To celebrate 20 years of Adelaide United, we’re inviting fans to vote on our Team of 20 Years.
From Club legends to cult heroes, the competition will be fierce, and we want to know who you think deserves the call up!
Each day we will ask fans to vote on who they believe should be in a selected position, to complete the fan-voted Adelaide United Team of 20 Years. The voting will include both men’s and women’s players.
The final team will be announced at Adelaide United’s 20th Anniversary dinner at Adelaide Oval on Tuesday 23 January.
Today get voting on the right striker. Will it be Carl Veart, Fiona Worts or Bruce Djite? You get to decide!
Enter your vote and your contact details to be in the running to win a double pass to the 20th Anniversary Dinner.
Hosted by Jarrod Walsh, the night will celebrate all the moments and people who have helped shape the club.
Guests will enjoy a three-course meal and premium beverage package, as well as live entertainment and an auction featuring exclusive memorabilia and unique experiences.
Tickets for the 20th Anniversary Dinner are still available with all proceeds from the night going towards the Adelaide United Foundation, which supports youth development, education and community initiatives.
How to vote: The team will be selected in a 4-4-2 formation and include a head coach. A substitutes bench will also be decided from among those that miss out on the starting XI. Click the link below to enter your vote. Voting for all positions will close at midnight on Friday 29 December with the final team to be announced on Tuesday 23 January at Adelaide United’s 20th Anniversary Dinner.
Bruce Djite
Long-time Reds talisman Bruce Djite was powerful, accurate, and able to score from anywhere.
He enjoyed his best run of form in United’s lead-in to the 2016 Grand Final, single-handedly dismantling Melbourne City in the Semi-Final at Coopers Stadium and scoring 11 in 13 games in United’s run to the last day.
Djite also made his mark in the AFC Asian Champions League, scoring his maiden goal for the Reds in the 2007 campaign against South Korea K-League Champions, Seongnam Ilwha from a skilful knee and volley. He also headed home in a decisive 1-0 win against Pohang Steelers in 2012.
With 44 goals in 165 games, Djite, who also returned as United’s successful Head of Football from 2019-2021, is a true Reds legend.
Fernando Rech
Who can forget the partnership that Brazilian Fernando Rech formed with former China international, Shengqing Qu?
Chants of ‘We will, we will Rech Qu’, reverberated all throughout Adelaide in recognition of the deadly partnership.
‘Fernando’ was also the perfect inaugural strike pairing for Carl Veart, and together they led United to a Premiership in its first year.
His winner in front of the biggest home crowd of the season in the 2005/06 Semi-Final against Sydney has gone done in United folklore, along with all 13 of his goals in the first two seasons of the A-League.
Carl Veart
Adelaide United’s current Isuzu UTE A-League head coach was the perfect man to lead the Reds from the front in the first years of its history.
Veart scored 27 goals in over 40 appearances for United, and at the end of the first A-League campaign he was named United’s Player of the Season and nominated for the Johnny Warren Medal.
The Whyalla product was exceptionally skilled in all areas of the game, as evidenced by his decisive lob in a 0-1 win against Melbourne Victory in October 2005, which saw his team to the top of the table.
The striker boasts the rare accomplishment of scoring the Reds’ first-ever goal in the National Soccer League (NSL) as well as bagging the inaugural goal in the A-League.
Hiroshi Ibusuki
The big Japanese number nine currently leads the line for United, and he made in impression immediately with a goal on his A-League debut at home on 15 January 2022.
Standing at 6 ft 5, Ibusuki is understandably potent on the header, but also calm, composed and technical with the ball at his feet.
He scored an outrageous bicycle kick against Newcastle in a 0-2 win in the 2022 Australia Cup, showcasing that he has it all in his locker.
Fiona Worts
Worts is United’s most successful female striker on a goals-to-game ratio, with 39 appearances and 18 goals in her three years with the Club.
She scored 13 goals in 14 regular season matches in 2021/22, on her way to the competition’s Golden Boot as well as the Julie Dolan Medal.
The English striker clinched a record five Adelaide United awards in that season, along with her two league accolades.
Worts created history in that campaign when she scored five goals in United’s 8-2 demolition of Brisbane Roar, becoming the first Red to achieve the feat, and the third player in Liberty A-League history.
