Tony Gustavsson on the road from outsider to inner circle and the hurt driving Matildas’ Olympic campaign
Tony Gustavsson has the reins of the biggest team in Australian sport, but few know much about him. He details the highs and lows of his journey with the Matildas, and the hurt driving them at Paris.
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Tony Gustavsson is a hired gun hellbent on winning.
The first time he witnessed the never say die attitude of the Matildas was the reason he took the top job.
“I felt it being on the opposition bench (as an assistant coach) before I coached this team,” Gustavsson said. “I felt there’s something different with this team, an X-factor that ... made me curious to take the job.
“I’m so happy I did because it is a privilege to have seen it up close.”
Gustavsson took over in September 2020, but it wasn’t until the Tokyo Olympics that he grasped what set the Matildas apart.
The hairs on Gustavsson’s arms prick up as he recalls the moment.
“It was the Great Britain game in the Olympics and that quarterfinal, we were down 2-1 with minutes to go,” Gustavsson said.
“You have to remember this team had never gone past a quarter-final (at the Olympics).
“It had become like England in the men’s Euros, when people talk about another loss in the final. It almost becomes an identity of who you are.
“Being down in that quarter-final with minutes to go, they found a way to get back into that game.
“They were so fatigued. Some players had niggles and small injuries. They pushed through and found a way not just to take it to extra time. We saved the penalty kick in the extra time window and rebounded and turned the game around to win 4-3.
“That was the No.1 moment where I realised there’s something very, very unique in this team.”
Who is Tony?
Gustavsson clearly doesn’t like the spotlight. He’s coaching the biggest team in Australian sport, but few know much about him.
The 50-year-old Swede and father of two played football professionally in his home country and was a teacher before getting his break as a coach.
He honed his coaching skills in the Swedish league before working as an assistant with the US women’s team.
He was in the second chair when they won the gold medal at the 2012 Olympics and their back-to-back World Cup wins in 2015 and 2019.
There is no doubt Football Australia has performance benchmarks worked into Gustavsson’s contract, which expires in September.
Ticking those boxes or bringing home another Olympic medal isn’t what drives Gustavsson.
“It’s the passion for people,” he said. “It’s the No.1 driver for me.
“It’s the passion to help them get better, whether as an individual or a team.
“When I wake up every morning I’m asking myself how can I get one day better or help someone get one day better.”
The ride so far
Three months after the Gustavsson took over he was handed the Performance Gap Report, and he committed to fixed the problems.
Not overnight, but with carefully planning and a new model.
The issues included a lack of depth in the squad, lack of international matches and the high performance environment.
Australia ranked 11th when it came to international fixtures – playing just 44 games in the previous four-year cycle. The US played 68.
Only eight players made a debut for the Matildas between 2017-20.
On his watch, 23 players have made their debut for the Matildas, seven of them earning selection in the 2023 World Cup squad.
The dozen players who had zero or minimal international experience – including Mary Fowler, Kyra Cooney-Cross, Cortnee Vine and Clare Hunt – are now regular starters, which has improved the depth considerably.
In this four-year cycle the Matildas have played 53 matches.
“We needed to get exposed to multiple different types of games, especially against European opposition,” he said.
“If you come into a tournament and it’s the first time you play a top European ranked team, I don’t think it is a coincidence that those stats were not too good.
“It was an important investment.”
From the outside it might look like it didn’t pay off – the Matildas once again failed to finish on the podium at the World Cup – losing the semi-final and bronze medal matches.
“There’s been some disappointment, yes,” Gustavsson said.
“But there’s also been some phenomenal ups in terms of breaking records – everything from football records, scoring more goals than ever in a tournament, more clean sheets than ever in a tournament and the attendance records.”
Heartbreak
Gustavsson has twice watched his team fall in a heap on the pitch, heads hidden between knees, tears rolling down faces as they narrowly missed a chance to bring home a medal from a major tournament.
The Matildas haven’t won a major trophy since the 2010 Asian Cup.
Players such as Alanna Kennedy, who has played 124 games in the green and gold, have nothing tangible to show for their national careers.
Every athlete on the team has spoken about the pain of finishing fourth at the Tokyo Olympics and 2023 World Cup.
“These kind of losses create an emotional scar for you,” Gustavsson said. “You need to look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘did we give it all we had?’, so there’s no regrets.
“I can proudly say that we did. I am so proud of the players, the way they gave it their all in the Olympics and the World Cup.
“It is also why they are so loved by so many, because they gave it their all, they play with pride, they play with the crest on the chest.”
Paris Olympics
“It is important for the players to get something tangible, to actually get that medal that they worked so hard for, for so long,” Gustavsson said. “They know they can win it.”
It is a confidence the Matildas haven’t had in the past.
They go in ranked 12th in the world – the 10th best of the 12 competing nations at the Olympics.
“They aren’t the best team, but they can beat the best team,” he said.
The other major factor driving this team is the desire to create a legacy after started something special at last year’s World Cup.
Records follow them everywhere – viewership figures shattered and matches selling out within an hour of going on sale.
Gustavsson knows that regardless of the result this team has carved themselves a spot in Australian history.
“When you work with a love and passion for something you can create a legacy that might be bigger than winning.”
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