TOM SERMANNI NAMED HEAD COACH OF U.S. WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
Long-Time Australian Women's National Team Head Coach Comes to U.S. Soccer
with Experience in Three FIFA Women's World Cup Tournaments;
Sermanni Available via Media Conference Call on Wednesday, Oct. 31
CHICAGO (Oct. 30, 2012) - U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati announced today
the hiring of Tom Sermanni as the seventh head coach in U.S. Women's National
Team history.
Sermanni, 58, comes to U.S. Soccer with 11 years of experience as a head
coach in international women's soccer - all with Australia - a period
during which
he led the
Matildas in three Women's World Cup tournaments.
Sermanni will officially begin his tenure as the WNT head coach on Jan.
1, 2013. U.S. Soccer Women's Development Director Jill Ellis, who was on
the bench
for the USA's two recent draws with Germany, will coach the team for the
last five matches of the Fan Tribute Tour, presented by Panasonic. Due
to his
prior commitments with the Australia Women's National Team as he
finishes up his responsibilities with the
Matildas, Sermanni
will not be
attending the next two matches in Portland and Phoenix. Sermanni will be
observing the U.S. Women's National Team for the last three matches of
the 2012
tour, which will be announced in the near future.
"After an extensive search and interview process, we believe Tom
Sermanni is the right person at the right time to lead our Women's
National Team," said
Gulati. "He has the knowledge, experience and vision to take on the
challenge of keeping our team at the top of the world. He has a
tremendous passion for
the game, knows the American players, understands our system and knows
the process of preparing a team for a World Cup tournament. We're
tremendously
excited to have him on board as we look forward to qualification for the
2015 Women's World Cup."
Sermanni comes to U.S. Soccer after eight years as head coach of the
Australia Women's National Team, which he coached in both the 2007 and
2011 FIFA
Women's World Cup tournaments, reaching the quarterfinal stage at both
events. That eight-year period was Sermanni's second stint with
Australia, as he
also coached the
Matildas from 1994 through 1997, during which time he led the team to the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup in Sweden.
"I'm honored to have this opportunity to work with tremendous players
and in a program that has had such a tradition of success," said
Sermanni. "U.S.
Soccer has always been at the forefront of supporting the women's game,
and it's exciting to coach the team in this next chapter of its history.
After
coaching against many of these players for years, I am looking forward
to working with an accomplished group of veterans while integrating the
numerous
talented young players who are itching for a chance to prove themselves.
It will be an exciting few years for the U.S. team and for all the
great fans as
we work toward the highest goals at the 2015 Women's World Cup."
In order to thoroughly examine the possible choices, Gulati headed a
search committee that included U.S. Soccer CEO/Secretary General Dan
Flynn, former
U.S. Women's National Team players Mia Hamm and Danielle Slaton, and
managing Director of Administration Tom King. The committee reviewed
more than 30 male
and female candidates both domestically and internationally.
During his time in charge of Australia, Sermanni helped bring the team
into the top 10 in the FIFA Women's World Rankings. Named the 2007 Asian
Football
Confederation Coach of the Year, Sermanni led Australia to a runner-up
finish at the 2006 AFC Women's Cup, where the team fell to China in
penalty kicks,
and to the championship in 2010, when the youthful
Matildas downed Korea DPR in penalties.
Sermanni coached all three seasons of the Women's United Soccer
Association (WUSA), serving as an assistant for the San Jose CyberRays
during the inaugural
season, in which he helped the club to the league championship. He was
also an assistant for the CyberRays in 2002 before taking the head
coaching job of
the New York Power in 2003, where he coached U.S. Women's National Team
legends Christie Rampone, Shannon Boxx and Tiffeny Milbrett.
Sermanni, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, had a long playing career as a
midfielder from 1971 through 1989, playing more than 300 professional
matches and
scoring more than 50 goals. He quickly transitioned into coaching both
men's and women's professional soccer all over the world, including
stints in Japan,
the USA and Malaysia.
Sermanni follows Mike Ryan (1985), Anson Dorrance (1986-1994), Tony
DiCicco (1994-1999), April Heinrichs (2000-2004), Greg Ryan (2005-2007)
and Pia
Sundhage (2008-2011) as official coaches of the U.S. Women's National
Team, which has been ranked No. 1 in the world since winning the 2008
Olympic gold
medal in Beijing, China.