Paris Olympics 2024: Former Matildas coach Tom Sermanni calls on players to accept blame for poor tournament

Former Matildas coach Tom Sermanni has launched a defence of Tony Gustavsson’s time in charge of the Matildas, calling on the players to accept more responsibility for a disastrous Olympic campaign.

The Swede’s four-year run in charge of the women’s national team came to an end in the hours after a loss to the USA which saw the side exit Paris before the beginning of the knockout stages.

Without star Sam Kerr due to an ACL injury, the Matildas opened their tournament with a 3-0 humbling at the hands of Germany before registering their sole win in Paris in a chaotic 6-5 comeback over Zambia.

Despite fourth-placed finishes at both the 2020 Tokyo Games and the Women’s World Cup held on home soil last year, both the Olympic campaign and Gustavsson’s wider reign have come in for heavy criticism in recent days, with reports ranging from players being confused by his tactics to calling his time in charge “disorganised chaos” and “four years of hell”.

But Sermanni, the Matildas’ longest-serving coach who led the side to an Asian Cup victory in 2010, said Gustavsson had been on the end of an “unfair wrap” in the wake of his exit.

“I don’t want to get into the players – but go out and just do your job,” he told News Corp.

“It’s disappointing that they didn’t get through the group, unfortunately, the hype around the team sometimes overshadows the reality of what the team can achieve.

“If you got a squad of 20 players as a journalist you can find the story you want to find, players will always be upset by not playing attacking enough or playing out of position, it is an easy find to find players who are upset or unhappy.”

A major point of contention has been Gustavvson opting for a more defensive set-up against the USA in their win-or-go-home final game, but Sermanni said that criticism was unjustified.

“As a coach, if it had worked, you are a hero, if it doesn’t you are the bad guy. If Tony had chosen to chase the game from the start and lost 4-0 everyone would have been up in arms,” he said.

“The reality at the end of the day is the players picked for a national team and then picked for the first 11 shouldn’t have much to complain about.

“Their job is to play how the coach wants them to play. I didn’t see Tony asking them to do anything that was outrageous, for example he didn’t ask Mary Fowler to play as centre back or goalkeeper.”

With the search now on for Gustavsson’s successor, Sermanni said the incoming coach would need to be able to both manage a “high profile squad of players” and, unlike the Swede, live in Australia in order to take the lead on talent identification.

“These players are among the most recognisable athletes in Australia and there is a challenge that goes along with managing athletes at that level – they need confidence, personality and management skills to do that,” Sermanni said.

“The second aspect is something we were talking about last seven to eight years ago and that is the regeneration in this squad. That is where the domestic aspect of the job becomes really important.”

Football Australia chief James Johnson used a post-Olympics debrief to deny reports Gustavsson had lost the players and hit out at “silly” criticism of the squad supposedly being pampered but said scrutiny on the team’s performance was “fine”.

“We need to be scrutinised and they need to be ready for this,” he said.

“It shows how strong the Matildas are in the Australian community and the mainstream at the moment.”

With no competitive fixtures scheduled until 2026, Johnson said the governing body was willing to take its time in appointing Gustavsson’s successor.