Tony Gustavsson (born 14 August 1973) is a Swedish professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of the Australia women's national team.
![]() Gustavsson with Tyresö FF in 2014 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Date of birth | 14 August 1973 | ||
Place of birth | Sundsvall, Sweden | ||
Position(s) | Forward[1] | ||
Youth career | |||
–1988 | Söröje IF | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1989–1993 | IFK Sundsvall | ||
1994 | Orlando Lions | ||
1995 | Stockviks FF | ||
1996 | FC Café Opera | ||
1997–1998 | Ytterhogdals IK | ||
1999 | IK Brage | ||
2000–2003 | Ytterhogdals IK | ||
2004 | Degerfors IF | ||
2005 | Åtorps IF | ||
Managerial career | |||
2000–2003 | Ytterhogdals IK | ||
2004 | Degerfors IF (assistant) | ||
2005 | Degerfors IF | ||
2006–2009 | Hammarby IF | ||
2010 | Kongsvinger IL | ||
2012 | United States women (assistant) | ||
2012–2014 | Tyresö FF | ||
2014–2019 | United States women (assistant) | ||
2019 | GIF Sundsvall | ||
2020 | Hammarby IF (first-team coach) | ||
2020–2024 | Australia women | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
He is best known for his managerial success in women's football, leading Tyresö FF to the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, helping the United States women's national team to two world championships in 2015 and 2019 as an assistant, as well as helping Australia (nicknamed the "Matildas") to their highest finishes at the Olympic Games in 2020 and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2023 on home soil. However, the Matildas' poor performance after the 2024 Summer Olympics will reportedly cause Gustavsson to be sacked.[2]
Managerial career
editEarly career in men's football
editGustavsson first managed Degerfors IF. He was then in charge of Hammarby IF from 2006[3] but was sacked when the club was relegated from the top flight in 2009.
On 27 April 2010, Gustavsson signed a 44-day contract with the Norwegian Tippeliga-club Kongsvinger IL,[4] but he decided later on to stay till the end of the season.[5] After being relegated with Kongsvinger, Gustavsson did not use his option to extend his contract by one year, and left the club.[6]
Tyresö FF
editUnder Gustavsson's leadership Tyresö FF won their first Damallsvenskan title in 2012, after a dramatic last day win over rivals Malmö. Madelaine Edlund scored the winning goal after Caroline Seger's shot had hit the post.[7]
Gustavsson also led Tyresö to a 4–3 defeat by Wolfsburg in the 2014 UEFA Women's Champions League Final.[8] Tyresö became insolvent in 2014 and were kicked out of the 2014 Damallsvenskan season, expunging all their results and making all their players free agents. The Stockholm County Administrative Board published the employees' salaries, showing Gustavsson was among the higher earners at 75,000 Swedish krona (€8,243) per-month.[9]
United States women
editIn April 2012, Gustavsson joined the United States women's national team as an assistant coach to compatriot Pia Sundhage, where he helped the United States women's national team to an Olympic gold medal that year. He stayed under the new coach Jill Ellis, and helped the United States women's national team to two world championships in 2015 and 2019 as an assistant.[10]
Australia women
editOn 29 September 2020, he joined Australia women's national team, the Matildas, as the head coach.[11] His first major tournament as manager of the Matildas was the 2020 Summer Olympics, which saw Australia finish fourth, which was the joint best ever finish at the Olympics by an Australian football team, male or female.
After a slow start where many were unhappy with the performance of the side,[12] Gustavsson had them peaking for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
At the World Cup, the Matildas started slow, narrowly defeating Ireland 1–0 and losing to Nigeria 3–2. The team turned it around, defeating Olympic champions Canada to top their group, followed by victories over Denmark and France to reach the semifinals of the World Cup for the first time. However, the Matildas were defeated by England 3–1 at the semifinal,[13] and then 2–0 by Sweden, to finish in 4th place; this was an Australian football team's highest finish at a FIFA World Cup, male or female. He would resign however after the Matildas had a poor performence at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Personal life
editGustavsson has a sister, and has two children.[14]
Managerial statistics
edit- As of 19 August 2023[15]
Team | Year(s) | P | W | D | L | Win % |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tyresö FF women (Sweden) | 2013/14 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 55.56 |
GIF Sundsvall (Sweden) | 2019 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 25.00 |
Australia women's national | 2020 Olympics | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.33 |
2021 int'l friendlies | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10.00 | |
2022 international friendlies | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 60.00 | |
2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 75.00 | |
2023 international friendlies | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.67 | |
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 57.14 | |
Total Australia | 40 | 18 | 5 | 17 | 45.00 | |
Total | 57 | 25 | 10 | 22 | 43.86 |
References
edit- ^ Tony Gustavsson at WorldFootball.net
- ^ https://7news.com.au/sport/soccer/disorganised-tony-gustavsson-and-sam-kerr-named-in-bombshell-matildas-report-c-15537224
- ^ Garå, Johanna (27 October 2006). "Tony Gustavsson ny tränare i Hammarby". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 11 May 2009.
- ^ "KIL ansetter trener for 44 dager". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). 27 April 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Her får KIL-spillerne beskjeden de håpet på". Nettavisen (in Norwegian). 5 June 2010. Archived from the original on 8 June 2010. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ "Tony Gustavsson forlater KIL". Glåmdalen (in Norwegian). 3 November 2011. Retrieved 2 December 2011.
- ^ Cleris, Johannes (3 November 2012). "Tyresö vann SM-guld efter dramatik". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ Saffer, Paul (22 May 2014). "Müller the hero again as Wolfsburg win classic final". UEFA. Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ^ Jönsson, Fredrik; Nordmark, Kasja (5 June 2014). "Tyresö lämnar damallsvenskan". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 June 2014.
- ^ "Tony Gustafsson". U.S. Soccer. Archived from the original on 18 August 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2012.
- ^ Hytner, Mike; Lewis, Samantha (29 September 2020). "Tony Gustavsson: Swede named Matildas coach by Football Federation Australia". The Guardian.
- ^ "Half-way through his Matildas tenure, head coach Tony Gustavsson is still determined to get one day better". ABC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.
- ^ "'Hearts are broken': Matildas crash out of World Cup". News.com.au. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Tony Gustavsson". Matildas. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
- ^ "Tony Gustavsson Manager Stats". FootyStats.org. Retrieved 19 August 2023. (Gives unexplained 7–3–1–3 results for 2023 World Cup)
External links
edit- Media related to Tony Gustavsson at Wikimedia Commons
- Hammarby profile (in Swedish)