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Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club based in the
Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
region of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
,
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
. It competes in the country's premier competition, the
A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
, under
licence A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
from The
Australian Professional Leagues The Australian Professional Leagues, commonly abbreviated to the APL, and sometimes referred to as the A-Leagues, are the governing body for the A-League Men, A-League Women, A-League Youth and E-League. Since their formation, they have been most ...
(APL). formerly under licence by the
Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
(FFA). The club had established itself as a major force in both Australia and Asia, having won one A-League Premiership and an
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
title in its history. Formed in April 2012 by FFA, Wanderers was established with a strong community focus. A series of community forums across Western Sydney helped choose the club's name and colours, as well as its culture and playing style. The club's record-breaking inaugural season won them an A-League premiership and saw the club reach the 2013 A-League Grand Final. The club followed that up by contesting the 2014 A-League Grand Final and securing second place in their second season of the league. The club was also crowned Asian Champions in their debut Champions League season, becoming the first, and so far only, Australian side to win the tournament. The club is run from a facility based in
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
, and currently plays matches at
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
. Their foundation home ground of
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
was closed & demolished in 2017 as part of process for building the new stadium. An academy
youth team In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
competes in the National Youth League and the
National Premier Leagues NSW The National Premier Leagues NSW is a semi-professional soccer competition in New South Wales, Australia. The competition is conducted by Football NSW, the organising body in New South Wales (the other being the National Premier Leagues Northern ...
. A women's team competes in the W-League. The youth and women's matches are played at various locations across Western Sydney, including
Marconi Stadium Marconi Stadium is a soccer stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is the home ground for Marconi Stallions, as well as regularly hosting matches for the Western Sydney Wanderers FC National Youth League and W-League teams. Marconi Stallions Althou ...
,
Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...
and Cook Park. The club also has a
Powerchair Football Powerchair Football (French: Foot-fauteuil), also known as Power Soccer, is a variant of association football for people with physical disabilities. Players use specially designed powered wheelchairs in order to maneuver and kick/hit an oversize ...
team which competes in the NSW Western Division Powerchair Football League, with matches played at
Football NSW Football NSW is the governing body for soccer in the Australian state of New South Wales, with the exception of the northern regions of NSW (the governing body for which is Northern New South Wales Football). Football NSW is a member of the nat ...
Headquarters.


History


Origins

The
Western Sydney Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
region was regarded as a potential location for one of the founding
A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
clubs in 2005, originally intended to be the base for
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
. When Sydney FC put forward their bid to participate in the inaugural A-League season,
Football NSW Football NSW is the governing body for soccer in the Australian state of New South Wales, with the exception of the northern regions of NSW (the governing body for which is Northern New South Wales Football). Football NSW is a member of the nat ...
(which backed the bid) desired for the club's home ground to be
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
in Western Sydney. Though after winning the A-League licence,
Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
(FFA) Chairman
Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre comp ...
forced a number of changes to the bid. The main of these were in moving the club to
Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
in the
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...
of Sydney and simultaneously reducing Football NSW's involvement from 100 to 25 percent.
Frank Lowy Sir Frank P. Lowy ( ; born 22 October 1930) is an Australian people, Australian-Israeli people, Israeli businessman of Jewish Slovakian-Hungarian origins and the former long-time Chairman of Westfield Corporation, a global shopping centre comp ...
's son, David Lowy, was also installed as a major investor. In response, Football NSW made the decision to pull out its involvement with Sydney FC amid claims the A-League club had become a "plaything" for Frank Lowy and his family. Football NSW stated its dislike of Lowy's autocratic style in establishing the club and the perceived lack of consultation on key club issues. An unsuccessful bid named "Sydney Blues", which had proposed to play at the Sydney Football Stadium was the only other Sydney-based bid. Sydney FC entered the A-League with a five-year city exclusivity deal as part of the league's "one-city, one-team" policy, preventing the establishment of another Sydney-based club until the deal expired. By 2008, as the five-year deal wound to its conclusion, FFA announced its intention to expand the A-League, with a second Sydney-based club a favourable option. FFA received 10 expressions of interest, two of which from potential Western Sydney based teams. Despite the unsuccessful attempt to establish a Western Sydney-based team in the form of Sydney Rovers (due to financial and technical reasons), FFA were still strongly committed in pursuing a club in the region.


Foundations

The catalyst for the formation of the Western Sydney Wanderers was FFA revoking
Gold Coast United Gold Coast United Football Club is an Australian soccer club based in Gold Coast, Queensland. The earliest incarnation of the club formed in 1966 and its home ground was at Nikiforides Family Park in Broadbeach. The first era of Gold Coast Unit ...
's
A-League A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
licence on 29 February 2012. After a series of running battles between FFA and
Clive Palmer Clive Frederick Palmer (born 26 March 1954) is an Australian businessman and politician. He has iron ore, nickel, and coal holdings. Palmer owns many businesses such as Mineralogy, Waratah Coal, Queensland Nickel at Townsville, the Palmer C ...
 – owner of Gold Coast United, over topics such as crowd control, stadium attendance capacities and breaches of A-League regulations. The loss of Gold Coast United brought the league down to nine clubs, one fewer than what FFA needed for their upcoming television rights negotiations. On 4 April 2012, then FFA CEO
Ben Buckley Benjamin Buckley (born 29 June 1967) is an Australian businessman, former Australian Rules Footballer and current chairman of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. He is the former chief executive officer of Foo ...
announced the creation of "New Sydney Club" based in the city's west to play in the A-League. The new club would be set up to compete in the 2012–13 season, though despite several attempts by FFA to find a backer to own and run the club no individual owner or consortium of owners decided to take on the new Sydney club. With the October deadline approaching, FFA decided to push through the club by taking on the ownership role themselves. This was helped by securing $4 million from the Australian Government in a grant for the creation and ongoing costs of the club. As notable Australian soccer players
Scott Chipperfield Scott Kenneth Chipperfield (born 30 December 1975) is an Australian former soccer player who played as a midfielder for Wollongong Wolves, FC Basel, FC Aesch and Australia. His 2010 FIFA World Cup profile describes him "as a talented attacker wi ...
,
Tim Cahill Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his ag ...
and
Lucas Neill Lucas Edward Neill (born 9 March 1978) is an Australian former soccer player. Neill played as a defender, often playing as a centre back as well as a full-back. Neill spent almost 15 years of his career playing in England. He represented Austr ...
expressed their support for the Western Sydney-based club, so did the local soccer community, with FFA holding supporter forums in
Mount Pritchard Mount Pritchard is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 34 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Fairfield and the City of Liverpool, and is par ...
,
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
,
Rooty Hill Rooty Hill is a heritage-listed historic site and now parkland at Eastern Road, Rooty Hill, City of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1802 to 1828. It is also known as The Rooty Hill and Morreau Reserve. The property is ...
, Penrith, Castle Hill, Campbelltown and
Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...
, where community members discussed such topics as the club's values and culture, playing style, home ground, and proposed names and colours. Following the community forums, FFA launched an online survey to decide on various options for the new club. It covered similar aspects of culture, location, team colour and playing style. A final survey was later launched with a specific focus on the club's colours and name. Options for team colours were black and red, black and white, and red, white and black. Options for the team name were Athletic, Wanderers, Wolves, Strikers and Rangers. On 17 May 2012, former A-League head Lyall Gorman was appointed Chairman of the as yet unnamed club.
Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is the current manager of A-League club Melbourne Victory. As a player Popovic's usual position was centre-back. Starting in 1989 at Sydney Un ...
was also announced as the inaugural head coach of the Western Sydney team. Popovic joined the club after requesting to be released from the final year of his contracted role as assistant coach of
Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...
, after ending talks with both A-League Sydney clubs and stating his desire to build a club from scratch as an opportunity he could not pass up. Popovic signed with the Western Sydney team to take the helm for four seasons. On 22 May 2012, Popovic's close friend
Ante Milicic Ante Milicic ( ; hr, Ante Miličić ; (born 4 April 1974) is an Australian soccer manager and former professional player. Personal life The son of Croatian immigrants, Milicic grew up in Strathfield, a suburb in the Inner West of Sydney. Mi ...
also joined the club as assistant coach. On 25 June 2012, the official club name, logo and colours were formally announced. The name "Western Sydney Wanderers FC" was officially released, as was the club logo, the home playing strip, the home ground (
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
) and the first three signed players:
Aaron Mooy Aaron Frank Mooy (; ; born 15 September 1990) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Celtic and the Australia national team. Born in Sydney, Mooy played youth football for the N ...
,
Tarek Elrich Tariq ( ar, طارق) is an Arabic word and given name. Etymology The word is derived from the Arabic verb , ('), meaning "to strike", and into the agentive conjugated doer form , ('), meaning "striker". It became popular as a name after Tariq ...
and
Kwabena Appiah Kwabena Appiah-Kubi (born 1992) is a New Zealand-born professional footballer who plays as a winger for Indonesian club Madura United. Appiah also holds Australian citizenship. Biography Born in Auckland of Ghanaian parents, Appiah arrived in ...
. The name 'Wanderers' had been an overwhelming favourite among fans and community groups, with it also paying homage to
Wanderers F.C. Wanderers Football Club was an English association football club. It was founded as "Forest Football Club" in 1859 in Leytonstone. In 1864, it changed its name to "Wanderers", a reference to it never having a home stadium, instead playing at v ...
, the first registered soccer club in Australia, who played in the area in 1880.


Popovic era


Inaugural season

With the start of Western Sydney Wanderers' first season approaching,
Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is the current manager of A-League club Melbourne Victory. As a player Popovic's usual position was centre-back. Starting in 1989 at Sydney Un ...
was charged with putting together a competitive squad for the
2012–13 A-League The 2012–13 A-League was the 36th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the eighth season of the Australian A-League since its establishment in 2004. The 2012–13 season saw the introduction of a new Western Sydney-based team, the re ...
, which would be the team's only competition of the season. The squad was made up of relative unknowns, though included former
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
international and
Asian Footballer of the Year The Asian Footballer of the Year is an annual prize awarded to the best Asian player in a calendar year, organized by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) and Asian Football Confederation (AFC). History The origin of ...
Shinji Ono is a Japanese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for J1 League club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo. Career Urawa Reds Ono grew up in the Shizuoka Prefecture and began his professional career with Urawa Reds in the J1 League in 1998. ...
, as well as
Jérome Polenz Jérome Polenz (born 7 November 1986) is a German retired professional footballer who mostly played as a defender. Club career Early career Polenz was born in Berlin, Germany, to an Algerian father and a German mother. He first began his yout ...
,
Mateo Poljak Mateo Hrvatsko Poljak (; born 10 September 1989) is a Croats, Croatian Association football, footballer who last played as a Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, Defensive midfielder for Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC, Mt Druitt Town Rangers. Club career ...
, Youssouf Hersi,
Iacopo La Rocca Iacopo La Rocca (born 17 February 1984) is an Italian-Australian professional footballer & coach, who played as a defensive midfielder or central defender. Club career La Rocca started his youth career at Lazio, before moving to his first club P ...
and
Dino Kresinger Dino Kresinger (born 20 March 1982 in Čakovec) is a Croatian football striker who currently plays for Croatian lower league club NK Obreš Sveti Ilija Club career Early career Kresinger was born in the Croatian city of Čakovec and started h ...
. On 6 October 2012, Western Sydney Wanderers played their first competitive match of any kind against reigning A-League Premiers
Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...
in the first round of the league. The match ended in a 0–0 draw. It took the team a further three weeks, until the fourth round of the league to win their first competitive match of any kind; after two consecutive losses, one of which the first Sydney Derby, the encounter against reigning A-League Champions
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...
ended 0–1 in favour of Wanderers, with
Mark Bridge Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for NPL club Mounties Wanderers. Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nickn ...
netting the club's first competitive goal after the team failed to score in their opening three games. A slow start into the team's first season soon turned positive as Western Sydney Wanderers quickly emerged as one of the leading soccer clubs in Australia. A historic record-breaking season in the league saw the club break an all-time Australian national league record and win their first A-League Premiership after topping the A-League table through a record-undefeated streak, which included 10 straight wins. This feat gained the club direct qualification into the
2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...
, as well as a place in the A-League finals series. A 2–0 win against
Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...
in the semi-finals of the finals series lead the club to the 2013 A-League Grand Final, which on 21 April 2013, Wanderers eventually lost 0–2 to Central Coast Mariners at a sold out
Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...
. The success of the club's first season was pitted on first-time coach Popovic who had built the team from its foundations in the space of only five months. Popovic was awarded A-League Coach of the Year and goalkeeper Ante Covic Goalkeeper of the Year. The club's inaugural success, both on and off the field, sparked much interest worldwide, though most notably within Australia, where soccer has often struggled to gain mainstream interest.


2013–14 season

The club's second season saw
Brendon Santalab Brendon James Santalab ( hr, Šantalab; born 9 September 1982) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for Victorian State League Division 1 side FC Strathmore. Club career Santalab originally started out as an ...
and
Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...
international
Matthew Špiranović Matthew Thomas Spiranovic (born 27 June 1988) is a former Australian soccer player who played as a defender. Spiranovic started his career with Melbourne Victory, making one competitive appearance before being released with the consent of coac ...
join the team. Wanderers held second position behind Brisbane Roar throughout the majority of the season despite criticism over the team's squad rotation policy which Popovic implemented with consideration to the
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
and the short turnaround between matches. On 26 February 2014, the club made their Champions League debut against
Ulsan Hyundai Ulsan Hyundai FC ( ko, 울산 현대 축구단) is a South Korean professional football club based in Ulsan that competes in the K League 1, the top tier of South Korean football. Founded in 1983 as Hyundai Horang-i, they joined the K League in ...
. A goal within the first minute of the match by Santalab was cancelled out as the South Korean side scored three unanswered goals to win the match. Nevertheless, the team eventually finished top in their group to progress to the Round of 16. After finishing runners-up in the 2013–14 A-League season, Wanderers secured direct qualification into the 2015 AFC Champions League, as well as a place in the A-League finals series. A 2–0 win against Central Coast Mariners in the semi-finals of the finals series on 26 April 2014, saw the team progress to their second A-League Grand Final in as many seasons. On 4 May 2014, Western Sydney Wanderers competed against Brisbane Roar in the 2014 A-League Grand Final at a sold out
Lang Park Lang Park, also known as Brisbane Football Stadium, by the sponsored name Suncorp Stadium, and nicknamed: 'The Cauldron', is a multi-purpose stadium in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Milton. The current facility co ...
. 10,000 Wanderers supporters travelled north for the occasion, but after taking the lead through a header from Špiranović the team failed to hold the lead late in the game, later letting slip the A-League Championship during
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
. Following the loss, the team was forced a quick turnaround for their home and final leg of the Champions League Round of 16 – a home and away series against Japanese side
Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...
. Despite being down 3–1 on aggregate, the team managed to overturn the result and win 2–0 to progress to the quarter-finals in what was Ono's, Hersi's, Polenz's and inaugural captain
Michael Beauchamp Michael Francis Beauchamp (born 8 March 1981) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He was a member of the Australian 2006 World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. Early life Born in Sydney, New Sout ...
's final match for the club.


2014–15 season

Prior to the 2014–15 season, the club signed Brazilian midfielder Vítor Saba, as well as
Seyi Adeleke Seyi Adeleke (born 17 November 1991) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a left-back or midfielder. He signed his first professional contract for Lazio and was loaned to Pergocrema, Salernitana and FC Biel-Bienne, before moving ...
,
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
international
Romeo Castelen Romeo Erwin Marius Castelen (born 3 May 1983) is a Dutch former footballer who played as a right winger. Club career ADO Den Haag Born in Paramaribo, Suriname, Castelen started his professional career with ADO Den Haag, playing two full seasons ...
and Australian international
Nikita Rukavytsya Nikita Vadymovych Rukavytsya ( ; uk, Микита Вадимович Рукавиця, translit=Mykyta Vadymovych Rukavytsya; born 22 June 1987) is a professional footballer who plays for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Haifa. Born in Ukrai ...
. On 12 August 2014, Western Sydney Wanderers competed against
Adelaide City Adelaide City Football Club is a soccer club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The club was known historically as Juventus — the original name given to the club by its founders in Adelaide's Italian community. Adelaide City is one of Aust ...
in the first round of the inaugural season of the
FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australia ...
. The match ended 1–0 in favour to Adelaide City, with Wanderers becoming the first professional club to lose to a semi-professional side in the competition.


=Asian Champions League title

= The Cup loss was directly followed by Wanderers' continued campaign in the 2014 AFC Champions League; as due to the calendar format of the Asian tournament, the quarter-finals – a home and away series against
Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club, formerly known as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club, is a professional Chinese football club that participates in the Chinese Super League under the license of the Chinese Football Association. The team is based ...
, resumed after a three-month break. The first match was won by Wanderers 1–0, and a 2–1 loss in the second leg was enough to see the club progress to the semi-finals, due to the
away goals rule The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaker, tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the ...
. The first leg of the semi-final clash against
FC Seoul FC Seoul ( ko, FC 서울) is a South Korean professional football club based in Seoul that competes in the K League 1, the top flight of South Korean football. The club is owned by GS Sports, a subsidiary of GS Group. They play their home games ...
ended in a 0–0 draw. In the return leg, Wanderers defeated FC Seoul 2–0, courtesy to goals from Mateo Poljak and
Shannon Cole Shannon Cole (born 4 August 1984) is a former professional footballer turned coach. Club career Cole's early football career saw a series of stints with NSW state league clubs, in particular APIA Leichhardt, Dulwich Hill, Rockdale City Suns an ...
, which advanced the club to the 2014 AFC Champions League Final. In the first leg of the Champions League final, Wanderers defeated Al-Hilal 1–0 at home, and on 1 November 2014, Western Sydney Wanderers won the AFC Champions League after managing a goalless draw in the second leg of the final against Al-Hilal, winning 1–0 on aggregate courtesy of
Tomi Juric Tomi Juric ( ; hr, Jurić, ; born 22 July 1991) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a striker for A-League club Melbourne Victory and the Australia national soccer team. Club career Adelaide United On 10 February 2013, aft ...
's goal. They became the first Australian team to be crowned Asian champions, an achievement they reached in only their first attempt in the Asian tournament. There were some controversial decisions from the Japanese referee
Yuichi Nishimura is a Japanese football referee. He has refereed in the Japanese J. League Division 1 since 1999 and has been a full international referee for FIFA since 2004. He refereed the opening game in the 2014 FIFA World Cup between hosts Brazil and Croa ...
, where Al-Hilal felt they deserved two clear penalties. Prior to the final match, Wanderers were criticised by the opposition coach in the media; after being crowned Asian champions, Tony Popovic responded by saying, "We were called a small club yesterday – today we are the biggest in Asia". At the
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
AFC Annual Awards, Western Sydney Wanderers was named Asian Club of the Year, and Tony Popovic Asian Coach of the Year. The club's Asian success however, was not replicated in the beginning of the A-League season, with the team managing only three draws out of the first nine matches. The team's poor domestic run was put on hold while the team travelled to
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
for the
2014 FIFA Club World Cup The 2014 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Morocco 2014 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th edition of the FIFA Club World Cup, a FIFA-organised international club football tournament between ...
, where Wanderers faced Mexican side
Cruz Azul Club de Futbol Cruz Azul or simply Cruz Azul () is a professional football club based in Mexico City, Mexico. It competes in the Liga MX, the top division of Mexican football. Because "azul" means "blue" in Spanish, the club has traditionally ...
in a quarter-finals clash on 13 December 2014. After going down to 9-men, Wanderers failed to hold onto the lead late into the match; an unfavourable 3–1 scoreline in extra-time saw Wanderers matched-up against
ES Sétif Entente Sportive Sétifienne ( ar, الوفاق الرياضي السطايفي), known as Entente de Sétif, commonly referred to as ES Sétif or ESS for short, is an Algerian professional football club based in Sétif. The club was founded in ...
of Algeria in a fifth place play-off. A 2–2 draw led to a
penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...
which finished 5–4 in favour of the African champions, ending Wanderers' run in the tournament with the team finishing in sixth place. After returning home, the team finished the year with a loss in
Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, in what was the team's 44th match in all competitions for the calendar year – a record for an Australian club. A short mid-season break gave Popovic the chance to organise the squad for the remainder of the season. This included the addition of Japanese internationals Yūsuke Tanaka and
Yojiro Takahagi is a Japanese Association football, footballer who plays for J2 League club Tochigi SC, on loan from FC Tokyo. He played for Japan national football team, Japan national team. Club career Sanfrecce Hiroshima Takahagi started his professional ...
, as well as Australian-born
Kerem Bulut Kerem Bulut (born 3 February 1992) is an Australian professional football player. Bulut represented the Australia under-20 national team at the 2010 AFC U-19 Championship, where he scored seven goals in six games to win the Golden Boot as Aust ...
among others as either injury replacements or squad replacements for Vítor Saba, Seyi Adeleke and foundation player Kwabena Appiah. As the season resumed, it became apparent that a heavy schedule would be the team's downfall. Wanderers had to manage entering into the 2015 AFC Champions League group-stage with the former season's rivals Guangzhou Evergrande and FC Seoul as well as rescheduled mid-week league fixtures. After a grueling three months the club ended their third season in the league in ninth position, whilst their Champions League season also ended unfavourably with the title-holders eliminated from the group stage, finishing third in their group.


2015–16 season

The beginning of the 2015–16 season saw Popovic extended his initial contract with the club for a further three seasons. The effects from the 2014–15 season were felt by the players as Popovic released almost half the squad. In their place Popovic signed 3 Spanish foreign players and Italian striker
Federico Piovaccari Federico Piovaccari (; born 1 September 1984) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Giugliano. Club career Early career Born in Gallarate, Piovaccari graduated from Pro Patria's youth setup, and made his debut ...
as a marquee. In the FFA Cup the Wanderers progressed with wins against Brisbane Roar & Palm Beach, then were beaten in a penalty shootout against Perth Glory in the quarter final. After a slow start to the
2015–16 A-League The 2015–16 A-League was the 39th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the 11th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. Melbourne Victory FC, Melbourne Victory were both the defending A-League Premiers and Champions. The regu ...
season, with only 1 point after three matches, Wanderers found their winning ways with a seven-game winning streak to see the team top the league table. The club was unable to stay on top of the league however, and after mixed results in the final half of the season they finished 2nd below Adelaide United, who the Wanderers had failed to beat in the last few weeks of the season. In their final series semi-final match, Wanderers hosted Brisbane Roar at Parramatta Stadium in the last game before the stadium was demolished. In front of a sold-out crowd of 20,084 Brisbane started the game strongly by racing to a 3–0 lead inside 23 minutes but the Wanderers responded with two goals to make it 3–2 at half time. Romeo Castelen scored an equaliser then put the Wanderers 4–3 in front, only for Brisbane to score again to take the game to extra time. In the 102nd minute substitute
Dario Vidosic Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name *Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper *Dario Bellezza (1 ...
scored the decisive goal to send Wanderers to a third Grand Final in four years. In the
2016 A-League Grand Final The 2016 A-League Grand Final was the eleventh A-League Grand Final, and was played on 1 May 2016, at Adelaide Oval to determine the 2015–16 A-League Champion. The match was contested by the two winning finals series semi-finalists, Adelaide Uni ...
Adelaide United defeat Wanderers 3–1 in front of a crowd of 50,119. 15 players left the club at the end of the season.


2016–17 season

The 2016–17 A-League season began when Western Sydney Wanderers played home to Sydney FC at ANZ Stadium, with Sydney FC winning 4–0. After three years without a derby win, on the 18th of February, Western Sydney Wanderers, beat Sydney FC 1–0 at ANZ Stadium, Brendon Santalab scoring off a Mitch Nichols cross in the first-half. Three days after the Sydney Derby they started their Asian Champions League campaign by losing 4–0 to Urawa Reds, and subsequent results saw them fail to qualify from the Group Stage. After defeating Wellington Phoenix 3–1 they confirmed their place in the A-League finals, with Brendon Santalab scoring twice to make him the Wanderers all-time leading goal scorer. The team qualified for the A-League finals to played the 3rd place Brisbane Roar. The game ended 1–1 after extra time and Wanderers lost the penalty shoot-out, ending their domestic season.


Gombau era


2017–18 season

The Wanderers began this season with the FFA Cup. They started by defeating
Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the ...
1–0 with new marquee signing
Oriol Riera Oriol Riera Magem (Catalan pronunciation: ˈɾjɔl ˈrjeɾə born 3 July 1986) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker, currently manager of CD Tudelano. After starting out at Barcelona, he went on to amass La Liga totals of ...
scoring in the 120th minute of the game. A routine 4–0 defeat of Bentleigh Greens followed in the Round of 16. The quarter final match against
Blacktown City FC Blacktown City Football Club is an Australian semi-professional football club based in Blacktown, New South Wales. Founded in 1953, the club currently competes in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Blacktown City's home ground is Blacktown City S ...
was an epic encounter. The Wanderers went out to an early 1–0 lead through an Oriol Riera penalty kick. Blacktown hit back in the second half and took the game to extra time, where substitute James Andrew scored to put Blacktown ahead. Riera popped up again in the 111th minute to equalise, and the Wanderers held their nerve in the shootout to win it 4–2. In a huge shock for the A-League and the Wanderers in particular, on 1 October 2017, foundation coach
Tony Popovic Tony Popovic (born 4 July 1973) is an Australian association football manager and former player. He is the current manager of A-League club Melbourne Victory. As a player Popovic's usual position was centre-back. Starting in 1989 at Sydney Un ...
quit the club to join Karabükspor in the Turkish Super Lig, taking with him assistant manager Andres Carrasco & goalkeeping coach Zeljko Kalac. The Wanderers installed
Hayden Foxe Hayden Vernon Foxe (born 23 June 1977) is an Australian former professional soccer player who works as assistant coach with Western United. He played football as a centre-back at the top level in Germany, Japan, Belgium, England and Australia ...
as caretaker manager while they looked to appoint a full-time manager. After defeating Perth Glory in the opening round, they lost the FFA Cup Semi-Final against Adelaide United.
Josep Gombau Josep Gombau Balague (born 5 June 1976) is a Spanish professional football manager who is the current head coach of Indian Super League club Odisha. He is a former Barcelona youth team coach and has held multiple positions at the club's youth ...
was announced as the new manager for the Wanderers on 1 November 2017. His first game in charge was a 1–1 home draw against Melbourne City. The team then lost 3 in a row against Adelaide, Brisbane and a 5–0 drubbing against city rivals Sydney FC. Gombau stabilised the team somewhat in the busy January new year period, where he went 4 games without loss between January 1 to January 18, but the team were unable to string together more than 2 wins in a row. A 3–0 win against Brisbane in the penultimate week of the season put them in the last play-off position, 1 point ahead of Brisbane and Perth, who were facing each other in the final week. While a win would have secured a finals berth as Brisbane defeated Perth 3–2, the Wanderers season fell apart in the second half. Having taken an early lead with an Oriol Riera goal, the Wanderers conceded two goals to Adelaide before Marcelo Carrusca levelled the game heading into half-time. The 62nd minute sending off of
Keanu Baccus Keanu Kole Baccus (born 7 June 1998) is a South African-Australian professional soccer player who plays as a attacking midfielder for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. Born in South Africa, he is an international with the Australia national ...
for kicking out at an opponent left them a man down and needing to attack. As they pushed players forward Adelaide kept breaking on the counter-attack, eventually scoring the winning goal in the 80th minute through Ryan Kitto. On the 19 April, after a disappointing season where the Wanderers failed to qualify for the 2017–18 A-League finals and players making problems with his management style known to reporters and the public, Gombau was fired. The Wanderers finished the season in 7th place on 33 points, two behind Brisbane, one ahead of Perth, having won 8 games, drew 9, lost 10, scoring 38 goals and conceding 47 against.


Babbel era


2018–19 season

After Gombau was sacked the Wanderers looked to Europe and appointed former German international player
Markus Babbel Markus Babbel (; born 8 September 1972) is a German professional football coach and former player who last managed the Western Sydney Wanderers FC. He played as a defender for clubs in Germany and England. Babbel won the UEFA Cup twice, in 1996 ...
to take over the side, on 19 May 2018. The team stumbled through to the Semi-Final of the
FFA Cup The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australia ...
with narrow victories over far inferior competition, requiring a 92nd-minute winner from Roly Bonevacia to defeat the amateur Darwin side
Hellenic Athletic Hellenic Athletic Club, also commonly known as Hellenic Athletic, is an Australian association football, soccer club from Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin, the Northern Territory. Hellenic Athletic currently competes in the NorZone Premier Leag ...
4–3, before a 2–1 win against 3rd tier side
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC is an Australian semi-professional soccer club based in Bonnyrigg, Sydney, New South Wales, currently playing in the NSW League One. The club was founded in 1968 as Avala Sports Club and took its current name in 1992. H ...
in the Round of 16. They faced A-League opposition in the Quarter Finals, defeating
Melbourne City FC Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...
in a scrappy 2–1 game before bowing out of the competition in a comprehensive defeat by rival side Sydney FC in the first FFA Cup Sydney Derby. The A-League season began poorly for the Wanderers, winning just two games in the first half of the season in Rounds 3 and 7. That second win against the Central Coast Mariners was the last win for 10 games, and included losing 6 games in a row in the congested January period. Babbel made multiple signings in the January transfer window, bringing in
Mitchell Duke Mitchell Thomas Duke (born 18 January 1991) is an Australian international soccer player who plays for Machida Zelvia in the J2 League. Duke was born in Liverpool, New South Wales and played youth soccer with Paramatta Eagles before starting ...
,
Kwame Yeboah Kwame Adzenyina Yeboah (born 2 June 1994) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Yeboah played youth football with the Queensland Academy of Sport and Gold Coast United before making his professional debut fo ...
and
Giancarlo Gallifuoco Giancarlo Gallifuoco (born 12 January 1994) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Malaysia Super League club Kuala Lumpur City. Born in Sydney, Gallifuoco played under 23's football for Tottenham Hotspur and Swan ...
as an injury replacement for
Jordan O'Doherty Jordan O'Doherty (born 14 October 1997) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. Club career Adelaide United In August 2016, O'Doherty signed a two-year senior contract with Adelaide United after playing for the ...
who suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury. Performances improved in the second half of the season, winning games against the Mariners, Adelaide & Brisbane Roar as well as a shock 3–0 win against Melbourne City. Ultimately their early season form ensured that the 3–2 Round 24 loss against Newcastle Jets was the final blow in their hopes to play in the A-League finals series. The final Sydney Derby to be played at ANZ Stadium was a 1–1 draw, leaving games against the Central Coast and then Melbourne Victory to end their three-year nomadic existence away from their newly opened
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
.


2019–20 season

The Wanderers began the season, their first at the
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
in Parramatta, with a stadium opening friendly against English
EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...
side
Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...
on Saturday 20 July 2019. Leeds won 2–1. The Wanderers played their first A-league match at their new home
Bankwest Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadi ...
on 12 October 2019. They defeated the
Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The Ma ...
2–1. They then won their next 2 matches with a 2–1 win against
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
and a 1–0 victory over
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
in front of a record crowd of 28,519. On 16 January, striker Simon Cox joined the club after his departure from English, League One outfit, Southend United, replacing
Alexander Meier Alexander Meier (born 17 January 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or forward. He was the 2014–15 Bundesliga top scorer with 19 goals in 26 games. Career Early career Meier began his prof ...
. On 20 January, Babbel was sacked due to a run of poor performances, and
Jean-Paul de Marigny Jean-Paul de Marigny (born 21 January 1964, in Mauritius) is an Assistant Coach with Melbourne Victory. Jean-Paul is a former Socceroo. Managerial career Melbourne Victory de Marigny served as an assistant coach of A-League side Melbourne Victo ...
was named as the caretaker.


Jean-Paul de Marigny era

Having taken over as interim coach from Round 17 of the 2019–20 season, the club played 7 games, winning 3, drawing 3 and losing 1 game. The 1–1 draw with Sydney FC during the final Sydney Derby of the season saw the Wanderers go through a season without losing a game to Sydney FC. When the league was suspended in March as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 Januar ...
, the results did little to improve the club position on the competition ladder, although they had closed the gap on the position above from 2 points to 1 and improved their goal different deficit. They entered the suspension period in 8th place, four points behind the last finals position. On 14 July 2020, de Marigny was elevated to the full time position, with his contract to run until the end of the 2020–21 A-League season. The league resumed in July, with the club playing 5 games to finish the season. They drew the first game, won the second, lost two games that effectively ended their chances of making the finals series, including a heavy 5–3 loss against
Western United Western United Football Club is an Australian professional football club. The club is based in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, the club aims to represent western Victoria, incorporating the western suburbs of Melbourne; the region ...
and ended the season with a narrow win against Melbourne Victory. The club ended the season in 9th place with 33 points, coming from 9 wins, 6 draws and 11 losses from 26 games. The Wanderers then sacked de Marigny on 12 October 2020, offering a short statement that they had 'parted ways' and were going to appoint a new coach in the coming days.


Robinson era

Three days after the sacking of de Marigny, the club appointed
Carl Robinson Carl Robinson (born 13 October 1976) is a retired Welsh international footballer who played as a central midfielder. He is currently the assistant coach for Major League Soccer club D.C. United. Club career Wolverhampton Wanderers Robinson s ...
on 15 October 2020 as the new head coach. Robinson, a Welsh ex-international was the current head coach of fellow A-League side the
Newcastle Jets Newcastle United Jets Football Club, commonly known as Newcastle Jets, is an Australian professional soccer club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier competition, the A-League, under licence from The Australia ...
and had lost only a single game since his arrival at Newcastle earlier in the year. It was reported in the media that Robinson had a release clause in his contract that allowed him to leave the Jets, with the dire financial situation of Newcastle, whose owner Martin Lee had not funded the club since October 2019 and was stripped of his license.


2020–21 season

The Wanderers began the
2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
A-League season by releasing
Radosław Majewski Radosław Majewski (; born 15 December 1986) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for I liga club Znicz Pruszków. He also played for the Poland national team. Club career Early career Majewski was born in P ...
,
Nicholas Suman Nicholas Suman (born 28 February 2000), is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Macarthur. Club career Western Sydney Wanderers In May 2017, Suman signed a one-year scholarship contract with Western Sydney Wandere ...
,
Mathieu Cordier Mathieu Cordier (born 8 March 1999), is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a left back. He is currently signed to Rockdale Ilinden FC which complete in the National Premier Leagues NSW. Career Western Sydney Wanderers Cordier wa ...
, Nick Sullivan,
Tristan Prendergast Tristan Prendergast (born 27 June 1995), is an Australian semi-professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Blacktown City having been released by A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers in the 2020-2021 pre-season. Prendergast was ...
,
Matthew Jurman Matthew John Jurman ( ; ) is an Australian soccer player who plays as a centre-back and captains A-League club Newcastle Jets. Club career Youth career After graduating from Westfields Sports High School in 2007, Jurman furthered his football d ...
and
Mitchell Duke Mitchell Thomas Duke (born 18 January 1991) is an Australian international soccer player who plays for Machida Zelvia in the J2 League. Duke was born in Liverpool, New South Wales and played youth soccer with Paramatta Eagles before starting ...
.
Pirmin Schwegler Pirmin Schwegler (born 9 March 1987) is a retired Swiss association football, footballer. Career Schwegler began his career with FC Luzern. In summer 2005, he joined BSC Young Boys, Young Boys. After just one year with BSC Young Boys, Young B ...
also retired from professional soccer. Several youth players were promoted, including
Jarrod Carluccio Jarrod Carluccio (born 8 February 2001), is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Western Sydney Wanderers. Honours International ;Australia U20 *AFF U-19 Youth Championship: 2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top l ...
and 16 year old Allesandro Lopane while German winger
Nicolai Muller Nicolai may refer to: *Nicolai (given name) people with the forename ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (surname) people with the surname ''Nicolai'' *Nicolai (crater), a crater on the Moon See also * Niccolai, a surname * Nicolae (disambiguation) * Nicolao * ...
earned a contract extension. Although
Daniel Lopar Daniel Lopar (born 19 April 1985) is a Switzerland, Swiss football goalkeeper. He has most recently played for SC Brühl. Club career Western Sydney Wanderers 23 May 2019, Western Sydney Wanderers (WSW) announced the signing of Daniel Lopar o ...
had left Australia during the COVID lockdown which saw him miss the end of the previous season, he returned to Australia in late October, then left again as the cancellation of the league's TV rights deal caused a collapse in funding, requiring players to agree to new, lower paid contracts or to leave. Robinson bought in a raft of players to replace them, including Bernie Ibini,
James Troisi James Troisi ( ; born 3 July 1988) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Western United. Early life Troisi was born in Rose Park, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, to Greek parent ...
and
Jordon Mutch Jordon James Edward Sydney Mutch (born 2 December 1991) is an English professional footballer who most recently played as a central midfielder for Australian A-League club Macarthur FC. Mutch joined Birmingham City in 2007 from Derby County's y ...
. Duke, a Wanderers talisman, also return to the club 8 games into the season on a short-term loan deal. Performances during the season were inconsistent but poor overall. With the fixture list impacted by COVID delays & cancellations, there was a brief period when the Wanderers were in first place on the A-League ladder, but they did so having played four games while the other clubs had played less, as low as 1 game in the case of Perth Glory & Melbourne Victory. After their 13th game and on a winning run of 3 games the Wanderers were in 2nd place on 22 points, 3 points behind the surprise package Central Coast Mariners. It was the high point of the season as the side failed to win any of the next 6 games. This included a dismal loss to the last placed Melbourne Victory, who leapt out to a 5–1 lead before three Wanderers goals late in the game, including a long range strike from Muller made the final score 5–4, as Bruce Kamau missed a glorious chance to level the game in the 95th minute. The other teams had begun to catch up the amount of games played and the Wanderers position on the ladder sank like a rock, falling to 9th place on 25 points, level with Wellington Phoenix but behind on goal difference. Winning the 2nd Sydney Derby by 3–2 was followed by a 5–0 win against Western United but the inconsistency reared up again, as the next match, an away trip to Perth saw the club lose 5–0, allowing
Andy Keogh Andrew Declan Keogh (born 16 May 1986) is a former Irish professional footballer who last played as a striker for A-League club Perth Glory. Born in Dublin, Keogh played the first several years of his professional career playing for a number ...
to go from having a scoreless season to four in a single game. Sydney FC finally overcame their 887-day wait for a Derby win as they completed a comfortable 1–0 win at the
Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...
, with the video review system ruling out a goal for each side. A 2–1 loss at Parramatta to Wellington Phoenix left the Wanderers requiring wins in their final two games and for a large number of other results to go their way.


2021–22 season

Robinson was fired after 7 games of the 2021/22 A-League season with the Wanderers in 2nd last place after the side were defeated 3-0 by fellow cellar dwellers Brisbane Roar. The Wanderers had also been embarrassingly eliminated from the
2021 FFA Cup The 2021 FFA Cup was the eighth season of the FFA Cup, the main national Association football, soccer single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Australia. Thirty-two teams contested the competition proper from the round of 32, i ...
in a 2-1 Round of 16 loss to semi-professional side
APIA Leichhardt FC APIA Leichhardt Football Club, also known simply as APIA (Associazione Poli-sportiva Italo Australiana), is a semi-professional soccer club based in the suburb of Leichhardt in Sydney, Australia. The club was formed in 1954 as APIA Leichhardt, ...
where Robinson's team selection was criticised as a second string team in a competition the club had vowed to take seriously. He left the club on 30 January 2022.


Rudan era

Mark Rudan Marko Ante "Mark" Rudan (born 27 August 1975) is an Australian soccer manager and former player. He is currently the head coach for A-League Men club Western Sydney Wanderers. Rudan was one of the inaugural inductees into the Sydney FC Hall o ...
was appointed as his replacement, with a contract lasting the remainder of the 2021/22 season. His first game in charge was a 1–0 win against
Perth Glory Perth Glory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Perth, Western Australia. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues. Founded in 19 ...
, with Jack Rodwell scoring the winner in the 25th minute. Inconsistent results followed with the side unable to put together two wins in a row and they remained firmly in the bottom half of the table. The highlight of the season was defeating Sydney FC in a comprehensive 2–0 win on 5 March 2022, a day after the club announced they had given Rudan an extended contract through the 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons. Starting with a 0–0 draw against Adelaide United the team began a 5-game run without a win followed by a win against Newcastle then a 1–0 loss to Wellington Phoenix that made qualification for the finals extremely unlikely and exposed the side to a potential
2022 Australia Cup The 2022 Australia Cup was the ninth season of the Australia Cup, the main national soccer knockout cup competition in Australia. This edition was the first under the new name of the "Australia Cup" following the renaming of Football Federatio ...
qualifying play-off against another side in the bottom 4 A-League teams. A player exodus begun in earnest as
Keanu Baccus Keanu Kole Baccus (born 7 June 1998) is a South African-Australian professional soccer player who plays as a attacking midfielder for Scottish Premiership club St Mirren. Born in South Africa, he is an international with the Australia national ...
, who was the club's second most capped player and
Phillip Cancar Phillip Cancar (born 11 May 2001) is an Australian professional association football, soccer player who plays as a Defender (association football), central defender for Newcastle Jets FC, Newcastle Jets. Club career Western Sydney Wanderers In N ...
signed for clubs in the
Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...
.


Colours and badge

Western Sydney Wanderers club colours are red and black. The club's colours as well as its inaugural season kit was announced on 25 June 2012, at a press conference held at
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
. The kit featured a red and black hoop jersey, white shorts and black socks. The red and black colour scheme was popular during the supporter forums, and the 'hoop design' emerged along with vertical stripes as the two most popular style choices. The club's second kit, worn when playing away from home, has the same hoop design as the home kit. The first away kit included a red and white jersey, black shorts and white socks. The team's current away kit features white and gray hoops with white shorts and socks. The club badge incorporates the key elements of the Western Sydney landscape; the mountains, valleys and winding river system that runs throughout the region. The badge includes the name of the club in Futura typeface, with white writing and a stylised ''W'', ''S'' and ''W'' pattern to represent the club's initials. Following their success at the
2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...
, the club announced that a
star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma (physics), plasma held together by its gravity. The List of nearest stars and brown dwarfs, nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked ...
would be added to the top of the club's badge. The new addition was not yet worn by the team until a national standard regarding such symbols was introduced by FFA in January 2015. The new standard allowed the team to wear a gold star in perpetuity and in all competitions in recognition to the Asian title won.


Sponsorship

American manufacturer
Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...
signed a five-year partnership deal to start in the new club's first season. NRMA Insurance signed a three-year partnership as the major sponsor and Westfield a two-year partnership deal to start in Wanderers first season.
Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...
signed a multi-year partnership deal for the 2013–14 season and onwards.
Visy Industries Visy Industries (known as Pratt Industries USA in the US) is an Australian-American company was established in Melbourne in 1948 and is a privately owned paper, packaging and recycling company. Visy was owned by Richard Pratt until his death ...
was announced as the club's major corporate partner for the
2014 AFC Champions League The 2014 AFC Champions League was the 33rd edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 12th under the current AFC Champions League title. Guangzhou Evergrande were the defe ...
. On 28 November 2014, the club confirmed that NRMA Insurance extended its initial three-year sponsorship for three more years. Pepper was announced as the major sponsor for the 2015 AFC Champions League title defence campaign. Aetos was announced as the main sponsor for the Wanderers in the
2017 AFC Champions League The 2017 AFC Champions League was the 36th edition of Asia's premier club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 15th under the current AFC Champions League title. Urawa Red Diamonds defeated Al-Hilal ...
.


Club facilities

The club's office and training facilities are located in the one location,
Blacktown International Sportspark Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian r ...
. This was done to foster a sense of belonging for all members of the staff no matter what position they hold at the club. It was initially believed that the club's administration and training facilities would be based at
Football New South Wales Football NSW is the governing body for association football, soccer in the Australian state of New South Wales, with the exception of the northern regions of NSW (the governing body for which is Northern New South Wales Football). Football NSW i ...
' headquarters at Valentine Park in
Parklea Parklea is a suburb in Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is approximately 35 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is a part of Greater West ...
but the facilities at the ground were not to the standard required.
Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
Council as part of its bid to host the team in the city offered Council owned office space inside the Parramatta CBD but this was declined in favour of staying at
Blacktown Blacktown is a suburb in the City of Blacktown, in Greater Western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Blacktown is located west of the Sydney central business district. It is one of the most multicultural places within Grea ...
. In September 2015, the club announced the formation of a formal partnership with
Blacktown City Council Blacktown City Council is a local government area in Western Sydney, situated on the Cumberland Plain, approximately west of the Sydney central business district, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1906 as the Blacktow ...
that made the Sportspark the long-term training and administrative home of the Wanderers. The club spent $15 million to create a high quality Wanderers Training & Administration Centre with a large number of football fields, parking and landscaping as well as a High Performance Centre providing
aquatics Aquatics may refer to: *Aquatic sports in the Olympics and other international competitions, including the disciplines of swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, water polo, and open water swimming *Water-related sports more broadly (including boa ...
recovery, an indoor hall, cutting edge sports science, analysis rooms,
gym A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational ins ...
and
hospitality Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with some amount of goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis de Jaucourt, Louis, chevalier de J ...
facilities.


Stadiums


Locations

On 26 July 2012, it was officially announced that
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
would be the home ground of the club for all its home games. Lyall Gorman, the club's Chairman, acknowledged that the feedback he had received from the fan forums was in favour of a single home ground and that the club must be based in the
Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropoli ...
. Parramatta Stadium was seen as ideal compared to other alternatives at
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
, Penrith or Campbelltown as its rectangular size is better suited for games, and it has a capacity of over 20,000. The prospect of the club one day owning its own stadium was also initially brought up. During
Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
home games, the stadium is commonly referred to as "Wanderland". Named after the team name and reference to former theme park in Western Sydney, Wonderland. Since 2010 plans to redevelop Parramatta Stadium were in the works, with some smaller expansion taking place. With soccer being played year-round at Parramatta Stadium by Western Sydney Wanderers and the
Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
rugby league club, the potential for an upgrade and expansion of the stadium was heightened. By mid-2015 a refurbishment of corporate facilities, player facilities and stadium amenities had been complete, while a decision to increase the capacity to the ground had stalled. In September 2015, the state government announced that the stadium would be demolished and replaced with the
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
, a new 30,000 seat boutique venue on the same site. Construction was completed by 2019 with the official opening on 14 April 2019. During the construction period home games were shifted for three seasons to a combination of
Sydney Showground Stadium Sydney Showground Stadium (Known commercially as GIANTS Stadium during the AFL Season) is a sports and events stadium located at the Sydney Showground in Sydney Olympic Park. It hosted the baseball events for the 2000 Summer Olympics. The Show ...
, a 25,000 seat oval-configured stadium and
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
, an 83,000 seat rectangular venue, both of which are located in
Sydney Olympic Park Sydney Olympic Park is a suburb of Greater Western Sydney, located 13 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Parramatta Council. It is commonly known as Olympic Park but officially na ...
.
Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...
is a sporadically used stadium for the Wanderers. The stadium has hosted two A-League games between the Wanderers & the Newcastle Jets, an FFA Cup game against Wellington Phoenix, and all 3 home matches of the 2017 AFC Champions League Group Stage.
Penrith Stadium Penrith Stadium (known commercially as BlueBet Stadium) is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthers who play in the N ...
hosted a Wanderers pre-season game against Adelaide United in 2013, an A-League game against Wellington Phoenix & an FFA Cup game against Brisbane Roar in 2015, and also sees occasional use by the Women's W-League team.
Marconi Stadium Marconi Stadium is a soccer stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is the home ground for Marconi Stallions, as well as regularly hosting matches for the Western Sydney Wanderers FC National Youth League and W-League teams. Marconi Stallions Althou ...
was another venue used for pre-season fixtures, Women & Youth team matches. The
Blacktown International Sportspark Blacktown International Sportspark (BISP) (formally known as Blacktown Olympic Park) is a multi-sports venue located in Rooty Hill, a suburb in Sydney, Australia. The venue includes two cricket grounds, which have also been used for Australian r ...
is a regular venue for the W-League and Youth League teams, with the club sharing the boutique stadium with Blacktown Spartans FC. In 2019, the club opened the Wanderers Centre Of Football, a $15 million facility with a boutique stadium that replicates the playing surface of the
Western Sydney Stadium Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
. The W-League team played its first game there on 2 January 2021, winning the match 2–1 against the Newcastle Jets.


Support

Western Sydney Wanderers is one of the A-League's better supported clubs. The main
supporters' group A supporters' group or supporters' club is an independent fan club or campaign group in sport, mostly association football. Supporters' groups in continental Europe are generally known as ultras, which derives from the Latin word ultrā, mean ...
for the club is the "Red and Black Bloc" (RBB). The independent group was established in June 2012, with its founding members connecting months before that on online forums and holding meetings at Parramatta's
Woolpack Hotel ''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
. The group made its first appearance attending the club's first ever game on 25 July 2012, where Wanderers played Nepean FC at Cook Park. At the match, the group gathered at the northern end of the ground and were vocal in the support of the new team.
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
noted the impressive debut of the group, whilst
The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
described the group as "a noisy bunch on the northern hill". The RBB have received much praise and attention for the atmosphere and passion they produce, most notably their
call-and-response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...
chant "Who do we sing for?". The RBB perform The Poznań at the 80 minute mark of matches, in recognition of the history associated with soccer in Parramatta as the first ever game of the sport in Australia was played there in the year 1880. The group is also active in local charitable causes. In the wake of the
2013 New South Wales bushfires The 2013 New South Wales bushfires were a series of bushfires in Australia across the state of New South Wales primarily starting, or becoming notable, on 13 October 2013; followed by the worst of the fires beginning in the Greater Blue Mounta ...
disaster, the RBB raised $15,000 to assist the NSW Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal. On 2 October 2014, 5,000 Wanderers' supporters attended a live screening of the second leg of the 2014 AFC Champions League Final at Centenary Square, in the Parramatta CBD. The event was followed by thousands of fans turning up to welcome home the newly crowned champions of Asia at
Sydney Airport Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (colloquially Mascot Airport, Kingsford Smith Airport, or Sydney Airport; ; ) is an international airport in Sydney, Australia, located 8 km (5 mi) south of the Sydney central business district, in the ...
. On 28 December 2013, supporters of Western Sydney Wanderers were involved in an altercation with a group of
Melbourne Victory Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
supporters in a Melbourne street before a league match. The incident was followed by the club's supporters igniting a flare during the match in
Melbourne Rectangular Stadium The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district. When completed ...
. On 3 January 2014, FFA responded by charging both clubs with bringing the game into disrepute. Action was also taken against several individuals, with police later charging three supporters involved in the incident within the following months. On 19 April 2013 Australian
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
- pop band Exit Row (Andrew Torrisi, Nick Ferreri, Raf Lavorato, Jeremy Azzopardi and Aaron Tarasiewicz) released their debut single "Welcome To Our Wanderland", a Western Sydney Wanderers-anthem. The song lyric was of the club, the RBB, and Western Sydney, with the RBB chant "Who do we sing for?" used in the chorus. The song reached 93 on the Australian
iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
chart. By the end of their inaugural season Western Sydney Wanderers had grown its membership base to 7,500 people, with the club's total match attendance at home reaching 174,520, with an average of 12,466. By the beginning of their second season, club membership had grown twofold to a set cap of 16,100 members, with over 2,000 in waiting. In addition the second season saw a rise to 193,178 total and 14,860 average attendances to home games. By their third season the club had risen to 18,706 ticketed season members. Some notable Wanderers fans include Ian "Dicko" Dickson,
Laura Dundovic Laura Dundovic (born 16 September 1987 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss Universe Australia 2008 and represented Australia in the Miss Universe 2008 competition, in which she place ...
,
Nicole da Silva Nicole da Silva (born 18 September 1981) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles as Stella Dagostino in the series '' Rush'' (2008–2011), and as Franky Doyle in the show ''Wentworth'' (2013–2018, 2019). She has made appearance ...
, Lucy Zelic,
Paul Croft Paul Croft (born 11 March 1951) is an Australian arm amputee athlete who has participated in four Summer Paralympic Games. He was the Australian team captain and flag bearer at the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. Personal Croft was born on 11 March 19 ...
,
Montaigne Michel Eyquem, Sieur de Montaigne ( ; ; 28 February 1533 – 13 September 1592), also known as the Lord of Montaigne, was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance. He is known for popularizing the essay as a liter ...
, and
Jamie Soward Jamie Soward (born 13 November 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A New South Wales State of Origin and Indigenous All-Stars representative , he previously played for the Sydney Roosters, Penrith Panthers and ...
.


Rivalries

Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
vs.
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
Western Sydney Wanderers' local rivals are
Sydney FC Sydney Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier men's competition, A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The club was fo ...
. The rivalry, regarded as the biggest in the A-League, is largely based upon the historical, cultural and geographical "
East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...
" versus "
West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
" mentality that takes place throughout sport and life in
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, though the rivalry between the two clubs also stems from the establishment and development of the A-League, which mirrored the pre-existing cultural and social divide of the city. The two clubs first met in Wanderers inaugural season during the third round of the league on 20 October 2012, with Wanderers losing the match 1–0 after a
penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...
scored by
Alessandro Del Piero Alessandro Del Piero (; born 9 November 1974) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. Since 2015, he has worked as a pundit fo ...
. On 15 December 2012, in the following derby, Wanderers defeated Sydney FC 2–0 away from home with goals by Youssouf Hersi and
Michael Beauchamp Michael Francis Beauchamp (born 8 March 1981) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He was a member of the Australian 2006 World Cup and 2010 FIFA World Cup squads. Early life Born in Sydney, New Sout ...
. During their third encounter on 23 March 2012, the two teams went on to draw 1–1 at Wanderers' home ground. The match saw much drama with nine yellows and two red cards shown on the night. In recent years, the derby has been played in front of sold-out crowds, and the support in which both clubs receive has produced an "unrivalled atmosphere and sense of occasion for a club match" in Australia.
Western Sydney Wanderers Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club (colloquially known as Western Sydney, or simply as Wanderers) is an Australian professional soccer club based in the Western Sydney region of Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in the country's premier ...
vs.
Macarthur FC Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). On ...
Another of the Western Sydney Wanderers' local rivals are
Macarthur FC Macarthur Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in South Western Sydney, New South Wales. It competes in Australia's premier soccer competition, the A-League, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL). On ...
. The rivalry is largely based on geography, with both teams based in
Greater Western Sydney Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Greater Sydney, New South Wales (NSW), Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropoli ...
. The two clubs first met in the opening round of the
2020–21 A-League The 2020–21 A-League was the 44th season of national level soccer in Australia, and the 16th since the establishment of the A-League in 2004. The season was started on 28 December 2020 and concluded with the Grand Final on 27 June 2021. The st ...
season on 30 December 2020, with Wanderers losing the match 1–0 after a goal scored by
Mark Milligan Mark Daniel Milligan (born 4 August 1985) is an Australian former professional footballer. Starting his career as a defender, Milligan has spent much of his later career playing as a midfielder. He is currently a football expert commentary and ...
. On 6 February 2021, in the following derby, Wanderers drew 2–2 away from home with goals by
Graham Dorrans Graham Dorrans (born 5 May 1987) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He began his football career at Scottish club Livingston, before joining English club West Bromwich Albion in 2008. In the 2009–10 season, he ...
and Simon Cox.


Ownership

Upon establishing Western Sydney Wanderers in April 2012, FFA attempted to find a backer to own and run the club. Despite several attempts by FFA, no individual owner or consortium of owners decided to take on the new Sydney-based club, thus FFA assumed ownership of the club, taking on the role first two years of the club's existence with Lyall Gorman appointed chairman. In May 2014, it was confirmed that FFA had sold the club to a consortium headed by Australian businessman
Paul Lederer Paul Lederer is the former CEO of Primo Group, and Chairman and co-owner of A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers. Business Lederer started his professional career by joining his uncle's manufacturing business in his early twenties. In 1985, A ...
, who was also appointed the role of chairman, while
John Tsatsimas John Tsatsimas is the current Chief Executive Officer of Western Sydney Wanderers. Career In 2005, Tsatsimas joined Newcastle Jets as the club's legal councilor, before spending four seasons as chief executive officer. After helping the transiti ...
took up the role of the club's first CEO following his role as General Manager since the club's inception. Along with Lederer,
Jefferson Cheng Jefferson Cheng is a Filipino businessman and association football administrator. He is the current manager of the Philippines women's national football team. Education Cheng attended Xavier School where he used to play competitive football as a ...
, Glenn Duncan and
David Slade David Aldrin Slade (born 26 September 1969) is a British film and television director and actor. His works include the films ''Hard Candy'', ''30 Days of Night'' and '' The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''. Slade is also a director for television, dir ...
were part of the consortium of owners. The new ownership became effective as of 30 June 2014.


Players

Australian squads are limited to 23 players in the league competition, five of whom may be without an
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n citizenship and three players must be under 23 years of age. The squad list includes only the principal nationality of each player; some players on the squad have dual citizenship with another country.


First-team squad


Youth

:Players to have been featured in a first-team matchday squad for Western Sydney Wanderers.


Club officials


Head coach record


Captaincy history

Wanderers captaincy history


Records

Mark Bridge Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for NPL club Mounties Wanderers. Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nickn ...
currently holds the team record for total number of games played with 141 matches.
Nikolai Topor-Stanley Nikolai David Topor-Stanley (born 11 March 1985) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays as a centre back. He has played for A-League clubs Sydney FC, Perth Glory, Newcastle Jets and Western Sydney Wanderers. He has also played i ...
has the second most appearances for the club with 125 matches.
Brendon Santalab Brendon James Santalab ( hr, Šantalab; born 9 September 1982) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for Victorian State League Division 1 side FC Strathmore. Club career Santalab originally started out as an ...
is the third most
capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
player with 114 matches. Western Sydney Wanderers all-time highest goalscorer in all competitions is
Brendon Santalab Brendon James Santalab ( hr, Šantalab; born 9 September 1982) is an Australian professional football player who plays as a striker for Victorian State League Division 1 side FC Strathmore. Club career Santalab originally started out as an ...
with 41 goals. The player with the second most goals scored for Wanderers is
Mark Bridge Mark Robert Bridge (born 7 November 1985) is an Australian professional football (soccer) player who plays as a striker for NPL club Mounties Wanderers. Bridge is the Western Sydney Wanderers' first ever goalscorer, earning himself the nickn ...
, who has scored 38 goals for the club, followed by
Oriol Riera Oriol Riera Magem (Catalan pronunciation: ˈɾjɔl ˈrjeɾə born 3 July 1986) is a Spanish retired footballer who played as a striker, currently manager of CD Tudelano. After starting out at Barcelona, he went on to amass La Liga totals of ...
with 31 goals scored in all competitions. Wanderers highest home A-League attendance at
Parramatta Stadium Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...
is 19,627 for a Sydney Derby match on 16 January 2016, whilst the club's highest attendance in any competition at Parramatta Stadium is 20,053, set in the 2014 AFC Champions League Final first leg against
Al-Hilal FC Al Hilal Saudi Football Club ( ar, نادي الهلال السعودي), simply known as Al Hilal, is a professional multi-sports club based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their football team competes in the Saudi Professional League. They are the mo ...
. The highest home attendance at any stadium for Western Sydney Wanderers is 61,880 for a Sydney Derby match at
Stadium Australia Stadium Australia, currently known as Accor Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sydney Olympic Park, in Sydney, Australia. The stadium, which in Australia is sometimes referred to as Sydney Olympic Stad ...
on Saturday 9 October 2016.


Team records


Season-by-season record


This is a partial list of the last five seasons the Wanderers have participated in. For the full season-by-season history, see
List of Western Sydney Wanderers FC seasons Western Sydney Wanderers Football Club is an Australian professional association football club based in Rooty Hill, New South Wales; the club was formed in 2012. They became the fourth team based in New South Wales, and the second team based in ...
.


A-League Grand Finals

* - Match was decided during
extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...


Continental record


AFC Club Ranking

Updated 14 May 2022


Honours


Domestic

*
A-League Men A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
(Premiership) **Winners (1): 2012–13 **Runners-up (2): 2013–14, 2015–16 *
A-League Men A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
(Championship) **Runners-up (3):
2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
,
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
,
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...


Continental

*
AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competition ...
**Champions (1):
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...


International

*
FIFA Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...
**Sixth-place (1):
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...


Award

* AFC Club of the Year:
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...


See also

*
Expansion of the A-League The Expansion of the A-League is the ongoing process of establishing new clubs in the A-League. The A-League was established to replace the NSL as the top soccer division in the Australian league system and is the only fully professional leagu ...


Notes


References


External links


Official websiteOfficial corporate websiteSupporters websiteRed and Black Block
{{Navboxes, titlestyle=background:#C60C30;color:white;border:1px solid black, list1= {{A-League {{Association football in New South Wales {{Sydney sports teams {{AFC Champions League winners {{AFC Club of the Year {{E-League 2012 establishments in Australia Association football clubs established in 2012 Soccer clubs in Sydney A-League Men teams Expansion of the A-League Men AFC Champions League winning clubs