The new format, which was originally made up of eight teams, replaced The National Soccer League in 2005, with the first Grand Final being played between Central Coast Mariners and Sydney FC.

The latter was victorious after a 1-0 triumph at the Sydney Football Stadium, courtesy of Steve Corica’s long-range strike in the 62nd minute.

Here are the players who started for The Sky Blues that day and what has happened to them since.

Clint Bolton

The Aussie goalkeeper made over 100 league appearances for Sydney between 2005 and 2010.

Bolton played every game for The Sky Blues in the 2005/6 campaign, when they became the first A-League Champions, and was voted the club’s player of the season.

The popular shot-stopper helped Sydney win their second A-League title in 2010, after The Sky Blues overcame Melbourne Victory in a Grand Final penalty shootout- the first in A-League history.

A few months later, Bolton - now 41 - moved to Melbourne Heart, where he made 70 league appearances before hanging up his boots in 2013.

Alvin Ceccoli

At 42-years-old, Alvin Ceccoli isn’t done with football just yet and is still a key player for Illawarra Premier League side Dapto Dandaloo.

In 2015, the Australian full back was named in Sydney FC’s team of the decade, after making 43 league appearances for The Sky Blues over a two-year period.

After a reported fall out with new manager Terry Butcher, Ceccoli left Sydney in 2007 to join Japanese side Avispa Fukuoka.

The full back earned six international caps for Australia and spent short spells with A-League sides Central Coast Mariners and Adelaide United.

In the last few years, Ceccoli has been balancing his football commitments with his job at an oil company.

David Carney

Carney re-joined Sydney at the start of 2016, more than a decade after he made his debut for The Sky Blues.

The Australian midfielder, now 33, has played for 13 different clubs over the course of his career, which started in 2002 when he played alongside Wayne Rooney in the FA Youth Cup final for Everton.

Carney earned 48 caps for Australia, which included appearances at the 2010 World Cup and Asian Cups in 2007 and 2011.

After leaving Sydney ten years ago, Carney won the Dutch Eredivisie title with FC Twente in 2010, before making 11 Premier League appearances for Blackpool a year later.

A year ago, Carney returned to Sydney from Newcastle Jets. He has made 26 league appearances for The Sky Blues since, with 18 of those coming this campaign.

Andrew Packer

Four years after winning the inaugural A-League Championship with Sydney, Packer called time on his playing career at the age of 29.

The former defender spent just one season with Sydney, making 20 league appearances in their Championship-winning campaign, before moving to Brisbane Roar in 2006.

Packer stayed at The Roar for the next four years, before abruptly retiring from the game at the start of the 2010/11 season.

In 2014 Packer, now 36, was appointed as a strength and conditioning coach at Newcastle Jets, however he lasted less than a year in the role.

Mark Rudan

After becoming the first captain to lift the A-League Championship in 2006, Mark Rudan has now turned his attentions to management.

A fans favourite, Rudan made over 50 A-League appearances for The Sky Blues prior to joining Japanese side Avispa Fukuoka in 2008.

Rudan finished his playing career at Adelaide United in 2010 and went on to manage National Premier League side Sydney United in 2013.

In three years, Rudan led the team to two NPL and two Australian championship titles before stepping down last year.

At the end of 2016, Ruden was linked with the vacant manager’s job at Wellington Phoenix, however the A-League club elected to appoint coaches Des Buckingham and Chris Greenacre instead.

Rudan has also been an analyst for Fox Sports and an assistant coach for Australia’s under 19s team.

Jacob Timpano

A series of injuries may have denied Jacob Timpano a fruitful career at the top level, however the former A-League defender is currently making up for lost time in his first managerial role at NSW National Premier League side Wollongong Wolves.

Timpano, a former Australia Under 23s international, made 21 league appearances for Sydney in the 2005/6 title-winning campaign, however the defender played just five more times for The Sky Blues in the next two years- following multiple groin injuries, a bulging disc and a broken foot.

In 2015, Timpano decided enough was enough, retiring from the game at the raw age of 29. Later that year Timpano landed his first managerial job with the Wolves, who finished eleventh in a twelve-team league last campaign.

Timpano’s managerial highlight - to date - came in August last year when he guided the Wolves to the final 32 of the FFA Cup. The state league side were drawn against Timpano’s former employers, Sydney, however there was no fairy-tale ending as the Sky Blues advanced with a 3-0 victory.

Terry McFlynn

After 178 league appearances for The Sky Blues, McFlynn earned his place in Sydney FC’s team of the decade- 10 years after the birth of the A-League.

The midfield enforcer won two A-League Championships with Sydney in his nines years with the club, including a Grand Final triumph over Melbourne Victory in 2010- when McFlynn stood in as captain for the injured Steve Corica.

The Northern Irishman was so highly regarded at Sydney that when he announced his retirement in 2014, his number 15 shirt was also retired until the end of the season. 

McFlynn, now 35, has stayed at the club since his retirement, helping with recruitment and retention of players.

Steve Corica

Attacking midfielder Steve Corica was also rewarded for his commitment and loyalty to the club, which earned him a place in Sydney’s team of the decade after five successful years with The Sky Blues.

After spells in England with Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall, Corica joined Sydney in 2005.

The Aussie playmaker went on to make more than 100 league appearances for the club and scored the winner in The Sky Blues’ Grand Final victory over Central Coast Mariners in 2006.

Corica retired in 2010 following a hamstring injury which kept him out of the Finals Series that year. The popular midfielder remained with the club and is now the assistant manager to head coach Graham Arnold.

Matthew Bingley

Sydney-born Matthew Bingley played just one season for The Sky Blues before announcing his retirement in 2006.

The versatile midfielder was part of the Perth Glory side which won the last National Soccer League Championship in 2004, before moving to Sydney a year later.

Bingley was also capped 14 times by Australia, the last of which came as a substitute in the 1997 Confederations Final, when Australia suffered a humbling 6-0 defeat against a star-studded Brazilian side. 

Dwight Yorke

Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke spent one season with Sydney FC, in which he added the A-League Championship to his decorated collection of accolades.

Yorke scored seven goals in the 2005/06 season, the last of which came from the penalty spot in a 2-1 victory over Adelaide United.

At the age of 34, Yorke signed for English Championship side Sunderland in 2006, where he was managed by former United teammate Roy Keane.

The Black Cats won promotion back to the Premier League in Yorke’s first season with the club, in which the Trinidad and Tobago international made 32 league appearances.

Yorke spent two more years at Sunderland in the Premier League before retiring in 2009. The former Champions League winner, now 45, has since completed his Level B coaching badge and does punditry work for Sky Sports.

Sasho Petrovski

Striker Sasho Petrovski scored seven goals for Sydney in the 2005/06 campaign, as well as two goals in the Finals Series against Adelaide United.

Petrovski spent two years with The Sky Blues before joining Central Coast Mariners in 2007.

In his first season with The Marners, Petrovski helped his new club reach the A-League Grand Final in 2008, however they were defeated 1-0 by Newcastle Jets.

A year later Petrovski joined The Jets, where he reached the landmark of 100 A-League appearances.

Petrovski, now 42, ended his career at National Premier League side Wollongong Wolves in 2013, following a two-year spell with the New South Wales club.

Pierre Littbarski (Manager)

World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski earned a place in Sydney FC’s Hall of Fame, after guiding The Sky Blues to the inaugural A-League Championship in 2006.

The former German international spent just one season with Sydney before his shock departure in 2006- amid reports of a reduced contract offer from the club.

After leaving Sydney, Littbarski coached in Japan, Switzerland and Iran before joining the coaching staff at Wolfsburg.

Littbarski, now 56, took charge of the first team for a brief spell following Steve McLaren’s sacking in 2011. The German left his role as assistant manager in 2012.