# 2019–20 Melbourne Victory FC season

The 2019–20 season was the Melbourne Victory's 15th season in the A-League. The club participated in the A-League, the FFA Cup, and the AFC Champions League.
On 24 March 2020, the FFA announced that the 2019–20 A-League season would be postponed until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, and subsequently extended indefinitely. The season resumed on 17 July 2020. Similarly, the 2020 AFC Champions League competition has been suspended until at least mid-September 2020 in West Zone. The AFC Executive Committee agreed to played AFC Champions League East Zone matches which are now scheduled to be played between 15 November and 13 December 2020 in Qatar.

## Players

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 | Matt Acton |
| 2 | DF | NZL | Storm Roux |
| 4 | DF | AUS | James Donachie |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Leigh Broxham (Vice-captain) |
| 7 | FW | SSD | Kenny Athiu |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Andrew Nabbout |
| 10 | FW | AUS | Robbie Kruse |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Birkan Kirdar (Scholarship) |
| 15 | DF | AUS | Giancarlo Gallifuoco |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Josh Hope |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | BDI | Elvis Kamsoba |
| 18 | MF | ALB | Migjen Basha |
| 19 | DF | AUS | Benjamin Carrigan |
| 21 | DF | CIV | Adama Traoré |
| 23 | MF | NZL | Marco Rojas |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Anthony Lesiotis |
| 25 | MF | AUS | Brandon Lauton (Scholarship) |
| 26 | MF | AUS | Jay Barnett (Scholarship) |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Matthew Sutton (Scholarship) |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred from | Type/fee | Contract length | Date |
| 26 | MF | Jay Barnett | Brisbane Roar | Scholarship | 1 year | 4 June 2019 |
| 10 | FW | Robbie Kruse | Unattached | Free transfer | 2 years | 23 July 2019 |
| 9 | FW | Andrew Nabbout | Urawa Red Diamonds | Undisclosed | 1 year | 25 July 2019 |
| 5 | DF | Tim Hoogland | VfL Bochum | Free transfer | 1 year | 16 August 2019 |
| 22 | MF | Kristijan Dobras | Unattached | Free transfer | 1 year | 20 August 2019 |
| 8 | MF | Jakob Poulsen | Midtjylland | Undisclosed | 1 year | 2 September 2019 |
| 21 | DF | Adama Traoré | Unattached | Undisclosed | 1 year | 12 September 2019 |
| 18 | MF | Migjen Basha | Aris Thessaloniki | Free transfer | 2 years | 19 September 2019 |
| 50 | GK | Brendan White | Heidelberg United | Injury replacement | | 31 October 2019 |
| 23 | MF | Marco Rojas | Unattached | Free transfer | 2.5 years | 22 January 2020 |
| 15 | DF | Giancarlo Gallifuoco | Unattached | Free transfer | 0.5 years | 3 February 2020 |

#### From youth squad

| N | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Notes |
| 19 | DF | | Benjamin Carrigan | 21 | 1 year contract |
| 25 | MF | | Brandon Lauton | 19 | 2 year scholarship contract |

### Transfers out

| No. | Position | Player | Transferred to | Type/fee | Date |
| 21 | MF | Carl Valeri | Retired | Retired | 12 April 2019 |
| 4 | MF | Keisuke Honda | Unattached | End of contract | 3 May 2019 |
| 15 | MF | Raúl Baena | Granada | Loan return | 28 May 2019 |
| 5 | DF | Georg Niedermeier | Unattached | End of contract | 28 May 2019 |
| 23 | FW | Jai Ingham | Unattached | End of contract | 28 May 2019 |
| 19 | MF | Rahmat Akbari | Brisbane Roar | Loan return | 4 June 2019 |
| 9 | FW | Kosta Barbarouses | Sydney FC | Free transfer | 6 June 2019 |
| 8 | MF | Terry Antonis | Suwon Samsung Bluewings | Undisclosed | 23 July 2019 |
| 10 | FW | James Troisi | Unattached | End of contract | 6 August 2019 |
| 3 | DF | Corey Brown | Brisbane Roar | Free transfer | 17 January 2020 |
| 22 | MF | Kristijan Dobras | Unattached | Mutual contract termination | 22 January 2020 |
| 14 | DF | Thomas Deng | Urawa Red Diamonds | Undisclosed | 28 January 2020 |
| 50 | GK | Brendan White | Unattached | End of contract | 20 February 2020 |
| 8 | MF | Jakob Poulsen | Retired | Retired | 6 May 2020 |
| 11 | FW | Ola Toivonen | Unattached | End of contract | 4 June 2020 |
| 5 | DF | Tim Hoogland | Unattached | End of contract | 15 July 2020 |
| 20 | GK | Lawrence Thomas | SønderjyskE | End of contract | 26 July 2020 |

### Contract extensions

| No. | Name | Position | Duration | Date |
| 6 | Leigh Broxham | Midfielder | 2 years | 29 May 2019 |
| 16 | Joshua Hope | Attacking midfielder | 1 year | 29 May 2019 |
| 4 | James Donachie | Centre-back | 1 year | 16 August 2019 |
* ↑ Donachie formally returned to his parent club Jeonnam Dragons at the end of his loan contract and then transferred permanently to Melbourne Victory, signing a one-year contract.

## Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Head coach | Grant Brebner (caretaker) |
| Assistant coach | Jeff Hopkins (caretaker) |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Vacant |

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of 21 December 2019
| No. | Pos. | Player | A-League | A-League | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | Total | Total |
| No. | Pos. | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | Matt Acton | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Storm Roux | 7+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Corey Brown | 3+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | James Donachie | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Tim Hoogland | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Leigh Broxham | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| 7 | FW | Kenny Athiu | 1+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Jakob Poulsen | 7+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Andrew Nabbout | 7 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 4 |
| 10 | FW | Robbie Kruse | 4+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | Ola Toivonen | 11 | 7 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 7 |
| 13 | MF | Birkan Kirdar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Thomas Deng | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Josh Hope | 1+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Elvis Kamsoba | 8+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | Migjen Basha | 9+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Benjamin Carrigan | 0+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 20 | GK | Lawrence Thomas | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Adama Traoré | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 22 | MF | Kristijan Dobras | 5+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 |
| 24 | MF | Anthony Lesiotis | 4+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| 25 | MF | Brandon Lauton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Jay Barnett | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | DF | Benjamin Carrigan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Brandon Lauton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | Matthew Sutton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 32 | FW | Jack Palazzolo | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 33 | DF | Aaron Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | DF | Matthew Bozinovski | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 50 | GK | Brendan White | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* ↑ Thomas wore the number "0" for three home matches in partnership with TAC to promote a message against road deaths and injuries.

### Disciplinary record

    As of 14 December 2019
| Rank | Position | Name | A-League | A-League | FFA Cup | FFA Cup | AFC Champions League | AFC Champions League | Total | Total |
| 1 | MF | Kristijan Dobras | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | FW | Ola Toivonen | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | James Donachie | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | Leigh Broxham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 5 | FW | Kenny Athiu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Migjen Basha | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | Thomas Deng | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | MF | Jakob Poulsen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | MF | Brandon Lauton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Andrew Nabbout | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | DF | Adama Traoré | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1 |

## Competitions

Win  Draw  Loss

### Overview

| Competition | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| A-League | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 023.08 |
| FFA Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 000.00 |
| AFC Champions League | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | −6 | 028.57 |
| Total | 34 | 8 | 6 | 20 | 41 | 59 | −18 | 023.53 |
Updated to match played 25 July 2020 Source: Competitions

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Sydney FC (C) | 26 | 16 | 5 | 5 | 49 | 25 | +24 | 53 | Qualification for 2021 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Melbourne City | 26 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 47 | Qualification for 2021 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and Finals series |
| 3 | Wellington Phoenix | 26 | 12 | 5 | 9 | 38 | 33 | +5 | 41 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Brisbane Roar | 26 | 11 | 7 | 8 | 29 | 28 | +1 | 40 | Qualification for 2021 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and Finals series |
| 5 | Western United | 26 | 12 | 3 | 11 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 39 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 6 | Perth Glory | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 43 | 36 | +7 | 37 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 7 | Adelaide United | 26 | 11 | 3 | 12 | 44 | 49 | −5 | 36 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 32 | 40 | −8 | 34 | |
| 9 | Western Sydney Wanderers | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 33 | |
| 10 | Melbourne Victory | 26 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 33 | 44 | −11 | 23 | |
| 11 | Central Coast Mariners | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 26 | 55 | −29 | 18 | |
* 1 2 3 All Australian teams withdrew from the 2021 AFC Champions League on 4 June 2021.
* 1 2 3 4 5 The top two teams enter the Finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth enter the Finals series at the elimination-finals.
* ↑ Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for the 2021 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: 14 December 2019. Source: ultimatealeague.com

#### Result 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 | 28 | 29 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | B | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | B | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | B |
| Result | D | L | W | L | D | L | L | W | L | D | W | ✖ | W | L | L | L | D | L | ✖ | D | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | ✖ |
| Position | 7 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | – | – | – | – | – | 10 |

#### Matches
### AFC Champions League
#### Group stage

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Beijing Guoan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 4 | +8 | 16 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Melbourne Victory | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | FC Seoul | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 9 | +1 | 6 | |
| 4 | Chiangrai United | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | −6 | 5 | |