Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was one of the eight founding members of the A-League Men and have competed in it concurrently since its formation, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues.
Established in 2003, the club was formed to compete in the final season of the National Soccer League after the withdrawals of West Adelaide and Adelaide City, in 1999 and 2003 respectively, left South Australia without representation in the competition. Since its formation, it has remained the only professional soccer club from South Australia. Adelaide United's home ground is at Coopers Stadium in the inner north-western suburb of Hindmarsh. Adelaide United won their first silverware in 2006, when they became premiers of the inaugural A-League season, finishing top of the ladder over Sydney FC by seven points. In 2008, the club became the first Australian side to reach the final of the AFC Champions League, being defeated by Gamba Osaka 0–5 across two legs and finishing in fifth place in the 2008 Club World Cup. The club won the first edition of the FFA Cup in 2014 with a 1–0 win at home over Perth Glory. Their first A-League title would come in 2016, defeating Western Sydney Wanderers 3–1 at Adelaide Oval in front of 50,119 spectators, the largest home crowd the club has played a competitive match in front of. Adelaide would become the first club to win back-to-back FFA Cups, defeating Sydney FC 2–1 in 2018 and Melbourne City 4–1 in 2019. The club remains the most successful team to ever play in the competition.
Adelaide United has a rivalry with Melbourne Victory, stemming from numerous altercations between players and coaches, as well as the two clubs' competitiveness in the early seasons of the A-League, culminating with Grand Final clashes in 2007 and 2009, both of which went the way of Victory. Adelaide United formerly held the record for the largest winning margin in an A-League Men match, having defeated North Queensland Fury 8–1 at home on 21 January 2011. The game was also the first and only instance where two players from the same team, Marcos Flores and Sergio van Dijk, achieved hat-tricks in a single match. They later matched their own record when they beat Newcastle Jets 7–0 at home almost exactly four years later.
In recent years, Adelaide United has grown a reputation of developing young players and selling them to overseas clubs. Notable examples include Nestory Irankunda's sale to Bayern Munich for a league record fee, Archie Goodwin, Joe Gauci, Musa Toure, Steven Hall, and Riley McGree, all on transfer fees. They've also facilitated moves overseas for Louis D'Arrigo and Mohamed Toure. According to the International Centre for Sports Studies, in 2024, the club ranked 43rd in the world and second in the AFC for minutes given to under-21 players.
Contents
History
2003–2005: Beginnings
In August 2003, Adelaide City withdrew from the National Soccer League (NSL), leaving Adelaide with no NSL presence for the first time since the league's inception in 1977. West Adelaide had previously withdrawn from the NSL in 1999. In response, Adelaide United was created on 12 September 2003, with real estate businessman Gordon Pickard funding the new club and former Soccer Australia and FIFA executive Basil Scarsella as chairman.
On 13 September, former Brisbane Strikers and Newcastle Breakers manager John Kosmina was officially announced as the manager. Within a few weeks, a team was assembled, mostly with the remnants of the Adelaide City squad to compete in the clubs inaugural season. On 17 October 2003, Adelaide United won its first NSL match against Brisbane Strikers, with a score of 1–0.
After a successfulhome-and-away season, including an unbeaten seven-match streak during November and December 2003, Adelaide United reached the NSL preliminary final, ultimately losing to Perth Glory. The NSL concluded at the end of the 2003–04 season after 28 seasons, with The Reds only participating in the final season. The governing body, Australian Soccer Association (later Football Federation Australia), shut down the league in preparation for the launch of the fully professional A-League almost 12 months later, on 26 August 2005.
2005–2010: Early days in the A-League
Adelaide United was announced as one of eight teams to compete in the first season of the A-League, and along with the Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets, one of only three teams to survive from the National Soccer League's last season. United began preparation earlier than most of the other clubs and had announced two-thirds of the 20-man squad before February 2005.
The club focused on bringing several Adelaide-born players back to South Australia, such as Angelo Costanzo, Travis Dodd, and Lucas Pantelis, who had previously played for Adelaide City SC in the NSL. Shengqing Qu was signed by Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua as the club's "marquee" signing (a ruling allowing each club to pay one player outside the salary cap) in March 2005.
Aurelio Vidmar announced his retirement before the A-League had even started. He was replaced before the fifth round by striker Fernando from Brazil, a former 'player of the year' in the old NSL. By moving to Adelaide, he was reunited with former coach John Kosmina who introduced him to Australian audiences at the Brisbane Strikers.
Adelaide United Director Mel Patzwald established links with American club Miami FC, setting up a 'sister club' relationship—the first of its kind for an A-League club—with whom they played a number of friendlies and leading to the signings of several players. The club signed Diego Walsh and later Brazilian legend Romário for a five-game guest stint in November/December 2006. Cassio then signed with Adelaide and the club won the 2008 AFC Champions League and played in the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup, where they finished fifth. Patzwald also created a sister club relationship with the then Asian Champions Shandong Luneng which was an integral part of the state government's ties with Shandong Province in a mutually beneficial partnership. Education SA in particular was a beneficiary with thousands of students from Shandong Province choosing Adelaide as their preferred location to study. Adelaide's youth team was invited to participate in the Weifang Cup as a result of the relationship.
Adelaide United finished as premiers in the inaugural season of the Hyundai A-League. However they lost to Sydney FC in the two-leg semi-final and then Central Coast Mariners 1–0 in the preliminary final at Hindmarsh.
2010–2018: Bottom to top and first A League championship
For the first time in the club's history, Adelaide United was led by an international manager in Rini Coolen, moving away from the Adelaide United tradition of local coaches seen in its prior seasons.
As of 9 September 2010, Adelaide United had made Australian soccer history by becoming the first team to climb from the bottom of the table to the top, whilst the 2009–10 premiers and champions, Sydney FC, remained rooted at the bottom. Adelaide United also claimed the record for longest undefeated streak in A-League history with their win over Wellington Phoenix in Week 11 of the league, consisting of thirteen games stretching back to the penultimate round of the 2009–10 A-League season. This surpassed Central Coast Mariners's previous record of twelve games undefeated set back in the 2005–06 A-League season. Unfortunately for Adelaide United, Brisbane Roar surpassed this newly set record, when the Roar comprehensively won their Week 16 fixture against Central Coast Mariners at Bluetongue Stadium.
Following 18 months under Football Federation Australia (FFA) financial administration, it was announced on 8 November 2010 that a South Australian consortium had taken over ownership of the club with a ten-year licence. New co-owner Greg Griffin steps in as chairman of the club replacing Mel Patzwald, whilst ex-North Adelaide Football Club CEO, Glenn Elliott replaces Sam Ciccarello, who now takes up a role at the FFA.
On 9 January 2011, Adelaide broke its longest winless streak against its rival club Melbourne Victory by posting a 4–1 away win in Melbourne at AAMI Park. Adelaide United then went on to make A-League history by recording the highest winning margin in the league's history with an 8–1 win over North Queensland Fury on 21 January 2011. This also marked the first time two players from the same side scored hat-tricks in one game (Sergio van Dijk and Marcos Flores), and matched the all-time highest match aggregate score of 9 goals scored in one match.
Adelaide finished the season by winning 2–1 at Adelaide Oval against Melbourne Victory in front of 21,038 spectators – the club's largest crowd of the season. This ensured the club third place in overall standings at the end of the season, and hosting rights for at least the first week of the knock-out Finals Series. Adelaide United went on to defeat Wellington Phoenix in the first week of the Finals under torrential rain but succumbed to Gold Coast United in the second week and were knocked out of the competition on the back of a 2–3 home loss.
2018–present: Cup success and beyond
Adelaide United were the FFA Cup champions after defeating Sydney FC 2–1 in the final at Coopers Stadium. On March 19, 2019, the club announced they would not be renewing Marco Kurz' contract. United finished 4th in the regular season. Craig Goodwin was United's leading goalscorer scoring 15 goals across all competitions. The Reds hosted an elimination final against Melbourne City where they came out 1–0 victors with the goal coming from Ben Halloran in the 119th minute. Adelaide United were then eliminated in the semi-finals following a loss to Perth Glory on penalties after playing out a 3–3 draw.
In the 2019 FFA Cup Final, Adelaide defeated Melbourne City 4–0 at home, further increasing their claim to have the most FFA Cup titles with three.
Adelaide United continued to qualify for the A-League finals series in the following seasons, finishing 5th in the 2020–21 season, and 4th in the 2021–22 season, with Craig Goodwin returning to the squad on loan in 2021, before permanently signing with the club until 2025. During these seasons, Adelaide placed a large emphasis on bringing through young players from South Australia, and their NPL squad, notable examples during this period were Joe Gauci, who has since earned a cap for the national team, Bernardo, Mohamed Toure, Yaya Dukuly, Ethan Alagich, Asad Kasumovic, Jonny Yull and Nestory Irankunda.
On 4 April 2023, Chairman Piet van der Pol stepped down and was replaced by Ned Morris. The previously anonymous owners were also revealed, being Cor Adriaanse, Rob van Eck, and Yu Lidong.
In the 2022–23 season, Adelaide were challenging Melbourne City for the premiership, with many of their young players earning permanent spots in the squad. The eventual champions Central Coast Mariners made a run late in the season to bump Adelaide down to third on the table, and eventually knock Adelaide out of the championship race in a semi-final. Craig Goodwin, who had recently scored against France and Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, won the 2023 Johnny Warren Medal but returned to Al-Wehda FC in the winter of that year. Adelaide signed former Manchester United-listed midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe in the off-season. Ryan Kitto was made the captain of the club with Goodwin's departure.
Sponsors
Adelaide United's 2009–10 playing kit did not feature a sponsor on the front of their kit. Towards the end of the season, United signed a deal with Jim's Group which saw the Jim's Plumbing logo feature on the front of United's home and away kits. The deal only lasted for the remainder of the season as the logo was not displayed on Adelaide's home or away kits in the 2010–11 season.
On 16 December 2010, Coopers Brewery announced that their logo would feature on the front of the jersey for the remainder of the season, in a deal worth to be around $200,000.
As of 1 April 2011, all A-League clubs were able to negotiate new kit supplier deals as the previous contract with Reebok had elapsed and as such, Adelaide United negotiated a 3-year deal with Erreà.
On 2 March 2012, the club announced Legea as the official kit suppliers for their 2012 Asian Champions League campaign. Legea exclusively supplied all of the team's authentic on-field and off-field apparel for the club's 6 ACL group-stage matches.
On 16 September 2020, Adelaide United announced a partnership with Guangzhou-based sportswear manufacturer UCAN to manufacture and supply the club's playing, training, and travel wear. Since that same year, Flinders University feature on the front of the home kit, whilst Australian Outdoor Living feature on the front of the away kit.
Crest
Adelaide United's original strip was made using the three South Australian state colours: red, blue and yellow. The shirt was mainly red with a large yellow stripe down both sleeves with blue being used for the short colour and the stripe running down each side of the top. The badge also uses the state colours in a stylised swoosh, above what appears to be a football made with the Southern Cross, as opposed to the traditional hexagonal panels of a football. The football is similar in appearance to that of the UEFA Champions League logo.
Colours and badge
Since their inception into the A-League, Adelaide United's kits, along with the rest of the league, have been manufactured by Reebok. United's kit has moved towards a predominately all-red kit, both top and shorts, with black trim. Originally, the away strip was predominantly white, with red sleeves and yellow trim however in 2009 the club launched a predominantly black 'clash' strip.
The launch of the new national league also saw Adelaide launch a new badge; while keeping a similar look and feel as its predecessor the new badge takes the form of a more traditional football badge with its shield-like border.
Adelaide United is most commonly referred to as "The Reds" because of their predominantly red playing kit. In February 2009 the club's head coach, Aurelio Vidmar, referred to the City of Adelaide as a "Pissant Town" after suffering a heartbreaking loss. The club's supporters eventually utilised the name "Pissants" as a term of endearment and it became an unofficial nickname of the club among its supporters.
Stadium
Adelaide United play their home matches at Hindmarsh Stadium, currently known as Coopers Stadium. Previously, two games a year were played at Adelaide Oval, one against interstate rivals Melbourne Victory and traditional rivals Sydney FC. The second match in 2009 saw 23,002 people attend the game. Adelaide United played the 2016 Grand Final at Adelaide Oval and played early-stage cup games at the State Centre for Football in Gepps Cross, and Marden Sports Complex in Marden.
Hindmarsh Stadium seating capacity is 13,500. Adelaide United's first home game in the now-defunct National Soccer League saw over 15,000 supporters watch Adelaide win 1–0 over the Brisbane Strikers.
A-League crowds have averaged 10,947 in 2005–06 and over 12,000 supporters attending in both 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons. Even with a lack of on-field success, crowds at United's games remained healthy during the 2009–10 season relative to other clubs, largely due to the club's strong community-based initiatives. The record attendance for Hindmarsh Stadium was a full house of 17,000 on 12 November 2008 against Gamba Osaka in the historic second leg of the ACL final.
Support
Adelaide United's main active supporters' group is called the Red Army.
Average attendance
This graph shows the average attendance for home league matches of Adelaide United since their inception. The figures do not include finals matches.
Rivalries
Melbourne Victory FC
Adelaide United's main rivals are Melbourne Victory. Adelaide was again one of two of the leading teams in the 2006–07 season this time against Melbourne that saw an altercation between John Kosmina, the Adelaide United manager, and Kevin Muscat after the Victory captain knocked Kosmina over after entering the technical area to retrieve a ball. Kosmina then jumped up and grabbed Muscat around the throat for a few seconds. Season events culminated in the year's grand final that saw Adelaide captain, Ross Aloisi, sent off and Melbourne winning 6–0. The rivalry went beyond extreme after Melbourne defeated Adelaide United 1–0 in the 2008–09 grand final with United imported striker, Cristiano, given a controversial straight red card. The rivalry then went even further when Adelaide United defeated Melbourne 4–1 at AAMI Park after United had been suffering a record-breaking 10-game losing streak against the Victory.
Affiliated clubs
Qingdao Red Lions (2018–present)
Qingdao Red Lions are owned by former chairman Piet van der Pol, with the partnership being forged following his acquisition of Adelaide United in 2018. Then Director of Football Bruce Djite said, "The idea is to develop Chinese players to create stronger links between us and Qingdao Red Lions." Chen Yongbin was the first player to sign from Qingdao to Adelaide on a one-year deal. He did not make an appearance for the senior side but made appearances in the youth league, and he departed following the end to his contract.
PSV Eindhoven (2024–present)
A strategic partnership between Adelaide United and PSV Eindhoven was announced on 18 April 2024.
Heracles Almelo (2025–present)
A second strategic partnership with an Eredivisie team was established late in 2025. The primary intention of the partnership with Heracles is to provide a European pathway as an extension of Adelaide United's strong development programs. The deal was secured following Ernest Faber making the move as the technical director of the Reds to a similar role at Heracles.
Statistics and records
Adelaide United have won one Championship in the A-League Men. They hold the highest number of FFA Cup trophies, with 3. The club is the only team to have won the FFA Cup twice in succession, in 2018 and 2019.
Adelaide United was the first A-League club to appear in the AFC Champions League Final, which they did in 2008. Western Sydney Wanderers are the only team since to achieve the milestone. The Final result had Adelaide losing in a 5–0 loss with both legs having them defeated by Gamba Osaka 3–0 and 2–0.
Isaías holds the record for most Adelaide United appearances, having played 286 first-team matches since 2013. Craig Goodwin is the club's top goalscorer with 48 goals in all competitions from three spells from 2014 to 2016, 2018 to 2019 and 2021 to 2023.
Adelaide United's record home attendance is 50,119 at the A-League Grand Final match against the Western Sydney Wanderers on 1 May 2016 at Adelaide Oval. The record attendance for a home and away A-League Season game is 25,039 for a 1–3 loss against Sydney FC on 28 December 2007, also at Adelaide Oval. Adelaide United's record home attendance of all competitions at Hindmarsh Stadium was 17,000 against Gamba Osaka in the AFC Champions League Final in 2008.
Players
First team squad
As of 3 September 2026
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Coaching staff
Honours
Domestic
A-League Men Championship
Winners (1): 2016
Runners-up (2): 2007, 2009
A-League Men Premiership
Winners (2): 2005–06, 2015–16
Runners-up (3): 2006–07, 2008–09, 2025–26
Australia Cup
Winners (3): 2014, 2018, 2019
Runners-up (1): 2017
A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
Winners (2): 2006, 2007
Continental
AFC Champions League Elite
Runners-up (1): 2008
Worldwide
FIFA Club World Cup
Fifth–place (1): 2008
Notable players
The following is a list of Adelaide United FC players who have achieved at least two of the following criteria:
Australia
Argentina
Brazil
Cássio Oliveira
Denmark
Michael Jakobsen
England
Zach Clough
Indonesia
Sergio van Dijk
Italy
Iacopo La Rocca
Portugal
Fábio Ferreira
Spain