The Isuzu UTE A-League is back this weekend and aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know ahead of Round One of the 2024-25 season.
A Sydney Derby, a brand new team, some big name imports and a whole load of young talent makes for another exciting Isuzu UTE A-League campaign; here’s a snapshot of what to expect from the opening six games of the 20th Anniversary Season.
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Friday, 7:35pm (AEDT): Central Coast Mariners v Melbourne Victory
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Season 20 of the Isuzu UTE A-League kicks off with a Grand Final rematch at Industree Group Stadium as reigning Champions the Mariners welcome Melbourne Victory back to the scene of their 3-1 defeat in last season’s decider.
That dramatic triumph for Mark Jackson’s Central Coast side sealed an unprecedented trophy treble as they added the Isuzu UTE A-League Championship trophy to the Premier’s Plate and the AFC Cup, with many on the coast believing they’ll be competitive once again this season.
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Pre-season results haven’t been the best with a defeat to NPLM VIC side Heidelberg United in the Australia Cup Round of 32 followed up with back-to-back losses to start their AFC Champions League Elite campaign, but the fact they’ve been able to get plenty of competitive minutes under their belts heading into the season should stand them in good stead.
Last season’s incredible success also came at a cost; with key players such as Josh Nisbet, Max Balard, Jacob Farrell and Dan Hall all securing moves overseas while legendary A-Leagues figure and club captain Danny Vukovic also announced his retirement.
The Mariners have been busy in the transfer market though, recruiting Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury in what was a major coup for the club, Northern Irish midfielder Alfie McCalmont, Brazilian winger Vitor Feijao and Olyroos defender Lucas Mauragis, while star player Mikael Doka also put pen-to-paper on a new long-term contract.
As for Victory, the big change for them from last season’s Grand Final is that Isuzu UTE A-League Championship-winning coach Patrick Kisnorbo is now in charge following the departure of recently appointed Socceroos boss Tony Popovic.
The appointment of a former Melbourne City boss in the shape of Kisnorbo raised a few eyebrows within Melbourne football circles but the new Victory boss has got his side firing as they head into the new season.
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A string of impressive performances saw the Victory reach the Australia Cup final, suffering an agonising 1-0 defeat to Macarthur FC despite dominating the game, but the signs are looking positive under Kisnorbo.
Aided by off-season recruits such as Josh Rawlins, Reno Piscopo, Brendan Hamill and Greek striker Nikos Vergos, plus the fact Socceroos keeper Mitch Langerak is also re-joining the club in January, Victory will no doubt be a formidable force this coming season as they blend experience with talented young players like Ryan Teague, Jordi Valadon, Kasey Bos and Nishan Velupillay.
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Saturday, 3:00pm (AEDT): Auckland FC v Brisbane Roar
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Saturday October 19 will go down as a special day in the history of New Zealand sport as Auckland FC become the Isuzu UTE A-League’s 13th side.
Owned by American billionaire Bill Foley and coached by Championship winner Steve Corica, the Black Knights have been on an extensive recruitment spree over the last nine months to get themselves ready for season 2024-25, which kicks off against Brisbane Roar.
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Japanese icon Hiroki Sakai is the club’s new captain, former Wellington Phoenix keeper Alex Paulsen has joined on a season-long loan from Premier League side AFC Bournemouth, defender Tommy Smith is one of a number of All Whites in the squad while Isuzu UTE A-League winners Scott Galloway and Dan Hall have also joined, as has former Johnny Warren Medallist Jake Brimmer.
Add to that some South American flair in the form of Uruguayan striker Guillermo May, Chilean midfielder Luis Felipe Gallegos and Colombian winger Neyder Moreno, Auckland FC are going to be a fascinating blend of household Kiwi names and overseas talent.
Taking on the league’s new boys at Go Media Stadium are Brisbane Roar; a side which has undergone major surgery in the off-season.
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Brisbane have waved goodbye to 13 players including captain Tom Aldred and defender Kai Trewin, while they’ve brought in 11 new faces to suit the needs of their head coach Ruben Zadkovich.
Among those to have joined the Queenslanders are Lebanese international midfielder Walid Shour and former Adelaide United trio Ben Warland, Ben Halloran and Harry Van Der Saag, while the capture of Indonesian winger Rafael Struick from Dutch side ADO Den Haag ensures the Roar will have a new army of Indonesian supporters this year.
The Roar flirted with playing finals football last season but ultimately fell away towards the end of the campaign, however their pre-season results have been encouraging and Zadkovich will surely benefit from having a full off-season in charge of the team.
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Saturday, 5:00pm (AEDT): Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City
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Boasting one of, if not the, youngest squad in this season’s competition, Newcastle Jets kick off their Isuzu UTE A-League campaign with a home clash against Melbourne City on Saturday evening.
Finishing last season in 10th place, Rob Stanton’s side will look to take a step forward this year and have put faith in some of the best young talent in the region to help them so so.
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Rewarded with new scholarship contracts, exciting young talents Alex Nunes and Will Dobson are likely to be exposed to first team football this season while young forward Justin Vidic is also expected to play more of a prominent role following the departure of last year’s top goalscorer Apostolos Stamatelopoulos.
To add some vital A-Leagues experience to the side, Stanton also recruited experienced defender Aleksandar Susnjar from Perth Glory and former Macarthur FC forward Lachlan Rose, while he’s also hoping to have unearthed an unknown gem in the form of 26-year-old Brazilian forward Wellissol.
From a Melbourne City perspective, head coach Aurelio Vidmar has also overseen an off-season of change as he heads into his first full campaign in charge of the club.
Coming off the back of a Finals appearance last season, City have opted to refresh the squad and will no longer be able to call upon players such as Tolgay Arslan, Curtis Good, Nuno Reis and the Isuzu UTE A-League’s All-Time leading goalscorer, Jamie Maclaren.
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However, the club was active in the transfer market during the off-season, bringing in the likes of Israeli international striker Yonatan Cohen, Roar defender Trewin, former Austrian youth international midfielder Andreas Kuen as well as Argentinian full back German Ferreyra.
Furthermore, the club also brought two fan favourites back to AAMI Park ahead of the new campaign, re-signing Socceroos winger Marco Tilio on a season-long loan from Celtic while his Socceroos team-mate Nathaniel Atkinson has also returned, joining City on a three-year deal from Scottish Premiership side Hearts.
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Saturday, 7:35pm (AEDT): Western Sydney Wanderers v Sydney FC
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What better way for both the Wanderers and the Sky Blues to kick off their respective campaigns than with a mouth-watering Sydney Derby at CommBank Stadium.
Now under the tutelage of Alen Stajcic, the Wanderers head into the 2024-25 season looking to bounce back after another frustrating campaign which ultimately saw them miss out on finals football.
Headlined by the statement signing of Spanish star Juan Mata, the Wanderers are likely to look fairly different this year following the exits of some high-profile players in the off-season including club captain Marcelo, Dutch midfielder Jorrit Hendrix and forward Lachlan Brook.
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However, the acquisitions of towering Korean defender Jeong-tae Wook and former Wellington Phoenix winger Bozhidar Kraev will add plenty to the Wanderers starting XI while arguably the club’s best piece of business in the off-season was to tie star attacker Nicolas Milanovic down to a new contract.
Meanwhile across the Harbour Bridge, Sydney FC added some serious quality to their ranks in the off-season with Brazilian superstar Douglas Costa the headline act.
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But Costa is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the Sky Blues recruitment with former Eredivisie midfielder Anas Ouahim and ex-Serie A star Leo Sena added to their midfield to help replace the likes of Luke Brattan and Robert Mak, while Polish striker Patryk Klimala joins on loan to replace Brazilian Fabio Gomes.
Top signings aside though, Ufuk Talay’s Sydney FC side head into the season opener with valuable minutes under their belts given they’ve won both of their ACL Two matches in the lead up to the new campaign.
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Sunday, 2:00pm (AEDT): Wellington Phoenix v Western United
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Following on from their best ever Isuzu UTE A-League campaign which saw them reach the semi-finals last time out, Wellington Phoenix will look to go one better this season.
Under head coach Giancarlo ‘Chiefy’ Italiano, the ‘Nix defied all pre-season predictions to come within a whisker of winning the Premier’s Plate but whether or not Wellington can repeat that trick again remains to be seen given the amount of quality that has departed.
In Alex Paulsen, Finn Surman, Ben Old, Nicholas Pennington, Bozhidar Kraev and Oskar Zawada, the club has lost six regulars from last season’s starting XI, meaning Italiano has been forced into a major rebuild heading into what is just his second season as a senior head coach.
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However, the club has moved to replace those departures and the arrivals of former Tottenham Hotspur academy keeper Josh Oluwayemi, Japanese duo Kazuki Nagasawa and Hideki Ishige plus the return of the ‘Kiwi Messi’ Marco Rojas, gives Chiefy plenty of talent to work with, while midfielder Paulo Retre will also add some steel to the midfield.
The Phoenix are almost certain to continue their trend of giving youth team players a chance this coming season having handed six players either a first time professional deal or a new scholarship contract.
As for their opposition, the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign could well be a pivotal one for Western United.
Finally based permanently out of their new home at Ironbark Fields, Western and their head coach John Aloisi will look to put down roots at their new base and improve on what was a difficult season in 2023-24.
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Finishing the campaign in second-last having spent the majority of the season at the foot of the ladder, Western opted for a squad reset during the off-season, waving goodbye to seven first team players including captain Josh Risdon and Brazilian midfielder Daniel Penha.
As far as replacing those players goes, Western have opted to take more of a youthful approach, handing 10 young talents new deals with former Adelaide United striker Hiroshi Ibusuki and former Wanderers defender Tate Russell the two experienced signings to join the ranks.
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Sunday, 4:00pm (AEDT): Macarthur FC v Perth Glory
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Macarthur FC certainly head into the new Isuzu UTE A-League campaign in confident mood having most recently clinched their second Australia Cup trophy in the space of two three years.
A debut goal from new signing Marin Jakolis was enough to seal a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory in the final and Bulls boss Mile Sterjovski will be pleased that his new signings have hit the ground running heading into a season where they’ll look to improve on their 5th placed finish from last year.
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In midfield, the arrival of former Sydney FC and newly minted Socceroo Luke Brattan could well prove to be a masterstroke,while former Belgian U21 international defender Dino Arslanagic brings plenty of power to the heart of their defence.
Powerful striker Harrison Sawyer has also been recruited following an excellent season with NPLM VIC side South Melbourne FC where he scored 16 goals, while former Melbourne Victory forward Chris Ikonomidis also joins him in a new-look attack.
As for the Glory, the only way is up this season following a difficult 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign which ultimately saw them collect the wooden spoon.
After former boss Alen Stajcic decided to swap Western Australia for Western Sydney, the Glory moved quickly to appoint a successor, deciding former Sydney FC assistant David Zdrilic was the right man to lead the club forward.
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In whats been an off-season of change at the club, the Glory offloaded 11 players and subsequently brought in 17 new faces, with Zdrilic opting to blend exciting young talent with a sprinkling of overseas players as well as a number of well-known A-Leagues names returning to their home state.
Among those to return to the club are Isuzu UTE A-League champions Brandon O’Neill and Josh Risdon, who join from Newcastle Jets and Western United respectively, while Ecuadorian international centre back Luis Cangá adds some much needed experience in the backline.
Arguably the most crucial piece of business Perth Glory conducted this off-season though was to fend off any interest for star striker Adam Taggart, who will once again lead the line this coming season after winning last year’s Golden Boot award having bagged a whopping 20-goals.
