Exactly 20 years since their first match at Coopers Stadium, Adelaide United have released a documentary about the club’s history. Watch ‘The People’s Club’ in full below.
In 2009, then-Adelaide United head coach Aurelio Vidmar sat down to address the media following a 4-0 finals thrashing at the hands of bitter rivals Melbourne Victory, and delivered one of the most infamous lines in A-Leagues history.
“There are too many people at this club with hidden agendas,” he said.
“That 4-0 result was because of that. Because of a piss-ant town, this club will never win anything.”
14 years later, Vidmar has reflected on the fiery press conference that preceded an eventual 1-0 Grand Final loss to Victory just two weeks later in a documentary released by the club detailing its 20-year history.
Adelaide have, of course, managed to lift silverware since those comments, including the 2015-16 Premiership and Championship to go with three Australia Cup crowns.
The documentary, titled The People’s Club, details the incredible highs experienced at the Reds across the past two decades, including the 2016 Championship triumph, and that incredible run to the 2008 AFC Champions League Final.
But with the highs come the lows, including the turbulent period of early-2009 when a reshuffle of senior roles at the club led Vidmar to breaking point.
“We got flogged by Melbourne Victory,” he recalls. “The place smelled a little bit, let’s put it that way. I probably went a little bit over the top, but I got my point across, I think.
“Nick Bianco (former Adelaide owner) and (former chairman Dario Fontarosa) had some issues at their workplace, and said: ‘We’re going to have to spend a bit more time looking after the workplace. Someone else is going to be the chairman’.
“That chairman decided to start having meetings with the players, giving them surveys, who they want for their football director, who they want for their doctor. The players came up to me and said: ‘Hey Viddy, this is what is happening’ – and I didn’t even know about it.
“I was trying to get a hold of the owners for weeks to put things straight. It just never happened so I took the opportunity – if no one was listening, well you’re going to listen now.”
Hear the full story and many more in the documentary below.
