Melbourne City

2016–17 season
Owner	City Football Group
Chairman	Khaldoon Al Mubarak
Manager	John van 't Schip (to 3 January 2017) Michael Valkanis (from 3 January 2017)
Stadium	AAMI Park
A-League	4th
A-League Finals	Elimination-finals
FFA Cup	Winners
Top goalscorer	League: Bruno Fornaroli (17) All: Bruno Fornaroli (20)
Highest home attendance	24,706 vs. Melbourne Victory (17 December 2016) A-League
Lowest home attendance	7,745 vs. Newcastle Jets (10 November 2016) A-League
Average home league attendance	10,499
Biggest win	5–1 vs. Wellington Phoenix (18 February 2017) A-League 4–0 vs. Newcastle Jets (18 March 2017) A-League
Biggest defeat	0–3 vs. Sydney FC (1 April 2017) A-League
Home colours Away colours
← 2015–16 2017–18 →

The 2016–17 season was the seventh in the history of Melbourne City Football Club. In addition to the domestic league, the club competed in the FFA Cup for the third time.

The club won the FFA Cup, its first ever silverware as a senior men's team. On 3 January 2017, manager John van 't Schip resigned from his position to return to the Netherlands and help care for his terminally-ill father.^[1] Michael Valkanis was subsequently appointed manager for the remainder of the season.^[2]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  DEN Thomas Sørensen 2 DF  MLT Manny Muscat 3 DF  AUS Joshua Rose 5 DF  AUS Ivan Franjic 6 DF  AUS Osama Malik 7 FW  AUS Corey Gameiro 8 MF  AUS Neil Kilkenny 9 MF  ARG Nicolás Colazo (on loan from Boca Juniors) 10 MF  AUS Anthony Cáceres (on loan from Manchester City) 11 MF  AUS Bruce Kamau 12 FW  AUS Nick Fitzgerald 14 FW  AUS Daniel Arzani 17 FW  AUS Tim Cahill

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 DF  AUS Paulo Retre 20 GK  AUS Dean Bouzanis 21 DF  AUS Ruon Tongyik 22 DF  DEN Michael Jakobsen 23 FW  URU Bruno Fornaroli (captain) 26 MF  AUS Luke Brattan (on loan from Manchester City) 27 MF  ARG Fernando Brandán (on loan from Temperley) 28 FW  AUS Steve Kuzmanovski 29 FW  AUS Braedyn Crowley 34 MF  AUS Denis Genreau 36 DF  AUS Dylan Pierias 42 GK  AUS James Delianov

N	Pos.	Nat.	Name	Age	Notes
34	MF		Denis Genreau	17	[3]
36	DF		Dylan Pierias	17	[3]
42	GK		James Delianov	17	[3]

No.	Position	Player	Transferred from	Type/fee	Contract length	Date	Ref
2	DF	Manny Muscat	Wellington Phoenix	Free transfer	2 years	3 March 2016	[4]
11	MF	Bruce Kamau	Adelaide United	Free transfer	2 years	6 May 2016	[5]
14	FW	Daniel Arzani	Unattached	Free transfer	2 years	10 June 2016	[6]
26	MF	Luke Brattan	Manchester City	Loan	1 year	29 June 2016	[7]
21	DF	Ruon Tongyik	Adelaide United	Undisclosed Fee	2 years	8 July 2016	[8]
8	MF	Neil Kilkenny	Unattached	Free transfer	2 years	19 July 2016	[9]
27	MF	Fernando Brandán	Temperley	Loan	2 years	26 July 2016	[10]
17	FW	Tim Cahill	Unattached	Free transfer	3 years	11 August 2016	[11]
3	DF	Joshua Rose	Central Coast Mariners	Free transfer	1 year	12 August 2016	[12]
22	DF	Michael Jakobsen	Esbjerg fB	Free transfer	2 years	1 September 2016	[13]
29	FW	Braedyn Crowley	Northcote City	Free transfer	2 years	6 September 2016	[14]
9	MF	Nicolás Colazo	Boca Juniors	Loan	1 year	20 September 2016	[15][16]

No.	Position	Player	Transferred to	Type/fee	Date	Ref
2	DF	Alex Wilkinson	Sydney FC	Free transfer	26 April 2016	[17]
3	DF	Aaron Hughes	Unattached	Free transfer	26 April 2016	[18]
14	MF	James Brown	Unattached	Free transfer	28 April 2016	[18]
16	MF	Jason Trifiro	Unattached	Free transfer	28 April 2016	[18]
17	FW	Wade Dekker	Unattached	Free transfer	28 April 2016	[18]
26	FW	Marc Marino	Unattached	Free transfer	28 April 2016	[18]
24	DF	Patrick Kisnorbo	Retired		1 May 2016	[19]
11	DF	Michael Zullo	Sydney FC	Free transfer	12 May 2016	[20]
19	DF	Ben Garuccio	Adelaide United	Free transfer	16 June 2016	[21]
9	FW	Harry Novillo	Manisaspor	$500,000	22 June 2016	[22]
8	MF	Aaron Mooy	Manchester City	Free transfer	29 June 2016	[7]
22	DF	Jack Clisby	Western Sydney Wanderers	Free transfer	12 August 2016	[23]
25	MF	Jacob Melling	Western Sydney Wanderers	Free transfer	12 August 2016	[23]
34	FW	Stefan Zinni	South Melbourne	Undisclosed Fee	18 December 2016	[24]
4	DF	Connor Chapman	Incheon United	Undisclosed Fee	23 January 2017	[25]

Name	Position	Duration	Contract Expiry	Notes
Nick Fitzgerald	Attacking midfielder	2 years	2018	[6]
Anthony Cáceres	Central midfielder	1 year	2017	[7]
Bruno Fornaroli	Central striker	3 years	2019	[26]
Dean Bouzanis	Goalkeeper	3 years	2020	[27]

  Win   Draw   Loss

Port Melbourne v Melbourne City

20 July 2016	Port Melbourne	0–5	Melbourne City	Melbourne
19:15 AEST		Report	Fornaroli 28', 45+1' (pen.) Retre 67' Melling 85' Wong 86'	Stadium: SS Anderson Reserve

Melbourne Knights v Melbourne City

26 July 2016	Melbourne Knights	0–4	Melbourne City	Melbourne
19:30 AEST		Report	Fornaroli 21', 47', 63' Muscat 26'	Stadium: Knights Stadium

Hume City v Melbourne City

16 August 2016	Hume City	1–0	Melbourne City	Melbourne
	Markelis 87'	Report		Stadium: ABD Stadium

Northern Fury v Melbourne City

7 September 2016	Northern Fury	1–4	Melbourne City	Townsville
19:00 AEST	Waples 71' (pen.)	Report	Kamau 5' Brattan 18' Crowley 48' Ahmed 87'	Stadium: Townsville Sports Reserve Attendance: 1,300 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix

11 September 2016	Melbourne City	1–4	Wellington Phoenix	Townsville
15:00 AEST	Cahill 15'	Report	Krishna 19', 45+1' Finkler 40', 56'	Stadium: Townsville Sports Reserve Attendance: 3,856

Melbourne City v Auckland City

25 September 2016 Family Day	Melbourne City	2–0	Auckland City	Melbourne
10:00 AEST	Colazo 77' Cahill 90'	Report		Stadium: City Football Academy

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

8 October 2016 1	Wellington Phoenix	0–1	Melbourne City	Wellington
19:35 NZDT		Report	Cáceres 31'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 10,034 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

15 October 2016 2	Melbourne Victory	1–4	Melbourne City	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Rojas 62'	Report	Cahill 27' Fornaroli 31' Brattan 52' Brandán 63'	Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 43,188 Referee: Chris Beath

Melbourne City v Adelaide United

28 October 2016 4	Melbourne City	2–1	Adelaide United	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Fornaroli 11', 56' (pen.)	Report	Guardiola 64'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 10,053 Referee: Chris Beath

Brisbane Roar v Melbourne City

4 November 2016 5	Brisbane Roar	1–0	Melbourne City	Brisbane
18:50 AEST	Maclaren 11'	Report		Stadium: Suncorp Stadium Attendance: 20,198 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne City v Newcastle Jets

10 November 2016 6	Melbourne City	2–1	Newcastle Jets	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Fornaroli 14', 26'	Report	Nabbout 36'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 7,745 Referee: Adam Fielding

Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne City

18 November 2016 7	Western Sydney Wanderers	1–1	Melbourne City	Sydney
19:50 AEDT	Kilkenny 90+2' (o.g.)	Report	Cahill 55'	Stadium: Spotless Stadium Attendance: 14,232 Referee: Chris Beath

Melbourne City v Wellington Phoenix

27 November 2016 8	Melbourne City	2–1	Wellington Phoenix	Melbourne
17:00 AEDT	Fitzgerald 44' Fornaroli 71' (pen.)	Report	Krishna 60'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 10,644 Referee: Kurt Ams

Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar

3 December 2016 9	Melbourne City	1–1	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Colazo 54'	Report	Maclaren 38'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 8,394 Referee: Shaun Evans

Sydney FC v Melbourne City

9 December 2016 10	Sydney FC	1–1	Melbourne City	Sydney
19:50 AEDT	Bobô 80' (pen.)	Report	Brandán 32'	Stadium: ANZ Stadium Attendance: 14,668 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory

17 December 2016 11	Melbourne City	1–2	Melbourne Victory	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Cahill 16'	Report	Rojas 24' Berisha 78'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 24,706 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Melbourne City v Western Sydney Wanderers

6 January 2017 14	Melbourne City	1–0	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Franjic 19'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 10,731 Referee: Alan Milliner

Adelaide United v Melbourne City

12 January 2017 15	Adelaide United	2–1	Melbourne City	Adelaide
19:30 ACDT	McGowan 10' Ochieng 87'	Report	Fornaroli 4'	Stadium: Coopers Stadium Attendance: 10,607 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Melbourne City v Central Coast Mariners

19 January 2017 16	Melbourne City	2–1	Central Coast Mariners	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Cahill 3', 39'	Report	O'Donovan 9'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 8,784 Referee: Daniel Elder

Newcastle Jets v Melbourne City

27 January 2017 17	Newcastle Jets	2–1	Melbourne City	Coffs Harbour
19:50 AEDT	Nabbout 14', 52'	Report	Fornaroli 69' (pen.)	Stadium: C.ex Coffs International Stadium Attendance: 7,891 Referee: Kurt Ams

Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

4 February 2017 18	Melbourne Victory	2–1	Melbourne City	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Berisha 84' Muscat 86' (o.g.)	Report	Baró 70' (o.g.)	Stadium: Etihad Stadium Attendance: 35,426 Referee: Chris Beath

Melbourne City v Brisbane Roar

11 February 2017 19	Melbourne City	2–2	Brisbane Roar	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Kamau 59' Colazo 61' (pen.)	Report	Maclaren 34' (pen.), 45+1'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 8,414 Referee: Alan Milliner

Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City

18 February 2017 20	Wellington Phoenix	1–5	Melbourne City	Wellington
19:35 NZDT	Barbarouses 70'	Report	Lowry 20' (o.g.) Fornaroli 29' Cáceres 59' Kilkenny 82' Colazo 87'	Stadium: Westpac Stadium Attendance: 6,131 Referee: Jonathan Barreiro

Melbourne City v Sydney FC

24 February 2017 21	Melbourne City	1–3	Sydney FC	Melbourne
19:50 AEDT	Fitzgerald 25'	Report	Bobô 24' (pen.), 67' O'Neill 56'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 10,706 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Western Sydney Wanderers v Melbourne City

24 March 2017 24	Western Sydney Wanderers	3–1	Melbourne City	Sydney
19:50 AEDT	Santalab 22', 64', 68'	Report	Kilkenny 3'	Stadium: Spotless Stadium Attendance: 10,204 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Melbourne City v Adelaide United

7 April 2017 26	Melbourne City	1–0	Adelaide United	Melbourne
19:50 AEST	Cahill 36'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 9,438 Referee: Kris Griffiths-Jones

Floreat Athena v Melbourne City

2 August 2016 Round of 32	Floreat Athena	1–2	Melbourne City	Perth
18:30 AWST	Gate 59'	Report	Fitzgerald 32' Cáceres 65'	Stadium: Dorrien Gardens Attendance: 1,408 Referee: Adam Fielding

Brisbane Strikers v Melbourne City

24 August 2016 Round of 16	Brisbane Strikers	1–2	Melbourne City	Brisbane
19:30 AEST	Henslee 34'	Report	Fornaroli 37' (pen.), 78' (pen.)	Stadium: Perry Park Attendance: 3,571 Referee: Peter Green

Melbourne City v Western Sydney Wanderers

21 September 2016 Quarter-final	Melbourne City	4–1	Western Sydney Wanderers	Melbourne
19:30 AEST	Jakobsen 2' Fornaroli 32' Cahill 45' (pen.) Brandán 65'	Report	Dimas 73'	Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 5,401 Referee: Jarred Gillett

Melbourne City v Sydney FC

30 November 2016 Final	Melbourne City	1–0	Sydney FC	Melbourne
19:30 AEDT	Cahill 53'	Report		Stadium: AAMI Park Attendance: 18,751 Referee: Peter Green

Includes all competitions. Players with no appearances not included in the list.^[28]

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	A-League		FFA Cup		Total
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK		Thomas Sørensen	7(1)	0	3	0	11	0
2	DF		Manny Muscat	12(2)	0	3	0	17	0
3	DF		Josh Rose	23	0	3	0	26	0
5	DF		Ivan Franjic	20(1)	1	1(1)	0	23	1
6	MF		Osama Malik	15(3)	0	4	0	22	0
8	MF		Neil Kilkenny	25	2	4	0	29	2
9	MF		Nicolás Colazo	18(4)	4	1(1)	0	24	4
10	MF		Anthony Caceres	16(11)	2	3(1)	1	31	3
11	FW		Bruce Kamau	19(7)	1	4	0	30	1
12	FW		Nick Fitzgerald	9(14)	4	3(2)	1	28	5
14	FW		Daniel Arzani	0(6)	0	0(1)	0	7	0
17	FW		Tim Cahill	18(4)	11	3(1)	2	26	13
18	MF		Paulo Retre	4(7)	0	1(2)	0	14	0
20	GK		Dean Bouzanis	21(1)	0	2	0	24	0
21	DF		Ruon Tongyik	13(2)	0	0	0	15	0
22	DF		Michael Jakobsen	17	0	3	1	20	1
23	FW		Bruno Fornaroli	27	17	5	3	32	20
26	MF		Luke Brattan	24(2)	1	5	1	31	2
27	MF		Fernando Brandán	13(6)	3	3(2)	2	24	5
28	MF		Steve Kuzmanovski	0	0	0(1)	0	1	0
29	FW		Braedyn Crowley	0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
34	MF		Denis Genreau	2(2)	0	0	0	4	0
35	DF		Christian Cavallo	0(1)	0	0	0	1	0
36	DF		Dylan Pierias	1	0	0	0	1	0
—	DF		Bradley Clarke	0	0	0(1)	0	1	0
Player(s) transferred out but featured this season
4	MF		Connor Chapman	4(1)	0	3(1)	0	9	0
22	DF		Jack Clisby	0	0	1	0	1	0

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total cards are equal. Players with no cards not included in the list.^[28]

Rank	No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	A-League			FFA Cup			Total
1	27	MF		Fernando Brandán	5	0	1	1	0	0	6	0	1
2	17	FW		Tim Cahill	4	0	1	0	0	0	4	0	1
3	1	GK		Thomas Sørensen	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
4	2	DF		Manny Muscat	7	1	0	0	0	0	7	1	0
5	8	MF		Neil Kilkenny	10	0	0	0	0	0	10	0	0
6	6	MF		Osama Malik	9	0	0	0	0	0	9	0	0
7	26	MF		Luke Brattan	7	0	0	1	0	0	8	0	0
8	3	DF		Josh Rose	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
	23	FW		Bruno Fornaroli	5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0	0
10	10	MF		Anthony Caceres	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	21	DF		Ruon Tongyik	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0
	22	DF		Michael Jakobsen	3	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	0
13	9	MF		Nicolás Colazo	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	18	MF		Paulo Retre	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
	20	GK		Dean Bouzanis	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0
16	5	DF		Ivan Franjic	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0
	12	FW		Nick Fitzgerald	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
	34	MF		Denis Genreau	1	0	0	1	0	0	2	0	0
19	4	MF		Connor Chapman	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0
	11	FW		Bruce Kamau	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0

Includes all competitions. The list is sorted by squad number when total clean sheets are equal. Numbers in parentheses represent games where both goalkeepers participated and both kept a clean sheet; the number in parentheses is awarded to the goalkeeper who was substituted on, whilst a full clean sheet is awarded to the goalkeeper who was on the field at the start of play. Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.

Rank	No.	Nat.	Goalkeeper	A-League	FFA Cup	Total
1	20		Dean Bouzanis	2 (1)	2	5
2	1		Thomas Sørensen	1 (1)	0	2
Total				5	2	7

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