While the official A-League team of the season is yet to be announced, Outside90 has its own take on which were the best players during the 2014-15 campaign.
Eugene Galekovic
The stalwart epitomises consistency and longevity between the sticks, protecting Adelaide United’s goal for the best part of eight seasons now. The 33-year-old had another solid outing and while it may not have been his finest year, garnering only seven clean-sheets, Galekovic was still miserly keeping his side in a number of matches thanks to a plethora of saves. His phenomenal performance against Sydney FC in early April was a testament to that and arguably secured his status as the league’s supreme goalkeeper for another campaign, after collecting the accolade at the A-League awards night.
Tarek Elrich
Since the versatile full-back was thrown an A-League lifeline by Adelaide United two years ago, Elrich has not looked back and has developed into one of the most competent defenders in Australia. All round it was a brilliant season for the 28-year-old and like teammate Galekovic, the former Western Sydney Wanderers man has also been a model of reliability. His impressive season did not go unnoticed, with the United defender receiving his first Socceroos cap, as well as being awarded the goal of the season following his incredible individual effort against Melbourne City on ANZAC Day.
Matthieu Delpierre
The French veteran illustrated his class and experience in a limited season for Melbourne Victory, frustratingly interrupted by injury. Despite missing a large portion of matches in the heart of the year, the once-Bundesliga winner with Stuttgart played a crucial role in his side’s title triumph. The 34-year-old reads the game extremely well and won 61% of his duels.
Michael Thwaite
In a campaign ultimately tarnished by Perth Glory being found guilty of breaching the salary cap, the captain was a shining light in Kenny Lowe’s team. Thwaite was an unwavering presence in a side which was at one stage sitting pretty at the top of the A-League.
Daniel Georgievski
The 27-year-old completes the back four and was also another piece in a successful puzzle that helped the Victory lift its first championship in six years. The Macedonian international netted three goals and did not know how to score an ugly goal. His adventurous runs also provided his team an outlet when going forward.
Roly Bonevacia
The Dutchman would have to be regarded as one of the signings of the year after he was acquired by the Phoenix. Bonevacia scored four goals and grabbed multiple assists and linked up superbly with the Nix front three. The 23-year-old may be perceived as a surprise inclusion, but his dynamism was one of the reasons behind the Wellington’s positive year.
Milos Dimitrijevic
Dimitrijevic excelled in his second full season under Graham Arnold, winning the club’s Player of the Season award. This accolade only confirmed just how significant he was to the harbour city outfit. The Serbian has been the cornerstone in a side which vastly improved from a year ago and notched two goals, in addition to providing excellent cover to his back four.
Guilherme Finkler
Not many can argue this man’s inclusion. The Brazilian single-handedly got his side out of trouble on a number occasions, for instance, scoring both goals in a lacklustre 2-1 home win over the Central Coast Mariners. He occupied the attacking-midfield spot in Muscat’s 4-3-3 formation and registered seven goals from midfield, in addition to a further seven assists, making him a worthy selection.
Fahid Ben Khalfallah
The Tunisian international joined the Melbourne Victory just before the season kicked off and turned out to be one of the best foreigners to grace our shores. Khalfallah’s blistering speed meant he posed a constant nightmare for opposition defences, as his sumptuous dribbling ability was too hot to handle. The former Bordeaux wide-man finished the season with five goals and a bag of astonishing displays. He captured the imagination of many neutrals and was a pivotal player in Muscat’s squad.
Marc Janko
The Marquee man made the surprise decision to join Sydney FC, given the Austrian striker is only 31 and was for the most part performing in Europe. Nevertheless, Janko lived up to his billing and was bestowed with the league’s top goalscorer on 16 goals. His ominous form certainly became evident in the second-half of the season.
Nathan Burns
It was a real toss-up between Burns or Bernie Ibini for this final place. However after a great deal of contemplation, the former just edges the Sky Blues winger. The ex-Reds prodigy started the campaign on fire, which also earned himself a justified inclusion into the Socceroos Asian Cup squad. However, he was not in unplayable form after the Asian Cup – scoring just three goals since January – Burns did enough to warrant an inaugural Johnny Warren Medal. The move to Wellington Phoenix in June 2014 revitalised his somewhat drifting career, scoring 13 goals.
Substitutes
Vedran Janjetovic
The Sydney shot-stopper just missed out but had his best season in the Sydney FC goal.
Andrew Durante
The Nix skipper played an important role at the back, though his form waned toward the end of the campaign.
Aaron Mooy
The Melbourne City playmaker virtually carried his team into the finals and was instrumental from set-pieces, particularly free kicks.
Marcelo Carrusca
The Adelaide maestro does just enough to get his name on the substitutes bench, having grabbed seven league goals during an injury-plagued season.
Bernie Ibini
The Sydney youngster finished the campaign strongly and got his career back on track, enhancing his reputation as a dangerous winger. Ibini netted eight goals in all competitions on-loan from Shanghai Dongya.
Besart Berisha
In his first season with Melbourne Victory, Berisha was an integral part to the side’s triumph. Gifted in the air and lethal on the ground, the move from Brisbane Roar after three years paid off as he scored in the 3-0 grand final victory over Sydney, confirming what was already known: that Victory was the best team in the competition.
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