Adelaide United

The vacuum left by the National Soccer League's collapse in 2003 took two Adelaide clubs with it, West Adelaide and Adelaide City, and it was businessman Gordon Pickard who moved to fill the gap, setting up a new club with Basil Scarcella as its first chairman. Adelaide United played its first match on 17 October 2003, a 1-0 win over Brisbane Strikers.

Pickard sold the club to Nick Bianco in 2005, who took full ownership the following year; the 2009 financial crisis forced Bianco to hand the licence back to Football Federation Australia, and a local consortium including Robert Gerard took over in 2010. Since March 2018 the club has been controlled by a Dutch-led ownership group fronted by Cor Adriaanse and Piet van der Pol.

The Reds play at Coopers Stadium, known for most of the club's history as Hindmarsh Stadium, in front of a 16,500 capacity. The 2016 Grand Final win sits alongside three Australia Cup titles, in 2014, 2018 and 2019. Adelaide United reached the AFC Champions League final and lost to Gamba Osaka 5-0 on aggregate, a run that carried the club to the Club World Cup, where it finished fifth.

Melbourne Victory is the rival that matters most, in a fixture known as the Original Rivalry, sharpened by two Grand Final defeats to Victory in 2007 and 2009. Goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic set the club appearance record with 285 games, Craig Goodwin is the leading scorer with 60 goals, and Isaías made 181 appearances across four trophies. Romario played out a guest contract at the club in 2006.

The Adelaide derby proper, against West Adelaide and Adelaide City, remains a lower-league affair that United enters only occasionally, through the Australia Cup.