Victory aim to see off A-League challengers again
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Glamour club Melbourne Victory are the hot favourites to retain their title when the 11th season of the Australian A-League kicks off on Thursday.
Victory were a class above the rest as they swept to the 2014/15 title, beating arch-rivals Sydney FC 3-0 in the grand final after finishing the regular season on top of the table to claim the Premier's Plate.
In contrast to most other A-League clubs, the Victory have had a stable off-season, with their only significant loss that of captain Mark Milligan, who moved to Baniyas in the United Arab Emirates.
However, they have picked up Oliver Bozanic from Swiss club Luzern as a like-for-like replacement for Milligan and added to their defensive depth with the signing of Giancarlo Gallifuoco from Swansea.
Crucially, the Victory have also retained a host of key players who helped them dominate the competition last season, including Albanian striker Besart Berisha and fellow attacking options Gui Finkler, Fahid Ben Khalfallah and Kosta Barbarouses. They begin their campaign away to Adelaide United on Friday.
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Sydney FC look certain to be Victory's main rivals once again. Sydney coach Graham Arnold has brought in Slovakian forward Filip Holosko to replace Mark Janko, while in midfield he has the services of Serbian star Milos Dimitrijevic and fellow countryman Milos Ninkovic.
But questions remain over whether Sydney has the quality to challenge the Victory, although Arnold was full of optimism at the season launch. "At this moment, you have to say that they're (Victory) the best team because they've won the premiership and the grand final," he said.
"Obviously we had a very good season last year, but maybe that one day (the grand final) may have shown that we weren't ready for that occasion. This year I feel we have more adaptable players to hopefully go that one step further."
If Sydney falter, Victory's biggest threat could come from cross-town rivals Melbourne City, who have added Socceroos Ivan Franjic and Michael Zullo in a signing spree aided by an injection of funds from the club's owner, City Football Group. City will again look to Socceroo Aaron Mooy, who was one of the league's outstanding players last season, attracting a number of European offers in the off-season.
Pushing the top three clubs will be three-time champions Brisbane Roar, Adelaide United, Western Sydney Wanderers and the Wellington Phoenix.
The Roar have been beset by financial problems, but still have a playing roster that includes Germans Thomas Broich and Jerome Polenz, and Socceroos Matt McKay and Jade North. They have also added Spanish midfielder Corona from Spanish outfit Almeria and have a host of brilliant youngsters at their disposal.
Adelaide are perennial challengers, but are in a state of uncertainty after losing charismatic coach Josep Gombau due to family reasons. Western Sydney Wanderers, who finished runners-up in their first two seasons before crashing to second last in 2014/15, have had a massive clear-out, making 17 changes to their roster.
Wellington Phoenix, who finished fourth last season, will again challenge under the astute guidance of Ernie Merrick, while Perth Glory will struggle to overcome the loss of a host of players after a salary cap scandal that saw them disqualified from the finals series.
The season begins on Thursday night with Western Sydney hosting Brisbane. Adelaide take on Melbourne Victory on Friday.
On Saturday, Central Coast are at home to Perth and Sydney play Melbourne City, with the round finishing on Sunday when Newcastle travel to Wellington.