Australian public still in the dark over Matildas’ Paris Olympic disaster, raft of changes implemented

Almost a year has passed since the Matildas Olympic Games’ disaster, and the Australian public is none the wiser as to the details of what went wrong.

Australia’s most beloved sporting team – the Matildas – have undergone a major clean-out and implemented a raft of key changes since their Paris Olympic “sh*t show”, but Football Australia is refusing to reveal the findings of their much-hyped post Games review.

Almost a year has passed since the Matildas’ worst Olympic performance in 20 years and after promising a far-reaching investigation into the “trainwreck”, the Australian public has still not been told why the expensive campaign of private jets and extensive support staff ended in shock, tears and embarrassment.

Alanna Kennedy and her Matildas’ teammates in tears #14 of Australia reacts after losing it’s final match of the Paris disaster. Picture: Brad Smith/ISI/Getty Images

With the home-hosted Asian Cup looming and no new trophies in the cabinet for 15 years the pressure is on the Matildas to deliver results next year.

It has been a tumultuous year for the Matildas. Coach Tony Gustavsson was sacked – and it took almost 10 months to get a new coach on board. 

CODE Sports can reveal of the 20 staff who travelled to the Paris Olympics with the Matildas eight have left.

The disastrous Paris campaign saw Tony Gustavsson sacked as coach. Picture: Izhar Khan/NurPhoto via Getty Images

This includes Gustavsson, assistant coach Melissa Andreatta, team manager Gina Rees, assistant team manager Edward Ellwood-Hall, media manager Ann Odong, (departing in July), the head of sports science Tim Knight and assistant sport scientist Georgia Brown.

Assistant video analyst Sharna Naidu now works with the Socceroos.

On top of that CEO James Johnson quit in May.

Johnson had declared after the Olympics the Matildas’ performance was not good enough and said a “thorough review” would be conducted.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson also quit in the past 12 months. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

No expense was spared on the Matildas’ preparation for the Olympics – there was a private plane, luxury accommodation and an almost month-long camp in Spain.

Yet when the Matildas ran out onto the field in Marseilles for its opening game with Germany they looked sluggish and struggled to get a foot on the ball – the match ended 3-0.

Internally the game was described a “trainwreck” and Gustavsson said post match the team “wasn’t ready”.

Caitlin Foord challenged by Kathrin Hendrich during that match against Germany at Stade de Marseilles. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

It was a downhill slope from there – conceding five goals against 63rd ranked Zambia and then falling to eventual gold medal winners USA 2-1 in their final group stage game.

After making it through to the third place play off at the 2023 World Cup the Matildas were at least expected to make it through to the quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics.

Matildas’ performance at the Games, despite missing striker Sam Kerr due to an ACL injury, was perplexing especially given the high standard players had been delivering at a club level.

CODE Sports was told from sources close to the team that players were not happy, describing their time under Gustavsson as “four years of hell” and a “sh*t show”.

On the field it was disorganised chaos with players often asked to play out of position.

Almost a year on Football Australia confirmed the review was completed but would not be made public.

This is in contrast to other sporting organisations that have previously released its post Games reviews including Gymnastics Australia, Rowing Australia and Swimming Australia.

A scathing Rowing Australia high performance review recommended major changes. Picture: Supplied

The transparency of those organisations is in stark contrast to the Matildas who have become Australia’s most popular sporting team, yet operate in a world of secrecy while operating on revenue streams much higher than their poor Olympic cousins.

CODE Sports understands the review did not find any cultural issues within the national women’s team set up and it revolved around performance based factors.

CODE Sports asked Football Australia a number of questions about the review, the process, scope and outcome. It provided a four sentence response:

“The Paris Olympic Review was part of Football Australia’s standard national team campaign review process, reflecting Football Australia’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and learning,” the statement read.

“This is the same process undertaken following previous major tournaments, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia/New Zealand 2023™.

“These reviews are a vital component of our high-performance environment, designed to give Australian football a competitive edge.

“As such, the detailed findings remain confidential and are not shared publicly to protect our strategic advantage.”

Some of the changes implemented include enhancing the high-performance model, refining its periodisation approach and performance planning and strengthening team leadership.

While many of these changes happen behind closed doors the leadership changes are visible.

After a tenuous 10-month waiting game Joe Montemurro has been locked in as the new Matildas coach. Central Coast Mariners’ championship winning A-League’s Women’s coach Emily Husband has been named as his assistant.

Heather Garriock, a retired Matilda and key in the hiring of Montemurro, was named the interim CEO following Johnson’s departure.

But Football Australia has not provided any details on what the review uncovered, who was interviewed, what the changes mean or how the review will help the Matildas deliver results again when the Asian Cup kicks off in March.

Originally published as Australian public still in the dark over Matildas’ Paris Olympic disaster, raft of changes implemented