Latest news with #TonyGustavsson
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
‘I can smell success': Montemurro aims for Asian Cup glory with Matildas
'I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to tell you how important this is to me ... the opportunity it affords me personally in my career and as a person to bring the game to the next level,' he said. The mission to extract him from his contract at Lyon was delicate and protracted. Despite months of rumours linking him to the Matildas, which he also fuelled himself, Montemurro said he only signed his multi-year deal on Saturday, having secured his release over the weekend. FA overlooked him for Tony Gustavsson five years ago, and had another chance to sign him a year ago, when he was in the country to coach the A-League All Stars, but the federation hesitated; sources suggest they may have had to pay a hefty fee to Lyon to belatedly get him over the line, but better late than never. Interim chief executive Heather Garriock had a positive spin. 'I don't think it's a missed opportunity,' she said. 'Everything happens for a reason ... to have Joe with a French championship under his belt is only going to help the Matildas.' Montemurro wouldn't go as far as making an Ange Postecoglou-esque declaration that he would win a trophy in his second season, when invited. He declined to even put himself in the same 'category' as the Tottenham Hotspur boss, even though he is the only Australian coach with a comparable resume in European football. 'The only promise I make is that we will play an exciting brand of football and that the integrity and the level and the respect of the Matildas will always be at the top of my thinking,' he said. But he did offer the following: 'I can smell some success.' Montemurro rubbed his hands together with glee at a question about his philosophy, and his tactical plans for the Matildas. As he acknowledged, what he had to say was what most coaches offer in these circumstances: a promise to play proactive, attacking football. The difference is that he, unlike most, has the track record and knowledge base to actually pull it off. 'We want to control the game. We want to have the ball. We want to be able to control the game even when we don't have the ball,' he said. 'You'll see a team that will take risks. You'll see a team that's going to be brave. You'll see a team that's going to excite. I know no other way of playing football, and it's a matter of now instilling that identity. But the beauty of it is that I think we've got some traits as athletes in Australia that can really bring that to life and really bring that in a special way - an Australian way, hopefully.' Montemurro certainly has the tools, at least in the short term, to pull off something special at the Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1 - a tournament he described as 'winnable'. Though his remit also includes a much-needed evolution of the playing group - a process he acknowledged that caretaker coach Tom Sermanni had already begun - there remains enough star power at his disposal to realistically aim for what would be the team's first silverware since 2010. He expressed hope that Mary Fowler might recover in time from her ACL injury to feature at the tournament, noting that she was in the right environment at Manchester City to give her the best possible chance. Loading As for Sam Kerr, who is yet to return from her own ACL tear, and the vexed question of whether she will be his captain, he played a straight bat. 'Let's get her fit and right and then we'll have those discussions from there,' he said. Montemurro was due to travel down to Canberra later on Monday, ahead of the Matildas' friendly against Argentina, to address the playing group for the first time pre-match. He will take charge of his first game later in June against Slovenia at Perth's HBF Park.
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I can smell success': Montemurro aims for Asian Cup glory with Matildas
'I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to tell you how important this is to me ... the opportunity it affords me personally in my career and as a person to bring the game to the next level,' he said. The mission to extract him from his contract at Lyon was delicate and protracted. Despite months of rumours linking him to the Matildas, which he also fuelled himself, Montemurro said he only signed his multi-year deal on Saturday, having secured his release over the weekend. FA overlooked him for Tony Gustavsson five years ago, and had another chance to sign him a year ago, when he was in the country to coach the A-League All Stars, but the federation hesitated; sources suggest they may have had to pay a hefty fee to Lyon to belatedly get him over the line, but better late than never. Interim chief executive Heather Garriock had a positive spin. 'I don't think it's a missed opportunity,' she said. 'Everything happens for a reason ... to have Joe with a French championship under his belt is only going to help the Matildas.' Montemurro wouldn't go as far as making an Ange Postecoglou-esque declaration that he would win a trophy in his second season, when invited. He declined to even put himself in the same 'category' as the Tottenham Hotspur boss, even though he is the only Australian coach with a comparable resume in European football. 'The only promise I make is that we will play an exciting brand of football and that the integrity and the level and the respect of the Matildas will always be at the top of my thinking,' he said. But he did offer the following: 'I can smell some success.' Montemurro rubbed his hands together with glee at a question about his philosophy, and his tactical plans for the Matildas. As he acknowledged, what he had to say was what most coaches offer in these circumstances: a promise to play proactive, attacking football. The difference is that he, unlike most, has the track record and knowledge base to actually pull it off. 'We want to control the game. We want to have the ball. We want to be able to control the game even when we don't have the ball,' he said. 'You'll see a team that will take risks. You'll see a team that's going to be brave. You'll see a team that's going to excite. I know no other way of playing football, and it's a matter of now instilling that identity. But the beauty of it is that I think we've got some traits as athletes in Australia that can really bring that to life and really bring that in a special way - an Australian way, hopefully.' Montemurro certainly has the tools, at least in the short term, to pull off something special at the Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1 - a tournament he described as 'winnable'. Though his remit also includes a much-needed evolution of the playing group - a process he acknowledged that caretaker coach Tom Sermanni had already begun - there remains enough star power at his disposal to realistically aim for what would be the team's first silverware since 2010. He expressed hope that Mary Fowler might recover in time from her ACL injury to feature at the tournament, noting that she was in the right environment at Manchester City to give her the best possible chance. Loading As for Sam Kerr, who is yet to return from her own ACL tear, and the vexed question of whether she will be his captain, he played a straight bat. 'Let's get her fit and right and then we'll have those discussions from there,' he said. Montemurro was due to travel down to Canberra later on Monday, ahead of the Matildas' friendly against Argentina, to address the playing group for the first time pre-match. He will take charge of his first game later in June against Slovenia at Perth's HBF Park.
San Francisco Chronicle
3 days ago
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Matildas finally have a fulltime coach after Montemurro is hired to guide Australian women's team
SYDNEY (AP) — The Matildas finally have a fulltime coach after Joe Montemurro 's appointment Monday to guide the Australian women's national soccer team. The World Cup semifinalists have been without a permanent head coach since Tony Gustavsson's contract expired after the Olympics in Paris last year, with Tom Sermanni working as interim manager. Montemurro, who is Australian, won five trophies with Juventus following a successful stint at Arsenal, where he claimed the 2018 FA Women's League Cup and the Women's Super League in 2019, before joining French powerhouse Lyon last year. ___
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Football Australia get right coach in Joe Montemurro, but why did it take so long?
The appointment of Joe Montemurro as Tony Gustavsson's full-time successor on Monday ended a protracted, near year-long search that began when the Swede's contract expired following the Paris Olympics. Eventually, Football Australia got their man. And given the contradictory task that awaits the incoming coach, they probably couldn't have done better. Related: Joe Montemurro unveiled as new Matildas coach by Football Australia Advertisement As inevitable as it is to be forgotten in the hullabaloo as next year's Asian Cup approaches, Montemurro's tenure will be defined by significantly different expectations and circumstances than those faced by his predecessor. While Gustavsson was, in the words of outgoing chief executive James Johnson, a 'tournament coach' recruited to guide a golden generation to tournament success, the landscape greeting Montemurro has shifted. He inherits a team that has simultaneously had base expectations elevated by gilded heroes, many of whom are still in place but with the soil of generational change needing to be tilled. It's a role in which judgment will be immediate, but a true picture of his tenure won't emerge for years. Results reflective of the Matildas' status as an Asian power with designs on catching Japan will be demanded. That is not unfair. For all their success as changemakers and as the buttress of FA's balance sheets, winning was always this side's raison d'être. Japan will enter next year's Asian Cup as heavy favourites, , but it is not unreasonable to expect a talented team that finished fourth at the World Cup to go far in a tournament on home soil. Yet this needs to be balanced with a vision for what comes after a core playing group that has been in place for over a decade departs. A new generation won't just need to be exposed to the senior setup. They will, with the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics approaching, begin to provide more starting players. Close cooperation with junior national teams and the A-League Women will be needed, tough calls will need to be made over ageing players, and greater jeopardy must be injected into squad selection. Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Sam Kerr cannot play forever. Given this high-wire act – maintaining results while also embracing the grind of becoming 'head coach of the Matildas programme' – attracting top-drawer international talent was always going to be difficult. That is only compounded by the challenges associated with coaching a nation located a day's journey from football's epicentre, and one that does not possess the same level of prestige as major European or North American countries. Indeed, if Montemurro weren't Australian, it would be difficult to envisage him prematurely leaving a contract with superpower Lyon. Advertisement But he is Australian, which has helped FA land a coach who has a trophy cabinet laden with silverware earned across Australia, England, Italy and France. The former Brunswick Juventus midfielder has a vision of the style he wants his teams to play, and combines established relationships with members of the existing squad with a deep connection to Australian football and its pathways. Scrutiny will be important as there are questions; his record in major knockout fixtures is one, but others, such as the attrition that befell his small squads at Arsenal, will potentially be masked by a shift from club to international football. FA seems to have hit on the right outcome by appointing Montemurro. But unfortunately, the process that landed them here was anything but well executed – with potential flow-on effects for his tenure. By the time their new coach takes up his position, the Matildas will have logged five camps under Sermanni and played 13 games – crucial contact hours Montemurro won't get. The interim coach has done his best to blood new talent and prepare for the Asian Cup during this time, but the nature of his stop-gap role placed limitations on what he could do. This was obvious at SheBelieves Cup in January, when the extent to which their rivals were accelerating away while the Matildas sat in coaching purgatory was laid bare. Related: Matildas' European conquerors inspire new generation in Argentina win Advertisement Having allowed Gustavsson's contract to expire, his exit should have been well forecast by FA, something Johnson hinted at when he described himself as being 'comfortable' soon after. Meanwhile, it was May last year that Montemurro was a free agent – he signed with Lyon in June – and had a big come and get me banner effectively floating over the top of his head when back in Australia. And yet, somehow, it has taken nearly a year for the two to come together. Given his broader remit and that the Asian Cup takes place in less than a year, a fair assessment of Montemurro should, short of disaster, look beyond that tournament and towards his effort to oversee generational renewal during the 2027 and 2028 campaigns. But a home tournament, after the magic of 2023, likely doesn't afford that luxury, and the limited preparation he will get is a rod FA has built for the Matildas' back.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Football Australia get right coach in Joe Montemurro, but why did it take so long?
The appointment of Joe Montemurro as Tony Gustavsson's full-time successor on Monday ended a protracted, near year-long search that began when the Swede's contract expired following the Paris Olympics. Eventually, Football Australia got their man. And given the contradictory task that awaits the incoming coach, they probably couldn't have done better. As inevitable as it is to be forgotten in the hullabaloo as next year's Asian Cup approaches, Montemurro's tenure will be defined by significantly different expectations and circumstances than those faced by his predecessor. While Gustavsson was, in the words of outgoing chief executive James Johnson, a 'tournament coach' recruited to guide a golden generation to tournament success, the landscape greeting Montemurro has shifted. He inherits a team that has simultaneously had base expectations elevated by gilded heroes, many of whom are still in place but with the soil of generational change needing to be tilled. It's a role in which judgment will be immediate, but a true picture of his tenure won't emerge for years. Results reflective of the Matildas' status as an Asian power with designs on catching Japan will be demanded. That is not unfair. For all their success as changemakers and as the buttress of FA's balance sheets, winning was always this side's raison d'être. Japan will enter next year's Asian Cup as heavy favourites, , but it is not unreasonable to expect a talented team that finished fourth at the World Cup to go far in a tournament on home soil. Yet this needs to be balanced with a vision for what comes after a core playing group that has been in place for over a decade departs. A new generation won't just need to be exposed to the senior setup. They will, with the 2027 World Cup and 2028 Olympics approaching, begin to provide more starting players. Close cooperation with junior national teams and the A-League Women will be needed, tough calls will need to be made over ageing players, and greater jeopardy must be injected into squad selection. Steph Catley, Caitlin Foord, Katrina Gorry and Sam Kerr cannot play forever. Given this high-wire act – maintaining results while also embracing the grind of becoming 'head coach of the Matildas programme' – attracting top-drawer international talent was always going to be difficult. That is only compounded by the challenges associated with coaching a nation located a day's journey from football's epicentre, and one that does not possess the same level of prestige as major European or North American countries. Indeed, if Montemurro weren't Australian, it would be difficult to envisage him prematurely leaving a contract with superpower Lyon. But he is Australian, which has helped FA land a coach who has a trophy cabinet laden with silverware earned across Australia, England, Italy and France. The former Brunswick Juventus midfielder has a vision of the style he wants his teams to play, and combines established relationships with members of the existing squad with a deep connection to Australian football and its pathways. Scrutiny will be important as there are questions; his record in major knockout fixtures is one, but others, such as the attrition that befell his small squads at Arsenal, will potentially be masked by a shift from club to international football. FA seems to have hit on the right outcome by appointing Montemurro. But unfortunately, the process that landed them here was anything but well executed – with potential flow-on effects for his tenure. By the time their new coach takes up his position, the Matildas will have logged five camps under Sermanni and played 13 games – crucial contact hours Montemurro won't get. The interim coach has done his best to blood new talent and prepare for the Asian Cup during this time, but the nature of his stop-gap role placed limitations on what he could do. This was obvious at SheBelieves Cup in January, when the extent to which their rivals were accelerating away while the Matildas sat in coaching purgatory was laid bare. 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 Having allowed Gustavsson's contract to expire, his exit should have been well forecast by FA, something Johnson hinted at when he described himself as being 'comfortable' soon after. Meanwhile, it was May last year that Montemurro was a free agent – he signed with Lyon in June – and had a big come and get me banner effectively floating over the top of his head when back in Australia. And yet, somehow, it has taken nearly a year for the two to come together. Given his broader remit and that the Asian Cup takes place in less than a year, a fair assessment of Montemurro should, short of disaster, look beyond that tournament and towards his effort to oversee generational renewal during the 2027 and 2028 campaigns. But a home tournament, after the magic of 2023, likely doesn't afford that luxury, and the limited preparation he will get is a rod FA has built for the Matildas' back.
