Matildas coaching vacancy up in the air after leading contender takes new NSW NPL role

The Matildas coaching vacancy is no closer to being filled after one of the leading contenders for the position added a new role with a NSW NPL club.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MAY 04: Ante Juric, Coach of Sydney FC holds the trophy after coaching Sydney FC to victory in the the A-League Women Grand Final match between Melbourne City and Sydney FC at AAMI Park, on May 04, 2024, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images for A-Leagues)

Potential Matildas coaching candidate Ante Juric has seemingly withdrawn himself from contention after signing on as manager of NPL NSW club Sydney United 58 for the 2025 season.

Juric is fresh off the back of a third A-League Women’s championship with Sydney FC and was touted as one of the leading contenders for the Matildas coaching job following the resignation of Tony Gustavsson after the Paris Olympics.

He signed a new deal with Sydney FC earlier this year which would keep him at the club until the end of the 2025/26 season, however this was assumed to be only a mild roadblock if Football Australia was serious about bringing him back to the national team.

Juric has experience with the national team, with a stint at the helm of the Junior Matildas in 2009-10, and former Sydney FC player and current Matilda Cortnee Vine had named Juric as one of the best coaches she’s ever worked with.

He also had an impressive stint in the NSW NPL from 2020-2022 with Sydney Olympic, leading them to a premiership in 2022, while also remaining as Sydney FC coach concurrently.

The announcement of Juric’s appointment as Sydney United’s head coach would suggest the 50-year-old either isn’t interested in taking the Matildas’ reins, or hasn’t been asked.

It also begs the question of whether one or both of Juric’s teams will suffer due to his split interests next year, with the A-League Women introducing a full home-and-away season since Juric was last in the NPL meaning a greater overlap in the seasons.