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2020–21 A-League

44th season of top-tier soccer league in Australia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2020–21 A-League was the 44th season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 16th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season was started on 28 December 2020 and concluded with the Grand Final on 27 June 2021.[3] The start of the season was later than previous seasons as a result of both the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand.[4] Wellington Phoenix played the majority of their home matches at Wollongong Showground in Wollongong due to international travel restrictions.[5]

Season2020–21
Dates28 December 2020 – 27 June 2021
ChampionsMelbourne City (1st title)
PremiersMelbourne City (1st title)
Quick facts Season, Dates ...
A-League
Season2020–21
Dates28 December 2020 – 27 June 2021
ChampionsMelbourne City (1st title)
PremiersMelbourne City (1st title)
Champions LeagueMelbourne City
Sydney FC
Matches161
Goals471 (2.93 per match)
Top goalscorerJamie Maclaren
(25 goals)
Biggest home winMelbourne City 7–0 Melbourne Victory
(17 April 2021)
Biggest away winMelbourne Victory 0–6 Melbourne City
(6 March 2021)
Highest scoringWestern United 5–4 Perth Glory
(23 January 2021)
Melbourne Victory 5–4 WSW
(23 April 2021)
Longest winning run6 matches
Adelaide United
Melbourne City
Longest unbeaten run11 matches
Wellington Phoenix
Longest winless run14 matches
Newcastle Jets
Longest losing run8 matches
Western United
Highest attendance24,105[1]
WEL 3–0 WUN
(22 May 2021)
Lowest attendance550
WUN 1–2 MAC
(31 May 2021) [2]
Total attendance879,039[1]
Average attendance5,745[1] ( 3,683)
(Note: Longest run statistics do not include finals)
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Melbourne Rectangular Stadium interior

Sydney FC were the defending champions and premiers, having won their record fifth and fourth titles respectively the previous season. Melbourne City won their first premiership and championship title, leaving Sydney FC in second on both.

Clubs

There were 12 clubs participating in this season. Macarthur FC made their A-League debut this season.[6]

More information Club, City ...
Club City Home stadium(s) Capacity
Adelaide United Adelaide Coopers Stadium 16,500
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Moreton Daily Stadium 11,500
Central Coast Mariners Gosford Central Coast Stadium 20,059
Macarthur FC Sydney Campbelltown Stadium 20,000
Melbourne City Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Marvel Stadium 56,347
AAMI Park 30,050
Newcastle Jets Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 33,000
Coffs Harbour C.ex Coffs International Stadium 20,000
Perth Glory Perth HBF Park 20,500
Sydney FC Sydney Stadium Australia 83,500
Sydney Cricket Ground 48,601
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium 20,500
Leichhardt Oval 20,000
Wellington Phoenix Auckland Eden Park 50,000
Wellington Sky Stadium 34,500
Newcastle McDonald Jones Stadium 33,000
Wollongong WIN Stadium 23,000
Western Sydney Wanderers Sydney Bankwest Stadium 30,000
Western United Geelong GMHBA Stadium 26,000[a]
Melbourne AAMI Park 30,050
Launceston UTAS Stadium 19,000
Ballarat Mars Stadium 11,000
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Personnel and kits

More information Team, Manager ...
Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Kit sponsor
Adelaide United Australia Carl Veart Australia Stefan Mauk UCAN[10] Flinders University[11]
Australian Outdoor Living[A][12]
Brisbane Roar Australia Warren Moon Scotland Tom Aldred Umbro[13][14] ActronAir[15]
Central Coast Mariners Australia Alen Stajcic Australia Oliver Bozanic Umbro[16][17] Masterfoods[18]
MATE[A][19]
Macarthur FC Australia Ante Milicic Australia Mark Milligan Macron[20] Wisdom Homes[21]
Melbourne City Australia Patrick Kisnorbo Australia Scott Jamieson Puma[22] Etihad Airways[23][24]
Melbourne Victory Scotland Steve Kean (caretaker) Australia Leigh Broxham Adidas[25] Metricon[26]
Newcastle Jets Australia Craig Deans Australia Nigel Boogaard Apelle[27] Inspirations Paint[28]
Perth Glory Australia Richard Garcia Spain Diego Castro Macron[29] BHP[30]
Sydney FC Australia Steve Corica Australia Alex Wilkinson Under Armour[31][32] The Star[33]
Wellington Phoenix Australia Ufuk Talay Mexico Ulises Dávila Paladin Sports[34] KPMG[35]
Multi Civil and Rail[36]
Western Sydney Wanderers Wales Carl Robinson Australia Dylan McGowan Kappa[37] Voltaren[38]
JD Sports[A][39]
Western United Australia Marko Rudan Italy Alessandro Diamanti Kappa[40] Simonds Homes[41]
Tasman Logistics[A][42]
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  • ^
    Away kit.

    • Managerial changes

    More information Team, Outgoing manager ...
    Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position on table Incoming manager Date of appointment
    Macarthur FC Inaugural manager Pre-season Australia Ante Milicic[43] 15 May 2019
    Melbourne Victory Scotland Grant Brebner (caretaker) Promoted to full time 24 August 2020 Scotland Grant Brebner[44] 24 August 2020
    Perth Glory Australia Tony Popovic Signed by Xanthi[45] 27 August 2020 Australia Hayden Foxe (caretaker)[46] 2 September 2020
    Melbourne City France Erick Mombaerts Resigned 3 September 2020 Australia Patrick Kisnorbo[47] 3 September 2020
    Adelaide United Australia Carl Veart (caretaker) Promoted to full time 18 September 2020 Australia Carl Veart[48] 18 September 2020
    Perth Glory Australia Hayden Foxe (caretaker) End of contract 18 September 2020 Australia Richard Garcia[49] 18 September 2020
    Western Sydney Wanderers Australia Jean-Paul de Marigny Sacked[50] 12 October 2020 Wales Carl Robinson[51] 15 October 2020
    Newcastle Jets Wales Carl Robinson Signed by Western Sydney Wanderers[52] 15 October 2020 Australia Craig Deans[b][54] 16 October 2020
    Melbourne Victory Scotland Grant Brebner Sacked[55] 17 April 2021 12th Scotland Steve Kean (caretaker)[56] 19 April 2021
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    1. [a]
      The stadium will be undergoing construction during the season, which will reduce the stadium's capacity to around 26,000.[7][8] The stadium will have a capacity of 40,000 once construction is complete.[9]
    2. [b]
      Deans was initially appointed as interim coach, but the move was made permanent on 10 February 2021.[53]

    Foreign players

    More information Club, Visa 1 ...
    Club Visa 1 Visa 2 Visa 3 Visa 4 Visa 5 Non-visa foreigner(s) Former player(s)
    Adelaide United Denmark Michael Jakobsen Spain Juande Spain Javi López Burundi Pacifique Niyongabire2
    Brisbane Roar England Macaulay Gillesphey Republic of Ireland Jay O'Shea Japan Riku Danzaki Japan Masato Kudo Scotland Tom Aldred England Jamie Young2
    New Zealand Joe Champness2
    Sri Lanka Jack Hingert2    		 New Zealand Jai Ingham2
    Central Coast Mariners Costa Rica Marco Ureña Poland Michał Janota Serbia Stefan Janković Fiji Dan Hall2
    New Zealand Gianni Stensness2
    Macarthur FC England Matt Derbyshire France Loïc Puyo Spain Beñat Spain Markel Susaeta Cyprus Antonis Martis2
    Melbourne City England Craig Noone France Florin Berenguer Japan Naoki Tsubaki Portugal Nuno Reis Uruguay Adrián Luna North Macedonia Stefan Colakovski2 North Macedonia Daniel Georgievski2
    Melbourne Victory Benin Rudy Gestede England Jacob Butterfield England Callum McManaman New Zealand Marco Rojas Burundi Elvis Kamsoba2
    Ivory Coast Adama Traoré1
    New Zealand Max Crocombe2
    New Zealand Storm Roux2    		 England Ryan Shotton
    Newcastle Jets Iraq Ali Abbas1
    Republic of Ireland Roy O'Donovan1
    South Sudan Valentino Yuel2    		 Indonesia Syahrian Abimanyu
    Malaysia Liridon Krasniqi
    Perth Glory Curaçao Darryl Lachman Germany Sebastian Langkamp Japan Kosuke Ota Spain Diego Castro Uruguay Bruno Fornaroli Republic of Ireland Andy Keogh1
    New Zealand Dane Ingham2
    Sydney FC Brazil Bobô England Adam Le Fondre Germany Alexander Baumjohann New Zealand Kosta Barbarouses Serbia Miloš Ninković
    Wellington Phoenix England David Ball England Steven Taylor Israel Tomer Hemed Mexico Ulises Dávila
    Western Sydney Wanderers England Jordon Mutch Germany Nicolai Müller Scotland Graham Dorrans Scotland Ziggy Gordon Germany Patrick Ziegler1 Republic of Ireland Simon Cox
    North Macedonia Daniel Georgievski2
    Western United Italy Alessandro Diamanti Japan Tomoki Imai Poland Filip Kurto Spain Iker Guarrotxena Spain Víctor Sánchez England Kaine Sheppard1
    Kosovo Besart Berisha1
    New Zealand Andrew Durante2
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    The following do not fill a Visa position:
    1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian citizenship (or New Zealand citizenship, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);[57]
    2Australian citizens (or New Zealand citizens, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
    3Injury replacement players, or National team replacement players;
    4Guest players (eligible to play a maximum of fourteen games)

    Salary cap exemptions and captains

    More information Club, First Designated ...
    Club First Designated Second Designated Captain Vice-Captain
    Adelaide United None None Australia Stefan Mauk[58] Australia Jordan Elsey
    Australia Ben Halloran[59]
    Brisbane Roar None None Scotland Tom Aldred[60] None
    Central Coast Mariners Australia Daniel De Silva[61][62] None Australia Oliver Bozanic[63] None
    Macarthur FC Australia Mark Milligan[64] None Australia Mark Milligan[65] None
    Melbourne City Australia Jamie Maclaren[66] None Australia Scott Jamieson[67] None
    Melbourne Victory Australia Robbie Kruse[68] None Australia Leigh Broxham[69] None
    Newcastle Jets None None Australia Nigel Boogaard[70][71] Australia Nikolai Topor-Stanley[72]
    Perth Glory Spain Diego Castro[73][74] Uruguay Bruno Fornaroli[75] Spain Diego Castro[76] Australia Neil Kilkenny[77]
    Sydney FC None None Australia Alex Wilkinson[78] None
    Wellington Phoenix Israel Tomer Hemed[79] None Mexico Ulises Dávila[80] New Zealand Alex Rufer[80]
    Western Sydney Wanderers None None Australia Dylan McGowan[81] None
    Western United Italy Alessandro Diamanti[82] None Italy Alessandro Diamanti[82][83] Australia Tomislav Uskok[83]
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    Transfers

    Further information: A-League transfers for 2020–21 season

    Regular season

    The regular season commenced on 28 December 2020 and ended on 10 June 2021.

    League table

    More information Pos, Pld ...
    Pos Team
    		 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
    1 Melbourne City (C) 26 15 4 7 57 32 +25 49 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League group stage and finals series[a]
    2 Sydney FC 26 13 8 5 39 23 +16 47 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and finals series[a]
    3 Central Coast Mariners 26 12 6 8 35 31 +4 42 Qualification for finals series[a]
    4 Brisbane Roar 26 11 7 8 36 28 +8 40
    5 Adelaide United 26 11 6 9 39 41 −2 39
    6 Macarthur FC 26 11 6 9 33 36 −3 39
    7 Wellington Phoenix[b] 26 10 8 8 44 34 +10 38
    8 Western Sydney Wanderers 26 9 8 9 45 43 +2 35
    9 Perth Glory 26 9 7 10 44 44 0 34 Qualification for 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[c]
    10 Western United 26 8 4 14 30 47 −17 28
    11 Newcastle Jets 26 5 6 15 24 38 −14 21
    12 Melbourne Victory 26 5 4 17 31 60 −29 19 Qualification for 2022 AFC Champions League qualifying play-offs and 2021 FFA Cup play-offs[d]
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    Source: A-Leagues
    Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Least red cards; 5) Least yellow cards; 6) Toss of a coin in an event of a tie of two clubs.
    (C) Champions
    Notes:
    1. [a]
      The top two teams entered the finals series at the semi-finals, while the teams ranked third to sixth entered the finals series at the elimination-finals.
    2. [b]
      Wellington Phoenix cannot qualify for Asian Football Confederation competitions as they are based in New Zealand, which is under the Oceania Football Confederation.
    3. [c]
      The top 8 teams qualified for the round of 32, while the bottom four teams participated in a playoff round.[84]
    4. [d]
      Qualified as the 2021 FFA Cup winners.

    Fixtures and results

    More information Home \ Away, ADE ...
    Home \ Away ADE BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW WUN ADE BRI CCM MAC MCY MVC NEW PER SYD WEL WSW WUN
    Adelaide United 1–0 3–2 3–1 2–0 1–0 2–1 1–2 1–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–4 2–2
    Brisbane Roar 3–1 0–0 0–2 0–1 5–2 0–0 2–1 1–1 0–0 1–1 2–1 3–0 0–2
    Central Coast Mariners 2–1 0–4 2–0 3–2 1–1 1–0 2–2 2–2 1–2 0–1 3–2 0–2 2–0
    Macarthur FC 4–0 1–2 0–2 1–1 3–1 2–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 2–2 2–1 1–2 0–3
    Melbourne City 4–1 3–2 2–0 3–0 7–0 3–1 1–3 3–2 2–2 4–1 2–1 1–0 1–2
    Melbourne Victory 1–3 1–3 1–1 1–2 0–6 0–1 2–1 0–3 2–0 5–4 3–4 0–1 1–1
    Newcastle Jets 1–4 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–2 0–1 1–2 1–1
    Perth Glory 5–3 3–1 1–2 0–0 1–3 2–1 2–1 1–1 1–3 5–1 3–0 2–1 1–1
    Sydney FC 2–2 0–0 0–2 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 1–0 2–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–0
    Wellington Phoenix 2–1 1–1 0–2 0–1 2–3 4–1 1–2 3–0 1–2 2–2 3–2 2–2 3–0
    Western Sydney Wanderers 2–3 1–2 2–2 0–1 0–2 2–0 1–1 3–0 3–2 4–3 5–0 2–0 1–2
    Western United 0–0 1–0 1–0 4–1 2–1 0–0 2–0 5–4 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–6
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    Source: A-League
    Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
    For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

    Finals series

    Main article: 2021 A-League finals series
     
    		Elimination-finalsSemi-finalsGrand Final
     
    		          
     
     
     
     
    		20 June – Sydney
     
     
    		Melbourne City2
     
    		12 June – Gosford
     
    		Macarthur FC0
     
    		Central Coast Mariners0
     
    		27 June – Melbourne
     
    		Macarthur FC2
     
    		Melbourne City3
     
     
    		Sydney FC1
     
     
    		19 June – Sydney
     
     
    		Sydney FC2
     
    		13 June – Brisbane
     
    		Adelaide United1
     
    		Brisbane Roar1
     
     
    		Adelaide United2
     

    Elimination-finals

    More information Central Coast Mariners, 0–2 (a.e.t.) ...
    Central Coast Mariners0–2 (a.e.t.)Macarthur FC
    Report
    Close
    Attendance: 11,565
    Referee: Shaun Evans
    More information Brisbane Roar, 1–2 ...
    Brisbane Roar1–2Adelaide United
    		 Report
    Close
    Attendance: 7,782
    Referee: Alex King

    Semi-finals

    More information Sydney FC, 2–1 ...
    Sydney FC2–1Adelaide United
    		 Report
    Close
    Attendance: 7,500
    More information Melbourne City, 2–0 ...
    Melbourne City2–0Macarthur FC
    		 Report
    Close
    Attendance: 2,283
    Referee: Daniel Elder

    Grand Final

    See also: 2021 A-League Grand Final
    More information Melbourne City, 3–1 ...
    Melbourne City3–1Sydney FC
    		 Report Barbarouses 21'
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    Attendance: 14,017
    Referee: Chris Beath

    Statistics

    Top scorers

    Including Finals matches[85]

    More information Rank, Player ...
    RankPlayerClubGoals
    1 Australia Jamie Maclaren Melbourne City 25
    2 England Matt Derbyshire Macarthur FC 14
    3 Uruguay Bruno Fornaroli Perth Glory 13
    4 Brazil Bobô Sydney FC 12
    5 Israel Tomer Hemed Wellington Phoenix 11
    6 Australia Matt Simon Central Coast Mariners 10
    7 New Zealand Kosta Barbarouses Sydney FC 9
    Japan Riku Danzaki Brisbane Roar
    Australia Tomi Juric Adelaide United
    Australia Bruce Kamau Western Sydney Wanderers
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    Hat-tricks

    Main article: List of A-League hat-tricks
    More information Player, For ...
    PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef.
    England Matt DerbyshireMacarthur FCAdelaide United4–0 (H)12 February 2021[86]
    Australia Tomi Juric Adelaide UnitedCentral Coast Mariners3–2 (H)19 February 2021[87]
    Australia Jamie Maclaren5 Melbourne CityMelbourne Victory7–0 (H)17 April 2021[88]
    Republic of Ireland Andy Keogh4 Perth GloryWestern Sydney Wanderers5–1 (H)16 May 2021[89]
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    More information Key, (H) ...
    Key
    4 Player scored four goals
    5 Player scored five goals
    (H) Home team
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    Awards

    Annual awards

    The following end of the season awards were announced at the 2020–21 Dolan Warren Awards night on 23 June 2021.[90]

    Team of the season

    More information Team of the season, Goalkeeper ...
    Team of the season
    Goalkeeper Australia Adam Federici (Macarthur FC)
    Defenders Australia Rhyan Grant (Sydney FC) Australia Ruon Tongyik (Central Coast Mariners) Australia Curtis Good (Melbourne City) Australia Scott Jamieson (Melbourne City)
    Midfielders Australia Oliver Bozanic (Central Coast Mariners) Mexico Ulises Dávila (Wellington Phoenix) Australia Connor Metcalfe (Melbourne City)
    Forwards England Matt Derbyshire (Macarthur FC) Australia Jamie Maclaren (Melbourne City) England Craig Noone (Melbourne City)
    Substitutes Australia Mark Birighitti (Central Coast Mariners) Australia Ryan Strain (Adelaide United) Australia Luke Brattan (Sydney FC) Australia Matt Simon (Central Coast Mariners) Australia Ryan McGowan (Sydney FC) Serbia Miloš Ninković (Sydney FC) Republic of Ireland Jay O'Shea (Brisbane Roar)
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    See also

    References

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