Matildas coach Tom Sermanni admits he has received both positive and negative reactions from A-League figures after he called out the national league for not doing enough for its women’s teams.
After leading the Matildas to a 2-0 win over Argentina in his 150th game in charge, Sermanni was unapologetic about his claim that only three clubs had adequate coaching staff, while he also called for player contracts to extend longer than the current 35 weeks.
Australian coach Tom Sermanni celebrates 150 games as Matildas coach before the match against Argentina.Credit: Getty Images
His point was that as strength of the Matildas relied on the A-League Women producing elite players while the rest of the world was rapidly growing their women’s teams.
“You can’t afford to stay still, and you can’t afford to go backwards – it’s as simple as that,” Sermanni said.
Loading
“We’ve got to continue to look at… the world has opened up for women’s football. Europe has come alive in the last three or four years. The game in the last two, to three, to four years has expanded more than it did in the 10 years previous to that.
“So we need to keep up with that, and to keep up with that, we need to put certain things in place domestically, [and] we need to put certain things in place, internationally. And it’s important that we do that, it’s important that we do that with everybody on board, and everybody pushing in the right direction.”
Debutant Kahli Johnson has shone as an inexperienced Matildas line-up claimed a 2-0 win over Argentina.
Johnson headed home a wonderful cross from Charli Grant in the 38th minute in front of 43,020 fans at Marvel Stadium, and won’t care that she appeared clearly offside.
Australia doubled their lead in the 69th minute when Kaitlyn Torpey shanked a cross into the top corner.
Interim boss Sermanni, who has coached the Matildas across three stints, appears likely to finish up after Monday night’s second game in Canberra.
Joe Montemurro is widely expected to take on the full-time job after the current international window.
With AAP


