The official Preview for the 2010 Hyundai A-League Grand Final
The stage is set for the Hyundai A-League 2010 Grand Final between Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium in Melbourne on Saturday night (Kick-off 7pm).
It-s the biggest rivalry in the Hyundai A-League and with a large contingent of fans from both clubs in attendance, this Championship match is sure to go down in Hyundai A-League history as a classic.
Get there early to catch the National Youth League 2010 Grand Final (Kick-off 3pm) when Perth Glory take on Gold Coast United in a match that showcases the talents of some of Australia-s best young footballers.
Only one will be left standing
Hyundai A-League: Be part of something bigger
Hyundai A-League 2010 Grand Final
Saturday, 20 March 2010
Melbourne Victory v Sydney FC
Etihad Stadium, Melbourne
Local kick-off: 7.00pm AEDT
Referee: Strebre Delovski
Assistant referees: Ben Wilson and Matthew Cream
Fourth official: Matthew Breeze
Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3HD & 3 and Sky Sport 3. Hyundai A-League club broadcast partner is 774 ABC (Melbourne). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketmaster.com.au
Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Mitchell LANGERAK (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (c), 3.Mate DUGANDZIC, 5.Surat SUKHA, 6.Leigh BROXHAM, 8.Grant BREBNER, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Marvin ANGULO, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13.Nathan ELASI, 15.Tom PONDELJAK, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 17.Matthew FOSCHINI, 19. Evan BERGER, 20.Glen MOSS (gk), 21.Robbie KRUSE, 22.Nick WARD, 23.Adrian LEIJER, 25.Aziz BEHICH
*three to be omitted*
In: Aziz BEHICH (promoted from NYL), Mate DUGANDZIC (promoted), Nathan ELASI (promoted)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Billy CELESKI (knee – season), Matthew KEMP (knee – season), Nik MRDJA (suspended – 1 match)
Sydney FC squad: 1. Clint BOLTON (gk), 2. Sebastian RYALL 3. Stephan KELLER, 4.Simon COLOSIMO, 5. Hayden FOXE, 6. Karol KISEL, 7. Brendan GAN, 8. Stuart MUSIALIK, 12. Shannon COLE, 13. Antony GOLEC, 14. Alex BROSQUE, 15. Terry MCFLYNN (c), 16. Chris PAYNE,19. Mark BRIDGE, 20. Ivan NECEVSKI, 22. Sung-Hwan BYUN, 31. Joe GIBBS
*one to be omitted*
In: Shannon COLE (returns from injury), Joe GIBBS (promoted)
Out: John ALOISI (hamstring – season)
Unavailable: Kofi DANNING (knee – season), Matthew JURMAN (foot – season), Steve Corica (hamstring – season), Rhyan GRANT (ankle – season), Adam CASEY (hamstring – indefinite), John ALOISI (hamstring)
Head-to-Head: All matches (played 17): Melbourne Victory wins 6, Sydney FC wins 4 (7 draws)
HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE 2010 GRAND FINAL – SNAPSHOT
MELBOURNE VICTORY v SYDNEY FC
Melbourne Victory-s Tom Pondeljak is set to make his 100th Hyundai A-League appearance. Pondeljak spent three seasons (55 appearances) with Central Coast Mariners before joining the Victory in 2008.
In terms of all national league Grand Finals, Tom Pondeljak will become Australia-s most experienced Grand Final player of all time if he makes an appearance in the 2010 Hyundai A-League Grand Final.
Leading in to the 2010 decider, Pondeljak is tied with Damian Mori on seven Grand Final appearances.
In terms of all national Grand Final victories, Melbourne-s Tom Pondeljak is aiming to become the country-s all-time leading Grand Final winner (five Grand Final victories) this weekend. Leading into the 2010 decider, Pondeljak is tied with Alex Tobin and David Cervinski on four Grand Final victory appearances each.
Pondeljak-s previous Grand Final successes were in 1996 (with Melbourne Knights), 2002 (Sydney Olympic), 2004 (Perth Glory) and 2009 (Melbourne Victory).
HEAD-TO-HEAD: In 17 previous Hyundai A-League encounters, Melbourne Victory have won 6, Sydney FC have won 4 with the two teams drawing 7 times; Melbourne have scored 22 goals to Sydney-s 20.
In their 9 previous encounters in Melbourne, the Victory have won 4, Sydney have won 2 (3 draws); Melbourne have scored 13, Sydney have scored 10.
MELBOURNE V SYDNEY GRAND FINALS: For the first time in the Hyundai A-League, Melbourne take on Sydney in the Grand Final.
In 24 previous national league Grand Finals (NSL and Hyundai A-League), a Melbourne-based team has taken on a Sydney-based team four times, with Melbourne teams winning all previous Melbourne-Sydney Grand Final confrontations.
The last time a Melbourne-based team played a Sydney-based team in a national league Grand Final was in 1999, when South Melbourne defeated Sydney United 3-2 at Melbourne-s Olympic Park.
Hyundai A-League Grand Final flashbacks:
Hyundai A-League 2006 Grand Final
Sydney FC 1 (S.Corica 62′) Central Coast Mariners 0
at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 41,689.
Hyundai A-League 2007 Grand Final
Melbourne Victory 6 (A.Thompson 20’/29’/39’/56’/72′, K.Sarkies 93′) Adelaide United 0
at Telstra Dome. Crowd: 55,436.
Hyundai A-League 2008 Grand Final
Central Coast Mariners 0 Newcastle Jets 1 (M.Bridge 64′)
at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 36,354.
Hyundai A-League 2009 Grand Final
Melbourne Victory 1 (T.Pondeljak 60′) Adelaide United 0
at Etihad Stadium. Crowd: 53,273.
