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24 May 2024

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Sydney FC will head into the A-League Grand Final as heavy underdogs despite their heroics in the second leg of their semi final in Gosford, off the back of Adelaide United's scintillating form across the last three months.

The Reds have not lost an A-League fixture since January 4th, when a heavily depleted side due to injury and international call-up were defeated 2-1 by Wellington, and have only lost three games this season in total. The Sky Blues had a patchy start to the season, but themselves only lost five games on their way to a fifth-placed finish, largely off the back of eleven draws, and then lost the first leg of the semi final against Central Coast Mariners at home.

Adelaide United's attacking style under Hugo Montgomery saw them score a record 70 goals in 26 fixtures, with the likes of Musa Toure (19 goals), Tete Yengi (17) and Nestory Irankunda (9) amongst the top goalscoring threats in the league, and after an inconsistent start to the season their defense finished as the top-ranked in the competition with 31 goals conceded.

Sydney's 37 goals conceded ranked it second in the league, with a largely settled back four of Rhyan Grant, Gabriel Lacerda, Jack Rodwell and Joel King and Andrew Redmayne in net. Patrick Wood has largely played a lone hand up front with 15 of his side's 45 goals for the season, with Robert Mak's eight goals the next best.

Alexandar Popovic is unlikely to start for Adelaide due to a bruised shoulder picked up in training, while Sydney FC do not expect star midfielder Anthony Caceres to gain fitness in time for selection on Saturday night.

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25 May 2024

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Reds captain Ryan Kitto and rookie manager Hugo Montgomery lifted the A-League champions' trophy in front of a sold out crowd at Coopers Stadium following a 2-0 win in the Grand Final.

From February onwards it seemed almost inevitable that Adelaide would be challenging for the honours with a brilliant run of form in the second half of the season, despite boasting one of the youngest squads in the league.

A fourteen game unbeaten run delivered the A-League premiership and then the club looked almost untroubled through the Finals Series in May. A 4-0 away win in the semi final first leg over Melbourne Victory set the tone and it was similar comfortable in tonight's Grand Final against Sydney FC with the Reds backline conceding just three shots for the game.

The win gives Adelaide just their second-ever A-League championship, following in the footsteps of Guillermo Amor's 2015/16 squad which much like this team secured a premiership/championship double.

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25 May 2024

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There was little surprise when Nestory Irankunda's name was read out as the recipient of the 2024 Joe Marston Medal for best-on-ground in the A-League Grand Final.

The 18 year old Tanzanian international scored twice in the first half, the only goals of the game, with two trademark driven shots from the left wing, the position in which he has caused problems for opposition defenders all season.

Irankunda is now the youngest ever recipient of the medal that has been awarded since 1990 in the old NSL days, and the first teenager to win it since Mat Ryan in 2011. He is due to officially sign with Portuguese giants Benfica in the coming weeks, although talks are underway for the 18 year old to remain at Coopers Stadium on loan for another year.

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26 May 2024

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Head coach Hugo Montgomery could barely contain his joy while speaking to club reporters this morning, his head no doubt still spinning after a long night of celebration.

The 29 year old fronted up looking a little worse for wear but thrilled at what the club had achieved this season in his first year at the helm.

"It's just, it's taken a little while to process everything after last night but we couldn't be happier with where we are as a club and as a team right now."

"The form we showed all through the back half of the season and in the finals has just been outstanding and the players deserve all the success, just a terrific group of guys."

A lot of young faces around the team, and so many of them stood up immensely over the course of the year, it just gives you so much confidence and belief that this is only the beginning of something really special."

I'm enjoying reading this. Always enjoyed managing in Australia. My grandad was born in Melbourne, so I've always followed Melbourne Victory.

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I absolutely love the graphics you're making to show transfer business, match results, stats, etc.

Are you making/using templates in a spreadsheet? I like doing the same for my own saves, is there any chance you'd be willing to share these templates?

2025-02-25 16:50#300733 clomby : I absolutely love the graphics you're making to show transfer business, match results, stats, etc.

Are you making/using templates in a spreadsheet? I like doing the same for my own saves, is there any chance you'd be willing to share these templates?

Sure mate, sent you a PM.

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30 May 2024

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The 2024 Dolan Warren awards ceremony concluded this evening, with a number of players honoured for a terrific 2023-24 A-League Men campaign.

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Despite joining in January, Adelaide United striker Tete Yengi has been awarded the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League's most valuable player.

The 23 year old helped the Reds lift the premiership trophy on Sunday night to cap off an extraordinary run of form since he arrived with seventeen goals in eighteen appearances, including a famous five-goal effort against Western Sydney in February, enough to convince voters to choose him over the more fancied Chris Ikonomidis and Oskar Zawada despite missing the first 12 games of the season.

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Oskar Zawada didn't go home empty-handed however, with the Polish talisman picking up the Golden Boot award after scoring 22 goals and becoming the first player other than Jamie Maclaren to win the award since Roy Krishna in 2019. He formed a lethal partnership at Wellington Phoenix with fellow import David Ball who finished eighth for goals this season, and Zawada now has 37 goals in just 52 A-League appearances.

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If the Young Player of the Year award wasn't already wrapped up, Nestory Irankunda's brace in the A-League Grand Final ended any debate and capped off a magical 12 months for the Adelaide winger. After gradually making a name for himself over the previous two seasons, the 18 year old became a regular first team player at Coopers Stadium with nine goals and ten assists across the campaign, represented Tanzania at the African Cup of Nations, and signed with Portuguese giants Benfica, although we are likely to see him again in the A-League next season on loan.

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Continuing the fruitful night for league champions and premiers Adelaide, Joe Gauci was adjudged the A-League Goalkeeper of the Year, a big coup for the young shot-stopper after a period of poor form in the early stages of the season. Considered by many to be the next Socceroos mainstay after Mat Ryan, Gauci was at the forefront of a much improved Reds defence in their title charge, finishing with a league high 8 clean sheets ahead of experienced compatriots Paul Izzo and Danny Vukovic.

In the other awards, Hugo Montgomery unsurprisingly took out A-League Manager of the Year after guiding Adelaide United to the premiership/championship double in his first season, while Jay O'Shea's Round 24 howitzer for the Roar against the Glory was adjudged Goal of the Year.

The A-League Team of the Year was also announced with the following players:

• GK: Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners)
• DF: Panashe Madanha (Adelaide United)
• DF: Dan Hall (Central Coast Mariners)
• DF: Osama Malik (Adelaide United)
• DF: Ryan Kitto (Adelaide United)
• MF: Ethan Alagich (Adelaide United)
• MF: Harry Steele (Central Coast Mariners)
• MF: Hamza Sakhi (Melbourne City)
• FW: Brandon Borrello (Adelaide United)
• FW: Chris Ikonomidis (Melbourne Victory)
• FW: Tete Yengi (Adelaide United)

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2 June 2024

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Fresh off Grand Final celebrations, Adelaide United have confirmed that Nestory Irankunda will be remaining at the club on loan for another 12 months before moving to Portugal to link up with giants SL Benfica.

The timing could not be sweeter for the Reds after Irankunda scored both goals in the 2-0 Grand Final win last week and took out the A-League Young Player of the Year award, with expectations that he should continue to kick on after becoming a fully fledged first team player over the past season.

Benfica signed Irankunda for around $2.6 million in January but the transfer would not have been finalised until July anyway, due to FIFA rules around the transfers of foreign minors. Although he turned 18 in February, the Portuguese side has opted to allow him to develop in the A-League with regular gametime for another season before being given his opportunity in Lisbon.

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15 June 2024

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The Adelaide United squad will head up to Darwin in July for a three-week training camp, resuming a fruitful partnership between the club and the Northern Territory government.

Our players will be based at Darwin Football Stadium with a number of open training sessions for spectators as well as community outreach programs across the Top End.

Fresh from our title success, we are also in talks with an A-League rival about hosting a pre-season match in Darwin as well.

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16 June 2024

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Adelaide United have made the first addition to their championship-winning squad ahead of the 2024/25 season, confirmed the signing of Perth Glory defender Johnny Koutroumbis.

The 26 year old will become a Red once his Glory contract expires on June 30th and is the latest in a string of homegrown players being brought back to Adelaide, having come through the youth ranks of NPL side West Adelaide.

A brief spell with the Adelaide United NPL squad was followed by a move to Newcastle Jets, where he made 90 A-League appearances before a season with Western Sydney and then two seasons with Perth Glory. Koutroumbis made 26 appearances in 2023/24 with the Glory but didn't do enough to secure a new deal.

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19 June 2024

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A-League clubs will now have the opportunity to make transfers ahead of the 2024/25 season with the window officially open. We've scoured the league to see which major moves could be made and who is looking for new pastures.

For many clubs, decisions are still yet to be made on contracts with 11 days until expiry, and this will have a major impact on player recruitment with potential free signings available. A number of fringe players could take the opportunity to start anew next season, including: Lachlan Barr (Adelaide), Carlo Armiento (Brisbane), Nathan Konstandopoulos (Victory), Daniel Stynes (Newcastle), Bruce Kamau (Perth) and Connor O'Toole (Western).

Adelaide's acqusition of Johnny Koutroumbis from Perth is one such deal that has already been arranged, while Australian internationals James Jeggo and James Holland will be heading to Melbourne City and Victory respectively once their European contracts expire as well.

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Other A-League sides will also be looking overseas for Australian players open to a move back home, especially after the success of ex-Ipswich striker Tete Yengi who scored seventeen goals following a January transfer to Adelaide. Perth Glory have been linked with forward Anthony Carter, currently playing in the Portuguese second tier, and Macarthur FC are weighing up a $30,000 bid on Kuala Lumpur's Giancarlo Gallifuoco. Other overseas-based Australians that could be looking to rejoin the A-League include Ben Halloran (playing in China), Ryan Williams (India), Jacob Italiano (Germany), Chris Donnell (England), Lachlan Jackson (South Korea), Panos Armenakas (United States) and Tomislav Mrcela (Uzbekistan).

Foreign imports are always an integral part of A-League squad-building, with around twenty visa spots currently open across the league and more to come with the likes of Wellington's Bozhidar Kraev and Wanderers' Jorrit Hendrix unlikely to remain in the league much longer. French full back Joel Bopescu, Brazilian forward Gustavo Tocantines and Japanese winger Ryuhei Oishi have all been linked with one or more A-League sides although the majority of overseas signings in the A-League tend to come closer to the season start.