Brisbane Roar

The origins of Brisbane Roar are traced back to the founding of Hollandia F.C. by Dutch immigrants in 1957. The club competed under this name for almost 20 years until, in the interest of inclusiveness and because perceptions that members of the public saw soccer as a migrants' game, all clubs were required to adopt non-ethnic names after a ruling by the Queensland Soccer Federation in 1973.

The club continued to be based in the Brisbane suburb of Richlands. After adopting the name Brisbane Lions in the 1970s, the club joined the National Soccer League (NSL) as one of the founding clubs in the 1977 season and competed until the end of the 1988 season before reverting down to the Brisbane Premier League thereafter.

In the 1990s, the club again changed its name to Queensland Lions after a legal dispute and subsequent agreement with the Australian rules football club, Brisbane Lions.

At the end of the 2004 season, Queensland Lions withdrew from the local Senior Men's competition to compete in the new National A-League as Queensland Roar. The Premier Youth team remained in the local soccer league.

For the next 3 seasons the senior Lions F.C. men's team was the Brisbane Roar but after 3 financially challenging years, Queensland Lions relinquished ownership of the Roar and reformed their men's team in the local Senior Men's competition

Lions F.C. entered the A-League as Queensland Roar as a foundation member in 2004. The club continued to be based at Richlands where club administration and player training continued.

At the time of conception of the A-League, teams from several capital cities were preferred to form the foundation clubs. By June 2004, two of the twenty submissions for joining the league were sought by partnerships formed in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland. On 1 November 2004, the group headed by Queensland Lions were chosen as operators of the Brisbane team. On 2 March the following year, Queensland Roar FC were officially announced.

The board consisted of chairman John Ribot, a former CEO of both National Rugby League clubs Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm, deputy chairman Gary Wilkins, former Queensland and Australian international player, and CEO Lawrence Oudendyk, who was also Queensland Lions CEO.

Miron Bleiberg was appointed as the inaugural manager on 2 March 2005. Under pressure from the fans to deliver on his promises of attractive, attacking and successful soccer he resigned on 12 November 2006 following a poor start to the 2006–07 season.

After much speculation, Bleiberg was replaced by former Australian national team coach, Frank Farina just three days after Bleiberg's resignation.

Frank Farina's arrival led to a mini-revival which saw the club narrowly miss out on what would have been the Roar's first finals appearance, on goal difference. The 2007–08 season, however, saw Farina make up for the shortfall of the previous season, qualifying for the finals for the first time in the club's history. A memorable performance in the second leg of the semi-final saw the Roar defeat arch rivals 2–0 (2–0 agg.) Sydney FC in front of a (then) club record 36,221 fans to qualify for the preliminary final against the Newcastle Jets. The Roar would controversially lose 3–2 to the Newcastle side, who would ultimately go on to win the Grand Final. Farina again qualified for the finals in 2008–09, where the Roar dispatched of Central Coast Mariners 4–2 on aggregate, however they ultimately lost, again in the preliminary final, to Adelaide United after failing to capitalise on their dominance.

On 10 October 2009, Farina was arrested by Queensland Police for drink driving. He was initially suspended by the Roar and asked to show cause as to why he should not be sacked for tarnishing the name of the club. It was announced that assistant manager, Rado Vidošić would step into a caretakers role until a decision had been made which would include the M1 Derby, which the Roar lost 1–0 at home. Farina was ultimately sacked on 14 October 2009, with the club tasked with finding a replacement for the remainder of the 2009–10 season.

In 2009, the club was officially renamed to Brisbane Roar Football Club due to two other Queensland-based clubs entering the A-League competition; that being Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury.

This was the club's fifth change of name after Hollandia-Inala F.C., Brisbane Lions F.C., Queensland Lions F.C., and Queensland Roar F.C.

Ange Postecoglou arrived mid-season armed with the task of picking up the pieces of a season in tatters. Postecoglou's first season ended as the worst in the club's short history, finishing second from the bottom. Postecoglou completed a turn-around in the 2010–11 season. He made wholesale changes to the squad, commencing with the replacement of the "old-guard" of Charlie Miller, Craig Moore and Danny Tiatto and brought in his own squad which was a mixture of youth and talented experience. Under his brand of possession/attacking soccer, he led the team to win the club's inaugural premiership and go on to complete the club's first Double by also wrapping up the championship in a memorable 2011 A-League Grand Final in front of a then club record 50,168 supporters. The club went on an Australian sporting record 36-match unbeaten run which commenced in the 2010–11 season and ran through to the 2011–12 season. After much speculation on his future at the club, it was reported that Postecoglou had signed a three-year contract extension.

With such a successful season behind him, there was much talk as to whether the Roar could equal or better that in the 2011–12 season.^[] Their title credentials were in doubt when the club went on a club-record worst losing streak of five matches immediately following the ending of their record 36-match unbeaten streak. Postecoglou remained steadfast in the club's philosophy and the club went on to record just one loss in the last 14 games of the regular season to finish league runners-up. Unable to retain the Premiers Plate, Postecoglou led the club to back-to-back championships in the 2012 A-League Grand Final in front of a club-record 50,344 supporters. Postecoglou also led the Roar's initial foray into the 2012 Asian Champions League as reward for their success in the previous season. Success was mixed, picking up two draws from four matches.

On 24 April 2012, Postecoglou left the club by way of mutual consent, citing a desire to seek "a new challenge". Ange leaves the club as the most successful manager in the club's history.

On 26 April 2012, it was reported that Postecoglou did not, in fact, sign a new contract at the conclusion of the 2010–11 season due to the uncertainty around the club's ownership at the time. That allowed his original two-year contract with the club to expire at the conclusion of the 2011–12 season and leave to join Melbourne Victory without the Victory needing to pay out his "contract" with the Roar.

On 25 April 2012, Rado Vidošić was promoted to the manager's position after serving seven years as Assistant Manager under the three previous managers before him. On 18 December 2012, Vidošić was removed as coach, taking up the role of technical director for the club, with Mike Mulvey, then coach of the Melbourne Victory women's named as his replacement. Vidošić was only manager for 13 matches before transferring to the new role, similar to the one offered to Postecoglou before his exit earlier in 2012. At the end of the 2012–13 season, the Roar finished in 5th place, carried by striker Besart Berisha's 14 goals during the season. The club made it to the semi-finals in the finals series, bowing out to premiers Western Sydney Wanderers 2–0.

The 2013/14 season began in terrific style, with the Roar winning 8 of their first 10 games. This form continued for the rest of the season as the club became dominant premiers. Players like Ivan Franjic, Luke Brattan and Dimitri Petratos shone while the return of former captain Matt McKay bolstered the midfield. Brisbane won the grand final 2–1 after extra time against Western Sydney Wanderers. Club talisman Besart Berisha and star utility Ivan Franjic would leave the club over the off-season for Melbourne Victory and Torpedo Moscow respectively.

After a run of poor results at the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Mulvey stepped down from the head coach role. Frans Thijssen was appointed caretaker coach for the remainder of the season.

Thinssen's first game in charge was a 1–1 draw against Perth Glory and ended with a 1–2 defeat against Urawa Red Diamonds. In total Thijssen was in charge for 28 games, winning eleven, drawing five and losing twelve.

Captain Matt Smith left the club in December to join Bangkok Glass, and was replaced by former captain and club favourite Matt McKay. The season ended with the club recovering to finish in 6th position and qualify for the finals series. Brisbane were knocked out by Adelaide United in the elimination final 2–1.

On 26 May 2015, John Aloisi was appointed head coach. Amidst off-field drama regarding the club's ownership during his first season as head coach, Aloisi led the Roar to an encouraging 3rd place on the ladder, narrowly missing out on the championship in the last game of the season and finishing only one point behind eventual champions Adelaide.

The 2015/16 performance was sufficient for the Roar to enter qualification for the 2017 Asian Champions League. After defeating Global F.C. and Shanghai Greenland Shenhua F.C. in 2017, Brisbane qualified for the ACL Group Stage for the fourth time in their history. Brisbane were knocked out in the group stage, winning just 1 match, and losing four, including a 6–0 to Ulsan Hyundai FC. This 6–0 loss, coupled with the Western Sydney Wanderers' 5–1 loss to Shanghai SIPG F.C. on the same day led to Fox Sports commentators Mark Rudan and Mark Bosnich labelling the matchday as "the darkest day in Australian club football".

Brisbane Roar's 2017/18 season started amid concerns over the quality of player signings, with the signing of former Serie A marksman, Massimo Maccarone, and former Ligue 1 duo, Fahid Ben Khalfallah, and, Eric Bautheac. Roar's first competitive match of the season was a round of 32 FFA Cup tie with Melbourne Victory FC at local ground, Perry Park. The home side started with an experimental side with some players playing in positions they were not usually deployed in. The game ended in a shambolic fashion for Aloisi's side, who lost 1–5 to their Melbourne opponents with the only positive coming from Petros Skapetis, who scored his first goal for the club with a shot coming from outside of the box and nestling in the top left corner of the Victory net. The season did not improve much with Brisbane without a win after 6 matches creating their worst ever season start. The Roar finally got their first win of the season at home to Melbourne City FC, the score was 3–1 with central defender, Avraam Papadopoulos scoring an unlikely brace. Brisbane Roar slowly climbed the A-league ladder with wins against Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Adelaide United FC, and, Perth Glory FC in the new year.

After finishing third on the A-league table in the 2016–17 season, Brisbane Roar gained entry into the second qualifying round of the Asian Champions League where they were drawn against Filipino, Ceres-Negros F.C. The match was to be played at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre. This match proved to be arguably the worst moment in the club's history with the Roar crashing out of the competition at the hands of the Filipino side.

After this horror show, Brisbane Roar's results slightly improved with more wins against Central Coast Mariners FC, Adelaide United FC, and surprise victories over then current champions and future premiers, Sydney FC and future grand final winners, Melbourne Victory FC. Brisbane ended the regular season with wins over Central Coast Mariners, and, Perth Glory. Brisbane Roar scraped a sixth-place finish on the table earning just two more points than seventh placed Western Sydney Wanderers. This sixth-place finish gave the Roar qualification for the A-League Finals Series, where they played Melbourne City in a preliminary final away. The Brisbane-based side put on a poor display and were outplayed with the performance being reflected on the scoreline, 2–0.

The post season review saw numerous changes behind the scenes. The club finally moved in to its purpose built $10m City of Logan training facility in time for pre-season training and a new strength & conditioning coach was hired (from Western Sydney Wanderers), along with a former English Premier League physiotherapist. In addition, Darren Davies was appointed second assistant coach at Aloisi's request.

In addition new player signings were made early, avoiding mistakes of previous seasons, with 21/23 players reporting for pre-season training and – amid growing optimism for the new season with Aloisi promising to turn Suncorp Stadium in to a "fortress" – membership and club sponsorship approached record levels.

Aloisi's team again exited the FFA Cup at the first hurdle, losing 0–1 at home to Melbourne City despite having been back in pre-season training for 6 weeks prior to the game. The game was held at Dolphin Oval in Redcliffe in front of a club record FFA Cup home crowd of 6,151

Ahead of the new season Aloisi was very optimistic about Roars chances following a near-perfect pre-season free from off-field distractions with Aloisi claiming his side "has never been better".

The season opened with a tense, come-from-behind 1–1 draw vs Central Coast Mariners in front of nearly 15,000 fans. Mariners would go on to record the worst ever start by any A-League club ever, a poor start that subsequently would only be slightly worse than Aloisi's Roar side. A second home game the following week saw a dire 0–0 draw vs Wellington Phoenix in front of more than 15,000 fans. The next two games were away from home with a come from behind 2–2 draw away to Western Sydney Wanderers at the Glen Willow Sports Complex, followed by a 1–2 defeat at Perth Glory.

After the first 4 games, all against sides who had failed to make finals the previous season, Roar were winless with 3 points but then managed a 2–0 home win against Melbourne City, who had sacked John Aloisi for poor results five years earlier, putting Roar into a finals ladder position for the first time.

Roar would go on to lose their next 4 games under Aloisi, including conceding four goals in consecutive matches, to slump to 9th on the ladder.

As the season start went from bad to worse, Aloisi had to defend his team from multiple criticisms including that many players were too old and generally over the team's very poor start; with fan discontent increasing the pressure on Aloisi increased.

On 28 December 2018, despite having received a "vote of confidence" from the Board two weeks earlier, John Aloisi resigned as manager of Brisbane Roar following the club's poor start to the season, with the Roar second-last on the A-League ladder with just 1 win in 9 matches at the time of his departure and in the worst start to a season ever by a Brisbane Roar team.

He left as Brisbane Roar's longest serving manager. But after a promising first season the statistics showed that in subsequent seasons goals per game declined, the number of passes attempted and completed declined. and disciplinary issues increased

Following Aloisi's departure, Darren Davies was appointed interim head coach for an unspecified period. Davies tenure began with an encouraging 1–2 defeat away to Sydney FC and a 2–2 draw away to Newcastle Jets.

In April 2019 the club announced Robbie Fowler as the new head coach with Davies to take charge for the one remaining A-League game on ANZAC Day.

Davies final game in charge ended with a 5–3 home defeat by Adelaide United in front of almost 12,000 fans including new head coach, Robbie Fowler. Davies' coaching record reads Played 18, Won 3, Drawn 3 and lost 12, scoring 28 goals whilst conceding 54.

The final season of the Aloisi/Davies era saw Roar finish 9th on the ladder with a respectable home attendance of 9,632, the 4th best in the competition that season.

The club announced the appointment of Robbie Fowler as head coach on 23 April 2019. It was also announced that Tony Grant would be joining the coaching team alongside Fowler and current interim coach, Darren Davies.

Shortly after Fowler's appointment the club announced a massive clear out of playing staff with 14 players released in late April 2019 including marquee signing Eric Bautheac.

In June 2019 Fowler announced his first signing in Roy O’Donovan from Newcastle United Jets.

Fowler's first competitive match came in a shock 0 – 2 away win at reigning A-League Champions Sydney FC on 7 August 2019 in the FFA Cup.

On 29 June 2020 Roar announced Fowler would not be returning to Roar after departing during the COVID-19 crisis. Fowler left with a 45% win record, with 10 wins from 22 A-League games.

Following the departure of Robbie Fowler, the club announced internal appointment, Warren Moon, as permanent replacement and would manage the senior men's team on an open-ended contract. Moon would also maintain his current role as Academy Head. Moon is an “A-League Foundation Player” having played 16 games in Roars first season in the competition. He guided the team to 4th place in his first full season in charge before losing the elimination final at home to Adelaide United. In Moon's second full season at the club, the club fell to 11th place in the table. He was sacked on 20 February 2023, after Brisbane slumped to 11th place on the table. He also presided over Brisbane's Australia Cup semi-final loss to Sydney United 58. In total, Moon coached 75 games winning 22, drawing 22 and losing 31.

Following the departure of Warren Moon, the club announced the surprise appointment of Nick Green as interim coach through to the end of the season.

Green finished with a 9-game record of 4 wins, 4 losses and a draw.

On 2 May 2023, Ross Aloisi, brother of former coach John Aloisi, was appointed as Head Coach making a successful competitive debut in a 3–2 win away to Newcastle Jets in the Australia Cup. Ross managed a total of 9 A League games, winning 4 and losing 3. In preseason Ross also coached Roar to their first Australia Cup final, losing 3–1 away to Sydney. Roar were forced to play away in Sydney due to the unavailability of Suncorp Stadium.

Ross resigned unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 2023 with his assistant, Luciano Trani, taking charge but only lasting one game as Roar were humiliated 8–1 away at Melbourne City. His replacement, Ben Cahn, only lasted 5 games leaving the club for “personal reasons” resulting in Roar having 4 coaches in little over a month.

As interim Coach Zadkovich led Roar to a disappointing 9th-place finish, winning just three games out of 12 despite the poor start Ruben Zadkovich was offered the Head Coach position on a full-time basis at the end of April 2024. After an early Australia Cup exit at the hands of Perth Glory, Zadkovich took his side to India and participated in 2024 Bhausaheb Bandodkar Memorial Trophy. They began the tournament campaign on 24 August, with a 5–1 win over local side Dempo. In their next match, Brisbane Roar suffered a 1–0 defeat to FC Goa. The club then sealed their spot in semi-finals, defeating Sporting Goa 2–0 in final group fixture.