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Joe Montemurro. Photo: Alice de Koster-Kitto \/ The Women\u2019s Game <\/p>\nDefeat was still raw for Joe Montemurro, but he was already talking about the bigger picture for not just the Matildas, but Australian football in general, deep in the bowels of Stadium Australia with the clock nearing midnight on Saturday.<\/p>\n
You have to; in moments where you have a captive audience, when you\u2019re wrestling with defeat, pondering when that trophy might ever come, they\u2019re the moments to seize to make sure laurels aren\u2019t rested on or focus on grand plans are lost. Especially so in Australian football, which has a tendency to take two steps forward, rip that up, and take a step back just when you\u2019re on the precipice of something.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is a really interesting, delicate moment in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Golden Generation of players won\u2019t be around forever, in a team that needs to continue to capture the public\u2019s imagination \u2013 and for all of the strides the Matildas have made over the last decade, nothing keeps you in the spotlight more than positive results \u2013 at a time when other nations are making ground or accelerating, rapidly, and when the domestic game is a world away from the 76,000 fans that packed Stadium Australia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the pitch <\/p>\n
While it was brilliant to see the resilience and adaptability of this group of Matildas against North Korea and China, that was a means to the end that shows a winning mentality. The highlight for Montemurro was seeing elements of his plan come to life in the final, when the intensity went to another level \u2013 both that the players committed to it, and were able to execute against a side many thought Australia would not be able to compete with in football terms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For Montemurro, it isn\u2019t just for aesthetics or vanity. As an observer, it isn\u2019t just a more enjoyable style of football to watch, it is one that yields dominance and results. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat they can do what we\u2019re trying to instil,\u201d he said, when asked what was the biggest lesson he learnt from this camp. \u201cBecause, and I know all this talk about philosophy and game style and style of football and so on and so on, you\u2019re probably sick of me talking about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for us to be a top team, we have to keep the ball and we have to be better with the ball. We have to be able to create situations with the ball.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDoing it against one of the top teams in the world in the way we did it, that gives me hope, that gives me belief. But more importantly, it gives the players belief. That\u2019s the most important thing because I\u2019ve said all along, this team needs to believe more in who they are and what they can do and what they can achieve and this tournament has shown that.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ultimately, this side prepared for the Asian Cup like cramming for an exam, with Montemurro\u2019s appointment in June only bringing with it three windows prior to arriving in camp the week of the tournament commencing. In that time, he had Sam Kerr, Kyra Cooney-Cross come in under difficult circumstances and he didn\u2019t have Mary Fowler at all, but managed to find sparkles of her magic despite her limited preparation and continued pursuit of the right role in this side.<\/p>\n
There were moments, and he called it out, when the side reverted to its old self. Now, the long term plan begins, with an eye on the World Cup in Brazil in 2027 and beyond.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The next step<\/p>\n
We heard the phrase \u201cbeing brave\u201d throughout the tournament \u2013 in other words, backing your technical ability and the team\u2019s tactics to play aggressively with the ball, while remaining in control.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This group has been together a long time, their attributes are well known, but to go to the next level, the Matildas need to be able to find the solution they couldn\u2019t conjure on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are comfortable in preparing going forward,\u201d Montemurro assessed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re comfortable in understanding when we need to go forward and also telling me that we can control tempo when we need to, to make sure that we\u2019re positioning in the attacking third.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe next phase is to make sure that when we do go forward\u2026 we need to dominate a little bit more in the attacking third.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, getting right into the weeds of the tactics, he added: \u201cI think the zone one and zone two, if you want to talk in those zones, we\u2019re okay, we understand, but now we need to be dominant in those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Relying on physicality, or the prowess of individuals, especially once this generation moves on, has a ceiling. It\u2019s something that\u2019s concerned onlookers for years, and we all got a glimpse of that reality during Kerr\u2019s injury-cursed two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Joe Montemurro. Photo: Alice de Koster-Kitto \/ The Women\u2019s Game <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are the best teams in the world doing and where do we need to be?\u201d Montemurro asked.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cKeeping the ball better, keeping the ball more. We have to control our situation and our destiny.\u00a0From a technical perspective, we need to mould that with our physicality and our mentality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we need to find that balance and I think we\u2019ll be in good stead.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to understand where we are technically, how we can compete technically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mentality is good, our physicality is good\u2026 they\u2019re the sort of the areas I\u2019m trying to introduce.\u201d<\/p>\n
The next cohort<\/p>\n
For all the talk of the improved depth, the Matildas still relied heavily on established stars in this tournament. Montemurro went out of his way to call out those who didn\u2019t get any minutes as part of a \u201cdepth chart\u201d he is building with the other national team staff and junior national sides to develop options in tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 and beyond, and particularly to identify options in areas where there is a lack of depth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got some exceptional players,\u201d he said, making a point of noting the players we didn\u2019t see over the last three weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt really seems that Alex Chidiac has done so well in Italy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re top players, I know Courtney Nevin made a couple of mistakes but she\u2019s playing at Malmo, she\u2019ll be playing Champions League.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo we\u2019ve got that next (cohort) with Mary Fowler, with Kyra Cooney Cross, with Ellie Carpenter, with Winnie Heatley, she\u2019s become a world class defender in these three games. So it\u2019s exciting but again we have to spread that over for everyone to understand, \u2018we need you to do this to be a world-class player in the way we want to play\u2019.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
While playing at home in an Asian Cup, realistically, presented the best chance for the Matildas to claim silverware with this cohort \u2013 it won\u2019t be the last. Perhaps because they debuted so young, but these Matildas \u2018veterans\u2019 have years left in their careers. Besides Michelle Heyman, 37, Katrina Gorry, at 33, is the next oldest member of the squad.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Recently retired Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo Berryhill said on Paramount: \u201cThe girls seem to keep evolving.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got Alanna Kennedy moving into the midfield, Sam Kerr moving over to the side. The older generation, sometimes people count them out, but I feel like this tournament \u2013 not just for the Matildas but all the teams \u2013 the older players really stepped up and have played their part and done incredibly well, evolving as individual players and helping the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is a group of seven stars aged 31 and 32 and when they do retire, they will likely retire at once.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That is enough time to properly plan for a transition, especially when the likes of Holly McNamara, Remy Siemsen, Amy Sayer, Kahli Johnson and the next generation of stars are getting blooded now.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
\u201cThey pushed the players that were probably playing,\u201d Montemurro added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith that mentality, we\u2019re already starting to form a great base.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe good thing about it is that we\u2019re doing a lot of communication with lot of these players and saying: we need you to be at this level in your club, playing regularly and this is what I need for you in your profile to come into the national team.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo even that\u2019s quite strategic in the way you\u2019re going about that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Logarzo Berryhill, speaking after the final, assessed: \u201cWe\u2019ve got great depth in key positions now, it\u2019s what we haven\u2019t had for a long time. <\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in the centre-back roles. Depth of midfield, being able to play so many variations and it all be equally as good. We just have not had that and its going to put us in really good stead going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cIt\u2019s incredible to see how the future of the Matildas will go with (Charlie) Rule, Heatley, (Clare) Hunt\u2026 I feel like a couple of years ago there would\u2019ve been some question marks over who would\u2019ve been stepping into those roles \u2013 and now we\u2019ve got three choices.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Former Matildas striker Ashleigh Sykes added: \u201cThat\u2019s what I love about this squad\u2026 we talk a lot about the Golden Generation leading the team, but you look at what\u2019s to come: Kyra Cooney-Cross dominating the midfield, (Kaitlyn) Torpey, Carpenter up and down the side, Heatley, Hunt, Rule as centre-back options.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future is still very bright for the Matildas particularly with more time under Joe Montemurro, implementing the style of play he wants to do with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Unity of purpose<\/p>\n
This, as ever, is the key question when it comes to Australian football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Matildas boss says he\u2019s been working closely with junior teams, starting to work with member federations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of talent out there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to find that continuity that they know what their path is and what their development pathway is.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd we need to challenge them, we need to give them international experience as quick as we can, we need to be playing good level football as quick as we can so when they get into these areas, they\u2019ve seen it before. They\u2019ve seen top level football. They\u2019ve seen these situations. And that\u2019s what we\u2019re trying to create.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think some of these players, apart from the ones who are playing Champions League, they haven\u2019t seen real situations of, (for example) we\u2019ve got to chase a game, or we\u2019ve got to hold on against North Korea.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are real situations where the more we do this, (the better).\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Then there are the matters off the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is positive to see alignment between Football Australia, Football NSW and Football Northern NSW in lobbying the government for a NSW AFC Women\u2019s Asian Cup Legacy Fund, calling for $34m a year over a decade to bridge the facilities gap that football participants have been crying out for, with a relevant focus on female-friendly and gender-inclusive facilities.<\/p>\n
\u201cFootball Australia, alongside Football NSW and Northern NSW Football, is calling on the NSW Government to deliver a long-term grassroots football facilities fund to ensure the state can meet demand and secure a meaningful legacy for women\u2019s football,\u201d FA CEO Martin Kugeler said over the weekend.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Football NSW CEO John Tsatsimas, in a statement, added: \u201cHistorically, established and aging facilities do not cater for all gender use which doesn\u2019t support growing participation by women and girls. Across NSW, fields currently lose around 34% of their capacity due to playing field conditions. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese issues include lack of functional drainage infrastructure, insufficient lighting, no irrigation or substandard below ground infrastructure to cater for the significant use, growing demands and climatic conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the government to invest in the largest participation sport in NSW to bridge the growing facilities gap in NSW which will deliver economic and social long-term benefits through connected communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\n<\/p>\n
Also, a good game has been talked about leveraging this tournament for the A-League Women. But will it happen? What\u2019s the plan? How are the Matildas fans being connected into the A-League? <\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t just critical for the momentum to continue off this campaign but to continue to enhance the product so it is not just compelling for this swelling cohort of Matildas fans who are not coming to games in their own backyard each weekend, but also to the actual Golden Generation themselves, who might consider coming home if the league is in a fit enough state when they decide to do so.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On the weekend, I did see an Alanna Kennedy goals package from her time playing at Sydney FC run on Paramount \u2013 which is great, except, that audience watching likely already knows that. It\u2019s spreading the gospel that is key.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is so much to play with. But that alone will not be enough.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The big picture<\/p>\n
All those off-field issues and a united game are critical, but the Matildas are the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
Now that Montemurro has the keys, the opportunity for someone with intimate knowledge of every touchpoint of the game here through to the highest levels in Europe is a chance for Australian football to unite behind a plan \u2013 and for once, stick to it. Or at worst, not railroad it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He explained, passionately, that he\u2019s building \u201cour identity as a footballing nation\u201d and \u201ccreating a mentality\u201d that this is the football we\u2019re going to play, which goes beyond the 16 players who play a Matildas game.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing for me is to make sure that our mentality is this type of football, the way we want to play, we want to dominate games, obviously, because that\u2019s what the best teams in the world are doing,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo can we dominate games like Japan? Probably not, but we can find a way where, hey, we can have control with the ball, but also find ways without it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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The Matildas\u2019 unity of purpose against Japan. Photo: Ranin Kousari \/ The Women\u2019s Game <\/p>\n
There was a lot of talk of Japan leading into this game; ditto North Korea and China. Montemurro is working on changing that mentality.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole idea of that is going into games with our ideas, not so much being scared of the opposition,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With one exception.\u00a0<\/p>\n