Erik Paartalu | 29 | | Released | Mid-season | Free |
| 30 | FW | Hernan Espindola | 21 | Hume City | Transfer | Mid-season | Free |
| 36 | DF | Matt Millar | 19 | South Melbourne | Transfer | Mid-season | Free |

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | John van 't Schip |
| Senior Assistant Coach | Luciano Trani |
| Assistant coaches | Joey Didulica |
| Assistant coaches | Ivan Jolic |
| Goalkeeping coach | Clint Bolton |
| Physiotherapist | Belinda Pacella |
| Youth Team Coach | Joe Palatsides |

## Statistics
### Squad statistics

| 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 |
| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | | Apps | Goals | | | |
| 1 | GK | | Thomas Sørensen | 30 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 27+0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | | Alex Wilkinson | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | | Aaron Hughes | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | | Connor Chapman | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12+0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | | Ivan Franjic | 18 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | | Corey Gameiro | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | | Aaron Mooy | 30 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 23+1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | | Harry Novillo | 23 | 11 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 20+1 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | | Michael Zullo | 17 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11+4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | FW | | James Brown | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | | Jason Trifiro | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1+6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | | Wade Dekker | 9 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2+3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | | Paulo Retre | 27 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14+8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | | Ben Garuccio | 22 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 14+5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | | Philip Petreski | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Dean Bouzanis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | | Jack Clisby | 24 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12+6 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | | Bruno Fornaroli | 32 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 27+0 | 23 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | | Patrick Kisnorbo | 30 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 24+0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | | Jacob Melling | 23 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 16+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | FW | | Marc Marino | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | | Nick Fitzgerald | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8+3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | | Steve Kuzmanovski | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | | Anthony Cáceres | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7+2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | | Osama Malik | 14 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 11+1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | | Stefan Zinni | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | MF | | Ali Eyigun | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | | Alex Pavlidis | 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: |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | | Erik Paartalu | 17 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 14+0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | | Robert Koren | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | MF | | Jonatan Germano | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | | David Williams | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2+8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | | Tando Velaphi | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | | Stefan Mauk | 16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9+3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | | Callum Richardson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | | Hernan Espindola | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | | Matt Millar | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2+2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* Last updated: 22 April 2016
* 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.

## Competitions
### Overall

| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match |
| A-League | — | 4th | 10 October 2015 | 8 April 2016 |
| A-League Finals | Elimination-finals | Semi-finals | 17 April 2016 | 22 April 2016 |
| FFA Cup | Round of 32 | Semi-finals | 4 August 2015 | 21 October 2015 |

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Adelaide United (C) | 27 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 45 | 28 | +17 | 49 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Brisbane Roar | 27 | 14 | 6 | 7 | 49 | 40 | +9 | 48 | Qualification for 2017 AFC Champions League second preliminary round and Finals series |
| 4 | Melbourne City | 27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 63 | 44 | +19 | 44 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Perth Glory | 27 | 13 | 4 | 10 | 49 | 42 | +7 | 43 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Melbourne Victory | 27 | 11 | 8 | 8 | 40 | 33 | +7 | 41 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Sydney FC | 27 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 34 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 27 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 28 | 41 | −13 | 30 | |
| 9 | Wellington Phoenix | 27 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 25 | |
| 10 | Central Coast Mariners | 27 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 33 | 70 | −37 | 13 | |
* ↑ 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: 8 April 2016. 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 | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | W | L | W | L | D | W | W | W | W | L | D | W | D | W | L | L | D | W | L | W | W | W | W | L | L |
| Position | 4 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 4 |

#### Matches

Source: Melbourne City FC 2015–16 season fixtures