July also saw the victory of Melbourne City and Melbourne from the 2025 Australia Cup beaten by the second-class opposition, while Western United is still startled by a financial crisis and FIFA transfer ban.
The Italian expat community of Perth came in force when Serie A Giants AC Milan visited the Western Australian capital for the second consecutive season, a year after 59,522 people could lose 5-2 to AS Roma on the back-end of the 2023/24 season.
It continues the growing relationship of the club with Perth, which, thanks to considerable investments from the state government, has been selected to organize the first Serie A match about foreign soil when Milan takes on Como in Perth Stadium in February, while the San Siro is in use for the 2026 Olympic opening ceremony.
AC played a very strong 22-man matchday team on Thursday in their 9-0 friendly victory over A-League Men (Alm) Wooden Spooners Perth Glory with six different players on the score sheet, including a starting Double of Noah Okafor and Braces from the bank for both 19-year-old Defender Vittorio Magerni.
The Scoreline reflected the claims of head coach Max Allegri after the game that the team had beaten the preseason “seriously”.
“The boys did well,” said Allegri reporters.
“We needed a good run-out. It was a great evening before sport in Australia.
“We have to do it step by step. Game per game. As I have always said, we have to work with calmness and balance and not be taken away if things go well.
“We will have difficult moments, and at those bad moments we must ensure that we do not let our heads fall.
“We must remain mentally balanced, knowing that a competition season is a campaign of 38 games, in which we must always maintain the same speed.”
Glory manager Zdrill was not willing to take his youthful side for the result and described it as “a great learning experience”.
One Perth Glory supporter and podcaster was understandably dissatisfied with the result and hit it as a “shame” close to his other entertaining matchday vlog of the historical friendly:
Australia Cup Round of 32 outputs for five Alm -outfits
Only six of the 13 A-League men's clubs qualified for the Australia Cup round of 16 to take place in mid-August after a few 'cup sets' at the end of last month.
Glory's preseason was disappointing enough before he was beaten by AC Milan after they had crashed from the Australia Cup by Wellington Phoenix and lost to penalties for only 1,141 people in Kingsway Reserve during a long lightning sloping.
That site is from WA NPL Club Olympic Kingsway, who created a shock result of their own two days later when after extra time they dumped two-time Australia Cup winners Melbourne Victory from the tournament 4-3.
It was the first victory of Kingsway ever to an A-League opposition and thanks to the all time of the all time of the goal scorer Liam Boland, who for the third time in his career an FFA/Australia Cup-Brace against an A-League opposition, while the Melbourne Victory was followed Victore Leichhardt.
Speaking of Apia Leichhardt, they added Melbourne City to their list of A-League Scalps Victory (2018) and Western Sydney Wanderers (2021) with a dominant 2-0 win over a weakened city side.
City played a team with various youth team players, including the 16-year-old Mathew Baker in the rear four, emphasized by the many shirt numbers in the 40s and above resembling cricket scores that the Australian opener Sam Konstas would have been happy with in the Caribbean!
Although it is officially in the books as the first 'Cupset' defeat of the city, Apia only started as the narrowest of outsiders in Lambert Park thanks to the City team, which are still very early in their preseason together with the other 12 A-League clubs.
Elsewhere, the Newcastle Jets won 2-1 as outsiders against Adelaide United in Maitland Sportsground, while Sydney FC was also triumphanty when the Underdogs on Ironbark Fields in Tarneit when they came out against Western United.
Western misery goes from bad to worse
Western United was unable to go to field club captain Ben GARUCCIO or a new signing by Jaiden Kucarski in their Australia Cup loss for Sydney FC during the week thanks to the transfer ban with which they were struck in May 2025 for what FIFA Vaag described as “various violations”.
It is assumed that the violations relate to current issues with regard to paying both players and staff on time with parent company Western Melbourne Group (WMG) in serious financial problems.
Nine newspaper The Age revealed in June that club boss Jason Sourasis was struck with a personal tax assessment of $ 3 million with regard to unpaid taxes for six of his companies, five of which have attempted to have appointed liquidators.
Sourasis' business partner Steve Horvat also received a personal tax assessment of $ 10 million, according to age.
The news did not come long before Brisbane Roar arranged their own tax debt of $ 1.5 million with the ATO, money owed by previous owners.
However, there was good news outside the field for Western United, after they were able to conclude a deal with head coach John Aloisi to sign a two -year contract extension.