Adelaide United FC Youth

Adelaide United Football Club Youth is the youth system of Adelaide United Football Club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team players in the National Premier Leagues, the second level of Australia's soccer pyramid in Australia. The club also competes in the under-23s Y-League competition.

Adelaide United Youth
Full nameAdelaide United Football Club Youth
Nickname(s)Young Reds, Baby Reds
Founded2008
GroundVALO Football Centre
Capacity3,000
ChairmanPiet Van Der Pol
Youth ManagerVacant
LeagueNPL South Australia
Y-League
202010th (NPL)
WebsiteClub website
Departments of Adelaide United
Football
(Men's)
Football
(Youth Men's)
Football
(Women's)

History

Early Years (2009–2014)

The team was founded in 2008, as an Adelaide United representative team for the inaugural season of the National Youth League competition. Former Adelaide City player, Joe Mullen was appointed as head coach for Adelaide's inaugural youth squad.[1] They finished 2nd to the qualification of the 2009 Grand Final against Sydney FC. The final result was a 2–0 loss at Hindmarsh Stadium with Adelaide finishing runners-up into both the premiership and championship.[2]

Adelaide's top-scorer for their first two seasons was Francesco Monterosso with the first season scoring 13 goals and with the second season scoring 17 goals.[3] This was the only back-to-back Golden Boot winner in the National Youth League.

Within the change of the NYL table format in the second National Youth League season, Adelaide United were still able to qualify for the NYL finals finishing 3rd. Adelaide United lost 1–0 to Perth Glory in the semi-final.[4]

In the 2010–11 season, in the race for the premiership, they finished 3rd again, followed by Central Coast Mariners Youth in 2nd with Gold Coast United Youth being the premiers for the season.

National Premier Leagues entry (2014–present)

In October 2014, it was confirmed that the team would compete in the National Premier Leagues South Australia and National Premier Leagues South Australia Reserves (U20) competitions for the PS4 2015 FFSA season entering in the State League 1, the second division of South Australian football.[5][6]

They gained automatic promotion in their first season to the National Premier Leagues after finishing top of the table as well as the Reserves (U20s).

In October 2015, it was announced that AUFC Youth team were to compete in the 2015 Mediterranean International Cup in Barcelona, Spain. Their first match in Group A was against Los Angeles with the result as a 4–0 victory.[7] Then they lost 1–0 against Barcelona.[8] This was the first game for an Adelaide United side to face Barcelona. The final game was against Palamos CF in a 3–0 victory for Adelaide.

With the final game victory, Adelaide moved on to the Round of 16 against CF Lloret. Both teams could not be split, as the full-time score was 0–0. The game was decided in a penalty shoot-out, which Adelaide United won 5–4.[9] The Reds ended their 2015 Mediterranean International Cup, with a 4–0 loss against Malaga CF.[10]

On 11 January 2016, Adelaide United claimed their premiership in Conference A,[11] with Sydney FC Youth crowned Premiers for Conference B. The Grand Final was played at Central Coast Stadium with Sydney winning the grand final against Adelaide for the second season in a row between these two sides. The final result was 5–2 to Sydney FC Youth with them being 2016 National Youth League Champions.[12]

After their successful premiership in the State League 1, they moved on to the National Premier Leagues South Australia and finished 10th which was one spot away from relegating back to the State League. In 2017, they finished the same position as 2016, finishing 10th, and still avoiding relegation. As the two unsuccessful seasons were finished, Adelaide United Youth qualified for the NPL SA Finals Series for the first time and was defeated by North Eastern MetroStars by a 1–0 scoreline in the qualifying-finals.[13]

Players

NPL/Y-League

As of 27 January 2021[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
6 MF  AUS Louis D'Arrigo
15 DF  AUS Noah Smith
17 FW  AUS Mohamed Toure
24 FW  AUS Pacifique Niyongabire
29 DF  AUS Kusini Yengi
33 GK  AUS Dakota Ochsenham
34 DF  AUS Yared Abetew
37 MF  AUS Jonny Yull
40 GK  AUS Ethan Cox
41 DF  AUS Jackson Walls
43 MF  AUS Daniel Bressan
44 DF  AUS Alexandar Popovic
No. Pos. Nation Player
45 FW  AUS Michael Cittadini
46 FW  AUS Binyam Kebede
47 DF  AUS Adam Leombruno
51 FW  AUS Panashe Madanha
52 FW  AUS Massimo Falco
53 MF  AUS Jaiden Diamantis
54 DF  AUS Noah McNamara
55 MF  AUS Keshav Shrestha
57 DF  AUS Terence Lynch
63 DF  AUS Arbi Mollas
68 DF  AUS Kane Vidmar
90 GK  AUS Steven Hall

Under-20s

As of 4 July 2020[15]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
2  AUS Giuseppe Bovalina
56  AUS Ethan Alagich
57  AUS Terence Lynch
59  AUS Luka Jovanovic
62  AUS Jaxson Bullen
No. Pos. Nation Player
63  AUS Arbi Mollas
66  AUS Calum Campbell
68  AUS Kane Vidmar
90  AUS Steven Hall

Current staff

As of 30 June 2019[16]

Head Coaches

VacantU23 Head Coach
Adrian StentaU20 Head Coach

Staff

Mario KarlovicAssistant U23 Manager
Maurice NataleAssistant U23 Manager
Roberto MuscioTeam Manager
Django GentilcorePhysiotherapist & Sports Scientist

Honours

NPL/Under-23s
Winners (1): 2015–16
Runners-up (1): 2008–09
Runners-up (1): 2009, 2016
Winners (1): 2015
Under-20s
Winners (2): 2017, 2018
Winners (1): 2015

See also

References

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