Underestimate Adelaide United at your peril. That is the message from Dutch star Bart Vriends heading into Friday night’s Isuzu UTE A-League season opener against Sydney FC.
Adelaide will usher in a new era under new head coach Airton Andrioli in 2025-26, with the youth guru the new man at the wheel at Coopers Stadium where the 60-year-old Brazilian has replaced Reds legend Carl Veart for at least the next two seasons.
CLICK HERE TO BECOME AN A-LEAGUES CLUB MEMBER TODAY!
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL 2025-26 FIXTURE
Andrioli’s appointment means a new coach on the sidelines in the Isuzu UTE A-League but he is hardly a new face for Adelaide. Promoted from the club’s Head of Youth Football and first-team assistant, he has been with the Reds for the past five years and has played a pivotal role in shaping South Australia’s football pathways.
BUY TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED’S SEASON OPENER THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!
COMPETITION! WIN 1 OF 3 MEMBERSHIPS
There are also new and familiar faces for the Reds this season, following the departures of Golden Boot winner Archie Goodwin, English star Zach Clough and Stefan Mauk.
LIL REDS DEBUTANTS: FIND OUT MORE HERE
Socceroo and all-time leading goalscorer Craig Goodwin has returned to the club, while Adelaide have recruited Brazilian veteran Anselmo de Moraes and Spanish maestro Juan Muñiz, as well as Dutch goalkeeper Joshua Smits after an Elimination Final exit in 2024-25.
READ MORE
FULL FIXTURES: Every match of the Isuzu UTE A-League 25-26 season here
DERBY DATES: The matches to circle in your calendar now
FIRST 5 FIXTURES: Your Isuzu UTE A-League team’s start to the 2025-26 season
FINALS SERIES: 2025-26 structure and dates
TRANSFER CENTRE: Your club’s ins/outs ahead of the upcoming season
“I think we can achieve great things,” Vriends said. “We’ve won some points in the physical condition of the team, like good and powerful and experienced players.
“I hope to be a more solid squad than we were last year. A more solid team than we were last year. So the expectations are pretty high.
“I just think that no one really talks about us, but I feel like they will in a couple of months.”
BUY TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED’S SEASON OPENER THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!
On Adelaide’s new signings, Vriends added: “Craig Goodwin, we all know him, is a very good signing for the club.
“But that’s not just because of his left foot and his finishing and his end product, but it’s more the character he brings within the locker room, the competitive competitiveness and just his motivation will drive the squad forward.
“I’m happy with Joshua Smith’s the new goalkeeper. He looks really experienced and composed, and that’s just what we need.
“And obviously I need to stress also the Brazilian gun in midfield, Anselmo, which is a very powerful player, and Juan Muniz has only been here for two, three weeks. He put in some unbelievable crosses with this left to today. So I think we can expect quite a lot from from all these players when we go into the season.”
BUY TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED’S SEASON OPENER THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!
Adelaide snuck into the top six last season after stuttering to the finish line in 2024-25.
The Reds started the campaign eight games unbeaten before winning just one of their final 11 fixtures of the regular season.
It will not happen again, according to Vriends.
“We sort of had a two-faced season last year, and that was the most disappointing part,” he said. “That we showed some unbelievable football in the in the first half of the season, and then it sort of collapsed after February.
“There were a lot of causes that led to that, but I feel like the most important one was that we were positive and entertaining, but we couldn’t just kill matches and be very tough to beat, and that’s what we’ve been talking about a lot the last months.
“It will look much better this year. I’m convinced that that will happen.”
BUY TICKETS TO ADELAIDE UNITED’S SEASON OPENER THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!
