Melbourne Victory FC Youth
Football club
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Melbourne Victory Football Club Youth is the youth system of Melbourne Victory based in Melbourne, Victoria. The team plays in the Victoria Premier League 1, the third level of the Australian soccer league system.
| Full name | Melbourne Victory Football Club Youth | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicknames | Victory, Victory NYL, Victory Youth | ||
| Short name | MVC | ||
| Founded | 2008 | ||
| Ground | The Home of the Matildas | ||
| Capacity | 3,000 | ||
| Chairman | John Dovaston | ||
| Manager | Boris Seroshtan | ||
| League | Victoria Premier League 1 A-League Youth | ||
| 2026 | 3rd of 14 | ||
| Website | http://www.melbournevictory.com.au | ||
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History
Beginnings of the youth team (2008–2014)
The youth team was founded in 2008, as a Melbourne Victory representative team for the inaugural season of the National Youth League competition, along with six other youth squads, and finished a disappointing sixth. The development side has had three managers, Mehmet Durakovic, who was promoted to manager of the senior squad in 2011, and current managers Darren Davies and John Aloisi. Davies led the youth side to its first silverware victory in winning the premiership plate, finishing first on the National Youth League ladder in the 2012-13 season. It would be current club chairman Anthony Di Pietro's first silverware victory as well. On 7 November 2014, it was confirmed that the team would compete in the National Premier Leagues Victoria 1 competition for 2015 season onwards.[1]
Victorian League systems (2015–2019)
Victory managed promotion at their first attempt, placing second in the NPL1 East division, going on to beat Moreland Zebras FC in the qualification playoff and then North Geelong Warriors FC in the promotion playoff. For the club's first season in the top tier of football in Victorian state football, Matt Hennessey and Ryan Lambert were signed from Hume City FC and Richmond SC respectively.[2] unfortunately Victory would finnish last place in their first time in the NPL Victoria.[3] this would lead to its relegation back down to NPL Victoria 2, now in the western division of NPL Victoria division 2. Victory would stay in NPL Victoria 2 for the next two years avoiding relegation before placing ninth place in 2019 relegating them to NPL Victoria 3.[4]
Post COVID years (2020–present)
Victory wouldn't get to play NPL Victoria 3 football in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6] Melbourne Victory would finally compete in NPL Victoria 3 in 2022, where Victory would finnish fourth place and qualifying them a promotional play-off. Victory would play Kingston City on 28 August 2022 where they would fall short after Faisal Sakhizada scored a lone goal for Kingston meaning Victory would compete in the NPL Victoria 3 for another year.[7] In 2023 Victory would place second in NPL Victoria 3 leading to the promotion of the club into the re-branded Victoria Premier League 1.[8] In 2024 Victory would be promoted in back-to-back years as well as becoming Champions of the Victoria Premier League 1.[9] Victory would be promoted into NPL Victoria. the top tier of Victorian Football. This was the first time Victory competed in the top tier of Victorian Football since 2016. Victory would enter the 2025 NPL Victoria season hoping to stay up. Victory would fight strong throughout the season with many instances where Victory would concede goals in the final minutes of the game, leading to Victory losing points throughout the season. One particular example of this was in February in a match against South Melbourne, when Victory had a goal lead in the 90+4th minute with only a minute left. In the 90+5th minute Victory would concede a goal to make the score 3-3 in a match that could've been major importance in Victory's Survival fight.[10] Unfortunately Victory would finish 12th place leading to the club's relegation back down to the Victoria Premier League 1.[11]
Youth/NPL current squad
- As of 12 February 2026[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Current staff
Head Coaches:
| Joe Palatsides | 1st Grade Head Coach |
| Rodrigo Vargas | U21 Head Coach |
| Andreas Papanicolaou | U18 Head Coach |
| Joaquín Moreno | U16 Head Coach |
| Matthew Sultana | U15 Head Coach |
| Rob Wielaert | U14 Head Coach |
| Tom Paton | Pre Academy Head Coach |
| Mark Topic | Pre Academy Head Coach |
| Isabella Santilli | Pre Academy Head Coach |
| Matt Fletcher | Pre Academy Head Coach |
| Brad Roberts | Pre Academy Head Coach |
| Reide Mulholland | Pre Academy Head Coach |
Staff:
| Joe Palatsides | Head of Academy Coaching |
| Andrew Kentepozidis | Academy Operations Manager |
| Jayden Anderson | Academy Sports Science Lead |
| Amelia Thomas | Academy Medical Lead |
| Sebastian Bechaud | Head of Academy Goalkeeping |
| Agim Sherifovski | Academy Assistant Coach |
| Piotr Rutkowski | Academy Assistant Coach |
| Mark Spiteri | Pre Academy Head Goalkeeping Coach |
| Ashley Wisneske | Pre Academy Goalkeeping Coach |
| Archie Thompson | Academy Development Coach |
| Fahid Ben Khalfallah | Academy Development Coach |
| Gaby Garton | Academy Development Coach |
| Joey Didulica | Academy Development Coach |
| Sasa Ognenovski | Academy Development Coach |
Honours
- Youth
- La Ionica Community Cup
- Winners (1): 2015
National Premier Leagues Victoria 2/ Victoria Premier Leagues 1 Premiership
National Premier Leagues Victoria 3 Premiership
- Runners-up (1): 2023
- Under-23s
- Academy
- National Premier Leagues Victoria U-20 Premiership
- Premiers (1): 2015
- National Premier Leagues Victoria 2 U-20 Premiership
National Premier Leagues Victoria U-18 Premiership
- Premiers (1): 2019
Stadiums
The team play their home matches at The Home of the Matildas in Melbourne's northern suburb of Bundoora. The stadium has a total capacity of 3,000, with a single grandstand of approximately 800 seats. Past venues used as a home ground by the club have been South Melbourne FC home ground Lakeside Stadium in Albert Park, Bentleigh Greens' Kingston Heath in Cheltenham, Northcote City's John Cain Memorial Park in Thornbury and Whittlesea Ranges' Epping Stadium in Epping. The team has also played competitive matches at Victory's senior team home venues, AAMI Park and Etihad Stadium.
Former players
This is a list of former Melbourne Victory Youth players, who have played at least 20 A-League competitive matches for the first team.
- As of 3 June 2025
| Name | Nationality | Position | Melbourne career | Appearances | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Ansell |  Australia | Defender | 2011–17, 2018–19, 2020–21 | 92 | 1 |
| Thomas Deng | Australia | Defender | 2015–2020 | 71 | 2 |
| Mate Dugandzic | Australia | Forward | 2009–11 | 36 | 7 |
| Diogo Ferreira | Australia | Midfielder | 2010–13 | 52 | 2 |
| Matthew Foschini | Australia | Defender | 2009–13 | 53 | 0 |
| Petar Franjic | Australia | Defender | 2010–13 | 31 | 0 |
| Scott Galloway | Australia | Defender | 2013–16 | 54 | 1 |
| Jason Geria | Australia | Defender | 2012–18, 2021–2025 | 189 | 4 |
| James Jeggo | Australia | Midfielder | 2011–14 | 30 | 2 |
| Mitchell Langerak | Australia | Goalkeeper | 2007–10 | 21 | 0 |
| Dylan Murnane | Australia | Defender | 2013–16 | 24 | 0 |
| Andrew Nabbout | Australia | Forward | 2012–15 | 37 | 5 |
| Sebastian Ryall | Australia | Defender | 2007–09 | 24 | 0 |
| Connor Pain | Australia | Forward | 2013–16 | 53 | 3 |
| Stefan Nigro | Australia | Midfielder | 2015–18, 2021–2024 | 69 | 0 |
| Lleyton Brooks | Australia |
Midfielder | 2020–2023 | 31 | 3 |
| Nishan Velupillay | Australia |
Forward | 2021– | 106 | 15 |
| Kasey Bos | Australia |
Defender | 2023– | 28 | 4 |
- Bold denotes players still playing in Melbourne Victory
- Appearances only consist of competitive domestic league appearances
Season by season history
Y League
| Season | League | Tms. | conf. size | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos | Finals | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-09 | National Youth League | 7 | N/A | 18 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 20 | 36 | -16 | 20 | 6th | DNQ | [13] |
| 2009-10 | National Youth League | 9 | N/A | 24 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 37 | -1 | 29 | 6th | DNQ | [14] |
| 2010-11 | National Youth League | 9 | N/A | 19 | 7 | 0 | 12 | 29 | 42 | -13 | 21 | 8th | N/A[notes 1] | [15] |
| 2011-12 | National Youth League | 10 | N/A | 18 | 4 | 3 | 11 | 15 | 34 | -19 | 15 | 10th | N/A[notes 1] | [16] |
| 2012-13 | National Youth League | 10 | N/A | 18 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 57 | 20 | +37 | 37 | 1st | N/A[notes 1] | [17] |
| 2013-14 | National Youth League | 10 | N/A | 18 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 50 | 36 | +14 | 31 | 3rd | N/A[notes 1] | [18] |
| 2014-15 | National Youth League | 10 | N/A | 18 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 34 | 33 | +1 | 27 | 5th | N/A[notes 1] | [19] |
| 2015-16 | National Youth League | 10 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 22 | -5 | 9 | 4th | DNQ | [20] |
| 2016-17 | National Youth League | 10 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 5 | 5th | DNQ | [21] |
| 2017-18 | National Youth League | 10 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 13 | 2nd | DNQ | [22] |
| 2018-19 | Y-League | 10 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 22 | -14 | 4 | 5th | DNQ | [23] |
| 2019-20 | Y-League | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 16 | +1 | 16 | 1st | Runner up | [24] |
| 2020-21 | Y-League | Tournament cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic[25] | ||||||||||||
| 2021-22 | A League Youth | |||||||||||||
| 2022-23 | A League Youth | No tournament[26] | ||||||||||||
| 2023-24 | A League Youth | |||||||||||||
| 2024-25 | A League Youth | |||||||||||||
| 2025-26 | A League Youth | |||||||||||||
National Premier Leagues
| Season | League | Tier | Tms. | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Pos | Pro/Rel | NPL Finals | ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | NPL VIC 1 East | 2 | 10 | 28 | 17 | 4 | 7 | 87 | 44 | +43 | 55 | 2nd | Pro (play off) | DNQ | [27] |
| 2016 | NPL Victoria | 1 | 14 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 24 | 68 | -44 | 4[notes 2] | 14th | relegated | DNQ | [3] |
| 2017 | NPL VIC 2 West | 2 | 10 | 28 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 55 | 56 | -1 | 29 | 9th | n/a | DNQ | [28] |
| 2018 | NPL VIC 2 West | 2 | 10 | 28 | 11 | 4 | 13 | 48 | 54 | -6 | 34[notes 3] | 7th | n/a | DNQ | [29] |
| 2019 | NPL VIC 2 West | 2 | 10 | 28 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 36 | 48 | -12 | 25 | 9th | relegated | DNQ | [4] |
| 2020 | NPL Victoria 3 | 3 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[5] | ||||||||||||
| 2021 | NPL Victoria 3 | 3 | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.[6] | ||||||||||||
| 2022 | NPL Victoria 3 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 11 | 5 | 6 | 38 | 27 | +11 | 38 | 4th | n/a | DNQ | [30] |
| 2023 | NPL Victoria 3 | 3 | 12 | 22 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 47 | 22 | +25 | 42 | 2nd | Promoted[8] | DNQ | [31] |
| 2024 | VPL 1 | 2 | 14 | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 66 | 39 | +27 | 52 | 1st | Promoted[9] | DNQ | [32] |
| 2025 | NPL Victoria | 1 | 14 | 26 | 5 | 3 | 18 | 36 | 60 | -24 | 18 | 12th | relegated[11] | DNQ | [33] |
Managerial history
| Dates | Name | Notes | Honours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 – 12 March 2011 |  Mehmet Durakovic |
Inaugural manager First dual-nationality manager First manager to be directly promoted to manager of the senior squad |
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| 20 March 2011 – 30 May 2016 |  Darren Davies[34] |
First official foreign manager First manager to earn honours |
2012–13 NYL Premiership[35] |
| 30 May 2016 – 22 February 2020[36] |  Gareth Naven[37] |
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| 12 September 2025 – Present |  Besart Beriahsa[38] |