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The Australian
5 hours ago
- Health
- The Australian
Football: Joe Montemurro to coach Matildas
New Matildas coach Joe Montemurro is confident he has enough time to turn Australia into a team capable of winning next year's AFC Women's Asian Cup and is optimistic that injured stars Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler can play prominent roles. After a drawn-out process, Football Australia on Monday finally confirmed Montemurro's appointment, leaving him nine months to find a way to turn the Matildas from a team that fails to live up its surrounding hype into an outfit capable of winning a major tournament. The 54-year-old Melbourne-born mentor – whose previous jobs included title-winning stints as coach of the women's teams of Arsenal, Juventus and most recently Lyon – replaces interim Matildas coach Tom Sermanni, whose final game in charge will be Australia's clash with Argentina in Canberra on Monday night. Sermanni was appointed interim boss in September last year soon after the departure of Tony Gustavsson following the Matildas' poor Olympic Games campaign. Joe Montemurro has been named as the Matildas' new coach. Picture:Football Australia interim chief executive Heather Garriock defended her organisation for the length of time it took with its 'global search' to find a full-time replacement for Gustavsson. 'These processes take time, in this case, a little bit more time than we expected,' Garriock said. 'From the very start, Football Australia has been committed to finding the right coach and not the first coach. 'There were many considerations and many moving parts, and I'm glad we have finally got our man, the right man, who will take this team to the next level, I am sure.' Montemurro said being appointed Matildas coach – at least until the 2028 Olympics – was the 'honour of a lifetime', but leaving French outfit Lyon, one of the world's most prominent clubs in women's football, after just one season was 'difficult'. 'Lyon's an amazing club. I had an amazing season there, and obviously the situation was to continue the process, but I assessed a few things,' he said. 'I said to myself, and my wife and family, that this is now an exciting cycle for the Matildas, (with) the Asian Cup, (the 2027) World Cup, (the 2028) Olympic Games, and the opportunity was too good, plus there was something inside of me that was just telling me 'it's time'. 'I had to make a hard decision, a very difficult decision, but I believe the decision is the right one. 'This team means so much to so many Australians, and I'm humbled by the opportunity to help shape its next chapter.' Montemurro, who was scheduled to meet the team in Canberra on Monday afternoon, praised Sermanni for the head start he had given him in getting the Matildas – who haven't won a major tournament since 2010 – ready for the Women's Asian Cup, which starts in March next year in Australia. 'Tom's been able to build a process, give some opportunities to some players, stabilise the situation, and then from there we can bring it forward,' he said. 'It's all set up for me to take over with the staff and bring it to the next level. Is the Asian Cup winnable? Of course it is.' Tom Sermanni's stint as Matildas interim coach will end on Monday night in Canberra following Montemurro's appointment. Picture:And 'winnable' with a squad containing star Chelsea striker Kerr, who hasn't played since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee in January last year, and key playmaker Fowler, who suffered a similar injury in April playing for her club, Manchester City. Montemurro said he would 'map out a process' with Kerr that would include a 'profile' of her 'physical' and 'mental' recovery. 'You can get fit, you can get things right tactically, but then some players go through processes where, you (ask) 'are they mentally prepared for the tournament'?' he said. 'Sam fits into that scenario where we're going to assess and monitor and see where she's at. 'Let's get her fit and right, and then we'll have those discussions from there.' He said Fowler was a 'special player' who was in the 'best environment' at Manchester City to make a full recovery in time for the Women's Asian Cup. 'Hopefully, she'll be right (for the tournament),' Montemurro said. Read related topics: FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
New Matildas coach Joe Montemurro opens up about the Sam Kerr and Mary Fowler questions every fan wants answered
Joe Montemurro is confident Mary Fowler will be fit and firing for next year's Women's Asian Cup as the new Matildas boss said he won't make a decision on Sam Kerr 's future as captain until she returns to play. Montemurro, who was unveiled as Australia coach in Sydney on Monday on a three-year deal, declared that under his watch the Matildas would be a team that attacks and takes risks regardless of who they face. But Australia's fortunes in the final third will hinge on the fitness of Kerr and Fowler, both of whom have been sidelined with anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the time since the 2023 World Cup. Kerr has not played for Australia in close to two years after suffering a knee injury in December 2024. The Chelsea striker, 31, has returned to training over recent months but has yet to play a game. 'My intention is to sit down with all the players, even the extended squad, and map out a process of what's required to play the brand of football that we want to play from a physical and a mental perspective,' Montemurro said. 'You can get fit, you can get right tactically but then some players go through processes where (they ask) are they mentally prepared for a big tournament? 'Sam fits into that scenario where we're just going to monitor and see where she's at. 'Let's get her fit then we'll have those discussions (over the captaincy).' Fowler, meanwhile, suffered her rupture in April, leaving the 22-year-old Manchester City attacker facing a race against the clock to get fit for a home Asian Cup in March next year. 'Mary's a special player and I can tell you from a club perspective, she's in the eye of a lot of the big clubs,' Montemurro said. 'It's unfortunate for her, it happens, but she's in probably the best environment with the City Group. 'From a physical and from a training load (perspective) and from a return to play scenario, she'll be right and hopefully she'll be right for the Asian Cup.'
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Debutant Kahli Johnson shines in comfortable win for Matildas over Argentina
It felt rather appropriate, all things considered, that Tom Sermanni marked his 150th in charge of the Matildas by making Kahli Johnson the 237th player to represent Australia. Because while the 2010 Asian Cup may have provided the 70-year-old with his crowning achievement, his is a more than three-decade legacy built upon the stories and achievements of those who he has given an opportunity. So many of the pathways that are found in the women's game in Australia wouldn't exist without his guidance, and of the current golden generation alone, the likes of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley and Katrina Gorry were all given intentional debuts under his charge. It became even more fitting when Johnson headed home the 38th-minute goal that kickstarted the Matildas to a 2-0 win over Argentina at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium on Friday evening, a game lacking in much of the way of fireworks but in which the hosts never looked in danger of falling. Kaitlyn Torpey put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, the winger's second international goal blessed by the footballing gods when her shanked attempt to send in a cross from the right floated right over the head of Abigaíl Chaves and inside the far post. But it's Johnson who people will be talking about after tonight. The 21-year-old took a leap into the unknown during the middle of the A-League Women season, moving from Western United to newly launched Canadian competition the Northern Super League and has kicked on with three goals in six games for the Calgary Wild. Now, having scored a goal every other game in Canada, she's become a senior international, with a goal under her belt, and the latest in a long line of players whose stories include Sermanni. The ball to find Johnson was delivered with pinpoint accuracy by Charli Grant, who galloped down the flank before sending in a perfectly weighted cross for her teammate – who replays showed may have strayed just into an offside position – to send across the face of Chaves. Though not all that much older than Johnson, the defender is something of a grizzled young veteran in the current setup given she is still only 23 years old but she is now in her fourth year in the national setup, with 34 appearances in green and gold under her belt. Probably helped by not needing to do much defending – Argentina would fail to register a shot on target until the 80th minute – the Spurs flanker was one of the Matildas best on the evening. So, too, was Johnson, who flashed intent early on when she won the ball on the left and whipped in crosses in the sixth and seventh minutes and who put a shot just wide in the 49th in search of a brace. Given the chance to start as the nine once more, clearly being positioned by Sermanni as the heir-apparent for Kerr, Holly McNamara showed off her determined, angry worth as well: sending a volleyed attempt from a Grant cross wide in the first half and fizzing an effort outside the post in the 61st. Clare Wheeler got in on the act, too, firing off a 72nd minute attempt that Chaves did incredibly well to get down and keep out. 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 Indeed, with the likes of Kerr, Gorry, Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso all absent from this squad and the Arsenal trio of Catley, Foord and Kyra Cooney-Cross staying on the bench after their late arrival into camp after winning the Champions League, Friday was an evening for the unheralded and rising members of the squad. It almost had to be, given that Football Australia has indicated a new coach will be coming in next month, rendering these games as something of an audition. But it was also a celebration of an underappreciated legend in Sermanni, delivered in fitting fashion.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Kahli Johnson header is fitting marker for Tom Sermanni in Matildas win
At Marvel Stadium - it felt rather appropriate, all things considered, that Tom Sermanni marked his 150th in charge of the Matildas by making Kahli Johnson the 237th player to represent Australia. As while the 2010 Asian Cup may have provided the 70-year-old with his crowning achievement, his is a more than three-decade legacy built upon the stories and achievements of those who he has given an opportunity. So many of the pathways that are found in the women's game Down Under wouldn't exist without his guidance, and of the current Golden Generation alone, the likes of Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Katrina Gorry were all given intentional debuts under his charge. So it all became even more fitting when Johnson headed home the 38th minute goal that kickstarted the Matildas to a 2-0 win over Argentina at Marvel on Friday evening, a game lacking in much of the way of fireworks but in which the hosts never looked in danger of falling. Kaitlyn Torpey put the result beyond doubt in the 69th minute, the winger's second international goal blessed by the footballing gods when her shanked attempt to send in a cross from the right floated right over the head of Abigaíl Chaves and inside the far post. Johnson, 21, took a leap into the unknown during the middle of the A-League Women season in moving from Western United, while right in the mix for the race for the Golden Boot, to newly launched Canadian competition the Northern Super League and has kicked on with three goals in six games for the Calgary Wild. She'd moved down to Melbourne from Sydney a few years prior to ease herself into living away from home and when the Wild came knocking with a transfer fee for her services, she felt ready. Now, having scored a goal every other game in Canada, she's become a senior international, with a goal under her belt to boot, and the latest in a long line of players whose stories cannot be told without Sermanni. The ball to find Johnson was delivered with pinpoint accuracy by Charli Grant, who galloped down the flank before sending in a perfectly weighted cross for her teammate — who replays showed may have strayed just into an offside position — to send across the face of Chaves. Though not all that much older than Johnson, the defender is something of a grizzled young vet in the current setup given she's still only 23-years-old but she's now in her fourth year in the national setup, with 34 appearances in green and gold under her belt. Probably helped by not needing to do much defending — Argentina would fail to register a shot on target until the 80th minute — the Spurs flanker was one of the Matildas best on the evening. So, too, was Johnson, who flashed intent early on when she won the ball on the left and whipped in crosses in the sixth and seventh minutes and who put a shot just wide in the 49th in search of a brace. Given the chance to start as the nine once more, clearly being positioned by Sermanni as the heir-apparent for Kerr, Holly McNamara showed off her determined, angry worth as well: sending a volleyed attempt from a Grant cross wide in the first half and fizzing an effort outside the post in the 61st. Clare Wheeler got in on the act, too, firing off a 72nd minute attempt that Chaves did incredibly well to get down and keep out. Indeed, with the likes of Kerr, Gorry, Ellie Carpenter, and Hayley Raso all absent from this squad and the Arsenal trio of Catley, Foord, and Kyra Cooney-Cross not risked after their late arrival into camp after winning the Champions League, Friday was an evening for the unheralded and rising members of the squad. It almost had to be, given that Football Australia has indicated a new coach will be coming in next month, rendering these games as something of an audition. But it was also a celebration of an underappreciated legend in Sermanni, delivered in fitting fashion.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Australia v Argentina: international women's football friendly
Update: Date: 2025-05-30T09:23:40.000Z Title: Content: Update: Date: 2025-05-30T09:20:09.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Hello and welcome to the Guardian's live blog of the first of two international friendlies between the Matildas and Argentina. It's Jo Khan here, and I've got you covered for all the pregame news and minute-by-minute football action. The last time we saw the Matildas on home soil was in April when they took two wins from two against South Korea. The overarching feeling after the second match was, 'how good is Mary Fowler?' Oh dear. That sentiment, while remaining true, amounts to little since Fowler now faces a long recovery from an ACL injury sustained during Manchester City's FA Cup semi-final defeat in mid-April. With no Fowler, no Sam Kerr, other injuries, personal absences and several veterans coming off heavy seasons overseas, the fresh faces in the Matildas camp are going to be called on to do heavier lifting than usual. It could make for a surprising game, and one debutant is in the starting XI! If you want to get in touch, shoot me an email. Where are you following along from? What's for dinner/breakfast/lunch? Who are you most excited to see stretch their legs today? Let me know your thoughts, and let's get into it.
