Melbourne Heart FC
Encyclopedia
Melbourne Heart FC is an Australia
n professional football (soccer) club based in Melbourne
, Victoria
. Founded in 2008, the club has competed in the A-League, the highest division of football in Australia, since its inaugural 2010–2011
season. It is the twelfth club to have played in the league. It plays its home matches at AAMI Park, which it shares with crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory
, with whom they contest the Melbourne derby
.
From its initiation, Melbourne Heart was built on the philosophy of producing an attractive brand of football and pledging its commitment to developing the growth of young talent in Australian players.
in their second A-League
season suggested to the FFA
that the Melbourne market could support a second A-League side, but due to a five year exclusivity clause that exists to protect the original 8 A-League sides, no new Melbourne team could be introduced until the 2010/11 season.
During February 2007, Victorian Major Projects Minister Theo Theophanous
floated the idea of a second Melbourne franchise being formed, to be a founding tenant at the newly built ground Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
, as Victory were reluctant to sign a full tenancy with the stadium.
On 12 February 2007, South Melbourne FC
revealed that they were courting approaches from private investors with the prospect of being the second A-League club based in Melbourne. As part of the South Melbourne bid, the club was to be privatised and the bid name was to be 'Southern Cross FC'.
On 1 March 2008 former Carlton Football Club
vice-president and businessman Colin DeLutis expressed his interest in a second Melbourne A-League side, with an approach to the FFA to become sole owner of the second licence with the bid name of 'Melbourne City'. FFA chief executive Ben Buckley raised the possibility of expanding the A-League from 8 to 12 teams in May 2008, in readiness for the 2009-10 season. Buckley also revealed the existence of a third Melbourne bid tentatively known as 'Melbourne Heart' backed by Peter Sidwell, who had some former involvement with Melbourne Victory as a potential investor, to compete with the two other bids of Southern Cross FC and Melbourne City.
On 25 July 2008, the Melbourne City bid dropped out of the bidding process leaving the Melbourne Heart and Southern Cross FC bids as the last two bids standing. By September 2008, the Melbourne Heart bid was awarded exclusive negotiating rights for the league's 11th licence, beating out the South Melbourne-backed Southern Cross FC bid. Negotiations continued until Sidwell's group was awarded the licence to join the A-League's 2010–11 season by the FFA on 12 June 2009.
in the Heart's second league game, a 1–1 draw against Newcastle Jets. Melbourne Heart's first win was a 1–0 defeat of , which came in the fifth round of their first A-League season on 4 September 2010. They contested the first ever Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory
on 8 October 2010, and won 2-1. In the middle of their season, they went seven matches without winning (six losses and a draw) and over five hours without scoring a goal. This was turned around when they travelled to play Adelaide United and beat them 2-1 in the final five minutes, despite trailing at 1-0 for all of the second half up to that time. Heart finished their first season on equal points with Newcastle Jets, but behind on goal difference in eighth position. They failed to make it into the top six teams to reach the finals, despite sitting in sixth position for majority of the season.
teamed up with the Melbourne Heart for a three-year agreement believed to be worth close to $2 million. They are be their principal partner, the Westpac
logo appears on the front of the 'Home' and 'Away' Melbourne Heart kits. The club also hosts 3 'Westpac' community camps, annually across regional Victoria
. Drake International, Metlink
and PKF
are the major sponsors of the club.
On 1 September 2011 ParkTrent was announced as the Melbourne Heart FC's youth teams primary sponsor. CEO Scott Munn said that the deal is the "largest ever National Youth League corporate partnership". ParkTrent is a well established company for property investment in Australia established by Ron Cross in 1989 and is committed to all aspects of the property market.
. John Aloisi
is the inaugural youth team head coach, while highly respected Victorian coach Arthur Papas is his assistant. On 23 October 2011 the team won their first ever competitive match. The result was 2-0 against main rivals, the Melbourne Victory
youth, with Stipo Andrijasevic and Zac Walker the scorers.
gave the public the opportunity to submit their preferences for the name of the new Melbourne team. The preferred names were released on the Herald Sun website on 13 November 2009. The four options were 'Sporting Melbourne FC', 'Melburnians', 'Melbourne Revolution' and 'Melbourne Heart FC'. Some pondered if 'Revolution' had some context considering its intimation to the Eureka Stockade
, the closest Australia has come to revolution. The name of the new club was to be announced before the end of 2009, but this was delayed until early 2010 due to AFL
objections to the use of the words Melbourne, Football and Club in the name. The Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation expressed concern that the name Melbourne Heart was too similar to its annual Heart of Melbourne Appeal, and lodged a protest with IP Australia in January 2010. The club's badge was lodged to IP Australia the same month by the FFA, and on 2 February 2010, the name of the club was announced as Melbourne Heart FC.
Initially, a colour scheme of either black and white, or red and white were the two options for the club. The eventual choice was red and white stripes, with a red sash on white for the away kit. The design for the team's third kit was chosen from entries submitted by fans.
and National Rugby League
club Melbourne Storm
. Melbourne Heart base its training and administrative facilities at La Trobe University
. CEO Scott Munn indicated a preference to have the players housed at the one location.
. Although there are many state or regional rivalries, this is the first and only local city derby in the A-League. The first match between the two clubs saw Melbourne Heart win 2-1 in front of a sold out AAMI Park crowd of over 25,000 spectators.
The rivalry became more intense in the third edition on 22 January 2011, when Victory's Kevin Muscat
made a mis-timed tackle on Heart's Adrian Zahra
, which earnt Muscat a red card and an eight-week suspension, and was the direct cause of a season-ending knee injury to Zahra. The rivalry has reached new heights off the field with rival supporters "declaring war on the streets" with a Melbourne Victory supporter group stealing a "Yarraside" banner and in retaliation, Heart supporters attempted to kidnap a Victory supporter in a reprisal attack.
For details of former players, see List of Melbourne Heart players.
Australia John Aloisi
Josip Skoko
Michael Beauchamp
Netherlands Gerald Sibon
Biggest Loss = 0-4 Brisbane Roar, 25 September 2010
Largest Home Attendance = 25,897 v Melbourne Victory, 8 October 2010
Lowest Home Attendance= 2,754 v Newcastle Jets, 8 December 2010
1FFA Cup
scheduled to commence in March 2012.
Football department
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional football (soccer) club based in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Founded in 2008, the club has competed in the A-League, the highest division of football in Australia, since its inaugural 2010–2011
2010–11 A-League
The 2010–11 A-League season is the sixth season of the Australian football championship since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 February 2011. The addition of brought the total number of teams to 11...
season. It is the twelfth club to have played in the league. It plays its home matches at AAMI Park, which it shares with crosstown rivals Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
, with whom they contest the Melbourne derby
Melbourne derby
The Melbourne Derby is currently the only intra-city local derby in Australia's premier Association football competition, the A-League, between the two Melbourne teams in the competition, Melbourne Victory and Melbourne Heart. It is the A-League's first intra-city derby, and although only one...
.
From its initiation, Melbourne Heart was built on the philosophy of producing an attractive brand of football and pledging its commitment to developing the growth of young talent in Australian players.
Bidding process
Large crowd numbers for Melbourne VictoryMelbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
in their second A-League
A-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
season suggested to the FFA
Football Federation Australia
Football Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
that the Melbourne market could support a second A-League side, but due to a five year exclusivity clause that exists to protect the original 8 A-League sides, no new Melbourne team could be introduced until the 2010/11 season.
During February 2007, Victorian Major Projects Minister Theo Theophanous
Theo Theophanous
Theo Charles Theophanous is a former Australian politician who served in the Victorian Legislative Council representing the Northern Metropolitan Region. He is the brother of former federal politician Andrew Theophanous...
floated the idea of a second Melbourne franchise being formed, to be a founding tenant at the newly built ground Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field on Olympic Boulevard in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct, in inner Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, as Victory were reluctant to sign a full tenancy with the stadium.
On 12 February 2007, South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC
South Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...
revealed that they were courting approaches from private investors with the prospect of being the second A-League club based in Melbourne. As part of the South Melbourne bid, the club was to be privatised and the bid name was to be 'Southern Cross FC'.
On 1 March 2008 former Carlton Football Club
Carlton Football Club
The Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
vice-president and businessman Colin DeLutis expressed his interest in a second Melbourne A-League side, with an approach to the FFA to become sole owner of the second licence with the bid name of 'Melbourne City'. FFA chief executive Ben Buckley raised the possibility of expanding the A-League from 8 to 12 teams in May 2008, in readiness for the 2009-10 season. Buckley also revealed the existence of a third Melbourne bid tentatively known as 'Melbourne Heart' backed by Peter Sidwell, who had some former involvement with Melbourne Victory as a potential investor, to compete with the two other bids of Southern Cross FC and Melbourne City.
On 25 July 2008, the Melbourne City bid dropped out of the bidding process leaving the Melbourne Heart and Southern Cross FC bids as the last two bids standing. By September 2008, the Melbourne Heart bid was awarded exclusive negotiating rights for the league's 11th licence, beating out the South Melbourne-backed Southern Cross FC bid. Negotiations continued until Sidwell's group was awarded the licence to join the A-League's 2010–11 season by the FFA on 12 June 2009.
Competitive football
Melbourne Heart was the eleventh franchise to enter the A-League (at the time of its first season), and the twelfth to ever play in it overall. Heart started its inaugural A-League season against on 5 August 2010, at their home ground AAMI Park, losing 1–0. The club's first ever goal was, bizarrely, an own goal scored by Ben KantarovskiBen Kantarovski
Ben Kantarovski is an Australian football player currently playing for the Newcastle Jets.-Newcastle Jets:...
in the Heart's second league game, a 1–1 draw against Newcastle Jets. Melbourne Heart's first win was a 1–0 defeat of , which came in the fifth round of their first A-League season on 4 September 2010. They contested the first ever Melbourne Derby against Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
on 8 October 2010, and won 2-1. In the middle of their season, they went seven matches without winning (six losses and a draw) and over five hours without scoring a goal. This was turned around when they travelled to play Adelaide United and beat them 2-1 in the final five minutes, despite trailing at 1-0 for all of the second half up to that time. Heart finished their first season on equal points with Newcastle Jets, but behind on goal difference in eighth position. They failed to make it into the top six teams to reach the finals, despite sitting in sixth position for majority of the season.
| Period | Kit maker | Front sponsor | Back sponsor | Sleeve sponsor |
Youth team sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-2011 | Reebok Reebok Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle... |
Westpac Westpac Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand.... |
PKF PKF PKF is a global network of accountancy firms. Member firms operate under the PKF brand in over 125 countries worldwide. In 2010, PKF International was ranked the 10th largest global accounting network, with aggregate fee income of $2.4 billion for member firms in the year end June 2010)... |
Drake | N/A |
| 2011-2012 | ISC ISC -Computing:* Initiative for Software Choice, a group of software vendors* Internet Storm Center, a program run by the SANS Institute that monitors the level of malicious activity on the internet... |
ParkTrent |
Sponsors
On 16 February 2010, leading financial institution WestpacWestpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
teamed up with the Melbourne Heart for a three-year agreement believed to be worth close to $2 million. They are be their principal partner, the Westpac
Westpac
Westpac , is a multinational financial services, one of the Australian "big four" banks and the second-largest bank in New Zealand....
logo appears on the front of the 'Home' and 'Away' Melbourne Heart kits. The club also hosts 3 'Westpac' community camps, annually across regional Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. Drake International, Metlink
Metlink
Metlink, formerly The Met, is the marketing body and umbrella brand for public train, tram and bus transport operators in Greater Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.-Responsibilities:Metlink is responsible for the promotion of travel by public transport...
and PKF
PKF
PKF is a global network of accountancy firms. Member firms operate under the PKF brand in over 125 countries worldwide. In 2010, PKF International was ranked the 10th largest global accounting network, with aggregate fee income of $2.4 billion for member firms in the year end June 2010)...
are the major sponsors of the club.
On 1 September 2011 ParkTrent was announced as the Melbourne Heart FC's youth teams primary sponsor. CEO Scott Munn said that the deal is the "largest ever National Youth League corporate partnership". ParkTrent is a well established company for property investment in Australia established by Ron Cross in 1989 and is committed to all aspects of the property market.
Youth team
The 2011-12 season sees the addition of a youth team to the club, which will compete in the A-League's National Youth LeagueNational Youth League
National Youth League is the youth wing of the Indian National League. The president of the NYL is Mohammed Siraj Ebrahim Sait and the general secretary is Sulaiman Khalid. A.P. Abdul Wahab, currently the INL Kerala State Committee president, was the national president of NYL....
. John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
is the inaugural youth team head coach, while highly respected Victorian coach Arthur Papas is his assistant. On 23 October 2011 the team won their first ever competitive match. The result was 2-0 against main rivals, the Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
youth, with Stipo Andrijasevic and Zac Walker the scorers.
Name, colours and badge
In October 2009, an online competition held by the Herald SunHerald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
gave the public the opportunity to submit their preferences for the name of the new Melbourne team. The preferred names were released on the Herald Sun website on 13 November 2009. The four options were 'Sporting Melbourne FC', 'Melburnians', 'Melbourne Revolution' and 'Melbourne Heart FC'. Some pondered if 'Revolution' had some context considering its intimation to the Eureka Stockade
Eureka Stockade
The Eureka Rebellion of 1854 was an organised rebellion by gold miners which occurred at Eureka Lead in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. The Battle of Eureka Stockade was fought on 3 December 1854 and named for the stockade structure erected by miners during the conflict...
, the closest Australia has come to revolution. The name of the new club was to be announced before the end of 2009, but this was delayed until early 2010 due to AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
objections to the use of the words Melbourne, Football and Club in the name. The Lord Mayor's Charitable Foundation expressed concern that the name Melbourne Heart was too similar to its annual Heart of Melbourne Appeal, and lodged a protest with IP Australia in January 2010. The club's badge was lodged to IP Australia the same month by the FFA, and on 2 February 2010, the name of the club was announced as Melbourne Heart FC.
Initially, a colour scheme of either black and white, or red and white were the two options for the club. The eventual choice was red and white stripes, with a red sash on white for the away kit. The design for the team's third kit was chosen from entries submitted by fans.
Stadium and training facilities
Melbourne Heart's home ground is currently AAMI Park, which it shares with crosstown rivals , Super Rugby club Melbourne RebelsMelbourne Rebels
The Melbourne Rebels are a professional rugby union team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. They made their debut in SANZAR's Super Rugby tournament in 2011. They are the first privately owned professional rugby union team in Australia...
and National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
club Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
. Melbourne Heart base its training and administrative facilities at La Trobe University
La Trobe University
La Trobe University is a multi-campus university in Victoria, Australia. It was established in 1964 by an Act of Parliament to become the third oldest university in the state of Victoria. The main campus of La Trobe is located in the Melbourne suburb of Bundoora; two other major campuses are...
. CEO Scott Munn indicated a preference to have the players housed at the one location.
Rivalries
Melbourne Heart's rival is Melbourne VictoryMelbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, that plays in the A-League....
. Although there are many state or regional rivalries, this is the first and only local city derby in the A-League. The first match between the two clubs saw Melbourne Heart win 2-1 in front of a sold out AAMI Park crowd of over 25,000 spectators.
The rivalry became more intense in the third edition on 22 January 2011, when Victory's Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat
Kevin Muscat is an Australian football player who currently plays for Victorian State League Division 1 side Sunshine George Cross and is assistant coach of Melbourne Victory...
made a mis-timed tackle on Heart's Adrian Zahra
Adrian Zahra
Adrian Zahra is an Australian football player who plays for Melbourne Heart in the A-League. He started his senior career with Melbourne Knights in the Victorian Premier League, before signing with the Heart in 2010 – one of many Heart players to come through the Victorian leagues up to the top...
, which earnt Muscat a red card and an eight-week suspension, and was the direct cause of a season-ending knee injury to Zahra. The rivalry has reached new heights off the field with rival supporters "declaring war on the streets" with a Melbourne Victory supporter group stealing a "Yarraside" banner and in retaliation, Heart supporters attempted to kidnap a Victory supporter in a reprisal attack.
Current squad
.Youth Team
Notable former players
Players whose name is listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Melbourne Heart.For details of former players, see List of Melbourne Heart players.
Australia John Aloisi
John Aloisi
John Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
Josip Skoko
Josip Skoko
Josip Skoko is a former Australian football player who last played as a Central Midfielder for A-League club Melbourne Heart.-Early career:...
Michael Beauchamp
Michael Beauchamp
Michael Francis Beauchamp is an Australian football player. He currently plays for Sydney FC. He was a member of the Australian 2006 World Cup squad.-Club career:...
Netherlands Gerald Sibon
Gerald Sibon
Gerald Sibon is a Dutch football player who plays for Eredivisie club SC Heerenveen.-Europe:He featured for FC Twente in the 1993–94 season as a substitute but could only string together three games before deciding to sign for VVV-Venlo of the Eerste Divisie in the following season...
Retired number(s)
12 – Yarraside (Club Supports)Records
Biggest Win = 3-0 Newcastle Jets, 12 November 2011Biggest Loss = 0-4 Brisbane Roar, 25 September 2010
Largest Home Attendance = 25,897 v Melbourne Victory, 8 October 2010
Lowest Home Attendance= 2,754 v Newcastle Jets, 8 December 2010
All-time A-League win/loss (including finals)
Last updated 16 October 2011| Club | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | |
| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| Total | 36 | 9 | 14 | 13 | 40 | 49 | -9 |
Year-by-year history
| Season | Teams | FFA Cup | Premiership Position | Championship Qualification | Championship Position | ACL Qualification | ACL Placing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 11 | N/A | 8th | DNQ | 8th | N/A | |
| 2011–12 2011–12 Melbourne Heart season The 2011–12 season will be Melbourne Heart's second season in the A-League. The club was originally scheduled to compete in the first ever edition of the Mirabella Cup, along with fellow A-League side and fierce rival , but the FFA forbade all A-League clubs from competing... |
10 | -1 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC | DNQ |
1FFA Cup
FFA Cup
The FFA Cup is a proposed knock-out style cup which has been announced by Football Federation Australia that will bring together A-League clubs as well as local state sides to compete in a knock-out competition in which all state and territory football clubs will be allowed to enter the cup...
scheduled to commence in March 2012.
Club officials
Administration- Chairman: Peter Sidwell
- Chief Executive Officer: Scott Munn
- Directors: Michael Catalano, David Kobritz, Patrick Prendergast, Ghadir Razuki, Jimmy Goh
Football department
- Football operations manager: John Didulica
- Team manager: Benjamin Coonan
- Head coach: John van 't SchipJohn van 't SchipJohannes Nicolaas "John" van 't Schip is a former Dutch international footballer. He is the manager for the A-League team Melbourne Heart.- Early life :Born in Fort St...
- Assistant coach: Ante MilicicAnte MilicicAnte Milicic is an Australian former football player. He is currently one of the assistant managers of A-League club Melbourne Heart. He is of Croatian Australian origin....
- Goalkeeping coach: Peter ZoisPeter ZoïsPeter Zoïs is an Australian Association football player, who currently plays for Victorian Premier League side Oakleigh Cannons.-Career:...
- Youth team head coach: John AloisiJohn AloisiJohn Aloisi is a retired Australian football player who played as a striker, and the current youth team manager at Melbourne Heart....
- Youth Team assistant coach: Arthur Papas