Who is Joe Montemurro? The serial winner who is tipped to become the next Matildas coach
A serial winner who took the hard road to the top of world football, Joe Montemurro is the reason the Matildas were willing to wait for a new head coach. Meet the man who could save them.
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It might seem ludicrous that the Socceroos coaching job was filled in three days while it has taken nine months to lock in a new Matildas coach – but there is a reason Football Australia were willing to wait for Joe Montemurro.
The 55-year-old Australian coach has won titles all around the world.
He has won the championship with Arsenal in the English Women’s Super League, took Juventus’s women’s team to the top and also won two championships with Melbourne City in the A-League’s Women’s.
Trophies pop up in club cabinets wherever Montemurro goes and trophies are the one thing the Matildas want.
In his first year at Lyon he won 28 of the 32 games played so far in all competitions.
Crashing out in the Women’s Champions League semi-final with a 4-1 loss to Arsenal the only major blip from his time at the most successful French women’s league side.
Under his guidance Lyon have once again finished top of the league ladder and are expected to be crowned champions following the playoff series which kicks off next week.
The Matildas haven’t won a major tournament since the 2010 Asian Cup. Tom Sermanni was at the helm when they pulled off that feat.
Matildas have come close – they finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, fourth at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup but then crashed at the Paris Olympics – failing to get out of the group stage.
His ability to win championships certainly put him at the top of Football Australia’s hit list.
It would explain why long time Matildas assistant coach Melissa Andreatta was overlooked – she is now the head coach of Scotland’s women’s team.
Montemurro is familiar with some of the Matildas players.
During his time at Melbourne City, Arsenal and even the brief stint as coach of the ALW All Stars team last season – Montemurro has crossed paths with several key Matildas – including captain Steph Catley, star striker Caitlin Foord, Cortnee Vine, Tameka Yallop and Michelle Heyman.
It was Montemurro who lured Catley and Foord across to Arsenal – working closely with both players during his time at the English club.
Montemurro grew up in Melbourne – playing for Brunswick Juventus, making his senior debut in the National Soccer League in 1986.
He won two national titles with the Victorian State Youth team between 1986-88 before being picked up by Swiss Club Nauchatel Xamax. He went on to spend most of his playing career in Italy with A.C.D Treviso in Serie C2.
Montemurro returned home in 1996 and played in the Victorian State Leagues but his main focus was on his coaching career.
He coached at several Victorian clubs starting at youth level and working his way up to senior teams.
And while he has had a very successful coaching career what could work against Montemurro is his lack of coaching experience in a national team environment.
While ousted Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson hadn’t held a head coach role of a national team when he took the reigns he had served as the assistant coach in the USA from 2012-2019 – putting him on the front line for multiple World Cups, Olympics and major tournaments.
Even Graham Arnold had to do a stint as assistant coach at the Socceroos before being offered the top job.
Ange Postecoglou did time as the Young Socceroos manager before taking charge of the senior side.
There have been a number of cases where a successful club coach has struggled on the international stage.
Former Newcastle United coach Kevin Keegan took the club from the second division to the Premier League and then third in his first season and runners-up in 1995/96 and 96/97. After stints at Fulham and Manchester City he was made head coach of the English men’s national team. He had just four wins from his 11 games.
One of the most successful club managers Fabio Capello struggled on the national stage – first with England, then Russia and China.
It can go the other way though.
Take Emma Hayes. She managed Chelsea’s women’s team for 12 years winning the WSL title seven times. In her first year as head coach of the USA she guided them to a gold medal at the Olympics.
Time will only tell whether Montemurro is able to make the leap from club coach to national team coach.
Originally published as Who is Joe Montemurro? The serial winner who is tipped to become the next Matildas coach
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