Opinion
‘Unbelievable’ coach journey: The Matildas outcast who became thriller of Manila
Peter FitzSimons
Columnist and authorTo be clear, everything I know about the technicalities of soccer coaching would fit on the back of a postage stamp, and still have room left for the Lord’s Prayer.
I have not the slightest clue whether or not all the bitter criticism extended to Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson after their loss to Nigeria on Thursday evening is justified – beyond noting a certain porous quality to our defence in the final 46 minutes.
But this week, I did note an interesting piece in The Daily Aus – full disclosure, my daughter is the editor – which highlighted the subsequent success of Gustavsson’s predecessor. You will recall that enormous controversy four years ago, when Alen Stajcic was shown the door after a cultural review contained trenchant criticism. Sam Kerr was among those who supported him at the time, saying Stajcic was “the best coach” to “lead us to the World Cup final”.
And now, the denouement. During the COVID lockdowns, Stajcic got a call inviting him to coach the Philippines women’s national team, to see if he could raise them to the point of being the nation’s first team of either gender to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. Why not? The Australian took over and masterminded them to qualification in January last year.
On the basis of that success, he received offers from other national teams to see if he could work the same magic, but declined, staying with the Philippines.
And on Tuesday, they beat the Kiwis 1-0, occasioning celebrations in Manila and its surrounds, like when we beat the Yanks in the America’s Cup!
Alen Stajcic at Philippines training in Dunedin last week.Credit: Reuters
“It’s just staggering, miraculous, and unbelievable,” Stajcic said. “What the players have done, it’s just mind-blowing.”
What might have been? Maybe. But whatever else, it surely shows Stajcic to be a coach of serious ability.
Wallabies’ new direction
The Wallabies on Saturday at the MCG?
Look, miracles do happen, and they might win, but the last time there was a miracle that big, there were three wise men heading towards a star that had mysteriously appeared in the east.
Eddie Jones watches over a Wallabies’ training session in Melbourne on Friday before the Bledisloe Cup.Credit: Getty
So let’s be realistic. They won’t win. It is off the table, whatever Eddie says.
What we can hope for, though, is them demonstrating competitiveness, proof that they are not going to be blown off the park for the rest of the year, including the World Cup, which starts in November. Don’t forget, at the same match last year, the Wallabies were leading with 30 seconds to go, only to be penalised for not taking their own penalty kick to the sideline in time. Things have gone south since.
Forget south and east, just give us some signs of north, so the true believers like you and me have a little more to work with when it comes to believing! There have been sicker dogs that have got well, just not many.
Serving up extraordinary stories
On the evening of Saturday, October 21, Australian cricket charity the LBW Trust – which wonderfully provides tertiary educational opportunities for young men and women in cricket-playing, developing nations – will hold its annual dinner at Doltone House, and it will be hosted by the Grade Cricketer.
Guests include Justin Langer and two Afghani women refugees who will tell the extraordinary stories of how they escaped the Taliban to live and study in Canberra, courtesy of the LBW Trust. Bravo, and brava! Google and go-go.
Putting Piers pressure on Merv
Each week, as if you didn’t know, TFF does a Q&A with a newsmaker of the moment, published in The Sun-Herald. This week’s choice was Australia’s favourite “good bloke”, Merv Hughes. (Seriously, can you think of another who could argue the toss with Merv for that title, apart from Jason Day, and Ash Barty for the female equivalent?) Unsurprisingly, he was engaging, forthright and funny, which is one of the reasons he is still taking tour groups on Ashes campaigns, 30 years after his own career was over.
Merv Hughes and Piers Morgan.
He agreed it is extraordinary he can be standing with the likes of Allan Border and Mark Taylor in England, and get more attention than either of them while sagely noting that the Poms are often mistaking him for ... David Boon!
As to his nemesis Piers Morgan, who he has been engaged in Twitter warfare with on the Jonny Bairstow dismissal, Merv initially declined to engage on the grounds he wasn’t going to give that “flog” any oxygen.
Fitz: But he has just referred to this “Australian team of cheating convicts”. Merv, I’m calling on you to steam in on from the Randwick end, one more time for the country!
Merv: As I said, he is a flog. And anyone with half a brain, who understands the laws of cricket, knows the Australians weren’t cheating. And the only people who carry on about “sportsmanship” and “the spirit of cricket”, are the ones who can’t win within the rules.
Full interview in Sunday’s print edition.
Walking the talk
Nudging two decades ago, TFF wrote a piece about young Zan Campbell, who was run out for that rarest of all cricketing things, and in his first cricket match to boot: a diamond duck, which is when you lose your wicket without facing a single legal ball. (In his case, he was run out coming from the non-striker’s end.)
But things have improved since. Zan, now 28, is currently approaching Darwin having left Sydney in February to ... walk around the world. So far, he’s covered more than 6000 kilometres hiking the National Trail up the Great Dividing Range before turning left to head to the Northern Territory. It is all part of a fundraising venture for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and has so far generated more than $11,500 in donations. He has no support team, and is not pulling or pushing a trailer or trolley full of provisions.
It is just him, and his backpack, which includes his tent and sleeping bag, with food and water on top of that. At his current rate of walking 50 kilometres a day, he will arrive in Darwin on Monday. He intends to cover 40,000 kilometres and 30 countries in four years. Next step is to find a boat in Darwin going to East Timor or Indonesia, to carry on his walk in Asia. You can follow the journey on his website, worldwalkexpedition.com.
What They Said
Australia captain Pat Cummins after the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford: “We’re going to try to win it but retaining it is nice. It’s not been our best week, so rain helped us out a bit there.”
Ben Stokes.Credit: Getty
Ben Stokes on the rain in Spain which fell mainly in Manchester and saved the day for Australia: “We were completely and utterly dominant. The weather didn’t help us, we can’t change that. It’s a tough pill to swallow, knowing the weather is the reason we sit here with a draw, but ... I can’t actually look back and think we could have been better because we were pretty much perfect throughout the whole game.”
Piers Morgan: “I don’t want to lose 3-1 – to lose 3-1 to this Australian team of cheating convicts would be extremely annoying.” Where is Princess Anne when you need her? Can you tell him, Princess? “Naff off!”
Swimmer Kaylee McKeown on being disqualified for an illegal turn, gives her own version of “Naff off!” : “It’s sport, and that’s what happens in sport. Unfortunately, some people get dealt the bad hand and I just got that bad hand. It’s just a matter of trying to flip it into a positive and give them a big eff you.”
Broncos star Romy Teitzel makes a breakthrough in gender equality by doing her own version of the NRL players’ cliche that an allegation against a teammate can’t be true because “it’s not his go”, in this case defending Ashleigh Werner by saying the alleged action for which she became the first player in NRLW history to be sent off for was: “Not in her character.”
Calvin Ridley.Credit: Getty
Calvin Ridley coming back to the NFL after a year off: “I’m him. I’m Calvin Ridley. Yes, sir ... Still getting better, but, nah man, I haven’t lost a step.”
Eddie Jones on what beating the All Blacks would mean, apart from being the biggest miracle since a virgin gave birth and a star appeared in the east: “And at the same time, Australian kids will want to play rugby again. Because at the moment, too many of them want to play AFL.”
ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys on the grand final being in Sydney this year: “We have worked closely with the NSW government to reach an agreement for the 2023 grand final. We are respectful of the new Labor government’s priorities at the moment and their focus on the state budget, which is why we have agreed a short-term deal.” Honestly. Do we have to go through this every year?
Matildas player Kyra Cooney-Cross may have made a beeline to let the feline out of the sack: “It’s unfortunate that Sam [Kerr] tore her calf before the game.”
Oscar de la Hoya.Credit: AP
Oscar de la Hoya on life as a boxer: “I don’t think I can say that I really loved getting hit. What kid wants to get hit in the face? I was just conditioned. I had to do what I had to do. I was living through my father’s dream, and I was trying to make my parents proud. I don’t think I really loved it – I was just good at it. Focused and conditioned to do it, to become world champion.”
Geoff Boycott: “When you start to believe your own self-importance, then sport will bite you on the backside. It’s called hubris. I looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary and it says: arrogance, conceit, superiority, and big-headedness. Well, they did entertain at Edgbaston but reckless batting cost them the match. So England mauled Australia but lost. How galling is that? They lost sight of the object, which was to win the Ashes.”
Kevin Durant on the prevalence of cannabis in the NBA: “It’s the NBA, man. Everybody does it, to be honest. It’s like wine at this point.”
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson seems to think they beat Nigeria: “We scored two goals, so the attacking game was actually much improved compared to the Ireland game, which I’m happy about. I’m actually not that disappointed about the performance, but I’m disappointed about the result.”
Team of the Week
Matildas. In the blink of an eye, everything has gone from being as all-round great as a fuzzy soccer ball, to being distinctly slippery and pear-shaped. Sam Kerr out, two players injured in training and a loss to Nigeria. They must defeat Olympic champions Canada on Monday, or suffer the ignominy of being drummed out of our own tournament!
Dolphins. Had a great swimming world championships. Let’s hope they can back it up at next year’s Olympics.
Mollie O’Callaghan. Broke the world record in the 200 metres freestyle at the swimming world championships.
Ariarne Titmus. Smoked long-time rival Katie Ledecky and the new kid on the block, the fabulously named Summer McIntosh (fourth), to win the 400m freestyle title at the world championships in Fukuoka, in world-record time.
Shayna Jack. Great to see her win world championships relay gold after all she’s been through.
Collingwood. They’ve lapped the field. If they don’t win it all, it will be a huge upset.
Jason Day. Finished tied for second at the British Open. His first second-place finish at a major since 2016!
Wallabies. Take on the All Blacks on Saturday at the MCG. Maybe they’ll surprise us, and be competitive.
RIP Brian Taber. The former wicketkeeper died at the age of 83. He played 16 Test matches for Australia between 1966 and 1970, giving way to Rod Marsh.
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