Asian League

Full name : Melbourne Victory Football Club
Nickname(s) : Victory, The Big V
Founded : 2004
Ground : Etihad Stadium Melbourne, Australia (Capacity: 56,347)
Chairman : Geoff Lord
Head Coach : Ernie Merrick
League : A-League
2008–09 : 1st (league) Champions (finals)

Melbourne Victory Football Club is a football (soccer) club in the Australian A-League. Based in Melbourne, Victoria, Melbourne Victory FC are the largest club in the league, drawing the largest average crowds of any club and consistently setting league and domestic club football attendance records.

Melbourne Victory FC is also the most successful club in the history of the A-League, having won four major domestic titles in as many seasons. Melbourne Victory are the only club to complete the Premiership-Championship double having in fact completed the Premiership-Championship double twice, winning both during the 2006–07 and 2008–09 seasons. Melbourne Victory are also the first and only club to complete the domestic treble, winning the Challenge Cup, Premiership and Championship, all in the 2008–09 season.

Melbourne Victory are the reigning A-League Premiers and Champions, following their success in the 2008–09 season.

History

The Beginning

Melbourne Victory was founded in 2003 after the announcement of a revamped domestic league in Australia, which saw the National Soccer League disbanded in 2003 and replaced by the A-League.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) approved the Melbourne Victory consortium as Melbourne's representative in the league, with Belgravia Leisure Pty Ltd backing the club. The chairman and CEO of Belgravia Leisure, Geoff Lord, was installed as the inaugural chairman of Melbourne Victory F.C. Melbourne Victory’s major sponsor was Samsung, with KFC also taking up the sleeve sponsor.

Gary Cole (an ex-Socceroo) was hired to become Football Operations manager, and was soon joined by Ernie Merrick, appointed as head coach from the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS). Archie Thompson, a then regular Socceroo who had been playing in Belgium with Lierse S.K., was the club's first player signing. The club soon signed three more internationals for the inaugural squad – then Socceroo Kevin Muscat, Austrian Richard Kitzbichler and Belgian Geoffrey Claeys.

* Trial match #1 MV/VIS vs Oakleigh Cannons 30 April 2005
* Trial match #2 MV vs Bulleen Zebras 4 May 2005
* FIFA Club World Championship Adelaide vs MV 7 May 2005

The remainder of the squad was quickly assembled, although room was left for signings before Melbourne played its first competitive match against Adelaide United in a World Club Championship qualifier. Unfortunately, this resulted in an inconsistent first season. Although highlights included a 5–0 drubbing of major rivals Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory finished as the worst Australian team (ahead of the New Zealand Knights), whilst Sydney, their major rivals went on to win the first A-League Championship.

The Victory has also set up a sister-city relationship with Chinese Super League Club, Tianjin Teda F.C. The two clubs play against each other annually during the off-season, known as the Lord Mayor’s Cup.

Melbourne Victory are considered a broad-based club, appealing to all nationalities. The team colours – navy blue and white – are traditionally Victorian state colours.

Early Years 2005–2010

It was widely believed that Melbourne Victory would be contenders for the A-League championship but their inaugural season in the Hyundai A-League was anything but - the team only managed seven wins out of twenty-one matches, finishing second last.

The season saw Melbourne Victory sign two returning Socceroos, (Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat). The highlight of the season was the 5–0 thrashing of eventual champions Sydney F.C. (with 2 goals from Archie Thompson and Kevin Muscat, and one from Richard Kitzbichler). At the end of the season the Melbourne Victory player of the year award was handed to Kevin Muscat, and the club top goal scorer going to Archie Thompson.

Melbourne began the 2006–2007 Hyundai A-League season hoping to vastly improve on their 7th place in the inaugural 2005–2006 season. Coach Ernie Merrick had made a number of off-season signings to bolster the squad with skill and experience including 3 Brazilians Alessandro, Claudinho, Fred along with Scottish Premier League player Grant Brebner. After a hugely successful round 2 fixture against Sydney FC at Etihad Stadium which attached the largest home and away crowd for regular club match, Melbourne Victory announced that they would move all but one match from Olympic Park to the new venue Melbourne would become the first team to complete the A-League double in the history of the competition; clinching the premiership against the New Zealand Knights 4–0 at Olympic Park with 4 rounds of competition remaining, then beating Adelaide United 6–0 in the grand final at a sold out Etihad Stadium to take the championship. Melbourne also qualified for the 2008 Asian Champions League as A-League Champions.

Looking to capitalise on their successful 2006/07 campaign, Melbourne made some strong off-season signs including former Socceroo Ljubo Milicevic and Costa Rican international Carlos Hernández to cover the hole left by the departure of Fred to MLS club DC United. Again with the league largest crowds and a record membership of over 20,000, Melbourne were undefeated after 7 rounds but the season would slip away with some poor home performances and a mounting injury list. A late season rally gave Melbourne a hope of making the finals up to the second last round but they would finish 5th, 4 points out of the finals. Melbourne became the first side in A-League history to score 100 goals, reaching the mark after 65 games, with their first goal against Wellington Phoenix at Etihad Stadium on 11 January 2008. The 2008 Asian Champions League campaign started with a 2–0 home victory of Korean side Chunnam Dragons but inexperience was to show with the team not able to adapt to the East Asian style and long away trips.

The 2008/09 season brought the start of the A-League Youth League and the introduction of the W-League. Melbourne fielded teams in both competitions. Melbourne actively recruited, bringing in Socceroo Michael Thwaite, Costa Rican World Cup player José Luis López as well as Ney Fabiano from Asian Champions League rivals Chonburi FC.

Melbourne's season got off to an optimal start, winning the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. A 0–0 draw resulted in a penalty shoot-out, Victory winning 8–7 against the Wellington Phoenix.

After grabbing the Pre-Season Cup, the Victory were held to a 0–0 draw away against Sydney FC. They reinforced their premiership favouritism by coasting to 4–2 and 5–0 victories against Wellington Phoenix and the Newcastle Jets. Despite this, they succumbed 0–2 to an undermanned Sydney side at Etihad Stadium in front of 32,000 fans.

On the 6th of December, they became the 1st A-League club to amass total crowd figures of 1,000,000.

On the 24th of January, Melbourne Victory won its final game of the season against Wellington Phoenix . The 2–0 win in front of 29,904 fans placed Victory ahead of Adelaide United on goals scored for the premiership title, a margin United failed to achieve in its 1–0 win over the Central Coast Mariners.

The Victory kicked off their finals campaign on the 7th of February in the major semi-final first leg against bitter rival Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, a game which was won courtesy of goals from Costa Rican Carlos Hernández and Danny Allsopp. The second leg would see Melbourne demolish Adelaide United 4–0 with goals from Thompson, Hernandez, Allsopp and Pondlejak, granting Melbourne passage to the Grand Final on a 6–0 aggregate. Adelaide then defeated Queensland to set up a rematch with Melbourne in the Grand Final, which the Victory won 1–0 with Tom Pondeljak scoring in the 59th minute to regain the A-League Championship and becoming the fist A-League team to win their 2nd Championship.

In, 2009-2010, Greek gambling giant Intralot became the Melbourne Victory's new major sponsor to replace Samsung. Their logo will feature on the front of Melbourne Victory's new strip.

The Victory made some off-season changes by releasing Steve Pantelidis to Gold Coast United & Sebastian Ryall to Sydney FC. Michael Thwaite will leave the club and go on loan to Gold Coast United for the new season. Several new signing were made, bringing goalkeeper Glen Moss from Wellington Phoenix, Thai midfielder Surat Sukha from Chonburi FC, the promotion of Matthew Theodore from the youth squad and the permanent signing of veteran Carlos Hernandez from L.D. Alajuelense for three years after his two year loan with Melbourne Victory.

Full name : Gamba Osaka
Nickname(s) : Gamba
Founded : 1980 (originally), 1991 (Gamba Osaka)
Ground : Osaka Expo '70 Stadium, Suita, Osaka (Capacity: 21,000)
Chairman : Kikuo Kanamori
Manager : Akira Nishino (2002 - )
League : J. League Div.1

Gamba Osaka (ガンバ大阪, Ganba Ōsaka) is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team's name comes from the Italian word "Gamba" meaning "leg" and the Japanese ganbaru (頑張る?), meaning "to do your best" or "to stand firm". Located in Suita, Osaka, the team's home stadium is Osaka Expo '70 Stadium. Gamba are one of only six teams to have competed in Japan's top flight of football every year since its inception in 1993.

History

Founded in 1980 as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (which is renamed to "Panasonic Corporation" on October 1st, 2008) soccer club in Nara Prefecture and a member of the Japan Soccer League. It was mostly made of remaining players and staff of the defunct Yanmar Club, the former B-team of Yanmar Diesel F.C., later to be known as Cerezo Osaka. Gamba Osaka was an original member of the J. League in 1993.

In 2005 the club claimed its first J. League championship on a dramatic final day during which any of five clubs could have claimed the championship. Gamba needed to win, and have cross town rivals Cerezo Osaka draw or lose. Gamba defeated a valiant Kawasaki Frontale 4-2, while victory was snatched from Cerezo by a last minute FC Tokyo equalizer. In an AFC Champions League match in 2006, Gamba Osaka defeated Vietnamese side Da Nang FC in a record equaling victory of 15-0. In the 2008 Pan-Pacific Championship final, Gamba Osaka destroyed the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer a stunning 6 goals to 1 to win the tournament, with Bare making 4 of the goals.

In October 2008, Gamba for the first time in their history, reached the final of the AFC Champions League when they defeated fellow Japanese and league rivals Urawa Reds 4-2 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw at home in the first leg, Gamba registered one of the most historic comebacks in Champions League history when they came back from being behind 1-0 before half time to win 1-3 with all goals scored in the second half at Saitama. Gamba Osaka went on to win the 2008 AFC Champions League title after winning 5-0 on aggregate against the giant-killing Australian team Adelaide United in the Final. They became the fifth Japanese club to win the maximum Asian title, after Urawa, Júbilo Iwata, and then-company-affiliated Yomiuri (Tokyo Verdy) and Furukawa Electric (JEF United Ichihara Chiba).

In December 2008, Gamba made it to the semi finals of the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup after beating Australian team Adelaide United 1-0. They were beaten in the semi finals by Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners Manchester United. On the 21st December 2008 they played for third place against Mexican side C.F. Pachuca winning the match 1-0.

On January 1, 2009, Ryuji Bando scored in extra time to lift Gamba Osaka to a 1-0 win over Kashiwa Reysol and take the 88th Emperor's Cup in Tokyo. The victory secured Gamba a place in the AFC Champions League, where it will defend the title it won last year. This is the team's second ever Cup win, with the last 18 years ago in its previous incarnation as Matsushita Electric Industrial Soccer Club.

Club Name: Urawa Red Diamonds
Nickname: Urawa Reds
Year of Formation: 1950
Home Town: Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture
Address: 500 Nakanoda, Midori-ku, Saitama City, Saitama 336-8505 Japan
Corporate Name: Mitsubishi Motors Football Club Co., Ltd.
President: Mitsuo Hashimoto

Home Stadium: Saitama Stadium 2002 (Capacity 63,700)
Urawa Komaba Stadium, Saitama City (Capacity 21,500)

Origin of club name
・Urawa was the name of the city where Urawa Reds was formed. The city of Urawa became part of the new city of Saitama on May 1st, 2001 when it merged with the neighboring cities of Yono and Omiy

・"Red Diamonds"
This nickname signifies the glitter of diamonds, strength and strong solidarity.
Diamond glitters in various ways depending on how the light shines. "Red Diamond" will send out lights like the red fire when the eleven is under the light of supporters in the stand. Club color is "Red". An animation "Akakichi no Eleven", or "The Red-Blooded Eleven" which had its setting in Urawa City used red. The previous body, Mitsubishi Football Club also used red as the color for their jersey. ・The club was called "Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club" from April 1992 to January 1996 and the nickname was "Red Diamonds".<

・The club was called "Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club" from April 1992 to January 1996 and the nickname was "Red Diamonds".
However, many people still use the nickname "Urawa Reds" since the formation.

PHOTOClub emblem
・"The core motif of the new emblem is to represent the club philosophy"
"The ball represents a call for everyone to come together around the ball, the excitement and joy that the ball brings to all, and extending circles of goodwill and friendship that reaches out to the whole world."
The motif is to point out the meaning of our existence and emphasize our philosophy. We have been making differences in the lives of the people of our hometown, something that we could not do when the club was formed in 1992. By emphasizing this emblem, we can show our direction such as what the people in the club should do to improve our team for the future. To have this as the core, we emphasize expansion and express what this motif means to show what Urawa Reds should be for the future. We also would like to develop it as a symbol of the area.

・"The other motifs that make up the new emblem"
(1) The Sakuraso primrose is a symbol of this area. It is the emblematic flower of both Saitama Prefecture and the city of Urawa.
Saitama City is also the only place where native primrose grows in Japan and it is designated a national treasure of Japan.
(2) Hoshokaku is the Saitama Elite Teacher Training College, the birthplace of Saitama football. It is a historical symbol for this city where football has been popular for a long time.
(Refer below)
(3) The diamond is a symbol for Urawa Reds to signify a team with strong solidarity.

These three symbols are connected and put together with the "Reds' philosophy".
The outer frame was changed to European styled shield to show the fighting spirit of the team based on reflection of the existing emblem.

・"making story"
Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture is the only place in Japan where native primrose grows. Football became widespread in the Taish_ period and attracted popularity in Saitama Elite Teacher Training College in 1908, during the Meiji period. (The Renaissance building, which was the birthplace of Saitama football, was reconstructed. And now it remains as a municipal museum.)

Our city expands and links to the world, and that become our city's "culture".
Urawa Reds are on the front of Saitama City and will strive to make people know our name in the world through sports. Urawa Reds which have the glitters of diamonds, the strength and a tight bonded team have been working very hard based on the philosophy.

・Hoshokaku
A fine European styled architecture built in Urawa-shuku in 1878, during the Meiji period. This building was built for the old Saitama Elite Teacher Training College, the birthplace of Saitama football. Now, there is the Saitama assembly hall around this area.
The designer is unknown. The building is a two-storied wooden classic building using the style from the Renaissance period till the end of 19th century. Sanj_ Sanetomi named it "Hoshokaku". Before completion, it became the Meiji Imperial Household in August 1878. In 1933, the Education Minister registered this building as the Meiji Imperial Household. However, it was removed from its registration in 1948. Over year after its completion, in 1879, the first prefectural assembly was held there. The building has also been used as Saitama Girls Teacher Training College and Girls High School in 1900. As the old Saitama assembly hall was to be reconstructed to commemorate Showa Emperor's marriage in 1925, the building was moved to north and used as a prefectural library.
The building was demolished in 1969. The city of Urawa took over some demolition materials and used them for Urawa city museum (Saitama city museum of today) in 1972. The museum has the same design as Hoshokaku.PHOTO

The emblem from 1992 to January 2001 was "diamond shape" and has changed to the emblem of today since February 2001.

Club Mascots
Redia
Redia was made in 1992 and is a created animal by lining initials of "Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club", "MUFC" vertically. Redia is knowledgeable, brave and energetic with his image of being strong.

Friendia
Friendia married Redia in "REDS FESTA '97" which was held in _miya Park Soccer Stadium on January 26, 1997. Her name, "Friendia" was chosen from public ideas in 1339 letters with 620 names.
Schale・Diarra
On the day that Urawa Reds became the champions of J.League for the first time in front of 62,241 supporters, longed-for twins were born.

Club Philosophy

1. Urawa Red Diamonds aim to contribute to the healthy growth of youth as a member of society.

Urawa Reds feel our biggest social responsibility is to support the healthy growth of youth.
Firstly, we will strive not only to show our skills and physical strength on football field which serve as model for youth but also our outstanding teamwork, fighting spirit and sense of fair play.
Secondly, we give supports to the healthy growth of youth as a member of society both in and out of fields.

2. Urawa Red Diamonds aim to provide a place for healthy recreation for the local community.

Home games can provide a source of entertainment to the local community. Therefore, Urawa Reds promise that all the players do their very best in all of our games.

3. Urawa Red Diamonds aim to be Saitama's window to the world.

People all around the world love football. Almost every city in the world has its own team and people living in that city are proud of supporting their team. Urawa Reds aim to be Saitama's window.

Urawa Reds are aware of the responsibilities and will continue to work hard to become one of the best teams in the world.