Football Federation Australia has announced it has re-signed Matildas coach Alen Stajcic to a four-year deal.
Stajcic was first appointed Matildas boss in 2014 on an interim basis, but after a string of successes with the national team, the 42-year-old has been rewarded with another extension that will see him through until 2020.
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Since taking the reigns, Stajcic’s Matildas qualified for the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada where they reached the quarter-finals after a surging run, also making the final of the most recent Asian Cup, only to be defeated by Japan in the final.
The announcement is another shot in the arm for the women’s team which is embarking on final preparations ahead of a first Olympic appearance since 2004. Australia surged to Rio by going through the Asian qualifying sector undefeated.
Upon re-signing Stajcic, FFA CEO David Gallop was glowing in his praise of the former Sydney FC W-League coach.
“Alen has done a remarkable job in achieving results with the Matildas, but his work on the team culture and player development has been equally significant,” Gallop said.
“My satisfaction comes from seeing a coach who honed his skills in Australia and shows a huge personal and professional commitment to the game leading our nation against the world’s best.
“He’s grown into a true leader who represents the ambition and dedication required to make Australia a top football nation.”
Stajcic said he was “honoured” to be leading the Matildas to Rio and beyond, but added his squad for the games is still to be finalised.
“I’m really honoured about the trust placed in me to continue with the Matildas,” he said.
“We have come so far over the past two years, but there’s no limit to what this group of players can achieve.
“I’m very happy on a personal level, but I think it’s also important for the program to have this certainty. The timing helps our focus on Rio.
“This squad (for the matches against New Zealand) will obviously contain a lot of the players that will head to Rio but it’s certainly not 100 per cent finalised yet.
“There’s still a chance for players to put their hand up and again we’re trying to increase the depth of the team so we can be as competitive as we can internally and on the international stage as well.
“This is actually the only time we’ll be together as a full squad prior to arriving in Brazil so I’m really happy to have the whole squad together and it makes this camp even more precious and the two matches against a quality opponent even more important.
“Being the only two matches we play before we head over to Brazil, these two hit outs against New Zealand are extremely important. We’re very fortunate that we’ve got a world class opponent on our door step and we’re thankful they are coming over for the two matches.”
The Matildas will face New Zealand twice in Ballarat and at Etihad Stadium before jetting off to finalise preparations for the Olympics.
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