Perth Glory Football Club
Perth Glory Football Club is one of Australia’s leading football clubs, winning back to back championships in 2002/03 and 2003/04.
Mr Tony Sage is sole owner and Chairman of Perth Glory after completing a buy-out of partner Mr Brett McKeon in February 2008. Mr Sage has enthusiastically set about reinvigorating one of the country’s most successful sporting franchises and has bold plans for the future success of the club.
Mr Sage was the driving force behind the club returning to private ownership following the departure of former owner Mr Nick Tana (2005/06) and one season under the guidance of Football Federation Australia in 2006/07.
Since the club’s inception in 1996, Perth Glory has been synonymous with success on and off the pitch. A loyal and passionate fan base coupled with strong corporate support has been the hallmarks of the two time championship winning club.
Perth Glory is one of only two clubs in the Hyundai A-League to have a history prior to the start of the new national competition. The Glory was the most successful club during the latter stages of the National Soccer League (NSL). Perth Glory’s introduction into the NSL for the 1996/97 season immediately brought a new professionalism to the sport and captured the imagination of WA sports fans.
The club’s success was quickly measured with more than 10,000 people packed into Perth Oval to view the first match at home. An average attendance in the first season of 11,909 set a lofty standard for the remainder of the competition.
Perth Glory achieved a finals berth in their third season and drew 25,000 people to the WACA ground in a semi-final showdown against Adelaide City. The club fell one match short of reaching the Grand Final but the benchmark had been set and from that point on the club featured prominently in finals each season.
Perth hosted the Grand Final the following season and set a record domestic football crowd of 42,000 at Subiaco Oval. Despite going down on the day, the Perth Glory brand continued to make inroads into non-traditional football households throughout WA.
The club would go on to play in another Grand Final at Subiaco Oval in the 2000/01 season and again fall just short.
The wait for Championship success was finally over in 2002/03 when Perth was crowed the nation’s best in an emphatic victory in front of a packed Subiaco Oval.
The joy of the debut title carried through to the following season when the club achieved back to back victories in the final season of the NSL competition.
In eight NSL seasons Perth featured in the finals six times, played in four grand finals, won two championships, and was crowned premiers (top of the table after regular season matches) three times.
A new era in Australian football began with the formation of the Hyundai A-League in August 2005. Despite still being in its infancy the new competition has captured a large portion of the Australian sporting marketplace as Australian’s embrace the world’s biggest game.
The popularity of football at a grass roots level around the country is unsurpassed and in Western Australia there are more than 30,000 registered junior participants.
Mr Sage and Chief Executive Officer Mr Paul Kelly have overseen a significant increase in the areas of sponsorship and corporate hospitality while the club continues to grow its membership base which sits at more than 5000 loyal supporters.
In the 2009/10 season, Perth Glory featured in their first finals campaign since the inception of the Hyundai A-League. After finishing fifth on the table at the end of the home and away season, Glory took on Wellington Phoenix in Wellington but fell just short of a win as a result of a penatly shoot-out.
Perth Glory Football Club
Founded: 1996
Nickname: The Glory
Home Ground: nib Stadium, Perth, Western Australia (18,156)
Colours: Purple, White & Orange
Head Coach: David Mitchell (Since 2007)
Assistant Coaches: Kenny Lowe, Ian Ferguson
Goalkeeper Coach: Lee Bamber
Youth Team Coach: Gareth Naven
Youth Team Assistant Coach: Andy Ord
Most capped player: Bobby Despotovski - 241 games
All-time leading goalscorer: Bobby Despotovski 113 goals
Record win: 5-1 v Newcastle Jets (Rd 7, 2005/06)
Marquee player: Robbie Fowler (international) Mile Sterjovski (Australian)
SQUAD - 2010/11 HYUNDAI A-LEAGUE SEASON
Re-signed: Jamie Coyne, Todd Howarth, Tommy Amphlett, Jamie Harnwell, Victor Sikora
In: Robbie Fowler (North Queensland Fury), Steven McGarry (Motherwell)
Josh Mitchell (Universitatea Craiova), Michael Baird (Universitatea Craiova)
Out: Scott Bulloch, Eugene Dadi, Jimmy Downey, Matthew Mayora – all released, Wayne Srhoj – Melbourne Heart
PERTH GLORY HONOUR ROLL
Most Glorious Player
2009/10 Hyundai A-League - Andy Todd
2008/09 Hyundai A-League – Adriano Pellegrino
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Nikolai Topor-Stanley
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - Simon Colosimo & David Tarka
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Bobby Despotovski
2003/04 National Soccer League - Bobby Despotovski
2002/03 National Soccer League - Scott Miller
2001/02 National Soccer League - Bobby Despotovski
2000/01 National Soccer League - Bobby Despotovski
1999/00 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1998/99 National Soccer League - Danny Hay & Scott Miller
1997/98 National Soccer League - Danny Hay
1996/97 National Soccer League - Gavin Wilkinson
QBE Players’ Player of the Year
2009/10 Hyundai A-League - Andy Todd
2008/09 Hyundai A-League – Nikita Rukavytsya
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Nikolai Topor-Stanley
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - David Tarka
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Bobby Despotovski
Best Clubman
2009/10 Hyundai A-League - Andy Todd
2008/09 Hyundai A-League – Jamie Harnwell
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Dino Djulbic
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - Simon Colosimo
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - David Tarka
2003/04 National Soccer League - Nick Mrdja
2002/03 National Soccer League - Craig Deans
2001/02 National Soccer League - Jamie Harnwell
2000/01 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1999/00 National Soccer League - Jamie Harnwell
1998/99 National Soccer League - Tony Franken
Young Player of the Year
2008/09 Hyundai A-League - Tando Velaphi
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Nikolai Topor-Stanley
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - David Tarka
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Nick Ward
Leading Goalscorer
2009/10 Hyundai A-League - Mile Sterjovski (6 goals)
2008/09 Hyundai A-League – Eugene Dadi (10 goals), Nikita Rukavytsya (10 goals)
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Jamie Harnwell (8 goals)
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - Jamie Harnwell (7 goals)
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Bobby Despotovski (8 goals)
2003/04 National Soccer League - Damian Mori (14 goals)
2002/03 National Soccer League - Damian Mori (23 goals)
2001/02 National Soccer League - Damian Mori (17 goals)
2000/01 National Soccer League - Damian Mori (19 goals)
1999/00 National Soccer League - Con Boutsianis & Alistair Edwards (13 goals)
1998/99 National Soccer League - Con Boutsianis & John Markovski (12 goals)
1997/98 National Soccer League - Bobby Despotovski (8 goals)
1996/97 National Soccer League - Bobby Despotovski (14 goals)
Captain
2009/10 Hyundai A-League - Jacob Burns
2008/09 Hyundai A-League – Jamie Coyne
2007/08 Hyundai A-League - Simon Colosimo
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - Jamie Harnwell
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Jamie Harnwell
2003/04 National Soccer League - Shaun Murphy
2002/03 National Soccer League - Rotating captaincy
2001/02 National Soccer League - Rotating captaincy
2000/01 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1999/00 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1998/99 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1997/98 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
1996/97 National Soccer League - Gareth Naven
TEAM HONOURS
2006/07 Hyundai A-League - Fair Play Award
2005/06 Hyundai A-League - Fair Play Award
2003/04 National Soccer League - Premiers & Champions
2002/03 National Soccer League - Champions
2001/02 National Soccer League - Premiers & Grand Finalists
1999/00 National Soccer League - Premiers & Grand Finalists
1997/98 National Soccer League - Fair Play Award
PERTH GLORY MATCH RECORD HOLDERS
Bobby Despotovski - 241 games
Scott Miller - 227 games
*Jamie Harnwell - 235 games
Jason Petkovic - 177 games
*current player
PERTH GLORY LEADING GOALSCORERS
Bobby Despotovski 113 goals (1996 – 2007)
Damian Mori 84 goals (2000 – 2006)
Jamie Harnwell 40 goals (1998 – current)
Nick Mrdja 25 goals (2001 – 2004)
INDIVIDUAL HONOURS
2005/06 Hyundai A-League
Bobby Despotovski – Johnny Warren Medallist
Bobby Despotovski - Hyundai A-League Golden boot
2003/04 National Soccer League
Jason Petkovic – NSL Goalkeeper of the Year
Mich d’Avray – NSL Coach of the Year
2002/03 National Soccer League
Damian Mori – Warren Medallist
Damian Mori – NSL Leading goalscorer
2001/02 National Soccer League
Damian Mori – NSL Leading goalscorer
1999/00 National Soccer League
Bernd Stange – NSL Coach of the Year
Ivan Ergic – NSL U21 Player of the Year