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The Big Blue (A-League Men)

The Big Blue,[1][2] is the name of the soccer rivalry in Australia between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory. While the main colour of both teams and their respective states are shades of the colour blue, in Australian English the word "blue" can also mean "a fight, brawl or heated argument".[3]

The Big Blue
Sydney FC vs Melbourne Victory, Allianz Stadium, February 2010
LocationMelbourne
Sydney (Australia)
TeamsMelbourne Victory
Sydney FC
First meeting28 August 2005
A-League
Sydney FC 1–1 Melbourne Victory
Latest meeting26 January 2024
A-League Men
Melbourne Victory 1–1 Sydney FC
Statistics
Meetings total64
Most winsSydney FC (25)
Most player appearancesLeigh Broxham (47)
Top scorerArchie Thompson (14)
Largest victoryMelbourne Victory 5–0 Sydney FC (16 October 2005)
Melbourne Victory 0–5 Sydney FC (26 January 2014)
Sydney FC 6–1 Melbourne Victory (12 May 2019)

Sydney and Melbourne are the two largest cities in Australia, and Sydney FC and Victory are two of the league's most supported and most successful clubs. The rivalry was further sparked by a number of highly competitive meetings between the two teams in early seasons. The Big Blue generally attracts some of the largest crowds and TV audiences of the regular season.

History edit

Regional rivals edit

There has been a long-standing rivalry between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne, the two largest cities in Australia.

In soccer terms, the rivalry has existed for almost 140 years, starting with the first inter-colonial match between Victoria and New South Wales taking place on 16 August 1883 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground, which ended as a 2–2 draw in front of a crowd of 2,000.[4] These intercolonial and later interstate matches continued regularly as a highlight of early Australian soccer until the outbreak of World War I. Although there were many later matches between various mostly immigrant-founded teams from Melbourne and Sydney in the Australia Cup and the National Soccer League prior to the A-League Men era, the interstate rivalry aspect was not as much of a focus, given the context and identity of the clubs involved.

Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory FC were destined to become major rivals at the inception of the A-League Men due to the historic regional rivalry between their home cities. At the time, the A-League Men operated under the "one-team, one-city" model,[5] so the rivalry was almost instantaneous.

Significant moments edit

 
The 2015 A-League Grand Final at AAMI Park.

The first competitive match between the two clubs was significantly played on the opening weekend of the inaugural 2005–06 A-League season. It was held on 28 August 2005 at Sydney FC's home ground, Sydney Football Stadium. Both teams were eager to stamp their authority as the biggest club in the league, with Sydney FC having already won the 2005 OFC Club Championship during pre-season. The match ended in a 1-all draw as Victory's first player signing and soon to become stalwart, Archie Thompson, cancelled out Sydney FC's marquee signing, Dwight Yorke's first half goal.[6] The second meeting on 16 October 2005 resulted in a landslide win for Victory at their then home ground, Olympic Park Stadium, defeating Sydney FC 5–0.[7] The result still stands as Sydney FC's worst defeat in this fixture.

The first encounter between the clubs during the 2006–07 A-League season (and fourth overall) entrenched the rivalry between the teams as passion and tension fueled the match. Sydney FC skipper, Mark Rudan was sent off after fourteen minutes and Victory player Fred elbowed Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan in the throat. Fred avoided sanction as he was substituted before the referee could see a replay on the big screen.[7] The ugly incident required urgent medical attention as it left Milligan struggling to breathe and there were fears he swallowed his tongue.[8] The following match in Melbourne, the sixth overall, set the record for attendance at an A-League match when 50,333 fans crammed into Etihad Stadium on 8 December 2006. The match ended in a nil-all draw.[7]

After sealing the 2010 Premiership at home on the final day of the season by beating Melbourne 2–0, Sydney FC went on to win the Championship Grand Final on penalties at Melbourne's home stadium.

The rivalry reached another level in 2011, with both teams in pursuit of the signature of Socceroo Harry Kewell pre-season. Melbourne Victory announced they had signed Kewell on 20 August and five days afterwards Sydney FC announced that they had signed Socceroo Brett Emerton from Blackburn Rovers. The teams played out a 0–0 stalemate in the first round of the 2011–12 A-League season, with Australia's head coach not picking either player for national duty, allowing the eagerly-anticipated match up to occur.

A Big Blue match has been played each Australia Day at either the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium or Docklands Stadium in Melbourne since the 2011–12 A-League season which ended in a 2–all draw. However, the 2014–15 A-League season did not feature this fixture due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.

Since 2012, the teams have played for the BeyondBlue Cup, which is awarded to the winning team in the Big Blue.[9] Sydney FC claimed the inaugural BeyondBlue Cup by defeating Melbourne Victory 1–0 at Allianz Stadium on 10 March 2012.

On 10 November 2012, Melbourne Victory came from 2–0 down to win 3–2 at Allianz Stadium, with two late goals from substitute player Andrew Nabbout helping them achieve the result. This match turned out of be Ian Crook's last match as Sydney FC manager, as he announced his resignation shortly after the defeat, which was Sydney's fourth in six games.

The fixture played 8 December 2006 holds the record for the second highest attendance at a regular season match with 50,333 in attendance. Currently, three fixtures between the two sides make up the top ten of the League's highest regular season attendances.[10]

With Sydney defeating Melbourne on 3 March 2017 (36th match), they became the first side to win all 3 games of the rivalry in the normal season.

Melbourne Victory and Sydney met in the 2017 A-League Grand Final. Despite Sydney only losing 1 game throughout the whole season, it was Melbourne Victory who took the lead through a Besart Berisha goal. Sydney FC equalised after halftime thanks to Rhyan Grant. The game went to penalties and Sydney won 4–2 on penalties. It was exactly the same scoreline as there meeting in the 2010 Grand Final.

Head-to-head summary edit

As of 26 January 2024
Competition Played Melbourne Victory wins Draws Sydney FC wins
A-League Men regular season 56 16 18 22
A-League Men finals (except Grand Finals) 5 3 1 1
A-League Men Grand Finals 3 1 0 2
A-League Men (overall) 64 20 19 25
Australia Cup 0 0 0 0
Total 64 20 19 25

All-time results edit

Regular season matches edit

# Date Home team Score Away team Goals (home) Goals (away) Venue Attendance
1 28 August 2005 Sydney 1–1 Melbourne Yorke (44) Thompson (72) Sydney Football Stadium 25,208
2 16 October 2005 Melbourne 5–0 Sydney Kitzbichler (34), Muscat (53, 78), Thompson (57, 69) Olympic Park Stadium 18,208
3 3 December 2005 Sydney 2–1 Melbourne Corica (24), Carney (81) Allsopp (88) Sydney Football Stadium 17,272
4 2 September 2006 Melbourne 3–2 Sydney Allsopp (8, 51), Muscat (11 p) Fyfe (18), Vargas (83 o.g.) Docklands Stadium 39,730
5 21 October 2006 Sydney 1–2 Melbourne Corica (8) Thompson (50, 73) Sydney Football Stadium 20,881
6 8 December 2006 Melbourne 0–0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 50,333
7 6 October 2007 Sydney 0–1 Melbourne Allsopp (82) Sydney Football Stadium 18,436
8 10 November 2007 Melbourne 0–0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 31,884
9 20 January 2008 Sydney 2–2 Melbourne Corica (4), Brosque (62) Milligan (46 o.g.), Allsopp (76) Sydney Football Stadium 33,458
10 16 August 2008 Sydney 0–0 Melbourne Sydney Football Stadium 16,227
11 25 October 2008 Melbourne 0–2 Sydney Bridge (20), Aloisi (62) Docklands Stadium 31,654
12 27 December 2008 Melbourne 3–2 Sydney Thompson (14), Ward (78), Ney Fabiano (80) Cole (1), Gan (4) Docklands Stadium 33,458
13 9 October 2009 Melbourne 0–3 Sydney Brosque (14), Bridge (17, 19) Docklands Stadium 30,668
14 19 December 2009 Melbourne 0–0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 27,344
15 14 February 2010 Sydney 2–0 Melbourne Kisel (34), Aloisi (49) Sydney Football Stadium 25,407
16 7 August 2010 Sydney 3–3 Melbourne Brosque (36), McFlynn (54), Cole (85) Broxham (66), Dugandzic (67), Celeski (73) Sydney Football Stadium 12,106
17 16 October 2010 Melbourne 3–0 Sydney Vargas (20), Hernández (49), Kruse (90) Docklands Stadium 17,299
18 15 January 2011 Sydney 1–1 Melbourne Mäkelä (90) Allsopp (51) Sydney Football Stadium 11,387
19 8 October 2011 Melbourne 0–0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 40,351
20 26 January 2012 Melbourne 2–2 Sydney Cernak (45), Fabio (45+2) Cazarine (56), Ryall (90) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20,053
21 10 March 2012 Sydney 1–0 Melbourne Kisel (34 p) Sydney Football Stadium 18,180
22 10 November 2012 Sydney 2–3 Melbourne Yau (14), Bosschaart (48) Nabbout (75, 88), Thompson (83) Sydney Football Stadium 21,531
23 26 January 2013 Melbourne 3–1 Sydney Rojas (23, 73), Thompson (67) Griffiths (75) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 26,882
24 16 March 2013 Sydney 1–1 Melbourne Yau (85) Milligan (3) Sydney Football Stadium 22,233
25 9 November 2013 Sydney 3–2 Melbourne Garcia (3), Ryall (15), Del Piero (37 p) Thompson (18), Troisi (27) Sydney Football Stadium 18,784
26 26 January 2014 Melbourne 0–5 Sydney Despotovic (11), Del Piero (20 p, 54), Ryall (25), Carle (87) Docklands Stadium 24,354
27 29 March 2014 Melbourne 1–1 Sydney Troisi (63) Chianese (48) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20,447
28 15 November 2014 Sydney 0–0 Melbourne Sydney Football Stadium 21,242
29 13 December 2014 Melbourne 3–3 Sydney Thompson (23, 47, 79) Janko (17), Smeltz (51, 76) Docklands Stadium 25,242
30 14 February 2015 Sydney 3–3 Melbourne Janko (8 p), Smeltz (73 p, 85) Barbarouses (34), Finkler (41), Ansell (78) Sydney Football Stadium 17,352
31 14 November 2015 Sydney 2–4 Melbourne Hološko (5), Brosque (20) Berisha (9, 90+2), Finkler (28), Barbarouses (68) Sydney Football Stadium 15,947
32 26 January 2016 Melbourne 1–0 Sydney Jurman (79 o.g.) Docklands Stadium 30,493
33 27 February 2016 Melbourne 1–1 Sydney Barbarouses (46) Carney (76) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20,112
34 5 November 2016 Sydney 2–1 Melbourne Carney (63, 78) Austin (41) Sydney Football Stadium 19,143
35 26 January 2017 Melbourne 1–2 Sydney Troisi (18) Hološko (38), Ibini (65) Docklands Stadium 30,262
36 3 March 2017 Sydney 1–0 Melbourne Bobô (20) Sydney Football Stadium 13,310
37 7 October 2017 Melbourne 0–1 Sydney Deng (53 o.g.) Docklands Stadium 24,804
38 26 January 2018 Melbourne 1–3 Sydney Berisha (58 p) Bobô (60, p 78), Carney (84) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 21,037
39 13 April 2018 Sydney 1–0 Melbourne Bobô (8) Sydney Football Stadium 15,567
40 25 November 2018 Sydney 1–2 Melbourne Le Fondre (35) Toivonen (23), Honda (71 p) Jubilee Oval 19,081
41 26 January 2019 Melbourne 2–1 Sydney Toivonen (20), Troisi (58) Ninkovic (63) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 21,085
42 6 April 2019 Sydney 2–1 Melbourne O'Neill (6), Ninkovic (90+3) Barbarouses (16) Sydney Cricket Ground 14,155
43 17 November 2019 Sydney 2–1 Melbourne Le Fondre (61), Barbarouses (68) Toivonen (45) Jubilee Oval 16,116
44 24 January 2020 Melbourne 0–3 Sydney Le Fondre (27), Barbarouses (53), Baumjohann (85) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 17,814
45 7 March 2020 Melbourne 1–4 Sydney Rojas (5) Ninkovic (43), Caceres (64), Le Fondre (66), Barbarouses (87 p) Docklands Stadium 15,102
46 4 April 2021 Melbourne 0–3 Sydney Bobô (42), Barbarouses (50), Baumjohann (84 p) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 5,347
47 27 April 2021 Sydney 1–0 Melbourne Bobô (6) Jubilee Oval 4,816
48 19 May 2021 Sydney 2–0 Melbourne Bobô (10), Barbarouses (83) Jubilee Oval 4,226
49 25 January 2022 Melbourne 2–2 Sydney Folami (17), Kruse (77) Ninkovic (37), Bobô (81) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 10,496
50 7 May 2022 Sydney 1–4 Melbourne Le Fondre (16) D'Agostino (14), Brimmer (30), Geria (38), Hamill (87) Jubilee Oval 11,404
51 8 October 2022 Sydney 2–3 Melbourne Mak (15), Donachie (79) D'Agostino (31), Ikonomidis (67), Brillante (83) Sydney Football Stadium 21,840
52 26 January 2023 Melbourne 1–2 Sydney Brimmer (26) Burgess (32), Le Fondre (52) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 8,181
53 4 March 2023 Sydney 1–0 Melbourne Caceres (35) Sydney Football Stadium 15,167
54 21 October 2023 Sydney 0–2 Melbourne Fornaroli (62), Machach (86) Sydney Football Stadium 14,586
55 16 December 2023 Melbourne 3–0 Sydney Arzani (20), Machach (24), Fornaroli (57) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 14,607
56 26 January 2024 Melbourne 1–1 Sydney Machach (17) Courtney-Perkins (10) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 18,012
League home record
Home team Matches Wins Draws Losses
Sydney 28 12 8 8
Melbourne 28 8 10 10
Overall league head-to-head record
Matches Sydney FC wins Melbourne Victory wins Draws
56 22 16 18

Finals series matches edit

# Date Round Home team Score Away team Goals (home) Goals (away) Venue Attendance
1 18 February 2010 Semi-final 1st leg Melbourne 2–1 Sydney Mrdja (16), Hernández (40) Aloisi (43) Docklands Stadium 28,453
2 7 March 2010 Semi-final 2nd leg Sydney 2–2 AET Melbourne Kisel (36 p), Bridge (54) Kruse (15), Thompson (114) Sydney Football Stadium 23,818
3 20 March 2010 Grand Final Melbourne 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(2–4 p)
Sydney Leijer (81) Bridge (63) Docklands Stadium 44,560
4 18 April 2014 Elimination Final Melbourne 2–1 Sydney Thompson (19), Finkler (90+2) Ryall (33) Docklands Stadium 20,802
5 17 May 2015 Grand Final Melbourne 3–0 Sydney Berisha (33), Barbarouses (83), Broxham (90) Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 29,843
6 7 May 2017 Grand Final Sydney 1–1 (a.e.t.)
(4–2 p)
Melbourne Grant (69) Berisha (20) Sydney Football Stadium 41,546
7 28 April 2018 Semi-final Sydney 2–3 (a.e.t.) Melbourne Nigro (24 o.g.), Antonis (90+5 o.g.) Barbarouses (31), Troisi (47), Antonis (117) Sydney Football Stadium 17,775
8 12 May 2019 Semi-final Sydney 6–1 Melbourne Calver (3), Brosque (43), Broxham (45+2 o.g.), Le Fondre (63 p, 68), Ninkovic (88) Toivonen (90+1) Jubilee Oval 12,141
Finals home record
Home Team Matches Wins Losses Draws
Sydney 4 2 1 1
Melbourne 4 3 1 0
Overall finals head-to-head record
Matches Sydney FC wins Melbourne Victory wins Draws
8 3 4 1

Leading goalscorers (4+ goals) edit

As of 26 January 2024
Player Club Goals scored
  Archie Thompson Melbourne 14
  Kosta Barbarouses Melbourne/Sydney 11
  Adam Le Fondre Sydney 8
  Bobô Sydney 8
  Danny Allsopp Melbourne 6
  Besart Berisha Melbourne 5
  James Troisi Melbourne 5
  Alex Brosque Sydney 5
  Mark Bridge Sydney 5
  David Carney Sydney 5
  Shane Smeltz Sydney 4
  Ola Toivonen Melbourne 4
  • BOLD indicates player still playing for that club.

Players who played for both clubs edit

As of 26 January 2024
Player Nation Melbourne Sydney FC Total "Big Blues"
Years Record Years Record Apps Goals Record
Sebastian Ryall[11]   2007–2009 2–1–0 2009–2018 8–12–6 29 (3 / 26) 4 (0 / 4) 10–13–6
Mark Milligan[12][13]   2012–2015,
2017–2018
4–5–3 2005–2008 1–3–3 19 (12 / 7) 1 (1 / 0) 5–8–6
Fabio[14]   2011–2012 0–2–1 2012–2013 0–0–2 5 (3 / 2) 1 (1 / 0) 0–2–3
Danny Vukovic[15][16]   2015–2016 2–1–0 2016–2017 4–0–0 7 (3 / 4) 0 6–1–0[a]
Terry Antonis[17][18]   2018–2019 3–0–3 2010–2015 1–5–2 14 (6 / 8) 1 (1 / 0) 4–5–5
Mitch Austin[19][20]   2016–2018 0–0–2 2019 0–0–0 2 (2 / 0) 1 (1 / 0) 0–0–2
Kosta Barbarouses   2013–2016, 2017–19 7–4–5 2019–2022 6–0–1 23 (16 / 7) 11 (6 / 5) 13–4–6
James Donachie   2016–2018, 2019–20 1–0–10 2021–2023 2–1–2 16 (11 / 5) 1 (0 / 1) 3–1–12
Elvis Kamsoba   2019–2021 1–0–7 2021–2022 0–1–1 10 (8 / 2) 0 (0 / 0) 1–1–8
Joshua Brillante   2021–2023 2–1–1 2016–2019 9–0–3 16 (4 / 12) 0 (0 / 0) 11–1–4

Players in bold denote currently still active at either Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC

  1. ^ Wins include 2017 A-League Grand Final won in penalty shootout

Played for one, managed the other edit

As of 26 January 2024
Manager Played for Managed
Team Span League

apps

League

goals

Team Span G W D L Win %
Tony Popovic Sydney FC 2007–2008 27 1 Melbourne Victory 2021–present 80 34 23 23 42.50

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
  2. ^ Di Fabbio, Robbie (25 January 2013). "Big Blue, Australia's national derby". theroar.com.au. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Blue". The Macquarie Essential Dictionary. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd. 1999. p. 81.
  4. ^ INTERCOLONIAL FOOTBALL MATCH – VICTORIA v. NEW SOUTH WALES, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 August 1883
  5. ^ Gorman, Joe (8 November 2012). "'Big Blue' still the A-League's big rivalry". theroar.com.au. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  6. ^ "Round 1". ultimatealeague.com. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Bossi, Dominic (15 May 2015). "A-League grand final: 10 moments that define the Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory rivalry". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  8. ^ Bossi, Dominic (14 February 2015). "History fuels the rivalry between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory, says Mark Milligan". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
  9. ^ . www.footballaustralia.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Statistics Attendance". ultimatealeague.com. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  11. ^ "Ryall A-League opponents". ultimatealeague.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Milligan Record against Sydney FC". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Milligan Record against Melbourne". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Fabio A-League opponents". ultimatealeague.com. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  15. ^ "Vukovic against Sydney FC". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Vukovic against Melbourne". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  17. ^ "Antonis against Sydney FC". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  18. ^ "Antonis against Melbourne". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Austin against Sydney FC". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Austin against Melbourne". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 6 April 2019.

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The Big Blue 1 2 is the name of the soccer rivalry in Australia between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory While the main colour of both teams and their respective states are shades of the colour blue in Australian English the word blue can also mean a fight brawl or heated argument 3 The Big BlueSydney FC vs Melbourne Victory Allianz Stadium February 2010LocationMelbourneSydney Australia TeamsMelbourne VictorySydney FCFirst meeting28 August 2005A LeagueSydney FC 1 1 Melbourne VictoryLatest meeting26 January 2024A League MenMelbourne Victory 1 1 Sydney FCStatisticsMeetings total64Most winsSydney FC 25 Most player appearancesLeigh Broxham 47 Top scorerArchie Thompson 14 Largest victoryMelbourne Victory 5 0 Sydney FC 16 October 2005 Melbourne Victory 0 5 Sydney FC 26 January 2014 Sydney FC 6 1 Melbourne Victory 12 May 2019 Sydney and Melbourne are the two largest cities in Australia and Sydney FC and Victory are two of the league s most supported and most successful clubs The rivalry was further sparked by a number of highly competitive meetings between the two teams in early seasons The Big Blue generally attracts some of the largest crowds and TV audiences of the regular season Contents 1 History 1 1 Regional rivals 1 2 Significant moments 2 Head to head summary 3 All time results 3 1 Regular season matches 3 2 Finals series matches 4 Leading goalscorers 4 goals 5 Players who played for both clubs 6 Played for one managed the other 7 See also 8 ReferencesHistory editRegional rivals edit Main article Australian regional rivalries Sydney Melbourne rivalry There has been a long standing rivalry between the cities of Sydney and Melbourne the two largest cities in Australia In soccer terms the rivalry has existed for almost 140 years starting with the first inter colonial match between Victoria and New South Wales taking place on 16 August 1883 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground which ended as a 2 2 draw in front of a crowd of 2 000 4 These intercolonial and later interstate matches continued regularly as a highlight of early Australian soccer until the outbreak of World War I Although there were many later matches between various mostly immigrant founded teams from Melbourne and Sydney in the Australia Cup and the National Soccer League prior to the A League Men era the interstate rivalry aspect was not as much of a focus given the context and identity of the clubs involved Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory FC were destined to become major rivals at the inception of the A League Men due to the historic regional rivalry between their home cities At the time the A League Men operated under the one team one city model 5 so the rivalry was almost instantaneous Significant moments edit This section needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information September 2020 nbsp The 2015 A League Grand Final at AAMI Park The first competitive match between the two clubs was significantly played on the opening weekend of the inaugural 2005 06 A League season It was held on 28 August 2005 at Sydney FC s home ground Sydney Football Stadium Both teams were eager to stamp their authority as the biggest club in the league with Sydney FC having already won the 2005 OFC Club Championship during pre season The match ended in a 1 all draw as Victory s first player signing and soon to become stalwart Archie Thompson cancelled out Sydney FC s marquee signing Dwight Yorke s first half goal 6 The second meeting on 16 October 2005 resulted in a landslide win for Victory at their then home ground Olympic Park Stadium defeating Sydney FC 5 0 7 The result still stands as Sydney FC s worst defeat in this fixture The first encounter between the clubs during the 2006 07 A League season and fourth overall entrenched the rivalry between the teams as passion and tension fueled the match Sydney FC skipper Mark Rudan was sent off after fourteen minutes and Victory player Fred elbowed Sydney FC defender Mark Milligan in the throat Fred avoided sanction as he was substituted before the referee could see a replay on the big screen 7 The ugly incident required urgent medical attention as it left Milligan struggling to breathe and there were fears he swallowed his tongue 8 The following match in Melbourne the sixth overall set the record for attendance at an A League match when 50 333 fans crammed into Etihad Stadium on 8 December 2006 The match ended in a nil all draw 7 After sealing the 2010 Premiership at home on the final day of the season by beating Melbourne 2 0 Sydney FC went on to win the Championship Grand Final on penalties at Melbourne s home stadium The rivalry reached another level in 2011 with both teams in pursuit of the signature of Socceroo Harry Kewell pre season Melbourne Victory announced they had signed Kewell on 20 August and five days afterwards Sydney FC announced that they had signed Socceroo Brett Emerton from Blackburn Rovers The teams played out a 0 0 stalemate in the first round of the 2011 12 A League season with Australia s head coach not picking either player for national duty allowing the eagerly anticipated match up to occur A Big Blue match has been played each Australia Day at either the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium or Docklands Stadium in Melbourne since the 2011 12 A League season which ended in a 2 all draw However the 2014 15 A League season did not feature this fixture due to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup Since 2012 the teams have played for the BeyondBlue Cup which is awarded to the winning team in the Big Blue 9 Sydney FC claimed the inaugural BeyondBlue Cup by defeating Melbourne Victory 1 0 at Allianz Stadium on 10 March 2012 On 10 November 2012 Melbourne Victory came from 2 0 down to win 3 2 at Allianz Stadium with two late goals from substitute player Andrew Nabbout helping them achieve the result This match turned out of be Ian Crook s last match as Sydney FC manager as he announced his resignation shortly after the defeat which was Sydney s fourth in six games The fixture played 8 December 2006 holds the record for the second highest attendance at a regular season match with 50 333 in attendance Currently three fixtures between the two sides make up the top ten of the League s highest regular season attendances 10 With Sydney defeating Melbourne on 3 March 2017 36th match they became the first side to win all 3 games of the rivalry in the normal season Melbourne Victory and Sydney met in the 2017 A League Grand Final Despite Sydney only losing 1 game throughout the whole season it was Melbourne Victory who took the lead through a Besart Berisha goal Sydney FC equalised after halftime thanks to Rhyan Grant The game went to penalties and Sydney won 4 2 on penalties It was exactly the same scoreline as there meeting in the 2010 Grand Final Head to head summary editAs of 26 January 2024Competition Played Melbourne Victory wins Draws Sydney FC winsA League Men regular season 56 16 18 22A League Men finals except Grand Finals 5 3 1 1A League Men Grand Finals 3 1 0 2A League Men overall 64 20 19 25Australia Cup 0 0 0 0Total 64 20 19 25All time results editRegular season matches edit Date Home team Score Away team Goals home Goals away Venue Attendance1 28 August 2005 Sydney 1 1 Melbourne Yorke 44 Thompson 72 Sydney Football Stadium 25 2082 16 October 2005 Melbourne 5 0 Sydney Kitzbichler 34 Muscat 53 78 Thompson 57 69 Olympic Park Stadium 18 2083 3 December 2005 Sydney 2 1 Melbourne Corica 24 Carney 81 Allsopp 88 Sydney Football Stadium 17 2724 2 September 2006 Melbourne 3 2 Sydney Allsopp 8 51 Muscat 11 p Fyfe 18 Vargas 83 o g Docklands Stadium 39 7305 21 October 2006 Sydney 1 2 Melbourne Corica 8 Thompson 50 73 Sydney Football Stadium 20 8816 8 December 2006 Melbourne 0 0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 50 3337 6 October 2007 Sydney 0 1 Melbourne Allsopp 82 Sydney Football Stadium 18 4368 10 November 2007 Melbourne 0 0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 31 8849 20 January 2008 Sydney 2 2 Melbourne Corica 4 Brosque 62 Milligan 46 o g Allsopp 76 Sydney Football Stadium 33 45810 16 August 2008 Sydney 0 0 Melbourne Sydney Football Stadium 16 22711 25 October 2008 Melbourne 0 2 Sydney Bridge 20 Aloisi 62 Docklands Stadium 31 65412 27 December 2008 Melbourne 3 2 Sydney Thompson 14 Ward 78 Ney Fabiano 80 Cole 1 Gan 4 Docklands Stadium 33 45813 9 October 2009 Melbourne 0 3 Sydney Brosque 14 Bridge 17 19 Docklands Stadium 30 66814 19 December 2009 Melbourne 0 0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 27 34415 14 February 2010 Sydney 2 0 Melbourne Kisel 34 Aloisi 49 Sydney Football Stadium 25 40716 7 August 2010 Sydney 3 3 Melbourne Brosque 36 McFlynn 54 Cole 85 Broxham 66 Dugandzic 67 Celeski 73 Sydney Football Stadium 12 10617 16 October 2010 Melbourne 3 0 Sydney Vargas 20 Hernandez 49 Kruse 90 Docklands Stadium 17 29918 15 January 2011 Sydney 1 1 Melbourne Makela 90 Allsopp 51 Sydney Football Stadium 11 38719 8 October 2011 Melbourne 0 0 Sydney Docklands Stadium 40 35120 26 January 2012 Melbourne 2 2 Sydney Cernak 45 Fabio 45 2 Cazarine 56 Ryall 90 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20 05321 10 March 2012 Sydney 1 0 Melbourne Kisel 34 p Sydney Football Stadium 18 18022 10 November 2012 Sydney 2 3 Melbourne Yau 14 Bosschaart 48 Nabbout 75 88 Thompson 83 Sydney Football Stadium 21 53123 26 January 2013 Melbourne 3 1 Sydney Rojas 23 73 Thompson 67 Griffiths 75 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 26 88224 16 March 2013 Sydney 1 1 Melbourne Yau 85 Milligan 3 Sydney Football Stadium 22 23325 9 November 2013 Sydney 3 2 Melbourne Garcia 3 Ryall 15 Del Piero 37 p Thompson 18 Troisi 27 Sydney Football Stadium 18 78426 26 January 2014 Melbourne 0 5 Sydney Despotovic 11 Del Piero 20 p 54 Ryall 25 Carle 87 Docklands Stadium 24 35427 29 March 2014 Melbourne 1 1 Sydney Troisi 63 Chianese 48 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20 44728 15 November 2014 Sydney 0 0 Melbourne Sydney Football Stadium 21 24229 13 December 2014 Melbourne 3 3 Sydney Thompson 23 47 79 Janko 17 Smeltz 51 76 Docklands Stadium 25 24230 14 February 2015 Sydney 3 3 Melbourne Janko 8 p Smeltz 73 p 85 Barbarouses 34 Finkler 41 Ansell 78 Sydney Football Stadium 17 35231 14 November 2015 Sydney 2 4 Melbourne Holosko 5 Brosque 20 Berisha 9 90 2 Finkler 28 Barbarouses 68 Sydney Football Stadium 15 94732 26 January 2016 Melbourne 1 0 Sydney Jurman 79 o g Docklands Stadium 30 49333 27 February 2016 Melbourne 1 1 Sydney Barbarouses 46 Carney 76 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 20 11234 5 November 2016 Sydney 2 1 Melbourne Carney 63 78 Austin 41 Sydney Football Stadium 19 14335 26 January 2017 Melbourne 1 2 Sydney Troisi 18 Holosko 38 Ibini 65 Docklands Stadium 30 26236 3 March 2017 Sydney 1 0 Melbourne Bobo 20 Sydney Football Stadium 13 31037 7 October 2017 Melbourne 0 1 Sydney Deng 53 o g Docklands Stadium 24 80438 26 January 2018 Melbourne 1 3 Sydney Berisha 58 p Bobo 60 p 78 Carney 84 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 21 03739 13 April 2018 Sydney 1 0 Melbourne Bobo 8 Sydney Football Stadium 15 56740 25 November 2018 Sydney 1 2 Melbourne Le Fondre 35 Toivonen 23 Honda 71 p Jubilee Oval 19 08141 26 January 2019 Melbourne 2 1 Sydney Toivonen 20 Troisi 58 Ninkovic 63 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 21 08542 6 April 2019 Sydney 2 1 Melbourne O Neill 6 Ninkovic 90 3 Barbarouses 16 Sydney Cricket Ground 14 15543 17 November 2019 Sydney 2 1 Melbourne Le Fondre 61 Barbarouses 68 Toivonen 45 Jubilee Oval 16 11644 24 January 2020 Melbourne 0 3 Sydney Le Fondre 27 Barbarouses 53 Baumjohann 85 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 17 81445 7 March 2020 Melbourne 1 4 Sydney Rojas 5 Ninkovic 43 Caceres 64 Le Fondre 66 Barbarouses 87 p Docklands Stadium 15 10246 4 April 2021 Melbourne 0 3 Sydney Bobo 42 Barbarouses 50 Baumjohann 84 p Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 5 34747 27 April 2021 Sydney 1 0 Melbourne Bobo 6 Jubilee Oval 4 81648 19 May 2021 Sydney 2 0 Melbourne Bobo 10 Barbarouses 83 Jubilee Oval 4 22649 25 January 2022 Melbourne 2 2 Sydney Folami 17 Kruse 77 Ninkovic 37 Bobo 81 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 10 49650 7 May 2022 Sydney 1 4 Melbourne Le Fondre 16 D Agostino 14 Brimmer 30 Geria 38 Hamill 87 Jubilee Oval 11 40451 8 October 2022 Sydney 2 3 Melbourne Mak 15 Donachie 79 D Agostino 31 Ikonomidis 67 Brillante 83 Sydney Football Stadium 21 84052 26 January 2023 Melbourne 1 2 Sydney Brimmer 26 Burgess 32 Le Fondre 52 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 8 18153 4 March 2023 Sydney 1 0 Melbourne Caceres 35 Sydney Football Stadium 15 16754 21 October 2023 Sydney 0 2 Melbourne Fornaroli 62 Machach 86 Sydney Football Stadium 14 58655 16 December 2023 Melbourne 3 0 Sydney Arzani 20 Machach 24 Fornaroli 57 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 14 60756 26 January 2024 Melbourne 1 1 Sydney Machach 17 Courtney Perkins 10 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 18 012League home recordHome team Matches Wins Draws LossesSydney 28 12 8 8Melbourne 28 8 10 10Overall league head to head recordMatches Sydney FC wins Melbourne Victory wins Draws56 22 16 18Finals series matches edit Date Round Home team Score Away team Goals home Goals away Venue Attendance1 18 February 2010 Semi final 1st leg Melbourne 2 1 Sydney Mrdja 16 Hernandez 40 Aloisi 43 Docklands Stadium 28 4532 7 March 2010 Semi final 2nd leg Sydney 2 2 AET Melbourne Kisel 36 p Bridge 54 Kruse 15 Thompson 114 Sydney Football Stadium 23 8183 20 March 2010 Grand Final Melbourne 1 1 a e t 2 4 p Sydney Leijer 81 Bridge 63 Docklands Stadium 44 5604 18 April 2014 Elimination Final Melbourne 2 1 Sydney Thompson 19 Finkler 90 2 Ryall 33 Docklands Stadium 20 8025 17 May 2015 Grand Final Melbourne 3 0 Sydney Berisha 33 Barbarouses 83 Broxham 90 Melbourne Rectangular Stadium 29 8436 7 May 2017 Grand Final Sydney 1 1 a e t 4 2 p Melbourne Grant 69 Berisha 20 Sydney Football Stadium 41 5467 28 April 2018 Semi final Sydney 2 3 a e t Melbourne Nigro 24 o g Antonis 90 5 o g Barbarouses 31 Troisi 47 Antonis 117 Sydney Football Stadium 17 7758 12 May 2019 Semi final Sydney 6 1 Melbourne Calver 3 Brosque 43 Broxham 45 2 o g Le Fondre 63 p 68 Ninkovic 88 Toivonen 90 1 Jubilee Oval 12 141Finals home recordHome Team Matches Wins Losses DrawsSydney 4 2 1 1Melbourne 4 3 1 0Overall finals head to head recordMatches Sydney FC wins Melbourne Victory wins Draws8 3 4 1Leading goalscorers 4 goals editAs of 26 January 2024Player Club Goals scored nbsp Archie Thompson Melbourne 14 nbsp Kosta Barbarouses Melbourne Sydney 11 nbsp Adam Le Fondre Sydney 8 nbsp Bobo Sydney 8 nbsp Danny Allsopp Melbourne 6 nbsp Besart Berisha Melbourne 5 nbsp James Troisi Melbourne 5 nbsp Alex Brosque Sydney 5 nbsp Mark Bridge Sydney 5 nbsp David Carney Sydney 5 nbsp Shane Smeltz Sydney 4 nbsp Ola Toivonen Melbourne 4BOLD indicates player still playing for that club Players who played for both clubs editAs of 26 January 2024Player Nation Melbourne Sydney FC Total Big Blues Years Record Years Record Apps Goals RecordSebastian Ryall 11 nbsp 2007 2009 2 1 0 2009 2018 8 12 6 29 3 26 4 0 4 10 13 6Mark Milligan 12 13 nbsp 2012 2015 2017 2018 4 5 3 2005 2008 1 3 3 19 12 7 1 1 0 5 8 6Fabio 14 nbsp 2011 2012 0 2 1 2012 2013 0 0 2 5 3 2 1 1 0 0 2 3Danny Vukovic 15 16 nbsp 2015 2016 2 1 0 2016 2017 4 0 0 7 3 4 0 6 1 0 a Terry Antonis 17 18 nbsp 2018 2019 3 0 3 2010 2015 1 5 2 14 6 8 1 1 0 4 5 5Mitch Austin 19 20 nbsp 2016 2018 0 0 2 2019 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 2Kosta Barbarouses nbsp 2013 2016 2017 19 7 4 5 2019 2022 6 0 1 23 16 7 11 6 5 13 4 6James Donachie nbsp 2016 2018 2019 20 1 0 10 2021 2023 2 1 2 16 11 5 1 0 1 3 1 12Elvis Kamsoba nbsp 2019 2021 1 0 7 2021 2022 0 1 1 10 8 2 0 0 0 1 1 8Joshua Brillante nbsp 2021 2023 2 1 1 2016 2019 9 0 3 16 4 12 0 0 0 11 1 4Players in bold denote currently still active at either Melbourne Victory or Sydney FC Wins include 2017 A League Grand Final won in penalty shootoutPlayed for one managed the other editAs of 26 January 2024Manager Played for ManagedTeam Span League apps League goals Team Span G W D L Win Tony Popovic Sydney FC 2007 2008 27 1 Melbourne Victory 2021 present 80 34 23 23 42 50See also editSoccer in Australia List of association football club rivalries by countryReferences edit Motorsport Video Motorsport Highlights Replays News Clips Di Fabbio Robbie 25 January 2013 Big Blue Australia s national derby theroar com au Retrieved 24 November 2015 Blue The Macquarie Essential Dictionary The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd 1999 p 81 INTERCOLONIAL FOOTBALL MATCH VICTORIA v NEW SOUTH WALES Sydney Morning Herald 17 August 1883 Gorman Joe 8 November 2012 Big Blue still the A League s big rivalry theroar com au Retrieved 27 November 2015 Round 1 ultimatealeague com Retrieved 27 November 2015 a b c Bossi Dominic 15 May 2015 A League grand final 10 moments that define the Sydney FC v Melbourne Victory rivalry The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 27 November 2015 Bossi Dominic 14 February 2015 History fuels the rivalry between Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory says Mark Milligan The Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 27 November 2015 The Big Blue becomes the beyondblue Cup Football Australia 2013 www footballaustralia com au Archived from the original on 15 April 2014 Statistics Attendance ultimatealeague com Retrieved 23 November 2015 Ryall A League opponents ultimatealeague com Retrieved 6 April 2019 Milligan Record against Sydney FC worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Milligan Record against Melbourne worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Fabio A League opponents ultimatealeague com Retrieved 6 April 2019 Vukovic against Sydney FC worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Vukovic against Melbourne worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Antonis against Sydney FC worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Antonis against Melbourne worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Austin against Sydney FC worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Austin against Melbourne worldfootball net Retrieved 6 April 2019 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Big Blue A League Men amp oldid 1208408881, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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