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Free Malaysia Today
3 days ago
- General
- Free Malaysia Today
Interim coach says Montemurro will take Matildas to new heights
Tom Sermanni thought that he was bequeathing Joe Montemurro a squad of players that, when fully fit, would be competitive with any side in the world. (EPA Images pic) SYDNEY : Caretaker coach Tom Sermanni, who signed off his third spell in charge of the Matildas with a 4-1 win over Argentina yesterday, is convinced his replacement Joe Montemurro will take the team to new heights. The 70-year-old Scot, who first took charge of the Australia women's national team in 1994 before they had the nickname by which they are now known around the world, guided the side for the 151st time hours after Montemurro's appointment. 'His coaching record is second to none, he is a proud Australian, I think he will take this team to a new level,' Sermanni told broadcaster Paramount before the match in Canberra. Two goals from Amy Sayer and later strikes from Emily Van Egmond and substitute Michelle Heyman gave Australia a second win over Argentina in the space of four days to send Sermanni off in style. The Matildas were roared on by a sellout crowd of 25,125 at Canberra Stadium, a familiar sight over the last few years as the team has grown hugely in popularity. 'The thing that stood out to me is every time we've played a game at home, and I've walked out onto the field and just looked at the crowd, it's just been phenomenal experience,' the former coach of the US women's team told reporters. 'I've never witnessed a crowd that such as the Matildas crowd. With the Matildas, it's just unique. And I kind of pinch myself when I go out and stand in front of it before the game starts,' he said. Sermanni thought that he was bequeathing Montemurro a squad of players that, when fully fit, would be competitive with any side in the world. 'People forget we were (very) close to getting the silver at the last World Cup and the Olympics before the last one,' he said. 'So the team is close. The experienced players are still very influential … and we've got some good young players coming through,' he added. Chief among the injury concerns is Sam Kerr, who has not played for her country or club Chelsea since she suffered an ACL injury in January 2024. Montemurro told local media earlier yesterday that he had been informed on taking the job that Kerr had needed another medical 'intervention' for an issue not related to her knee injury, but was now back up and running.
Reuters
3 days ago
- General
- Reuters
Interim coach says Montemurro will take Matildas to new heights
SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - Caretaker coach Tom Sermanni, who signed off his third spell in charge of the Matildas with a 4-1 win over Argentina on Monday, is convinced his replacement Joe Montemurro will take the team to new heights. The 70-year-old Scot, who first took charge of the Australia women's national team in 1994 before they had the nickname by which they are now known around the world, guided the side for the 151st time hours after Montemurro's appointment. "His coaching record is second to none, he is a proud Australian, I think he will take this team to a new level," Sermanni told broadcaster Paramount before the match in Canberra. Two goals from Amy Sayer and later strikes from Emily Van Egmond and substitute Michelle Heyman gave Australia a second win over Argentina in the space of four days to send Sermanni off in style. The Matildas were roared on by a sellout crowd of 25,125 at Canberra Stadium, a familiar sight over the last few years as the team has grown hugely in popularity. "The thing that stood out to me is every time we've played a game at home, and I've walked out onto the field and just looked at the crowd, it's just been phenomenal experience," the former coach of the United States women's team told reporters. "I've never witnessed a crowd that such as the Matildas crowd. With the Matildas, it's just unique. And I kind of pinch myself when I go out and stand in front of it before the game starts." Sermanni thought that he was bequeathing Montemurro a squad of players that, when fully fit, would be competitive with any side in the world. "People forget we were (very) close to getting the silver at the last World Cup and the Olympics before the last one," he said. "So the team is close. The experienced players are still very influential ... and we've got some good young players coming through." Chief among the injury concerns is Sam Kerr, who has not played for her country or club Chelsea since she suffered an ACL injury in January 2024. Montemurro told local media earlier on Monday that he had been informed on taking the job that Kerr had needed another medical "intervention" for an issue not related to her knee injury, but was now back up and running.
CNA
3 days ago
- General
- CNA
Interim coach says Montemurro will take Matildas to new heights
SYDNEY :Caretaker coach Tom Sermanni, who signed off his third spell in charge of the Matildas with a 4-1 win over Argentina on Monday, is convinced his replacement Joe Montemurro will take the team to new heights. The 70-year-old Scot, who first took charge of the Australia women's national team in 1994 before they had the nickname by which they are now known around the world, guided the side for the 151st time hours after Montemurro's appointment. "His coaching record is second to none, he is a proud Australian, I think he will take this team to a new level," Sermanni told broadcaster Paramount before the match in Canberra. Two goals from Amy Sayer and later strikes from Emily Van Egmond and substitute Michelle Heyman gave Australia a second win over Argentina in the space of four days to send Sermanni off in style. The Matildas were roared on by a sellout crowd of 25,125 at Canberra Stadium, a familiar sight over the last few years as the team has grown hugely in popularity. "The thing that stood out to me is every time we've played a game at home, and I've walked out onto the field and just looked at the crowd, it's just been phenomenal experience," the former coach of the United States women's team told reporters. "I've never witnessed a crowd that such as the Matildas crowd. With the Matildas, it's just unique. And I kind of pinch myself when I go out and stand in front of it before the game starts." Sermanni thought that he was bequeathing Montemurro a squad of players that, when fully fit, would be competitive with any side in the world. "People forget we were (very) close to getting the silver at the last World Cup and the Olympics before the last one," he said. "So the team is close. The experienced players are still very influential ... and we've got some good young players coming through." Chief among the injury concerns is Sam Kerr, who has not played for her country or club Chelsea since she suffered an ACL injury in January 2024. Montemurro told local media earlier on Monday that he had been informed on taking the job that Kerr had needed another medical "intervention" for an issue not related to her knee injury, but was now back up and running.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Matildas usher in new era after key interim role is filled perfectly by Tom Sermanni
One of the key themes of the past week for the Matildas has been a sense of serendipity. On Friday, Tom Sermanni's 150th fixture in charge of the national team was marked by Kahli Johnson's goal in a 2-0 win over Argentina, as the debutante became the latest in the long line of players whose international journey has started with the veteran coach. On Monday, the final game of Sermanni's tenure was played hours after Joe Montemurro was formally unveiled as the team's next full-time coach. Montemurro watched on from the stands of GIO Stadium as he begun preparations for the first games of his reign later this month. After coaching the Matildas across four separate decades, his final hitout in charge came in the same city where his coaching career began back in the 1980s. As one era ended, a player hoping to play a key role in the next demanded the attention of the incoming boss during the second game against Argentina. In her first start for 549 days, Amy Sayer grabbed a first-half brace to help steer the Matildas towards a 4-1 win in Canberra, before Emily van Egmond and hometown hero Michelle Heyman put the result beyond doubt. With Sermanni's third stint in charge of the Matildas now over, focus now turns to what comes next. As the 70-year-old himself reflected, his three stints in charge have intersected with the major eras of this team, and while he is too self-effacing to acknowledge it, that means stories of the Matildas cannot be told without him. He was there when the modern Matildas program was being established in 1993, and when Australian football made its move to Asia, before laying down a marker of what was to come with a continental crown in 2010. During his latest stint in charge, he was offered a chance to experience a team he had been so instrumental in building, after it had ascended to being something more. The 25,125 fans in Canberra – a record for a women's sporting event in the Australian capital – was testament to this. 'Back in the days when you'd essentially get family and friends to come to games, you dreamt of stuff like this' Sermanni told Paramount. 'It's just a dream come true.' It's this history that made his appointment as an interim such a key one. Not just because he deserved an opportunity to bask in the glow that exists around the side, but also because his willingness to do whatever is in the team's best interests – demonstrated across multiple decades – is indisputable. When he walked back in the door last October, he described the atmosphere that greeted him as being akin to 'turning up at a funeral' following a disastrous Paris Olympics. Combining an existing relationship with much of the squad and an unimpeachable record of service with a humble lack of ambition to make this anything permanent, he filled the temporary role perfectly. Yet, the results against the biggest nations weren't there. And the effects of an extended period of limbo as Football Australia's search for a permanent coach continued were clear to everyone during three games in February. While he did his best to bring through new talent and prepare the side for what was to come, as a caretaker there was a limit to his authority. Outside of the retired Clare Polkinghorne, much of the established squad looks set to still be in place come next year's Asian Cup, and it wasn't Sermanni's place to say otherwise. That is Montemurro's responsibility. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion But Sermanni cannot be blamed for the maladroit hunt for a full-time replacement. Back-to-back losses to Brazil and a winless SheBelieves Cup weren't part of the plan, but neither was him being in an interim role for nearly a year. He came in and did his job in getting the team back on its feet, and then the federation turned around and asked him to keep doing it. He would have been well within his rights to put decision-makers on blast, but doing what was best for the Matildas came first. Starting with Daniela Galic and ending with Isabel Gomez, nine players have made their international debuts during his brief tenure, while others such as Sayer, Holly McNamara, and Clare Wheeler have grown in prominence. Fittingly, Sermanni used one of his final appearances as coach of the Matildas to call for improvements to resourcing and staffing in the A-League Women, attempting to spur even more progress for the game, even after his exit. If some of the recent results have damaged Sermanni's standing in the eyes of a new generation of fans who have rallied around the Matildas, they shouldn't. He has played an irreplaceable role since before many of them were born. And now, with the Montemurro era looming, he can kick back.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- General
- News.com.au
New coach watches on as Matildas smash record with second win
New boss Joe Montemurro was in the stands on Monday night as Amy Sayer's double spearheaded the Matildas to a second victory over Argentina in four days. Montemurro had been unveiled as the 15th full-time head coach of Australia's women through to the 2028 Olympics earlier in the day, just 24 hours after Lyon confirmed his departure halfway through a two-year contract in France, where he had led them to the league title. Although not officially commencing duties until mid-June, he spoke to the players at the team hotel before attending the international friendly in Canberra, where he talked to interim chief Tom Sermanni pre-match. The 55-year-old then appeared an animated spectator in the early exchanges at a sold-out GIO Stadium but would have certainly enjoyed Sayer's technically perfect finishes either side of La Albiceleste equalising during an entertaining opening period. He must have liked what he saw as the crowd of 25,125 set a new record for the most watched women's sporting event in the ACT. Second-half events were far more one-sided, and despite the best efforts of Solana Pereyra in keeping out Michelle Heyman of Canberra United, Emily van Egmond was on hand to convert the rebound before home-favourite Heyman successfully rounded the goalkeeper to score Australia's fourth late on. Never Sayer never Sayer slammed the door shut on a chapter she described as the 'hardest thing I've ever done in my life' by grabbing her first international start in 549 days with both hands. The 23-year-old suffered an ACL injury last April and only returned to club action for Swedish side Kristianstads DFF in recent months. But after volleying an early opportunity over, Sayer showed no further signs of rustiness. Instead, she shone, netting a searching cross from Kahli Johnson - who backed up her debut goal with an assist, only to soon depart with a quad concern - and latching onto Caitlin Foord's invitation to deliver a low strike across the goalkeeper. Six switches There were half a dozen changes to the starting XI that defeated Argentina in Melbourne on Friday, with Arsenal's UEFA Women's Champions League winners - Foord, Kyra Cooney-Cross and skipper Steph Catley - drafted in alongside Courtney Nevin, Natasha Prior and the sensational Sayer. Foord carried her club form onto the international stage, laying on the go-ahead goal courtesy of a threaded pass before forcing the turnover Heyman struck from. She should have put her name on the scoresheet, only to slam Holly McNamara's centre against the post. For Prior, the transition was not as smooth and did not cover herself in glory when failing to cut out Milagros Martín's speculative forward ball that allowed Kishi Núñez to pull the visitors level. Interim Tom Sermanni, ahead of his 151st and final game in charge of Australia, across three separate stints, gave his reaction to Montemurro's appointment, which comes on the runway to next March's home AFC Women's Asian Cup.
