2003–04 Adelaide United FC season

Adelaide United
2003–04 season
Chairman	Basil Scarsella
Manager	John Kosmina
Stadium	Hindmarsh Stadium
National Soccer League	3rd
National Soccer League Finals	Preliminary final
Top goalscorer	League: Carl Veart (10); All: Carl Veart (12)
Highest home attendance	15,568; vs. Brisbane Strikers; (17 October 2003)
Lowest home attendance	9,159; vs. Northern Spirit; (10 December 2003)
Average home league attendance	12,643
Biggest win	3–0; vs. Brisbane Strikers; (7 March 2004)
Biggest defeat	0–5; vs. Perth Glory; (28 March 2004)
	2005–06 →; 2004–05 →

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[edit]

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[edit]

Squad information[edit]

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	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[edit]

Transfers in[edit]

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

Transfers out[edit]

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref
	FW	Félix Tagawa	A.S. Dragon	Free transfer	December 2003	^[1]
6	MF	Ross Aloisi	Selangor	Free transfer	March 2004	^[1]
20	GK	Robert Bajic	Enfield City	Free transfer	March 2004	^[1]
3	DF	Kristian Rees	Modbury Jets	Free transfer	March 2004	^[1]

Competitions[edit]

Overall record[edit]

Competition	First match	Last match	Starting round	Final position	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					28	13	7	8	34	35	−1	046.43

Source: Competitions

National Soccer League[edit]

League table[edit]

Pos	Team v t e	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
3	Adelaide United	24	11	7	6	28	25	+3	40
4	Marconi Stallions	24	10	8	6	29	25	+4	38
5	South Melbourne	24	11	4	9	39	21	+18	37

Source: ozfootball.net
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored;
(C) Champions

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

Source: WorldFootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss; = Bye

Matches[edit]

17 October 2003 5	Adelaide United	1–0	Brisbane Strikers	Adelaide
21:30 ACST	Veart 38'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 15,568 Referee: Craig Zetter

24 October 2003 6	Newcastle United	2–3	Adelaide United	Newcastle
19:30 AEST	Griffiths 9' Owens 16'	Report	Veart 64' (pen.), 78' Vidmar 73'	Stadium: EnergyAustralia Stadium Attendance: 3,005 Referee: Con Diomis

2 November 2003 7	Adelaide United	0–0	Sydney United	Adelaide
16:30 ACST				Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 14,413 Referee: Angelo Nardi

8 November 2003 8	Marconi Stallions	0–0	Adelaide United	Sydney
19:30 AEST		Report		Stadium: Marconi Stadium Attendance: 1,820 Referee: Craig Zetter

16 November 2003 9	Adelaide United	1–4	Perth Glory	Adelaide
19:30 ACST	Kemp 19'	Report	Pondeljak 15', 90' Mori 16' Despotovski 49'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 13,096 Referee: Matthew Breeze

22 November 2003 10	South Melbourne	2–1	Adelaide United	Melbourne
19:30 AEST	Kovacevic 23', 61'	Report	Veart 70'	Stadium: Bob Jane Stadium Attendance: 8,359 Referee: Simon Micallef

28 November 2003 11	Adelaide United	2–2	Wollongong Wolves	Adelaide
20:00 ACST	Valkanis 48' Saric 81'		Nwaogazi 20' Blake 90'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 9,528 Referee: Perry Mur

30 November 2003 1	Sydney Olympic	0–0	Adelaide United	Sydney
18:00 AEST				Stadium: Jubilee Oval Attendance: 2,370 Referee: James Lewis

6 December 2003 12	Football Kingz	1–3	Adelaide United	Auckland
18:00 NZDT	Ngata 80' (pen.)	Report	Pellegrino 50' Smeltz 76' Veart 86'	Stadium: Ericsson Stadium Attendance: 1,121 Referee: Peter Green

10 December 2003 13	Adelaide United	1–0	Northern Spirit	Adelaide
19:30 ACST	Saric 8'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 9,159 Referee: Craig Zetter

14 December 2003 14	Adelaide United	1–1	Sydney Olympic	Adelaide
19:30 ACST	Thompson 87'	Report	Cardozo 62'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 11,153 Referee: Eddie Lennie

20 December 2003 15	Parramatta Power	1–2	Adelaide United	Parramatta
18:30 AEST	Petrovski 44'	Report	Aloisi 10' Veart 18'	Stadium: Parramatta Stadium Attendance: 1,967 Referee: Angelo Nardi

28 December 2003 16	Adelaide United	2–1	Melbourne Knights	Adelaide
18:20 ACST	Veart 15' Terminello 31'	Report	Trajanovski 4'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 13,032 Referee: Simon Micallef

7 January 2004 18	Brisbane Strikers	1–0	Adelaide United	Brisbane
20:30 AEST	Morley 13'	Report		Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,298 Referee: Perry Mur

11 January 2004 19	Adelaide United	0–0	Newcastle United	Adelaide
17:00 ACST		Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 14,280 Referee: Peter Green

18 January 2004 20	Sydney United	1–1	Adelaide United	Sydney
18:30 AEST	Santalab 89'	Report	Alagich 76'	Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre Attendance: 2,065 Referee: Matthew Breeze

23 January 2004 25	Adelaide United	1–0	Football Kingz	Adelaide
20:00 ACST	Veart 58'			Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 13,212 Referee: Mark Shield

31 January 2004 22	Perth Glory	2–0	Adelaide United	Perth
19:00 AWST	Mori 30', 34'			Stadium: Members Equity Stadium Attendance: 9,711 Referee: Angelo Nardi

6 February 2004 23	Adelaide United	2–0	South Melbourne	Adelaide
20:00 ACST	Budin 6' Aloisi 31'			Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 12,463 Referee: Eddie Lennie

8 February 2004 3	Melbourne Knights	3–4	Adelaide United	Melbourne
18:00 AEST	Vasilevski 53' Marinos 57', 90'	Report	Alagich 45' Aloisi 62' Brooks 65' Veart 83'	Stadium: Knights Stadium Attendance: 1,164 Referee: James Lewis

13 February 2004 24	Wollongong Wolves	0–1	Adelaide United	Wollongong
19:35 AEST			Brooks 80'	Stadium: WIN Stadium Attendance: 3,010 Referee: Peter Green

20 February 2004 21	Adelaide United	1–0	Marconi Stallions	Adelaide
20:00 ACST	Veart 3'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 13,690 Referee: Simon Micallef

25 February 2004 2	Adelaide United	0–2	Parramatta Power	Adelaide
20:00 ACST		Report	Elrich 5' Miličić 52'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 12,125 Referee: Perry Mur

29 February 2004 26	Northern Spirit	2–1	Adelaide United	Sydney
17:00 AEST	Kwasnik 27', 69'		Vidmar 45'	Stadium: Pittwater Park Attendance: 2,009 Referee: Matthew Breeze

N.S.L. Finals Series[edit]

7 March 2004 Qualifying Final (1st Leg)	Adelaide United	3–0	Brisbane Strikers	Adelaide
07:30 ACST	Veart 31' Agius 67' Brooks 90'	Report		Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 16,258 Referee: Ben Williams

13 March 2004 Qualifying Final (2nd Leg)	Brisbane Strikers	4–1	Adelaide United	Brisbane
09:00 AEST	Moon 45' Rose 58' Brain 82' Grierson 87'	Report	Veart 65'	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 2,790 Referee: Matthew Breeze

20 March 2004 Semi-Final	Adelaide United	2–1 (a.e.t.)	South Melbourne	Adelaide
09:30 ACST	Aloisi 71' Alagich 105' (pen.)	Report	Curcija 12'	Stadium: Hindmarsh Stadium Attendance: 16,558 Referee: Simon Micallef

28 March 2004 Preliminary-Final	Perth Glory	5–0	Adelaide United	Perth
06:45 AWST	Despotovski 10', 81' Mori 51', 69' Mrdja 88'	Report		Stadium: Subiaco Oval Attendance: 17,524 Referee: Eddie Lennie

Squad statistics[edit]

Appearances and goals[edit]

No.	Pos.	Name	National Soccer League		National Soccer League Finals		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[edit]

Rank	Position	Name	National Soccer League		National Soccer League Finals		Total
Rank	Position	Name
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
	MF	Adriano Pellegrino	3	0	0	0	3	0
	DF	Kristian Rees	3	0	0	0	3	0
11	MF	Fred Agius	1	0	0	0	1	0
	GK	David Scarsella	1	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	David Terminello	1	0	0	0	1	0
	MF	Shane Thompson	1	0	0	0	1	0

Clean sheets[edit]

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

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "Adelaide United - Transfers 2003/2004". WorldFootball.net.

[0304Transfers-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z "Adelaide United - Transfers 2003/2004". WorldFootball.net.

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