A Melbourne Victory midfielder is flying under the radar this season – and he could prove pivotal to their hopes of stunning Premiers Auckland FC to reach the 2025 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final. aleagues.com.au highlights the stats behind the 22-year-old’s sensational season so far.
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May 25, 2024: Central Coast Mariners overcome Melbourne Victory in a classic Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final encounter.
The night belonged to the Mariners, who came from behind to defeat Victory in extra-time, but while the stars of Central Coast’s treble-winning side wrote the headlines and stole the spotlight, a young Victory midfielder came out of the game with his reputation significantly enhanced after a magnificent display that almost sent his side to the promised land.
That player was a 21-year-old Jordi Valadon.
Used as a substitute in 10 of his 11 regular season appearances last season, Valadon made three consecutive starts in the Finals Series under former head coach Tony Popovic.
In the Grand Final, he assisted Jason Geria’s 50th-minute goal and, if not for a Ryan Edmondson equaliser in the final minute of regular time, Valadon might’ve contended for the Joe Marston Medal as the best player afield in a 1-0 Grand Final triumph.
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In the end, it wasn’t to be for Valadon and Victory; Edmondson scored again in extra-time, as did Miguel Di Pizio as the Mariners ran out 3-1 winners in the title decider.
But despite the heartbreak of Grand Final defeat, Valadon solidified his status as a player to watch in the future – and he’s built on that memorable Finals Series with a breakout season at Victory in 2024-25, running the midfield alongside Socceroo Ryan Teague.
His performances so often go under the radar as he goes about his business next to Teague in Victory’s engine room, but following yet another impressive finals performance against Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend, the now-22-year-old is becoming impossible to ignore.
Now, he and Teague will look to help Victory through a stern Semi-Final test against Premiers Auckland FC to reach the Grand Final for a second consecutive season.
Valadon’s importance to Victory’s title hopes in 2025 was highlighted by the reaction of his head coach Arthur Diles and teammate Daniel Arzani in the aftermath of Saturday’s 2-1 Elimination Final win over the Wanderers.
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As pundits and journalists asked both Diles and Arzani to speak to the special performance of the likes of Teague, Arzani himself and star winger Nishan Velupillay – Victory’s trio of current Socceroos – both Arzani and Diles ensured Valadon’s name wasn’t forgotten in the conversation of key contributors to Victory’s cause.
“(Teague) was very good,” Diles said post-game. “He and Jordi Valadon were both excellent. That was the foundation (of) why we were successful tonight.”
On Network 10’s post-game show, former A-Leagues striker Roy O’Donovan highlighted Victory’s Socceroos trio of Arzani, Velupillay and Teague, and their influence on the 2-1 win, while interviewing Arzani.
“You spoke about me, you spoke about Teague, you spoke about Nish (Velupillay) as well,” Arzani said.
“But I think there are a lot of unsung heroes in the team as well.
“I think (Josh) Inserra, a young boy who has come in, has been unbelievable every game, for me personally.
“Valadon, to the end there fighting and winning balls. It’s the team as a whole, everyone put in an amazing shift tonight, and tactically we were good.”
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Victory legend Archie Thompson then built off Arzani’s post-game message to highlight Valadon’s influence on the Elimination Finals win.
“Valadon, like Arzani said in that interview, he was just as good in this game too as Ryan Teague,” Thompson said.
“Their effort to get back and forward is amazing, and when you have that mobility in the middle of the park, it makes it so much easier for your defenders to get a ball in.”
Valadon’s numbers this season tell the story of a player who, after bursting onto the scene in the high stakes of a Finals Series last season, has quietly and quickly become one of Victory’s most important players.
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He played just 513 match minutes last season, starting just four of 15 games. This season, he’s played more minutes than any player at the club, with his 2,290 minutes coming from 27 games, and 26 starts.
Valadon has made more tackles (71) than any Victory player this season – the fifth-highest tally in the Isuzu UTE A-League – and has won possession in midfield more times (70) than any of his teammates.
He and Teague are ninth and seventh respectively on the league’s list of players with the most passes in the opposition half; Valadon’s 722 attacking-half passes for the season have been played at an accuracy of 85.9%, the highest of any player in the league’s top 10.
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Teague and Valadon sit in Victory’s top three for interceptions and winning possession throughout the 2024-25 campaign, while only Daniel Arzani and Zinedine Machach (six) have notched more assists than Valadon’s four for the club this season.
Seven months ago, in the early rounds of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season, former A-Leagues striker and current commentator/analyst Daniel McBreen highlighted Valadon and Teague as a midfield combination to watch this season, and likened the Victory pair to their 2024 Grand Final foes: Josh Nisbet and Max Balard.
Together, Nisbet and Balard were the standout midfield pairing of 2023-24. Nisbet won the Johnny Warren Medal off the back of an outstanding season; he earned a move to Scottish club Ross County, while Balard departed the Mariners to join Dutch club NAC Breda.
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Balard and Nisbet won the 2024 Grand Final after battling Teague and Valadon in midfield – Victory’s newly-formed midfield duo that has flourished in the season following that night in May, 2024.
McBreen’s analysis of the Victory midfield partnership on an episode of The Tactician in October set the tone for what was to come from the Isuzu UTE A-League’s new dominant midfield duo.
“They are a great partnership brewing here,” McBreen said in February.
“These two are always around the edge of the box, and they are the first (people) to get on the edge of the box and win those balls.
“Valadon and Teague are forming a great relationship at the moment… these two, they look very similar in stature and in their partnership brewing to me of the two Championship-winning midfielders for the Mariners in Josh Nisbet and Max Balard.
“If they can go on to be like those two, well, it’s a very exciting time for Melbourne Victory.”
On Saturday night, McBreen was in the commentary box for Victory’s win over the Wanderers.
A lung-busting run into defence to break up possession from Valadon, late in the second half, allowed both McBreen and commentatory Simon Hill to marvel at the young midfielder’s performance – and gave McBreen the chance to harken back to those early-season comments.
“That energy from Jordi Valadon in defence has been outstanding in this second half,” McBreen said.
“He’s had a great season,” Hill replied.
“Oh, he has,” McBreen continued.
“And I know he probably goes under the limelight a little bit, because so many people are talking about Ryan Teague. But as a duo, and I said this earlier in the season, they remind me of Josh Nisbet and Max Balard.
“They worked so well together, and in stature, they’re so similar as well.”
Valadon and Victory will take on Auckland FC for a place in the Grand Final across a two-legged Semi-Final tie.
As the lowest placed Elimination Final Winner, Victory will host Premiers Auckland FC at home in the first leg of their Semi-Final showdown on Saturday 17 May, before the return leg at Go Media Stadium on Saturday 24 May.
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Semi-Final ticket details
Ticket details for Isuzu UTE A-League Semi-Finals are as follows:
Auckland FC v Melbourne Victory – Leg 1 and Leg 2
- Melbourne Victory vs Auckland FC (leg 1): member pre-sale begins at 10am AEST on Monday 12 May, and for the general public from 1pm AEST on Tuesday 13 May.
- Auckland FC vs Melbourne Victory (leg 2): tickets for Auckland FC members are on sale now, while tickets for away club fans go on sale at 10am AEST / 12pm NZT on Monday 12 May. General public tickets will go on sale at 1pm AEST / 3pm NZT on Tuesday 13 May.
How to watch the Isuzu UTE A-League Finals Series
For Australian viewers, the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025 Finals Series matches will be shown live across a mix of Network 10, 10 Play and Paramount+.
For New Zealand viewers, every match of the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025 Finals Series, including Auckland FC, is available live on Sky Sport and streamed on Sky Sport Now.
