Auckland City FC

Auckland City
Full nameAuckland City Football Club
Nickname(s)The Navy Blues, City
Short nameACFC
Founded6 February 2004; 19 years ago (6 February 2004)
GroundKiwitea Street
Capacity2,500 (500 seated)
Coordinates36°53′51″S 174°44′13″E / 36.89750°S 174.73694°E / -36.89750; 174.73694
ChairmanIvan Vuksich
ManagerAlbert Riera
LeagueNorthern League
2023Northern League, 1st of 12 (champions)
National League, 2nd of 10
WebsiteClub website
Current season

Auckland City Football Club is a New Zealand semi-professional football club based in the suburb of Sandringham in Auckland, New Zealand. They currently compete in the Northern League. Auckland City have established themselves as a major force in both New Zealand and Oceania, having won eight New Zealand Football Championship titles and eleven OFC Champions League titles since their foundation.

Formed in 2004 following the inception of the New Zealand Football Championship, Auckland City currently play their home matches at Kiwitea Street in Sandringham, New Zealand. The club is the most successful in Oceania, having won seven consecutive OFC Champions League titles between 2011 and 2017 – the most consecutive continental titles of any football team in history. This has resulted in Auckland becoming a regular fixture at the FIFA Club World Cup, famously achieving a third-placed finish in the 2014 edition. Auckland City's youth team played in the now-defunct National Youth League, becoming the most successful team in competition history with seven titles.

Auckland City's regular kit colours are faintly striped royal blue shirts and shorts with white socks. The current crest, in use since the club's inception, features the Sky Tower, an iconic Auckland landmark. The club has a strong Croatian influence, being strongly associated with and playing at the same stadium as Central United (formed in 1962 by Dalmatian immigrants).

History

The Auckland City team in 2011

Auckland City has won the New Zealand Football Championship regular season twelve times, and the Grand Final eight times. They represented the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) in the OFC Champions League, which they won most recently in 2017 for the ninth time (seventh in a row). With a third place in 2014, they also became the only OFC team to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup. They are also the only team to win the continental treble three times.

In 2017, Auckland City were invited to play in the Lunar New Year Cup, a friendly tournament hosted in Hong Kong. Auckland City defeated South Korean champions FC Seoul in the semifinal, before defeating Hong Kong side Kitchee in the final to lift the trophy. Auckland City were again invited for the 2019 edition, falling to Chinese Super League club Shandong Luneng 2–1.

Following the conclusion of the 2018–19 season, in which Auckland City won all but one game in their undefeated season but fell short in both the OFC Champions League and the league playoffs, long-term manager Ramon Tribulietx brought his association with the club to an end and was replaced by Team Wellington coach José Figueira ahead of the 2019–20 season.

After the first season of the New Zealand National League Auckland City finished 1st in the Northern League but didn't get to play in the championship phase due to COVID-19 affecting the Auckland Region. The club then announced that Albert Riera would take over as head coach for the next season.

FIFA Club World Cup

2009

Auckland City overcame local champions Al Ahli 2–0 in the opening play-off match, with goals by Adam Dickinson and Chad Coombes. In their quarter final clash against CONCACAF champions Atlante of Mexico, the side lost 0–3.

The play-off for fifth and sixth place was described by coach Paul Posa as "the greatest night in the history of Auckland City Football Club", as the team defeated CAF Champions League winners TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo 3–2. The goal scorers on this special occasion were Jason Hayne with two and Riki van Steeden.

These historic victories were the first recorded by a New Zealand team at the Club World Cup, and the first by an amateur side at this tournament. This was also the first time that a senior men's representative team from New Zealand has recorded a victory in a world FIFA competition.

2014

Auckland City played Moroccan league champions Moghreb Tétouan in a play-off for the quarter-finals on 10 December. The match finished goalless, with Auckland winning 4–3 in a penalty shoot-out and qualifying for a quarter-final clash against CAF Champions League winners ES Sétif. Auckland City defeated ES Sétif 1–0, courtesy of a John Irving goal, and advanced to the semi-finals for the first time ever.

Auckland played Copa Libertadores champions San Lorenzo in the semifinals, but lost 2–1. A shock seemed possible when a second-half goal from Ángel Berlanga cancelled out Pablo Barrientos' first-half strike for San Lorenzo, but substitute Mauro Matos netted San Lorenzo's winner in extra time.

They finished the tournament with a historic 4-2 penalty shootout win over CONCACAF Champions League winners Cruz Azul in the third-place playoff after a 1–1 draw at full time, with substitute Sanni Issa scoring the ultimate penalty just days after signing for the club. The result gained the side worldwide acclaim, as the team of part-timers and amateurs defied all expectations in the competition. Club stalwart and defender Ivan Vicelich came third in the Golden Ball award for best player at the tournament, behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid.

Colours and badge

Auckland's traditional home kit – first used 2004–05

Auckland City's regular kit colours are faintly chequered navy blue shirts, navy blue shorts with white socks. The current crest features the Sky Tower and Rangitoto Island along with the Waitemata Harbour all iconic Auckland landmarks. It also features an anchor to acknowledge the city of Auckland’s long maritime history and a yellow and white checkerboard to acknowledge the club’s original roots being founded upon sister club Central United FC which was formed in 1962.

Stadium

Kiwitea Street, home ground of Auckland City

Freyberg Field, then a public park, was made available for use as a football field in 1965 for tenants Central United. What became known as Kiwitea Street, was made available to Auckland City following their foundation in 2004. Since then, the amenities at Kiwitea Street have been overhauled, including a new clubrooms and a resurfaced pitch in 2007.

The stadium seats 250 spectators, with additional standing room.

Players

First-team squad

As of 16 June 2023

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK New Zealand NZL Conor Tracey
2 MF New Zealand NZL Mario Ilich
3 DF New Zealand NZL Adam Mitchell
4 DF New Zealand NZL Christian Gray
5 DF New Zealand NZL Michael den Heijer
6 DF New Zealand NZL Dan Morgan
7 MF New Zealand NZL Cameron Howieson
8 MF Spain ESP Gerard Garriga
9 FW New Zealand NZL Angus Kilkolly
10 FW New Zealand NZL Dylan Manickum
11 FW New Zealand NZL Ryan De Vries
12 DF Kosovo KOS Regont Murati
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 DF New Zealand NZL Nathan Lobo
14 DF New Zealand NZL Jordan Vale
15 MF New Zealand NZL Aidan Carey
16 FW New Zealand NZL Joseph Lee
19 FW New Zealand NZL William Gillion
20 FW Argentina ARG Emiliano Tade
21 DF New Zealand NZL Adam Bell
22 DF China CHN Zhou Tong
23 DF New Zealand NZL Alfie Rogers
24 GK New Zealand NZL Joe Wallis
25 DF Japan JPN Takuya Iwata
26 MF New Zealand NZL Rayan Tayeb

Club officials

Technical staff

Role Name
Manager Spain Albert Riera
Assistant manager New Zealand Ivan Vicelich
Team manager New Zealand Keith Coton
Goalkeeper coach Spain Eñaut Zubikarai
Fitness coach Spain Adrià Casals
Technical analyst New Zealand Jarrod Wallace

Medical staff

Role Name
Physiotherapist New Zealand Matt Payne
Republic of Ireland Danny Kelly
Club doctor New Zealand Craig Panther
Massage therapist Poland Natalia Kosińska
Hungary Eva Nagy

Managers

List of Auckland City Managers
Name Nationality From To Ref
Allan Jones  England 1 July 2004 30 June 2006
Roger Wilkinson  New Zealand 2006
Paul Marshall  New Zealand 1 July 2006 30 June 2007
Colin Tuaa  New Zealand 1 July 2007 9 December 2008
Paul Posa  New Zealand 10 December 2008 30 June 2010
Aaron McFarland
Ramon Tribulietx
 New Zealand
 Spain
1 July 2010 30 June 2011
Ramon Tribulietx  Spain 1 July 2011 30 June 2019
José Figueira  England 1 July 2019 30 November 2021
Albert Riera  Spain 1 December 2021 present

Notable former players

The following players gained international caps for their respective countries. Players listed in bold represented their countries while playing for Auckland City.

Season by season record

ISPS Handa Men's Premiership

Season Division League Chatham
Cup
Top scorer
P W D L F A GD Pts Pos Finals Name Goals
2004–05 New Zealand Football Championship 21 14 4 3 53 24 +29 46 1st 1st South Africa Grant Young 15
2005–06 21 16 0 5 63 28 +35 48 1st 1st South Africa Keryn Jordan 22
2006–07 21 12 6 3 50 30 +20 42 3rd 1st South Africa Grant Young 11
2007–08 21 16 2 3 44 16 +28 50 2nd EF Scotland Bryan Little 8
2008–09 14 8 1 5 27 15 +12 25 2nd 1st South Africa Keryn Jordan
New Zealand Paul Urlovic
5
2009–10 14 9 4 1 33 13 +20 31 1st SF New Zealand Jason Hayne 7
2010–11 14 9 3 2 29 12 +17 30 2nd 2nd Croatia Daniel Koprivcic 7
2011–12 14 11 3 0 43 11 +32 36 1st SF Spain Manel Expósito 9
2012–13 14 10 3 1 40 13 +27 33 2nd 2nd Spain Manel Expósito 11
2013–14 14 10 3 1 40 12 +28 33 1st 1st Argentina Emiliano Tade 17
2014–15 14 12 0 2 39 14 +25 42 1st 1st Papua New Guinea David Browne 7
2015–16 14 12 2 0 43 12 +31 38 1st 2nd New Zealand Ryan De Vries 15
2016–17 18 11 3 4 35 15 +20 36 1st 2nd Argentina Emiliano Tade 13
2017–18 18 12 4 2 41 12 +29 40 1st 1st Argentina Emiliano Tade ♦ 18
2018–19 18 17 1 0 46 18 +28 52 1st SF Spain Camochu 8
2019–20 16 11 4 1 42 15 +27 37 1st New Zealand Myer Bevan 15
2020–21 14 8 4 2 27 13 +14 28 1st 2nd New Zealand Logan Rogerson 8

National League

Season Qualifying league League New Zealand National League Chatham
Cup
Top scorer
P W D L F A GD Pts Pos P W D L F A GD Pts Pos Name Goals
2021 Northern League 18 15 1 2 63 19 +44 46 1st Cancelled QF New Zealand Angus Kilkolly 18
2022 22 20 1 1 68 16 +52 61 1st 9 7 1 1 20 9 +11 22 1st 1st Argentina Emiliano Tade 17
2023 22 19 3 0 64 9 +55 60 1st 9 7 0 2 19 12 +7 21 2nd 4R New Zealand Ryan De Vries 19
Champions
Runners-up
Third Place
Top scorer in competition
EF Elimination finals
SF Semi-finals

International competitions record

Continental

Continental results
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2005 OFC Club Championship PR American Samoa Manumea w/d
Group A Australia Sydney FC 2–3 3rd
French Polynesia AS Pirae 0–1
Papua New Guinea Sobou 6–1
2006 OFC Club Championship Group A Papua New Guinea Sobou 7–0 1st
Solomon Islands Marist Fire 3–1
French Polynesia AS Pirae 1–0
SF Fiji Nokia Eagles 9–1
Final French Polynesia AS Pirae 3–1
2007 OFC Champions League Group A New Zealand Waitakere United 2–2 2–2 2nd
New Caledonia Mont-Dore 4–0 2–0
2007–08 OFC Champions League Group A New Zealand Waitakere United 0–1 1–1 2nd
French Polynesia A.S. Manu-Ura 6–0 1–0
2008–09 OFC Champions League Group A New Zealand Waitakere United 2–2 3–1 1st
Vanuatu Port Vila Sharks 8–1 2–0
Final Solomon Islands Koloale 2–2 7–2 9–4
2009–10 OFC Champions League Group A New Zealand Waitakere United 2–2 1–1 2nd
New Caledonia AS Magenta 2–1 1–1
French Polynesia A.S. Manu-Ura 5–0 2–0
2010–11 OFC Champions League Group B New Caledonia AS Magenta 3–0 1–0 1st
New Zealand Waitakere United 1–1 1–0
French Polynesia A.S. Tefana 1–1 5–0
Final Vanuatu Amicale 2–1 4–0 6–1
2011–12 OFC Champions League Group B Papua New Guinea Hekari United 2–0 1–1 1st
Solomon Islands Koloale 7–3 4–1
Vanuatu Amicale 3–2 0–1
Final French Polynesia A.S. Tefana 2–1 1–0 3–1
2012–13 OFC Champions League Group B New Zealand Waitakere United 0–1 3–1 2nd
French Polynesia A.S. Dragon 1–3 1–1
New Caledonia Mont-Dore 12–2 2–0
SF Fiji Ba 6–1 1–0 7–1
Final Vanuatu Amicale 2–1
2013–14 OFC Champions League Group B Fiji Nadi 3–0 2nd
French Polynesia A.S. Dragon 3–0
Vanuatu Amicale 0–1
SF French Polynesia AS Pirae 3–0 1–2 4–2
Final Vanuatu Amicale 2–1 1–1 3–2
2014 OFC President's Cup Group A  Singapore U23 4–0 1st
Cayman Islands Bodden Town 9–0
Final Vanuatu Amicale 2–1
2014–15 OFC Champions League Group B Fiji Suva 3–0 1st
Solomon Islands Western United 3–0
Vanuatu Amicale 3–0
SF New Caledonia Gaïtcha FCN 1–0
Final New Zealand Team Wellington 1–1 (4–3 p.)
2016 OFC Champions League Group A Papua New Guinea Lae City Dwellers 2–1 1st
Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors 4–0
Vanuatu Amicale 3–1
SF French Polynesia A.S. Tefana 4–2
Final New Zealand Team Wellington 3–0
2017 OFC Champions League Group C Papua New Guinea Lae City Dwellers 2–0 1st
Solomon Islands Western United 2–1
Vanuatu Malampa Revivors 11–0
SF French Polynesia A.S. Tefana 2–0 2–0 4–0
Final New Zealand Team Wellington 3–0 2–0 5–0
2018 OFC Champions League Group C French Polynesia Vénus 7–0 1st
Papua New Guinea Madang 5–0
Fiji Lautoka 1–0
QF Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors 2–0
SF New Zealand Team Wellington 0–0 2–2 2–2 (a)
2019 OFC Champions League Group D New Caledonia AS Magenta 2–1 1st
Cook Islands Tupapa Maraerenga 15–0
Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors 6–0
QF Papua New Guinea Toti City 4–0
SF New Caledonia AS Magenta 1–2
2020 OFC Champions League Group D Fiji Ba 6–0 1st
French Polynesia Vénus 1–0
Samoa Lupe o le Soaga 2–0
2022 OFC Champions League Group B New Caledonia Hienghène Sport 5–0 1st
Fiji Rewa 3–0
Cook Islands Nikao Sokattack 4–1
SF Solomon Islands Central Coast 2–0
Final French Polynesia Vénus 3–0
2023 OFC Champions League National PO New Zealand Wellington Olympic 5–3 1–1 6–4
Group A Solomon Islands Solomon Warriors 3–1 1st
Fiji Suva 3–1
Samoa Lupe o le Soaga 3–0 (w/d)
SF Vanuatu Ifira Black Bird 2–2 (5–4 p.)
Final Fiji Suva 4–2 (a.e.t.)
2024 OFC Champions League National PO New Zealand Wellington Olympic
Champions

International

FIFA Club World Cup

Year FIFA Club World Cup Top goalscorer Managers
Country Pld W D L F A Place Player Goals
2006  Japan 2 0 0 2 0 5 6th 0 Allan Jones
2009  UAE 3 2 0 1 5 5 5th Jason Hayne 2 Paul Posa
2011  Japan 1 0 0 1 0 2 7th 0 Ramon Tribulietx
2012  Japan 1 0 0 1 0 1 7th 0 Ramon Tribulietx
2013  Morocco 1 0 0 1 1 2 7th Roy Krishna 1 Ramon Tribulietx
2014  Morocco 4 1 2 1 3 3 3rd Three Players 1 Ramon Tribulietx
2015  Japan 1 0 0 1 0 2 7th 0 Ramon Tribulietx
2016  Japan 1 0 0 1 1 2 7th Kim Dae-wook 1 Ramon Tribulietx
2017  UAE 1 0 0 1 0 1 7th 0 Ramon Tribulietx
2022  Morocco 1 0 0 1 0 3 7th 0 Albert Riera
2023  Saudi Arabia 1 0 0 1 0 3 7th 0 Albert Riera
Season Competition Round Club Score
2006 FIFA Club World Cup Quarter-finals Egypt Al-Ahly 0–2
Fifth place play-off South Korea Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors 0–3
2009 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals United Arab Emirates Al-Ahli 2–0
Quarter-finals Mexico Atlante 0–3
Match for fifth place Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe 3–2
2011 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Japan Kashiwa Reysol 0–2
2012 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0–1
2013 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Morocco Raja Casablanca 1–2
2014 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Morocco Moghreb Tetouan 0–0 (4–3 p)
Quarter-finals Algeria ES Sétif 1–0
Semi-finals Argentina San Lorenzo 1–2 (a.e.t.)
Match for third place Mexico Cruz Azul 1–1 (4–2 p)
2015 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima 0–2
2016 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Japan Kashima Antlers 1–2
2017 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals United Arab Emirates Al-Jazira 0–1
2020 FIFA Club World Cup Withdrew due to COVID-19 pandemic
2022 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Egypt Al Ahly 0–3
2023 FIFA Club World Cup Play-off for quarter-finals Saudi Arabia Al-Ittihad 0–3

Rankings

Club world ranking

As of 31 October 2023

Rank Team Points
315 Argentina Talleres de Córdoba 61.00
315 Israel Maccabi Netanya 61.00
317 New Zealand Auckland City 60.75
317 Albania Tirana 60.75
317 Armenia Ararat-Armenia 60.75

Honours

National

Champions (9): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2020, 2022
Premiers (12): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2009–10, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
Champions (7): 2011, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
Champions (1): 2022

Regional

Champions (3): 2021, 2022, 2023

International

Bronze Medal: 2014
Champions (11): 2006, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2022, 2023
Champions (1): 2014

Youth team

Champions (5): 2007, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2017

Friendlies

Champions: 2017

This page was last updated at 2023-12-28 14:06 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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