Captained by Melbourne Victory's Mark Milligan, who takes the armband from last season's winner Fred, the 16-man squad was announced on Friday.

The number of Wanderers players was matched by the Victory, who also provided four players, with grand final winners Central Coast Mariners also featuring prominently with three.

Having overseen a premiership win and grand final appearance, Popovic is the fifth recipient of the Coach of Year award and follows in the footsteps of his former Socceroos team-mate Graham Arnold, who won the award last season.

The playing surface at AAMI Park was recognised as number one in the 2012/13 PFA rating system for the second season running, just ahead of Etihad Stadium and Parramatta Stadium respectively, with the overall rating of pitches falling.

Strebre Delovski was named Referee of the Season for the fourth time in five seasons.

The PFA A-League Team of the Season (4-3-3):

Goalkeeper: Ante Covic (WSW)

Defenders: Jerome Polenz (WSW), Trent Sainsbury (CCM), Nikolai Topor-Stanley (WSW), Adama Traore (MV)

Midfielders: Shinji Ono (WSW), Mark Milligan (c) (MV), Michael McGlinchey (CCM)

Forwards: Jeremy Brockie (WP), Alessandro Del Piero (SFC), Marco Rojas (MV)

Substitutes: Eugene Galekovic (AU), Michael Thwaite (PG), Marcelo Carrusca (AU), Archie Thompson (MV), Daniel McBreen (CCM)

Coach: Tony Popovic (WSW)

Referee: Strebre Delovski