The era of Kevin Muscat becoming the first former player and captain to become manager began sooner than anticipated, but it would be an era that would restore the former early glory of Australia's biggest association football club. The era officially began following the untimely departure of Ange Postecoglou in round four of the 2013–14 season on 4 November 2013, in a 3–2 home victory over Wellington Phoenix at Docklands Stadium. Future grand final winners James Troisi, Kosta Barbarouses and Rashid Mahazi were signed to the club and would help strengthen the playing squad in the years to come. Muscat's first season would end in both heartbreak and controversy as Victory were denied obvious penalty decisions in the last minutes of both the A-League finals clash against Brisbane Roar, and in the last group stage clash against Jeonbuk in the 2014 AFC Champions League, when in both games one extra goal was needed to win. Both controversial moments occurred only days in between each other, resulting in Muscat heavily criticizing referees in general.