The Matildas long-running search for a new head coach is over, with Joe Montemurro set to be unveiled as the man tasked with delivering glory at next year’s home Asian Cup.
Montemurro was on Sunday released from his contract with leading French club Olympique Lyonnais, paving the way for his long-rumoured deal to become national team boss to be confirmed.
Joe Montemurro is set to be confirmed as the new coach of the Matildas.Credit: Getty Images
Football Australia has scheduled a 10am press conference at Mrs Macquarie’s Chair in Sydney with interim chief executive Heather Garriock, who has been leading the 10-month hunt for a successor to Tony Gustavsson.
Montemurro, who had one year remaining on his deal with Lyon, is expected to be in attendance.
The 55-year-old steered Lyon to this season’s French title, adding to those he has won with Arsenal, Juventus and Melbourne City, but fell short of a UEFA Champions League final appearance after losing their semi-final to the Gunners.
He has previously been considered for the Matildas job but lost out to Gustavsson, who departed after Australia’s dismal Paris 2024 campaign, in the last process five years ago.
It means Monday night’s friendly against Argentina will be the last in charge for Tom Sermanni, whose tenure as caretaker coach has stretched for almost nine months – frustrating players who have been eager for direction as the Asian Cup fast approaches.
Montemurro will then be in a position to take the reins for his first match later this month, when the Matildas face Slovenia in another friendly at HBF Park in Perth.
Arsenal star Caitlin Foord, one of a handful of Matildas who has played under Montemurro, told this masthead in April that the team felt like it was “wasting time” ahead of the Asian Cup, which kicks off on March 1, with no full-time coach in place.
It remains to be seen whether the long wait will be worth it, but Montemurro has long loomed as the optimal choice for the job given his credentials and deep knowledge of the Australian playing pool, which Sermanni has widened in recent times by providing chances to younger up-and-coming players from the A-League Women and abroad.
Montemurro is expected to sign a long-term contract which will also take in the 2027 World Cup in Brazil and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, with the Matildas entering a difficult transition period as many of the team’s senior players are expected to retire from international duty during that time.
More to come
