| 2005–06 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Walter Bugno | ||
| Manager | Pierre Littbarski | ||
| A-League | 2nd (League) Champions (Finals) | ||
| Oceania Club World Cup Qualifying | Champions | ||
| Oceania Club Championship | Champions | ||
| Pre-Season Cup | Semi-finals | ||
| FIFA Club World Cup | 5th | ||
| Top goalscorer | Sasho Petrovski | ||
| Highest home attendance | 41,689 v Central Coast Mariners 5 March 2006 | ||
| Lowest home attendance | 9,132 v Newcastle 30 October 2005 | ||
|  | |||
The 2005-06 season was Sydney FC's first season, formed to compete in the new Australian A-League competition. The club finished second on the table in the regular season, and won the first A-League Grand Final, defeating Central Coast Mariners 1–0. Sydney also represented Oceania at the FIFA Club World Championship 2005 where they were placed fifth.
Players
Squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| 
 | 
 | 
Transfers in
Short-term signings
| Player | From | Start date | End date | Reason | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .svg.png.webp) Mitchell Blowes | .svg.png.webp) Kemblawarra FC (loan) | 16 May 2005 | 30 June 2005 | Signed for Oceania Club Championship | 
| 29 November 2005 | 17 December 2005 | Signed for Club World Championship | ||
| .svg.png.webp) Todd Brodie | .svg.png.webp) Marconi Stallions (loan) | 16 May 2005 | 30 June 2005 | Signed for Oceania Club Championship | 
| .svg.png.webp) Brendan Renaud | .svg.png.webp) St George Saints (loan) | 16 May 2005 | 30 June 2005 | Signed for Oceania Club Championship | 
| .svg.png.webp) John Buonavoglia | .svg.png.webp) Sydney Olympic FC (loan) | 16 May 2005 | 30 June 2005 | Signed for Oceania Club Championship | 
| 1 September 2005 | 3 September 2005 | Cover for Sasho Petrovski while on international duty | ||
| 4 October 2005 | 4 November 2005 | Replacement for Steve Laurie | ||
| 29 November 2005 | 17 December 2005 | Signed for Club World Championship | ||
|  Kazuyoshi Miura |  Yokohama FC (loan) | 4 November 2005 | 17 December 2005 | Guest player | 
| .svg.png.webp) Dustin Wells | .svg.png.webp) Belconnen Blue Devils (loan) | 29 November 2005 | 17 December 2005 | Signed for Club World Championship | 
| .svg.png.webp) Ruben Zadkovich |  Notts County F.C. (released) | 29 November 2005 | 17 December 2005 | Signed for Club World Championship | 
| 21 January 2006 | 6 March 2006 | Injury cover for Ufuk Talay | ||
| .svg.png.webp) Tolgay Özbey | .svg.png.webp) Blacktown City Demons (loan) | 9 February 2006 | 6 March 2006 | Injury cover for David Zdrilic | 
Statistics
Competitions
Overall
| Competition | Started round | Final position / round | First match | Last match | 
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oceania Club Championship Qualification | Round 1 | champions | 7 May 2005 | 15 May 2005 | 
| 2004–05 Oceania Club Championship | Group Stage | champions | 31 May 2005 | 10 June 2005 | 
| Pre-Season Challenge Cup | Group Stage | Semi-finalist | 23 July 2005 | 12 August 2005 | 
| 2005–06 A-League | — | 2nd | 28 August 2005 | 3 February 2006 | 
| 2005 FIFA Club World Championship | Quarter-finals | 5th | 12 December 2005 | 16 December 2005 | 
| 2005–06 A-League Finals | Semi-finals | champions | 10 February 2006 | 5 March 2006 | 
2005 Oceania Club Championship Qualification
| Round 1 (7 May) | Semi-finals (11 May) | Finals (15 May) | ||||||||||||
| Perth Glory | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Sydney FC | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Sydney FC | 3 | |||||||||||||
| Queensland Roar | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Sydney FC | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners (pso) | 0 (4) | |||||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 0 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 4 | |||||||||||||
| Adelaide United | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Adelaide United (pso) | 0 (4) | |||||||||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 0 (1) | |||||||||||||
Matches
| 7 May 2005 Round 1 | Sydney FC   | 3 : 0 |  Queensland Roar | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford | 
| report | Attendance: 8,000 | 
| 11 May 2005 Semi-Final | Perth Glory   | 1 : 2 |  Sydney FC | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | 
| report | Attendance: 9,968 | 
| 15 May 2005 Semi-Final | Central Coast Mariners   | 0 : 1 |  Sydney FC | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford | 
| report | Attendance: 9,627 | 
2005 Oceania Club Championship
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| .svg.png.webp) Sydney FC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 4 | +14 | 9 | 
|  AS Pirae | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | −1 | 6 | 
|  Auckland City | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 3 | 
|  Sobou | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 20 | −16 | 0 | 
Knockout stage
| Semifinals | Finals | ||||||||
| A1 | Sydney FC | 6 | |||||||
| B2 | Tafea FC | 0 | |||||||
| A1 | Sydney FC | 2 | |||||||
| B1 | AS Magenta | 0 | |||||||
| B1 | AS Magenta | 4 | |||||||
| A2 | AS Pirae | 1 | Third place | ||||||
| A2 | AS Pirae | 1 | |||||||
| B2 | Tafea FC | 3 | |||||||
Group matches
| 31 May 2005 Group Stage | Sydney FC .svg.png.webp)  | 3 : 2 |  Auckland City | Stade Pater, Tahiti | 
| Ceccoli  32' Packer  47' Corica  90+3' | report | Seaman  37' Smith  78' | Attendance: 4,000 | 
| 2 June 2005 Group Stage | Sobou FC   | 2 : 9 | .svg.png.webp) Sydney FC | Stade Pater, Tahiti | 
| Wate  57' Daniel  90' | report | Fyfe  5' Petrovski  14', 43', 71' Zdrilic  19', 40', 42' Brodie  79' Salazar  82' | Attendance: 3,000 | 
| 4 June 2005 Group Stage | Sydney FC .svg.png.webp)  | 6 : 0 |  AS Pirae | Stade Pater, Tahiti | 
| Zdrilic  11', 25', 35', 39' Buonavoglia  43' Carney  85' | report | Attendance: 1,500 | 
Finals
| 7 June 2005 Semi-Final | Sydney FC .svg.png.webp)  | 6 : 0 |  Tafea | Stade Pater, Tahiti | 
| Petrovski  26' Zdrilic  39' Talay  44' (pen.) Corica  65', 90' Salazar  87' | report | Attendance: 4,000 | 
| 10 June 2005 Final | Sydney FC .svg.png.webp)  | 2 : 0 |  AS Magenta | Stade Pater, Tahiti | 
| Bingley  16' Zdrilic  59' | report | Attendance: 4,000 | 
2005 Pre-season Challenge Cup
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney FC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Advance to semi-finals | 
| 2 | Central Coast Mariners | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Queensland Roar | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 4 | |
| 4 | New Zealand Knights | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 9 | −8 | 0 | 
Knockout stage
| Semi-finals | Final | |||||
| 12 August | ||||||
| Melbourne Victory | 1 | |||||
| 21 August | ||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 3 | |||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 1 | |||||
| 14 August | ||||||
| Perth Glory | 0 | |||||
| Sydney FC | 0 | |||||
| Perth Glory | 1 | |||||
2005–06 A-League
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Adelaide United | 21 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 33 | 25 | +8 | 43 | Qualification for 2007 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series | 
| 2 | Sydney FC (C) | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 36 | |
| 3 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 35 | 28 | +7 | 32 | Qualification for Finals series | 
| 4 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 27 | 29 | −2 | 31 | |
| 5 | Perth Glory | 21 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 34 | 29 | +5 | 29 | |
| 6 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | 22 | +5 | 28 | |
| 7 | Melbourne Victory | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 26 | 24 | +2 | 26 | |
| 8 | New Zealand Knights[lower-alpha 1] | 21 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 15 | 47 | −32 | 6 | 
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions
Notes:
- ↑ New Zealand Knights cannot qualify for the AFC Champions League as they are not recognised as an AFC club.
Knockout stage
| Semifinals | Preliminary final | Final | ||||||||||||
| Adelaide United | 2 | 1 | Sydney FC | 1 | ||||||||||
| Sydney FC | 2 | 2 | Central Coast Mariners | 0 | ||||||||||
| Adelaide United | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Central Coast Mariners | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Newcastle Jets | 0 | 1 | ||||||||||||
Matches
| 28 August 2005 Round 1 | Sydney FC   | 1 : 1 |  Melbourne Victory | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| 17:00 UTC+10 | Yorke  44' | Report Summary | Thompson  73' | Attendance: 25,208 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
| 2 September 2005 Round 2 | New Zealand Knights   | 1 : 3 |  Sydney FC | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | 
| 20:00 UTC+12 | Rose  69' | Report Summary | Rudan  25' Bingley  73' Middleby  90+4' | Attendance: 9,827 Referee:  Peter O'Leary | 
| 11 September 2005 Round 3 | Newcastle Jets   | 2 : 1 |  Sydney FC | EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle | 
| 17:00 UTC+10 | Milicic  6' Johnson  18' Corbo  39'  70' | Report Summary | Yorke  78' Corica  70' | Attendance: 9,127 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 16 September 2005 Round 4 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 3 |  Central Coast Mariners | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| 20:00 UTC+10 | Packer  13' Yorke  72' | Report Summary | Petrie  20' (pen.) Gumprecht  35' Spencer  90+1' | Attendance: 15,614 Referee:  Peter O'Leary | 
| 23 September 2005 Round 5 | Queensland Roar   | 1 : 3 |  Sydney FC | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 
| 20:00 UTC+10 | Timpano  50' (o.g.) | Report Summary | Corica  5', 67' McFlynn  68' | Attendance: 23,142 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 1 October 2005 Round 6 | Perth Glory   | 1 : 2 |  Sydney FC | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | 
| 19:35 UTC+8 | Despotovski  40' | Report Summary | Petrovski  48' Yorke  65' | Attendance: 13,157 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 9 October 2005 Round 7 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 1 |  Adelaide United | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| 17:00 UTC+10 | Carney  54' Petrovski  88' | Report Summary | Valkanis  51' | Attendance: 18,276 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
| 16 October 2005 Round 8 | Melbourne Victory   | 5 : 0 |  Sydney FC | Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne | 
| 13:00 UTC+10 | Kitzbichler  34' Muscat  53' (pen.), 78' (pen.) Thompson  57', 69' | Report Summary | Talay  58' | Attendance: 18,206 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 21 October 2005 Round 9 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 0 |  New Zealand Knights | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| 20:00 UTC+10 | Petrovski  10' Carney  30' | Report Summary | Attendance: 11,836 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Ben Williams | 
| 30 October 2005 Round 10 | Sydney FC   | 1 : 1 |  Newcastle Jets | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| 17:00 UTC+10 | Carney  73' | Report Summary | Milicic  77' | Attendance: 9,132 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
| 5 November 2005 Round 11 | Central Coast Mariners   | 1 : 5 |  Sydney FC | Bluetongue Stadium, Gosford | 
| 20:00 UTC+11 | Hutchinson  40' | Report Summary | Yorke  9' (pen.) Talay  14' Petrovski  23', 68', 83' | Attendance: 10,529 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Simon Przydacz | 
| 13 November 2005 Round 12 | Sydney FC   | 1 : 0 |  Queensland Roar | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Zdrillic  54' | Attendance: 13,030 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Ben Williams | 
| 19 November 2005 Round 13 | Sydney FC   | 0 : 0 |  Perth Glory | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Attendance: 16,242 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 27 November 2005 Round 14 | Adelaide United   | 3 : 2 |  Sydney FC | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide | 
| Rech  4', 84' Veart  14' | Miura  33', 76' | Attendance: 14,068 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
| 3 December 2005 Round 15 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 1 |  Melbourne Victory | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Carney  81' Corica  24' | Allsopp  88' | Attendance: 17,272 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 30 December 2005 Round 16 | New Zealand Knights   | 2 : 2 |  Sydney FC | North Harbour Stadium, Auckland | 
| Brockie  86' Devine  3' | Yorke  45' (pen.) Veart  6' | Attendance: 4,212 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Peter Green | 
| 6 January 2006 Round 17 | Sydney FC   | 0 : 0 |  Newcastle Jets | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Attendance: 15,211 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 14 January 2006 Round 18 | Sydney FC   | 1 : 1 |  Central Coast Mariners | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Carney  61' | Pondeljak  52' | Attendance: 15,977 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Ben Williams | 
| 21 January 2006 Round 19 | Queensland Roar   | 2 : 1 |  Sydney FC | Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane | 
| Brosque  60', 70' | Petrovski  85' | Attendance: 13,302 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Simon Przydacz | 
| 29 January 2006 Round 20 | Perth Glory   | 1 : 2 |  Sydney FC | Members Equity Stadium, Perth | 
| Despotovski  53' | Zadkovich  23' Rudan  14' | Attendance: 12,796 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Craig Zetter | 
| 3 February 2006 Round 21 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 1 |  Adelaide United | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Ceccoli  71' Yorke  48' (pen.) | Qu  90' | Attendance: 25,557 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
Finals series
| 12 February 2006 Major Semi-Final Leg 1 | Adelaide United   | 2 : 2 |  Sydney FC | Hindmarsh Stadium, Adelaide | 
| Rech  34' Dodd  31' | Petrovski  39' Corica  9' | Attendance: 15,104 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Matthew Breeze | 
| 19 February 2006 Major Semi-Final Leg 2 | Sydney FC   | 2 : 1 |  Adelaide United | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Rudan  76' Petrovski  29' | Qu  60' | Attendance: 30,377 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
| 5 March 2006 Grand Final | Sydney FC   | 1 : 0 |  Central Coast Mariners | Aussie Stadium, Sydney | 
| Corica  62' | Attendance: 41,689 Referee: .svg.png.webp) Mark Shield | 
2005 FIFA World Club Championship
Appearances and goals
Players with no appearances not included in the list.
| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | A-League | CWC Qualifying | Pre-Season Cup | OFC Club Championship | Club World Championship | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
| 1 | GK | .svg.png.webp) | Clint Bolton | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 
| 2 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Iain Fyfe | 20(3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 34(3) | 1 | 
| 3 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Alvin Ceccoli | 24 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 37 | 2 | 
| 4 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Marko Rudan | 10(6) | 3 | 0(1) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 15(9) | 3 | 
| 6 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Ufuk Talay | 15(1) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2(1) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25(2) | 3 | 
| 7 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Robbie Middleby | 2(14) | 1 | 0(3) | 0 | 3(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9(18) | 1 | 
| 8 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Matthew Bingley | 13(7) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 22(7) | 2 | 
| 9 | FW | .svg.png.webp) | David Zdrilic | 9(10) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 5 | 9 | 0(2) | 0 | 17(13) | 10 | 
| 10 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Steve Corica | 21(1) | 5 | 0(3) | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2(3) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 29(7) | 9 | 
| 11 | FW | .svg.png.webp) | Sasho Petrovski | 20(2) | 9 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 32(2) | 18 | 
| 12 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | David Carney | 22(2) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 36(2) | 6 | 
| 14 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Andrew Packer | 13(7) | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 1(1) | 0 | 26(8) | 3 | 
| 15 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Terry McFlynn | 16(5) | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1(1) | 0 | 28(6) | 1 | 
| 16 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Mark Milligan | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 
| 17 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Jacob Timpano | 18(3) | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22(4) | 0 | 
| 18 | DF | .svg.png.webp) | Wade Oostendorp | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0(1) | 0 | 
| 19 | FW |  | Dwight Yorke | 19(2) | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 29(2) | 9 | 
| 23 | MF | .svg.png.webp) | Ruben Zadkovich | 4(2) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4(2) | 1 | 
Team kit
All A-League club kits were supplied by Reebok through a sponsorship deal with the A-League, and all clubs initially had a white change strip, Sydney adopting a light blue trim to their away shirts. The home shirt colour of sky blue adopted the NSW representative colour, contrasted with the navy blue and orange trim.
Shirt sponsorship was secured with health insurance provider Healthe.
|        2005-06 home colours |         2005-06 away colours |      2005-06 goalkeeper colours | 
End-of-season awards
Club Awards
- Player of the Year: Clint Bolton
- Top Scorer: Sasho Petrovski
- Defender of the Year: Alvin Ceccoli
- Midfielder of the Year: David Carney
- Forward of the Year: Dwight Yorke
- Members Player of the Year: David Carney
- Chairman's Award: Mark Rudan
- Finals Player of the Year: Steve Corica
- Goal of the Year: Alvin Ceccoli
A-League Awards
- Joe Marston Medal Winner: Dwight Yorke










