Season 2005–06 Matches played 84 | Period 2005 – 2006 Goals scored 232 | |
 | ||
Champions League Sydney FCAdelaide United Top goalscorer Alex BrosqueBobby DespotovskiArchie ThompsonStewart Petrie(8 goals) Similar 2014–15 A‑League, 2015–16 A‑League, 2016–17 A‑League | ||
The 2005–06 A-League was the inaugural season of the Australian A-League soccer competition. After over 12 months without a national professional club competition, the first match in the A-League was played on 26 August 2005. The competition was made up of a triple round robin league stage before a championship playoff featuring the top four teams.
Contents
- Foreign players
- Preliminary Competitions
- Oceania Club Championship Qualification
- Pre Season Challenge Cup
- Group stage
- Finals
- Regular season
- League table
- Finals series
- AFC Champions League
- Highest attendance
- League records
- Highest aggregate scores
- References
Of the eight participants, four come from the National Soccer League (1977–2004): Perth Glory !Perth Glory (established 1995), New Zealand Knights (1999), Newcastle Jets !Newcastle Jets (2000) and Adelaide United (2003). New Zealand Knights had previously entered the NSL as the Auckland Football Kingz, but were significantly restructured and have a vastly different playing roster. Queensland Roar previously competed in the NSL from 1977–1988 and had competed in the Queensland State League since then as Brisbane Lions.
The first A-League Grand Final took place on 5 March 2006, with Sydney FC !Sydney FC becoming the league's inaugural champions, defeating the Central Coast Mariners !Central Coast Mariners 1–0. Adelaide United !Adelaide United were the named premiers after finishing the season seven points clear at the top of the league.
Foreign players
The following do not fill a Visa position:
1Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
2Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, 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 ten games)
Preliminary Competitions
Two competitions were held prior to the start of the A-League season.
Oceania Club Championship Qualification
This three-round competition was held in May 2005 to determine Australia's qualifier for the 2005 season of the Oceania Club Championship. It consisted of all Australian A-League clubs (i.e. all clubs except for the New Zealand Knights) and granted Perth Glory – the reigning NSL champions – a bye into the semi-finals.
Sydney FC qualified for and subsequently won the 2005 Oceania Club Championship entitling it to a place in the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship to be played in Tokyo.
Pre-Season Challenge Cup
The inaugural pre-season cup was held in July and August in the lead up to the start of the A-League season. The competition featured a group stage and a knockout stage. Commentators did not give much weight to the competition as a guide for performance during the season proper, as injuries or club strategic policy ruled that many teams did not use their best players and often used experimental tactics.
Group stage
Group A
Group B
Finals
The Central Coast Mariners were the inaugural Pre-season Challenge Cup winners.
Regular season
The A-League season commenced on 26 August 2005 with two Friday night fixtures. Games each round were held throughout the weekend, though certain rounds also featured Thursday night games. As there was no concurrent cup competition, midweek fixtures were uncommon unless they were held on Australian public holidays. A three-week break was also scheduled in December to coincide with the 2005 FIFA Club World Cup in Tokyo.
League table
Updated to games played on 5 February 2006
Source: theworldgame.sbs.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
1First place through to fourth place qualify for the 2006 A-League Finals Series.
2First place qualifies for the 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage.
3Winning the 2006 A-League Grand Final earns qualification for the 2007 AFC Champions League Group stage, unless the Grand Final winners are also first place, in which case the Grand Final runner up qualifies.
4New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the 2007 AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.
Rules for classification:1st points; 2nd goal difference; 3rd goals scored.
# = Position; Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points.
Finals series
After the home and away season, the finals series began, with the top four teams. The finals series used a modified Page playoff system, with the difference that each first-round game would be played over two legs. The winner of the finals series, Sydney FC !Sydney FC was crowned as the A-League champion. Adelaide United !Adelaide United, as the holder of the top position on the league ladder, were named the 2005–06 premiers.
Standard cup rules – such as the away goals rule (two-leg ties only), extra time and penalty shootouts were used to decide drawn games.
AFC Champions League
Although Australia became a member of the Asian Football Confederation in 2006, Australian teams were not invited to participate in the 2006 AFC Champions League competition.
The AFC later determined that qualification for the 2007 AFC Champions League would be based on the 2005–06 A-League competition, despite that ACL matches will commence after the completion of the A-League 2006–07 season. Adelaide as Premiers and Sydney as Champions represented Australia.
Highest attendance
League records
The following league records are from the regular season only. It does not include records from the finals series.
Highest aggregate scores
Honours