Self-effacing and on-the-ball Gustavsson winning us over

How a simple philosophy is paying dividends for Tony Gustavsson and the Matildas.

Coaches love a cute line. The worst mantras are cringe-worthy. The best are ever-so-slightly corny and yet ring wonderfully true. Tony Gustavsson’s motto for the Matildas can be plonked in the more palatable category. The idea in life and World Cups is to grow a day better, not older.

That’s not bad. Let’s give Sweden’s Gustavsson an Australian compliment. Mate, you’re a good egg for getting us into the ­quarter-finals. It has become apparent the bloke adores these players and desperately wants them to finish this insanely entertaining tournament with the trophy in their hands, even at the expense of his Scandinavian countrywomen.

A friend of mine who suspected he was a Swedish spy after the loss to Nigeria has changed tune. “I take it all back,” she writes.

A good egg. Heading into the Cup quarter-final at fortress Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, such a parochial old joint Billy Moore might scream “Australian!” as fervently as his famous “Queenslander!”, the Matildas players aren’t thanking their coach half as much as he’s thanking them.

Australia's coach Tony Gustavsson congratulates defender Clare Polkinghorne Picture: AFP

“I play a very small part of this team’s identity and what they do,” Gustavsson says.

“It’s all the players. It’s up to me to try to embrace that and improve it the best way possible. In terms of what I have brought, I have just brought myself.

“I’m very true and loyal to who I am and my values as a coach and as a leader. One of the reasons I took this job is that I think some of my core values, not just as a leader but as a human being, are the same as the values of this team. I’m really privileged to be part of this amazing team.”

Gustavsson and his amazing team were shocked by the opening exchanges against Denmark. The Danes came at them with hammers, tongs, spears, swords, fast-rushing forwards and the all-out attack of Viking warriors from a thousand years ago.

Only when Steph Catley went down with injury, forcing a stoppage, did Gustavsson pounce on the chance to talk to his mob and reset his markers – even if he admits the side nearly coaches itself.

“Football is one of the team sports that is hard to get tactical adjustments during the game,” he says. “There are no time-outs. The players are very far away and it’s hard to hear when there are 75,000 in the stands.

“We’ve trained a lot of communication. Different signs, different words, different trigger things. It wasn’t just me talking in that huddle. The players talked just as much as I did to get on the same page. In a moment like that, when you can barely hear yourselves on the park, it’s very important the players see the same picture.

“So just to get 30 seconds, 20 seconds, to get some key words out can help tremendously. That break helped us a lot.”

Captain and coach: Sam Kerr and Gustavsson Picture: Getty Images

A good egg. Gustavsson is an engaging, enthusiastic, passionate character who apologises with a laugh for his Swenglish. For not always putting the right words in the right order.

“It’s the cream on the cake?” he says hesitantly about Sam Kerr’s return. “Is that a saying? Cherry on the cake? Ice on the cake?” He talks about discussions with his support staff going “forth and back”, which isn’t far removed from them going back and forth.

“I think we all, as human beings, grow every single day,” he says. “We learn and we change and hopefully improve. Learn from experiences.

“The one thing about this team is that they were very tight and together when the tournament started. The tournament and the challenge and adversity has made them even tighter. It’s a unique group. There’s a family sense. There’s a togetherness and tightness that is unique and I think it’s strengthened even more during the tournament.”

The Matildas had the perfect World Cup preparation – until two days before kick-off. Kerr went down with injury. Three others have sustained concussion. The loss to Nigeria put the entire campaign in jeopardy. Now they’re two wins from the final.

Asked to evaluate the success despite major complications, he says: “I think I’ll leave that one for you to analyse and put it in ­perspective.

“What I know about this group, though, is the investment we’ve done over the last two-and-a-half years to grow and develop, and you know my mantra – I always talk about getting one day better and not just one day older – to invest every single day, whether it’s tactical, physical, the mental development to get one day better – all that investment we’ve done has helped tremendously in all the challenges that have been thrown at this team.

“Everything they’ve gone through and the way they’ve handled it, stayed true to who they are, stayed connected …

“I don’t know if you guys pay attention to it but for me, body language is important. When you see this team play out there, and how they play for each other, you see how united they are and the togetherness and how connected they are. That for me says a lot about how the team’s wellbeing is.

Tony Gustavsson gives the Matildas instructions during an injury break against Denmark Picture: Getty Images

“I think that has helped us get through some tough challenges. It shows some maturity in the team, in how they play tournament football.”

A good egg. And accomplished coach. Gustavsson has been an assistant to two World Cup victories and an Olympic triumph with USA. But he denies he’s rocked up and created the Matildas’ one-in, all-in mentality.

“What’s important here, and I’ve stressed this from day one, is that I built this team on its own DNA,” he says.

“From what’s been ingrained in this team from way before my time. This team has always had an identity, even before my time, to be very intense, high-octane, pressing, attacking-minded. They don’t shy away, no matter who they play. I love working with these players for that.”

The Matildas have racked up nine goals in four games. None have come from the best striker in the world, the injured Kerr.

“I’m stressing tournament football is about playing the game that’s in front of you and finding a way to win,” he says. “This team has proven now they can always find a way. We know we score goals. How many have we scored?

“I can’t do the math here. How many goals is it now in the tournament? Nine? We score a lot of goals so as long as we can be solid defensively, we know we have ­individual brilliance, we have set plays, we have goalscorers in this team. We have multiple, not just Sam Kerr. We have multiple options to score goals.”

Kerr will likely keep coming off the bench. Fowler and Caitlin Foord will start. Because Gustavsson and the Matildas have come to realise they don’t need her every step of the way.

There’s no point pushing her injured calf muscle too much. If things become desperate, though, she’ll be thrown into the fray like tinder on a waning campfire.

“What has been good and important for this team is playing some games without Sam,” Gustavsson says. “To give an example, when we played 30 minutes against France without Sam in the send-off game, it was nil-all and then we managed to win 1-0 with Sam not on the park. I think that helped the team.

“I also think it helped Sam. If you want your team to be successful, you cannot rely on one player. I don’t say this out of disrespect to Sam, because you guys know how much I love working with Sam and how often I say she’s the best forward in the world.

“But I think Sam coming back now could be a good thing in the sense that we don’t need her taking over and having everything on her shoulders. It’s a team tournament and a team effort.

“I don’t know if I can say this in English – it’s the cream on the cake? Is that a saying? Cherry on the cake? Ice on the cake?

“It’s the extra. In that sense, it’s a bonus for us.

“It also means the players are challenging me now in the ­decision-making. As in, who should play? Because I’ve got more than 11 players who deserve to start. Good on them.”