Sydney Derby (A-League Men)

Last updated

Sydney Derby
WesternSydneyWanderers-SydneyFC.png
Location Sydney
Teams Sydney FC
Western Sydney Wanderers
First meeting20 October 2012
A-League
WS Wanderers 0–1 Sydney FC
Latest meeting13 April 2024
A-League Men
Sydney FC 2–1 WS Wanderers
Next meetingTBC
Statistics
Meetings total38
Most winsSydney FC (18)
Top scorer Alex Brosque (6 goals)
Largest victoryWS Wanderers 0–5 Sydney FC
A-League
(9 Dec 2017)

The Sydney Derby is a local derby contested between two of the Australian A-League Men's Sydney-based clubs, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers. [1] Contested for the first time on 20 October 2012, historical, cultural and sporting factors have resulted in the derby being considered one of Australian sport's biggest club games, and one of the biggest rivalries in the A-League Men. [2] Crowd sentiment at derby matches has been said by Alessandro Del Piero to produce atmosphere and emotions similar to those in Europe, [3] while Wanderers player Mateo Poljak stated that the sixth Sydney Derby had an atmosphere that was the best he had experienced as a player. [4]

Contents

Origins

Satellite map of Sydney showing locations of Wanderers' Bankwest Stadium (Red) and Sydney's Sydney Football Stadium (Blue) SydneyDerbySat.png
Satellite map of Sydney showing locations of Wanderers' Bankwest Stadium (Red) and Sydney's Sydney Football Stadium (Blue)

The competitive nature of the Sydney Derby is largely based upon the historical, cultural and geographical divide between the Greater Western Sydney region (home to Western Sydney Wanderers), and eastern, southern and northern Sydney (home to Sydney FC). [5] The cultural makeup of the two clubs fits into this wider divide. As Sydney FC began their life in Moore Park they took on the "Bling FC" moniker, with the ownership intent on building Sydney FC into the "glamour club" of the A-League Men. [6]

The rivalry between the two clubs also stems from the A-League Men's establishment. Prior to the introduction of Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League Men, the only club to be based in the city was Sydney FC as part of FFA's 'one-city, one-team' policy for the newly established league. This deal gave Sydney FC a five-year city exclusivity, allowing the club grow throughout the region without competition. Sydney FC was not entirely embraced by the region, as the club's original intention to play at Parramatta Stadium was later changed by FFA chairman Frank Lowy. [7] Lowy's decision for the club to play out of the Sydney Football Stadium left some fans in Sydney's west feeling alienated from the club. [8] Sydney FC's perceived exclusion of the western region mirrored the pre-existing cultural and social divide of the city.

In 2008, FFA sought to introduce the new western Sydney-based Sydney Rovers into the A-League Men. This later proved unsuccessful with the club dissolving due to technical and financial reasons. During the time period prior to the disbanding of Sydney Rovers, two matches hosted by Sydney FC were played at Parramatta Stadium. In the first, a pocket of supporters came out bearing banners in support of the new western Sydney team with the Sydney FC active support group The Cove responding by chanting against the support for the new club. [9]

On 4 April 2012, the collapse of Gold Coast United brought about the creation of Western Sydney Wanderers. [10] FFA's decision for the club to be community oriented proved successful with the local western Sydney community soon backing the club, a club they had long called for, one that would represent the western region. [11]

Support

Western Sydney Wanderers Fans, 23 March 2014.jpg
Sydney-Queensland-2008.jpg
The Red and Black Bloc (left) and The Cove (right)

Both Wanderers' and Sydney's fan bases are multi-ethnic, due to the racial diversity in Sydney. [12] The western Sydney region especially is the most multicultural and culturally diverse region in Australia. [13] Sydney fans call themselves "The Cove" – a reference to original name given to the colonial settlement of Sydney – Sydney Cove. Wanderers fans call themselves the "Red and Black Bloc" (RBB) – a reference to the club colours (red and black). Wanderers have also become a source of pride in an area whose residents are often disparaged as "Westie". This is exemplified in one of the RBB's chants, "These Colours Unite Us All", which celebrates the diversity of the club, its location and its fans. The chant continues, "All the places we're from, in this city we own, we call West Sydney home". [14] Both fan groups actively despise each other, which is why the derby is considered so important.

Sydney FC fans sprawl from across the Sydney CBD, from Hawkesbury to the Shire, and the Inner West. The fans and club have a strong relationship, strengthened by good relations with SCG Trust – the owners of Sydney Football Stadium. The club has played games across Sydney throughout several competitions, including Leichhardt Oval in the Inner West, Cromer Park in North Sydney, and several W-League games in Sutherland Shire.

Competitive matches

The two clubs first met in the 2012–13 A-League season, on 20 October 2012. The match, hosted by Western Sydney Wanderers at Parramatta Stadium, was considered to be the most anticipated match of the season. [15] [16] The first ever derby was expected to sell out; the city rivalry alone would 'sell itself'. [17] Western Sydney Wanderers manager Tony Popovic spoke about how the match was "special for the players and coaching staff" and that he considered that the rivalry between the two clubs was already building and would one day be the "biggest rivalry in our game". [18] Alessandro Del Piero scored the only goal of the game, for Sydney FC. After winning a penalty, he was forced to re-take a successful first penalty due to his team encroaching in the penalty area, his second attempt was saved by Ante Covic but Del Piero pounced on the rebound and shot over the head of Covic.

The second Derby took place at the Sydney Football Stadium in front of 26,176 supporters and saw the Wanderers win their first Derby. With Del Piero on the bench due to an injury cloud, the Wanderers began the stronger, and Youssouf Hersi scored the first ever Wanderers goal in a Sydney Derby, after latching onto a knock-down from Joey Gibbs. The Wanderers doubled their lead with 13 minutes to play, as Wanderers captain and ex-Sydney FC player Michael Beauchamp attacked a low drive across the goal-mouth from Shinji Ono, his side-foot shot beating the Sydney FC goalkeeper. [19]

The third Sydney Derby saw Western Sydney Wanderers with the chance to win the A-League Men premiership in their first ever year. A win would see them lift the trophy at Parramatta Stadium against their rivals. In the 34th minute Nikolai Topor-Stanley produced a calamitous error to gift Del Piero the ball, and the Italian striker opened the scoring. The match also included an astonishing 8 yellow cards and 2 straight red cards. Brett Emerton the Sydney FC captain saw the first straight red card for a lunging feet-first challenge on Shannon Cole. Cole then equalised for the Wanderers in the 69th minute. The second red card of the night went to Iacopo La Rocca as the Wanderers searched for a title-winning goal, when held back by a Sydney FC player La Rocca lashed out with his elbow. The Wanderers were unable to win the match and the Premiership on the night, securing their Premiership a week later in Newcastle. [20]

The fourth derby match was played in front of a sold-out crowd of over 40,000 people. After attending the match at Sydney Football Stadium, rugby league journalist Phil Rothfield commented that the match had "proved the round-ball game has not just arrived but is bigger than rugby union and closing in on AFL and NRL." [21] The Wanderers were dominant on the pitch and in the stands, scoring two goals that could easily have been more, while Sydney FC lacked penetration with their attack missing talisman Del Piero.

The fifth took place at Parramatta Stadium, again with a sold-out crowd and once again an ex-Sydney FC player scored for the Wanderers. The Wanderers dominated the match, striking the crossbar and posts on several occasions, including a long-range chip from Hersi that nearly caught Sydney FC keeper Vedran Janjetovic off his line, with the rebound falling to Tomi Juric who smashed his shot into the stands. Brendon Santalab scored the only goal of the match in the 86th minute. After only 5 matches the rivalry has been reported as being "one of the fiercest in Australia", and the Wanderers as having begun a pattern of one-sided dominance, having now won 3 out of the 5 matches, with 1 draw and 1 victory for Sydney FC. [22]

The sixth derby, the final regular season derby for the 2013–14 A-League season took place at the Sydney Football Stadium. The match attracted a sold-out crowd of 40,285. This was 13,003 higher than the 27,282 who attended the National Rugby League's first match of the season between South Sydney & the Sydney Roosters. [23] The crowd witnessed Sydney FC win their first home derby match. [4] After a staid first half with limited highlights, the second half exploded into life as Shinji Ono pounced on a knock down from Brendon Santalab to open the scoring. The Wanderers had the chance to go two goals ahead after Richard Garcia gave away a penalty, but ex-Sydney FC player Mark Bridge had his penalty shot saved by Vedran Janjetovic. Sydney FC then equalised after Ante Covic sliced a clearing punch into the face of Matthew Jurman and saw the ball rebounded into goal. A calamitous error from another ex-Sydney FC player, Michael Beauchamp, saw him gift the ball to Richard Garcia, who tapped past Ante Covic into an open net. Ali Abbas scored a penalty during injury time to make the score 3–1. The game also featured an allegation that Wanderers player Brendon Santalab culturally abused Abbas, who took extreme offence and charged around the pitch, having to be restrained by his teammates. In a post-game interview Abbas said, "We are not here to attack religion or culture, we are here to play football". [24]

The seventh Sydney derby was played in round two of the 2014–15 A-League season and took place in front of another sold-out crowd of 41,213 fans at the Sydney Football Stadium, the highest crowd for any sporting event held at the ground in 2014. Despite Sydney FC having much of the early possession, the first goal was scored by former Sydney FC player Mark Bridge in the 19th minute. 5 minutes later Sydney FC keeper Janjetovic attempted to clear the ball but instead he somehow palmed the ball into his own net and sent the wanderers 2–0 up. Seconds before halftime Corey Gameiro scored a goal for Sydney FC to get the score back to 2–1. After half time Sydney FC created several chances however their second goal came from an own goal scored by Wanderers midfielder Romeo Castelen. With the score level at 2–2 tempers between the two side began to flare. Wanderer Vítor Saba was red carded after a dangerous tackle on Terry Antonis. Now down to ten men, the Wanderers fell behind when Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque scored with just over ten minutes remaining, with what would prove to be the winning goal. A pitch invasion ensued as over a hundred Sydney FC fans ran from The Cove onto the field to celebrate with Brosque, a scene which sportswriter Phil Rothfield described as being "as special as it gets." [25]

The eighth Sydney derby was played on 29 November 2014, in the 2014–15 A-League Season and took place in front of a packed crowd of 19,138 at Pirtek Stadium in Paramatta. The Wanderers started the stronger of the two sides, with both fan groups in full voice. Western Sydney Wanderers had many chances during the first half but only managed to capitalize on one. Tomi Juric pounced onto a loose ball on the box, sidefooting into the bottom left corner. Only 4 minutes later, Sydney FC equalised. The corner came in from a Wanderers player, bounced into the box, some appealing for a handball off Pedj Bojic but appeals were waved away, Bojic cleared the ball and Bernie Ibini chased the ball down, beating a defender to it from his own half. Ibini comfortably picked the ball up and went on a penetrating run, beating two Western Sydney defenders and smashing the ball past Ante Covic, the Western Sydney goalkeeper. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, a superb through pall was played to Mark Bridge who failed to score, forcing a brilliant save from Vedran Janjetovic. Towards the latter end of the second half, Sydney FC had a couple of chances. Shane Smeltz connected well with the ball and produced a volley which was tipped over by Ante Covic. In the final minute of the game, a free kick was awarded to Sydney FC, Marc Janko struck the ball beautifully, only to have it crash off the crossbar. The game ended 1–1, the second ever draw in the history of the fixture.

The thirteenth Sydney Derby, played on 8 October 2016 was a milestone match for the fixture. It set a new A-League Men crowd record of 61,880 at ANZ Stadium, as the Sky Blues triumphed in an emphatic second half, finishing 4–0. The opening goal scored by Filip Holosko, was quickly followed by a second, with Holosko assisting debutante Bobô to a tap-in. It remained a gutsy game with a plethora of saves from Danny Vukovic of Sydney FC to keep it at 2–0 until a breakaway from Sydney FC captain Alex Brosque led to a free-kick on the edge of the box, with Aritz Borda being sent off. Brandon O'Neill took the free-kick, flying it past the wall and keeper to make it three nil. Adding salt into the wounds, Matt Simon sprinted free of Dimas on a counterattack, with a cross to Bobô resulting in a parried shot, before Alex Brosque scored the fourth as it was dubbed the "Demolition Derby". [26]

The fifteenth Sydney derby was played on 18 February 2017 at Stadium Australia. In front of a crowd of 44,843 the Wanderers ended Sydney FC's 19 game-winning run, and achieved their first derby victory in 1135 days, with a hard-fought 1–0 win, courtesy of a first half Brendon Santalab goal. The Wanderers' win denied Sydney FC the opportunity to become the first A-League Men team to finish a season undefeated. The loss was Sydney's only loss of the season, as they went on to win the Premiership and Championship with a W-D-L record of 22–6–1.

The seventeenth Sydney Derby, similarly to the thirteenth derby, was dubbed the Demolition Derby as Sydney FC thumped the Western Sydney outfit 5–0. The first goal of the game came from Polish international Adrian Mierzejewski, who slammed home a poor parry from Vedran Janjetovic. Sydney captain Alex Brosque doubled their lead, latching onto a through ball from Bobô before rounding Janjetovic for a simple tap-in. On 45 minutes, Mierzejewski scored his second of the game, and Sydney's third, with a free kick from distance which the keeper could only get a hand to as it smashed into the back of the net. After half time, a corner taken by Mierzejewski was deflected in by Western Sydney striker Lachlan Scott for 4–0. On 77 minutes, the rout was completed as Brandon O'Neill placed a curling shot in the top corner for 5–0. [27]

On 6 October 2018, the two sides met for the first time in an FFA Cup, which saw Sydney FC defeat the Wanderers 3–0 in a semi final hosted by the Wanderers at Penrith Stadium.

The twenty third Sydney Derby was the first derby played at the Wanderers' new stadium. The Wanderers achieved their first Sydney Derby win in any competition in 980 days, winning 1–0 through a Mitchell Duke goal in the 19th minute. The twenty fourth derby was originally scheduled for Saturday 8 February 2020, but a deluge of rain in Sydney over the days prior to, and on the day itself, saw the match postponed. This would become the first ever derby to be played at Jubilee Oval, making it the seventh stadium to host the rivalry. The Wanderers went on to win the postponed match, again 1–0 with Duke scoring the decisive goal. This marked the first time they had won back to back derbies since the 2013–14 A-League season. On Saturday 21 March 2020, the match was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [28] The match ended as a 1–1 draw, marking the first time Sydney FC hadn't won a derby in a season.

After 7 seasons, 221 matches and 41 goals for Sydney FC, Milos Ninkovic left Sydney FC at the conclusion of the 2021-22 A-League season over a contract dispute, and subsequently signed with the Western Sydney Wanderers Milos Ninkovic 2022.png
After 7 seasons, 221 matches and 41 goals for Sydney FC, Miloš Ninković left Sydney FC at the conclusion of the 2021-22 A-League season over a contract dispute, and subsequently signed with the Western Sydney Wanderers

The 32nd Sydney Derby was the first derby played at the reconstructed Sydney Football Stadium. The match saw Miloš Ninković play his first Sydney Derby for the Wanderers, having previously represented Sydney FC in 21 derbies. Ninković was the subject of a pre-match tifo from The Cove criticising his decision to join the Wanderers; the tifo read ‘LEGENDS ARE CHERISHED. TRAITORS’ LEGACIES WILL PERISH’, along with depictions of club greats Steve Corica, Rhyan Grant and Alex Brosque as knights in shining armour, with Ninković's old No. 10 jersey being burned in the background. In front of a crowd of 34,232, the biggest Sydney Derby crowd since 2017, the Wanderers achieved their first Sydney Derby win at the Sydney Football Stadium in 3304 days, winning 1–0 through a Kusini Yengi goal in the 70th minute, with Ninković providing the assist. [29]

The 34th Sydney Derby was the first time the fixture was contested as part of the A-League Finals, with Sydney FC emerging 2-1 victors, despite trailing 1-0 at half time. The match drew a crowd of 27,288, which is the biggest elimination final crowd in A-League history. [30] At the conclusion of the match, Ninković went into the Sydney FC dressing room to congratulate his former Sydney FC teammates and wished them good luck for their upcoming tie against Melbourne City, before later being frogmarched out of the changing room by two Sydney FC staff members after a heated exchange of words with Sydney FC manager Steve Corica, [31] [32] with Wanderers manager Marko Rudan opining that the incident stemmed from "bad blood" between the two after previous verbal sideline exchanges. [33] [34] [35] The situation received much response from players and reporters who said they found nothing wrong with it whilst many found Corica's reaction to being "child-like" and "over-reactive". [36]

Results

Competition#DateRndHome teamScoreAway teamGoals (home)Goals (away)VenueAttendance [lower-alpha 1]
2012–13 A-League 120 October 20123Wanderers0–1Sydney Del Piero (54) Parramatta Stadium 19,126
215 December 201211Sydney0–2Wanderers Hersi (24), Beauchamp (77) Sydney Football Stadium 26,176
323 March 201326Wanderers1–1Sydney Cole (70) Del Piero (34) Parramatta Stadium 19,585
2013–14 A-League 426 October 20133Sydney0–2Wanderers La Rocca (11), Ono (26) Sydney Football Stadium 40,388
511 January 201414Wanderers1–0Sydney Santalab (86) Parramatta Stadium 18,080
68 March 201422Sydney3–1Wanderers Jurman (59), Garcia (75), Abbas (90+3 pen.) Ono (49) Sydney Football Stadium 40,285
2014–15 A-League 718 October 20142Sydney3–2Wanderers Gameiro (45+1), Ognenovski (49), Brosque (79) Bridge (19), Janjetovic (24 o.g.) Sydney Football Stadium 41,213
829 November 20148Wanderers1–1Sydney Juric (30) Ibini (34) Parramatta Stadium 19,138
928 February 201519Wanderers3–4Sydney La Rocca (32), Bulut (42, 52) Covic (9 o.g.), Janko (18, 23), Antonis (74) Parramatta Stadium 19,484
2015–16 A-League 1024 October 20153Sydney1–0Wanderers Ninkovic (88) Sydney Football Stadium 40,539
1116 January 201615Wanderers1–2Sydney Vidosic (58) Faty (22), Smeltz (90) Parramatta Stadium 19,627
1220 February 201620Sydney1–1Wanderers Jamieson (36 o.g.) Vidošić (13) Sydney Football Stadium 40,382
2016–17 A-League 138 October 20161Wanderers0–4Sydney Hološko (51), Bobô (55), O'Neill (85), Brosque (89) Stadium Australia 61,880
1414 January 201715Sydney0–0Wanderers Sydney Football Stadium 40,143
1518 February 201720Wanderers1–0Sydney Santalab (26) Stadium Australia 44,843
2017–18 A-League 1621 October 20173Sydney2–2Wanderers Bobô (38 pen.), Brillante (61) Riera (3), Hamill (30) Sydney Football Stadium 36,057
179 December 201710Wanderers0–5Sydney Mierzejewski (14, 45), Brosque (41), Scott (53 o.g.), O'Neill (76) Stadium Australia 36,433
1825 February 201821Sydney3–1Wanderers Mierzejewski (44, 55), Bobô (73) Riera (10) Sydney Football Stadium 25,211
2018 FFA Cup 196 October 2018SFWanderers0–3Sydney Buhagiar (49), De Jong (64), Le Fondre (76 pen.) Penrith Stadium 14,436
2018–19 A-League 2027 October 20182Sydney2–0Wanderers Le Fondre (4), Brosque (53) Sydney Cricket Ground 30,588
2115 December 20188Wanderers1–3Sydney Riera (23) Brosque (45+1), De Jong (57), Tratt (81) Stadium Australia 18,043
2213 April 201925Wanderers1–1Sydney Baumjohann (57) Brosque (7) Stadium Australia 21,984
2019–20 A-League 2326 October 20193Wanderers1–0Sydney Duke (19) Western Sydney Stadium 28,519
2428 February 202018Sydney0–1Wanderers Duke (81) Jubilee Oval 18,501
2521 March 202024Wanderers1–1Sydney Yeboah (82) Le Fondre (35) Western Sydney Stadium 0 [lower-alpha 2]
2020–21 A-League 2616 January 20214Sydney1–1Wanderers Barbarouses (63 pen.) Troisi (68) Stadium Australia 14,402 [lower-alpha 3]
271 May 20219Wanderers3–2Sydney Kamau (12), Duke (16), McDonald (74) Wilkinson (47), Bobô (90+4) Western Sydney Stadium 20,336
2823 May 202118Sydney1–0Wanderers Bobô (62) Sydney Cricket Ground 17,121
2021–22 A-League Men 2920 November 20211Wanderers0–0Sydney Western Sydney Stadium 23,118
305 March 202217Wanderers2–0Sydney Hemed (37 pen.), Baccus (52) Western Sydney Stadium 14,002
312 April 202224Sydney3–2Wanderers Le Fondre (2), Buhagiar (66, 71) Hemed (17), Russell (75) Jubilee Oval 10,091
2022–23 A-League Men 3212 November 20226Sydney0–1Wanderers Yengi (70) Allianz Stadium 34,232
3311 February 202316Wanderers0–1Sydney Burgess (16) Western Sydney Stadium 26,462
3418 March 202321Sydney0–4Wanderers Yengi (13), Layouni (21, 75), Nieuwenhof (62) Allianz Stadium 28,929
356 May 2023EFWanderers1–2Sydney Schneiderlin (39 pen.) Mak (69), Le Fondre (80) Western Sydney Stadium 27,288
2023–24 A-League Men 3625 November 20235Sydney0–1Wanderers Sapsford (72) Allianz Stadium 28,152
372 March 202419Wanderers1–4Sydney Girdwood-Reich (72 o.g.) Grant (3), Gomes (7 pen., 59), Mak (50) Western Sydney Stadium 27,998
3813 April 202424Sydney2–1Wanderers Gomes (72), Kucharski (90+8) Sapsford (90+5) Allianz Stadium 26,155
  1. Attendances listed in bold were official sell-outs.
  2. Held behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
  3. Attendance was capped at 25% of the stadium's capacity due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.

Statistics

As of 13 April 2024
Home record
Home teamMatchesWinsDrawsLosses
Sydney18846
Wanderers205510
CompetitionMatchesSydney winsDrawsWanderers winsSydney goalsWanderers goals
A-League Men 37179115441
Australia Cup 110030
Total38189115741

Records

All-time top scorers

Alex Brosque is the Sydney Derby's all-time top goalscorer, with 6 goals Alex Brosque-27.04.09.jpg
Alex Brosque is the Sydney Derby's all-time top goalscorer, with 6 goals
As of 13 April 2024
RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Alex Brosque Sydney6
2 Flag of Brazil.svg Bobô Sydney5
Flag of England.svg Adam Le Fondre Sydney
4 Flag of Poland.svg Adrian Mierzejewski Sydney4
5 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mitchell Duke Wanderers3
Flag of Spain.svg Oriol Riera Wanderers
Flag of Brazil.svg Fábio Gomes Sydney
8 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Del Piero Sydney2
Flag of Austria.svg Marc Janko Sydney
Flag of Slovakia.svg Robert Mak Sydney
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Trent Buhagiar Sydney
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Siem de Jong Sydney
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brandon O'Neill Sydney
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Zac Sapsford Wanderers
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kusini Yengi Wanderers
Flag of Tunisia.svg Amor Layouni Wanderers
Flag of Israel.svg Tomer Hemed Wanderers
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Brendon Šantalab Wanderers
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kerem Bulut Wanderers
Flag of Japan.svg Shinji Ono Wanderers
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Dario Vidošić Wanderers
Flag of Italy.svg Iacopo La Rocca Wanderers

Players who played for both clubs

Kerem Bulut.jpg
Kerem Bulut Wanderland.jpg
Kerem Bulut represented the Sydney FC youth team, before going on to represent the Western Sydney Wanderers

Fifteen players have played for both Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers, sometimes through direct transfer and sometimes after many years. However, only three players have represented both clubs in derby games. These players are Vedran Janjetovic, Terry Antonis and Andrew Redmayne. The remaining twelve players all had careers at Sydney FC prior to the formation of the Wanderers in 2012. This includes three players that did not cap for Sydney FC's first team.

Kerem Bulut did not cap for the first team, though he played for the Sydney FC youth team (2008–2010) before joining Wanderers in 2015. Josh Macdonald did not cap for the first team, though he also played for the Sydney FC youth team (2012–2014) before joining Wanderers in 2015. Kearyn Baccus did not cap for the first team, though he played for the Sydney FC youth team (2008–2009) before joining the Wanderers in 2014. Current Sydney FC players Tom Heward-Belle and Patrick Yazbek were previously members of the Wanderers' youth teams, without capping for the senior team.

Wanderers inaugural head coach, Tony Popovic, previously played for Sydney from 2007 to 2008, and served as an assistant coach from 2009 to 2011, before he became the manager of the Wanderers in 2012.

Joshua Brillante is the most recent player to join the Wanderers after leaving Melbourne Victory. On 2 January 2017, goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne became the first player to join Sydney FC from the Wanderers.

PlayerSydneyWanderersTotal Derbies
Apps (Gls)
SeasonsApps (Gls)DerbiesSeasonsApps (Gls)Derbies
Michael Beauchamp 2011–201228 (1)02012–201437 (2)4 (1) [37] 4 (1)
Mark Bridge 2008–201285 (18)02012–2016, 2017–2019141 (38)14 (1) [38] 14 (1)
Shannon Cole 2007–201299 (8)02012–201753 (2)5 (1) [39] 5 (1)
Joey Gibbs 20101 (0)02012–201313 (2)1 (0) [40] 1 (0)
Antony Golec 2008–201110 (0)02014–201517 (0)2 (0) [41] 2 (0)
Kerem Bulut 2008–2010002015, 201615 (5)2 (2) [42] 2 (2)
Liam Reddy 2010–201243 (0)02015–20166 (0)1 (0) [43] 1 (0)
Scott Jamieson 2010–201254 (1)02015–201627 (0)3 (0) [44] 3 (0)
Brendon Santalab 2007–200927 (4)02013–201897 (35)10 (2) [45] 10 (2)
Nikolai Topor-Stanley 2006–200720 (1)02012–2016104 (3)12 (0) [46] 12 (0)
Kearyn Baccus 2008–2009002014–201862 (0)7 (0) [47] 7 (0)
Josh Macdonald 2008–2009002015–20162 (0)00
Vedran Janjetović 2012–2016112 (0)10 (0) [48] 2017–202272 (0)8 (0) [49] 18 (0)
Terry Antonis 2010–201572 (5)7 (1) [50] 2017, 2021–202336 (4)3 (0) [51] 10 (1)
Andrew Redmayne 2017–present225 (0)21 (0) [52] 2015–201737 (0)3 (0) [53] 24 (0)
Alexander Baumjohann 2019–202160 (1)6 (0)2018–201917 (3)3 (1)9 (1)
Matthew Jurman 2008–2011, 2013–2017118 (3)11 (1)2019–202024 (0)3 (0)14 (1)
Dimitri Petratos 2010–201230 (5)02021–202225 (3)3 (0)3 (0)
Calem Nieuwenhof 2020–202217 (1)02022–202327 (4)4 (1)4 (1)
Milos Ninkovic 2015–2022221 (41)20 (1)2022–202438 (1)5 (0)25 (1)
Zac Sapsford 2022002022–present19 (2)3 (2)3 (2)
Aidan Simmons 2016–2022002022–present34 (2)4 (0)4 (0)
Jack Rodwell 2022–present25 (2)2 (0)2021–202215 (3)2 (0)4 (0)
Joshua Brillante 2016–2019103 (3)9 (1)2023–present21 (0)2 (0)11 (1)
Oscar Priestman 2021–2023 [54] 20 (0)2023–present28 (1)2 (0)2 (0)

Played for one, managed the other

Tony Popovic-2010-08-03.jpg
Tony Popovic Managing Western Sydney Wanderers Training.png
Tony Popovic was both a player and assistant coach with Sydney FC, before going on to manage the Western Sydney Wanderers
ManagerPlayed forManaged
TeamSpanLeague appsLeague goalsTeamSpanGWDLWin %
Tony Popovic Sydney FC 2007–2008271 Western Sydney Wanderers 2012–201718077406342.78
Marko Rudan Sydney FC 2005–2007716 Western Sydney Wanderers 2022–present7729183037.66

Managerial records

Steve Corica has managed the most Sydney Derbies of any manager, with 16 derbies managed Steve Corica-27.04.09.jpg
Steve Corica has managed the most Sydney Derbies of any manager, with 16 derbies managed
ManagerClubPldWDLGFGAGDPtsWin%
Graham Arnold Sydney127412612+142558.33
Steve Corica Sydney177462019+12541.18
Tony Popovic Wanderers154471621−51626.67
Marko Rudan Wanderers94051312+11244.44
Ufuk Talay Sydney320163+3666.67
Carl Robinson Wanderers4121440525.00
Jean-Paul de Marigny Wanderers211021+1450.00
Frank Farina Sydney511347−3420.00
Markus Babbel Wanderers511339−6420.00
Ian Crook Sydney110010+13100
Hayden Foxe Wanderers101022010
Josep Gombau Wanderers200218−700

Head-to-head ranking in the A-League Men

P. 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
1 SYDicon.png WSWicon.png SYDicon.png SYDicon.png SYDicon.png
2 SYDicon.png WSWicon.png SYDicon.png WSWicon.png SYDicon.png SYDicon.png
3 SYDicon.png
4 SYDicon.png WSWicon.png SYDicon.png
5 SYDicon.png SYDicon.png SYDicon.png SYDicon.png
6 WSWicon.png
7 SYDicon.png SYDicon.png WSWicon.png WSWicon.png
8 WSWicon.png WSWicon.png SYDicon.png
9 SYDicon.png WSWicon.png WSWicon.png
10 WSWicon.png
11
12

Honours

As of 25 November 2023
SFCTournamentWSW
4 A-League Premiership 1
5 A-League Championship 0
2 Australia Cup 0
0 AFC Champions League 1
1 OFC Champions League 0
12Total2

See also

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