They finished top of the table at the end of the regular season and defeated Adelaide United in the Grand Final to take their second A-League title.

The 2008–09 season brought the start of the A-League Youth League and the introduction of the W-League with Melbourne fielding teams in both competitions.

Melbourne actively recruited, bringing in Socceroo Michael Thwaite on a one-year loan,[1] Costa Rican World Cup player José Luis López,[2] as well as Ney Fabiano from Asian Champions League rivals Chonburi FC.

[8] On 6 December 2008, Melbourne Victory became the first A-League club to amass total crowd figures of 1,000,000 after their away match against Perth Glory.

The Victory kicked off their finals campaign on 7 February 2009 in the major semi-final first leg against bitter rival Adelaide United at Hindmarsh Stadium, a game which was won courtesy of goals from Carlos Hernández and Danny Allsopp.