Sydney FC’s top 15 players in the football club’s 15 years
As Sydney FC celebrates its 15th year we look at the top 15 players who have left an indelible mark. VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE AND SEE WHO IS LEADING THE POLL
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They scored goals, won over fans and dazzled with their foot work and prowess on the pitch.
Superstars of the game from overseas and Australia who have thrilled with their feats for the record-breaking Sydney Football Club.
Over the past 15 seasons there have been hundreds of players who have stepped out in the Sky Blue.
We take a look at the 15 who shined the brightest for the famed Sydney club which recently completed its 15th A-League season and 12th W-League season.
See if you agree with the picks (in no particular order).
ALEX BROSQUE
There won’t be a lot of argument about Brosque making the list.
Considered by many to be the Sydney FC GOAT, he is the club’s record goal scorer, record appearance maker and most successful captain with two championships, two premierships and an FFA Cup win.
Joining in 2006, Brosque also won the double in 2010 and sits joint second on the list of the Sky Blues’ most decorated players with seven titles.
One of his greatest moments was leading the Sky Blues to the A-League grand final in Perth in 2019 before retirement.
STEVE CORICA
No one knows the in’s and out’s of Sydney FC quite like current coach Steve Corica.
He is the only staff member to have remained with the Sky Blues throughout its entire history in numerous and various capacities, playing a role as an athlete, captain and coach in all of the club’s 11 A-League trophies.
As a player, Corica’s stand out moment was scoring the winning goal in the first ever A-League grand final.
As a coach, he will be remembered for his perfect record of winning two championships in his first two seasons as team boss.
MILOS NINKOVIC
Many rate Milos Ninkovic as the best player to compete in the A-League.
The 35-year-old is certainly one of the most loyal to Sydney FC.
The Serbian World Cup star joined the Sky Blues in 2015 and has not budged since, amassing seven titles in five years with the club, plus the 2017 Johnny Warren Medal and 2019 Joe Marston Medal.
Ninkovic’s skill and ability continue to impress with the player also one of Sydney FC’s most popular athletes.
ALESSANDRO DEL PIERO
The Juventus star and Italian 2006 World Cup hero arrived in Australia to great fanfare and bought unprecedented attention to the club and the A-League.
Crowds swelled and so did the media attention thanks to the Del Piero factor - and he didn't disappoint.
Del Piero scored 14 goals in his first season - a club record at the time - and then another 10 in his second season with the club.
He was as popular off the pitch as on it, with he and his family part of Sydney’s A-list scene.
CAITLIN FOORD
She is now one of the most recognisable women in world football and a Matildas star with more than 80 caps and 20 goals for Australia.
But when Foord burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old with Sydney FC back in 2010, few knew her.
Foord earned herself more than 100 caps for the club and won three trophies for the Sky Blues before her transfer to Arsenal in 2020.
During her stellar career she has been named Asian Women’s Player Of The Year (2016), Young Player Of The Year (2011) and Best Young Player at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2011.
RHYAN GRANT
The club’s longest serving and most decorated player with nine titles to his name and 10 straight years of service.
He’s also got one impressive mullet that is a constant talking point.
Grant has shown grit in spades at Sydney FC, coming back from two potentially career-threatening knee injuries to score crucial goals in the Sky Blues 2017, 2019 and 2020 A-League grand final wins.
He is one of the few current Socceroos to be playing A-League football and is a crowd favourite.
DWIGHT YORKE
Talk about making an impression.
The UEFA Champions League winner arrived to great fanfare and did not disappoint as the A-League’s first marquee.
The former Manchester United great helped guide Sydney FC to the inaugural A-League
championship back in 2006, scoring eight times along the way.
The forward, with personality and style in bucketloads, added star appeal to the new sporting league and was a regular in both the sport and social pages of newspapers at the time.
TERESA POLIAS
Former Matilda’s player Teresa Polias is heading for a special milestone with Sydney this year - her 10th season at the club.
With 144 appearances to her name, Polias will become the first female player - and second overall after Grant - to notch 10 years with Sydney FC.
The Sydney schoolteacher is the all-time leading appearance maker in W-League history and lead the club to victory in the 2019 W-League grand final and was instrumental in the Sky Blues 2013 championship and 2010 premiership wins.
She has also been part of a club that has never finished outside the top four in the premier women’s competition.
ALEX WILKINSON
Sydney FC’s current captain is one of Australia’s most decorated footballers as the only player to win five national league premierships this season,
Add in his three championships, two K-League titles and an FFA Cup winners medal and Wilkinson fits the bill as a Sydney FC great.
Wilkinson also represented the Socceroos on 16 occasions, playing three games at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He is Sydney FC’s current captain and sits second alongside Brosque, Ninkovic and Zullo with seven titles on the Sky Blues most decorated player list.
BOBO
He bought flash and dash to the A-League - and plenty of goals.
The Brazilian goal scoring sensation became the most prolific striker in a single A-League season during his second year at Sydney FC.
He amassed an incredible 27 goals in the league and 36 in all competitions for the Sky Blues.
He won the Premiers Plate in the 2016/17 and 2018/19 seasons, as well as the championship and the club’s Player Of The Year in 2018.
His astounding tally of his 52 goals in 71 appearances was a goals per game record for the Sky Blues and placed him second on the club’s all time leading goalscorer list.
CLINT BOLTON
Goal keeping sensation Clint Bolton spent five years at the club, playing over 130 games, winning the A-League championship twice, premiership once and the Oceania Football Confederation Champions League.
In 2015 Bolton was one of the inaugural inductees into Sydney FC’s Hall of Fame and is considered by many fans to be the clubs best goalie.
Bolton also represented Sydney FC on the international stage at the Club World Cup in 2006 and AFC Champions League in 2007.
ADRIAN MIERZEJEWSKI
It didn’t take long for Polish forward Adrian Mierzejewski to make an impact at the club.
In his first year he not only claimed the 2018 Johnny Warren Medal but was also a key factor in Sydney FC becoming the first club to win back-to-back A-League premiership titles.
Famed for his ability to score from free-kicks, Mierzejewski notched 15 goals for Sydney FC as well as nine assists, making him a crucial cog in the Sky Blues wheel.
ADAM LE FONDRE
Le Fondre is hard to forget as one of the club’s most lethal marksman.
During his Sydney FC career he netted 45 goals in 68 appearances.
The former Premier League star’s goals ensure the Sky Blues claimed championships in 2019 and 2020, and the premiership double in the latter season.
Le Fondre’s predatory instincts around the goal and his gregarious personality also made him a very popular man with the Sky Blues faithful.
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ALANNA KENNEDY
Alanna Kennedy is one of Sydney FC’s all time leading W-League appearance makers with two Championships and a Premiership to her name in Sky Blue.
She has pulled on the Sydney FC jersey over 100 times and despite only being 25, is approaching her 100th appearance for the Matildas.
Her defensive qualities have ensured the Sky Blues have been water tight over the years and her ability to score goals at the other end of the pitch have made her an invaluable asset.
TERRY MCFLYNN
Terry McFlynn was an inaugural Sydney FC Hall Of Fame inductee who made well over 200 appearances for the club, many as Captain.
He played a vital role in helping the club win it’s first A-League Championship in 2006 and led the Sky Blues to their 2010 Championship win in Melbourne, to claim a first ever double.
McFlynn was Sydney FC’s longest serving player with nine years service when he retired in 2014, becoming the club’s General Manager Of Football until the end of the 2018/19 season.
Originally published as Sydney FC’s top 15 players in the football club’s 15 years
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