Boasting six former captains and four of the club’s top five goal scorers of all time, Adelaide United’s Team of 20 Years as voted by the fans would challenge any side.
To celebrate 20 years of Adelaide United, fans were invited to vote for their Team of 20 Years and they have not disappointed.
From Club legends to cult heroes, the competition was fierce, and there were some big names to miss out.
Announced at the Adelaide United Football Club’s 20th Anniversary dinner at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday night, the squad of 20 would be coached by 2016 A-League Championship winning coach Guillermo Amor, who pipped inaugural manager John Kosmina in the voting. Kosmina was named his assistant.
Of the 20 players included five were women – a sign of the strength of both the women’s and men’s teams over the last two decades.
Games record holder and Championship winning captain Eugene Galekovic and current A-League Women’s star Annalee Grove were chosen as the side’s goalkeepers and would be well protected with a defence that even the best attacks would struggle against.
Leading the backline according to the fans were centre backs Michael Valkanis, Angelo Costanzo and Sasa Ognenovski with Richie Alagich, Michael Marrone, Georgia Campagnale and Brazilian Cassio options at right and left back.
After recently playing his 250th club game, former captain Isaias was the top choice as a central defensive midfielder with Marcelo Carrusca outpolling his fellow Argentine Marcos Flores for the attacking midfielder position. Former A-League women’s captain Dylan Holmes was also selected among the midfielders while two more previous leaders were chosen as wing options.
Craig Goodwin and Travis Dodd polled well on the wings, alongside A-League Women’s top scorer Chelsie Dawber.
The fans selected Bruce Djite, Sergio van Dijk, Racheal Quigley and Carl Veart to lead the line. With 44 goals in 165 games, Djite is second overall on the club’s leading goal scoring charts (behind Goodwin) with van Dijk ranked fifth with his 29 goals.
Veart (27 goals) and Quigley (17, ranked third all-time amongst Adelaide United’s women) were also popular with those who voted.
In all, six of the club’s top eight men’s scorers and two of its top three women’s scorers make the 20-person line-up.
Goalkeepers
Eugene Galekovic
Annalee Grove
Defenders
Richie Alagich
Georgia Campagnale
Cassio
Angelo Costanzo
Michael Marrone
Sasa Ognenovski
Michael Valkanis
Midfielders
Marcelo Carrusca
Chelsie Dawber
Travis Dodd
Marcos Flores
Craig Goodwin
Dylan Holmes
Isaias Sanchez
Strikers
Bruce Djite
Racheal Quigley
Sergio van Dijk
Carl Veart
Coach: Guillermo Amor
Assistant Coach: John Kosmina
