Joe Montemurro appointed Australia Women's head coach after Lyon exit
Joe Montemurro has been appointed head coach of the Australia Women's national team.
It was announced on Sunday that Montemurro, 55, would be departing Lyon after a single season in charge, and he will officially begin his position at Australia on June 16.
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Australia have been without a permanent manager since Tony Gustavsson resigned following the side's group stage elimination at the 2024 Olympics. Former USWNT head coach Tom Sermanni has led the team on an interim basis.
Montemurro will oversee the team for the first time in a pair of friendly double-headers against Slovenia and Panama in June and July as Australia build towards the 2026 AFC Women's Asian Cup on home soil.
Football Australia interim chief executive officer Heather Garriock described Montemurro's appointment as coming at a 'critical time' for the team ahead of the Asian Cup next year, 2027 World Cup in Brazil and 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Montemurro takes the role after almost a decade coaching in Europe with Arsenal, Juventus and Lyon, winning league titles at all three clubs. He moved to Europe following spells in charge of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City, and the national team job marks his return to his home country Australia and first position in international management
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'I'm here because of the love of the game here and the love of the opportunity to come back,' he said.
'All these years that I went through the coaching journey in Australia, all these years through the A-League… to be given the opportunity to lead one of the best brands in the world, one of the most exciting teams in the world, and to do it at home, it's something quite emotional.'
Australia reached the semi-finals of the 2023 Women's World Cup, which they co-hosted with New Zealand, and were beaten in the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. They exited the Paris Olympics at the group stages after winning just once at the tournament.
'Every one of the criteria, Joe ticks,' Garriock added. 'That's the reason why we fought so hard to get Joe back to Australia. He's Australian, and Australian-based. He loves football, he loves the nation. He wants to develop the next generation, and he knows how to win a few trophies.'
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Australia, UK Women's Football, Women's World Cup, International Football
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