Adelaide United FC

Adelaide United Football Club is a professional men's soccer club located in Adelaide, South Australia, 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 it's 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.

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.

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.