Tom Sermanni will coach the Matildas for a thrilling third time, but only for the interim. You’re right to be thinking “phoaw, isn’t that a step backwards”, and if it was a full time appointment sure.
But it isn’t. He is there to steady the ship, to put a cap on expectations of a new coach until the right pick is there and ready.
It’s a similar scenario to when I worked in tv news and the much-loved anchor resigned after 18 years in the job. There was plenty of anticipation over who would take the gig, but some smart thinking put the state’s well loved weatherman in the hot seat. He was brilliant, experienced and proved the perfect buffer until a couple months down the track we had a permanent replacement.
An experienced interim, who knows the business well, and let’s face it, football and the Matildas is big business, is a clever card to pull. Particularly when having no need to qualify for a home Asian Cup, and that being the next major tournament not until 2026. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise Sermanni is getting the call up.
ICYMI, or for any newer fans (of which welcome!), Sermanni led the Matildas in a very different time, but it’s the similarities of where the generations lie that is worth thinking about. During his second tenure, he had a stellar cast that included legends such as Cheryl Sailsbury, Joey Peters, Heather Garriock, Sarah Walsh and Collete McCullum (there’s totally names I’m missing, I promise I love them just as much).
He also bled in the next generation including starting a young Sam Kerr and Claire Polkinghorne in the 2010 Asian Cup final, that remains the only major tournament the Matildas have won, and on the bench Kyah Simon and Tameka Yallop. The next year, a World Cup one, and a 16-year-old Caitlin Foord was fearlessly matched up against Marta, while Elise Kellond-Knight had a tournament worthy of the team of the tournament at 21-years-old.
He arrives at the tailend of many of those careers. And that’s why the appointment could perhaps provide a glimpse of what’s to come from the next coach.
While he won’t start a revolution, Sermanni is someone who could lay the kindling to the generational change that the Matildas will be hitting like a brick wall over the next few years.
I could be wrong, and I’ll eat my hat humbly if I am, but while the European camp is likely to be stacked with our superstars, I’m expecting that to be balanced with more domestic players knocking at the door for the Australian games.
He’s a coach who has overseen change, not just in Australia, but also notably in the USWNT – where the seniors revolted after too many changes too quickly. Those lessons will be learnt, and while it will be someone else’s job to get that transition right, Sermanni’s selection could soften the blow for the next in command.
Sure that’s the best case scenario, but it’s also backed by history and how Sermanni bridges many gaps. Being close enough to the current Matildas set up, without having been in the direct system for a long time. Having a deep knowledge of the W-League through his role at Western Sydney, but also a respect for the squad largely playing internationally. An experienced coach who won’t be thrown into the deep end with Australia’s most loved team, but equally unlikely to be pushing for the full time gig.
He provides the perfect breather between an intense, love/hate, rollercoaster Tony Gustavsson era and whatever is to come. Much like rinsing your mouth out with water between tasting different wines.
What I have to say to Football Australia is: I dare you to let this be an indication of bringing in a permanent coach who can balance the politics behind the scenes with blooding in a new generation guided by the superstars we have grown attached to.
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