Tony Gustavsson: The meditating coach leading the Matildas to the World Cup

Tony Gustavsson is not like many football coaches you will meet.

On one hand, the Swede is like many others, a meticulous planner with a knack for attention to detail.

But on the other, he meditates, "is a bit of a foodie" - even though he is yet to try the quintessential Aussie delicacy, a Bunnings' snag - and recharges by the water.

Both aspects have gotten him to where he is today, the head coach of the Matildas.

Picture it, it's July 20 and the side are walking out onto the pitch in Sydney to warm up before their game against the Republic of Ireland.

Gustavsson watches on from the coach's room as his squad goes through the motions and prepares for the challenge ahead at Commbank Stadium.

It's a vastly different image from the one Australian fans have come to expect from him publically, a hands-on approach in his white sneakers, passionately pacing his bench with a whiteboard never far from his reach.

But it happens before every game.

While music blasts from the changerooms as the likes of WSL stars Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Mary Fowler, Alanna Kennedy, Hayley Raso and Caitlin Foord get ready, their national team coach is next door giving them space.

For "many years" his assistants and other coaching staff have stepped in to run the warm-up and it isn't until five minutes before kick-off he enters the changerooms to deliver his final messages.

The former maths and PDHPE teacher considers the meticulous planning hours, days, weeks and months earlier as vital.

"I established some routines over the years, 22 years in coaching, you get to know yourself, what you need to do and I'm a really, really hard worker up until that last meeting the night before the game and up until then you really focus on one thing and that's to prepare the team as best as you possibly can," Gustavsson told Optus Sport.

"Once you've done that, I'm of the mindset that on game day, you shouldn't talk too much to players because you've done all the preparation. Before the game, they need to be in their own headspace and prepare themselves and I'm trying to do the same. So once that last meeting is done, I get in my own headspace and make sure I'm calm, I'm ready, I'm energised ... because I know once the game kicks off, I can be intense.

"I'm very passionate, I should have a GPS on and see how many steps I do during a game. So in order to get my mindset right before the game starts I have some routines, I meditate for example on game day to be ready."

On the field, and off it, he lives each day seeking meaning and has a number of quotes he has collected over the years ready for any occasion that may arise.

"One day better" is one of his favourites.

As is "you need to love people for who they are, but you treat them for who they can become", inspired by his biggest role models - his grandparents, parents and older sister - growing up.

"It's the person over the player, meaning the person is bigger than the player. You need to start there first, connect before you correct, so connect the person first before you try to correct them and develop them as a player," he said.

"That's one of my core values as a coach."

And "Never Say Die" is the latest he has gravitated towards since he took over the Matildas coaching gig at the beginning of 2021.

But every motto under the sun couldn't help him when Australians were demanding answers just months ago - why weren't the Matildas stars playing? Why were all these new players coming in? Why wasn't this player coming in? Why were they losing?

The queries heading into their September friendlies were sparked by the statistics, they had won just eight matches out of 26 with five draws and 13 losses.

That noise quietened down thanks to the four wins the side rounded out 2022 with, including their 4-0 win over top side Sweden to make it 12 wins from 30 matches under Gustavsson.

Now the questions in 2023 are centred around what the Matildas can do at the World Cup. It's a question Gustavsson does not want to answer or put pressure on but anything less than the Round of 16 would be considered a failure.

He will have even more pressure on him than Graham Arnold did in Qatar to lead the Matildas to do something they have never done before at the tournament - reach the semi-finals.

But he knows the tournament's legacy will go beyond the on-field results at the World Cup.

"I'm going to be boring in the sense that I don't predict results but what I can predict is what it's going to be like," he said.

"And I predict this team will inspire a generation and unite the nation, that's what I predict.

"(The Matildas) why is so much bigger than 90 minutes of football. Maybe it would surprise some people if they don't know them well enough, but ... I get emotional when I think about it actually because I'm so freaking proud of these women, they are amazing.

"When we talk about results, it's not just about winning a game, it is also how can they inspire the next generation. I'm quoting the players about what's important to them and this World Cup is also to inspire the next generation and be the role models for future footballers, not just women but men as well because if we look at the players and the role models they are, it's not just for young girls, it's for boys as well."

Although he is adamant the game is bigger than on-field results, he is deeply competitive in nature and that reaches into his coaching.

It's why post-match if you look closely, you will see a Football Australia analyst "almost" running down the stadium steps to give Gustavsson a computer.

He wants answers.

"I watch the game straight away," he laughed.

"Especially in tournaments, you need to get right back on it.

"The analyst almost knows that he needs to run down the steps in the stands to give me the computer straight away and show me the stats and the clips, I need answers. I want answers straight away and to see what we did well, and who could have done better, and then do the game review as soon as possible."

The 49-year-old has had a unique experience that many national team coaches at the World Cup will have not experienced bar a few.

Prior to Gustavsson managing Australia, he sat on the bench opposite them for the powerhouse nation that is the United States as an assistant coach.

Now he is immersed in the culture and can see it from the inside, but he does have a unique experience of being on the other end and looking in.

"The one thing that I did have expectations on ... I saw and felt a team that was very difficult to play against, an intense, aggressive team that was willing to wear that jersey with pride and give it all every single minute," the Matildas coach said.

"When I came on the inside of that team and understood the DNA and the culture of this team from way back, I now understand what 'Never Say Die' means for this team. I've experienced this firsthand and I'm so proud to be a small part of that.

"This team have already established a DNA and a culture that is not me coming in and changing it. It's me coming in and embracing it. What we'll do, though, is get one day better. We can always improve and that's what we've worked really, really hard on in the two years to get better, whether it's technically, tactically, mentally, or physically and making sure everyone sees the same picture.

"The belief in this team is that we can overachieve and do something that no one can expect us to do. Yes, all the statistics, all the things that have been said about what we've done in the past, but to feel that belief and that support and that awesome mentality, I love it."

Australia will look to inspire the next generation and reunite a football-mad nation like the Socceroos did last year when they face Canada, Ireland and Nigeria in their group at the World Cup in less than 160 days.

Gustavsson's biggest job, however, will be making sure in the limited time they have together in the next six months, that the Matildas are all on the same page. As is the public.

He only has 28 days with the team before the tournament kicks off to do that but he "loves a challenge".

"We don't have that many training sessions between now until I name a roster, between 10 to 12 training sessions. That's all we get," Gustavsson said.

"And then about eight to 10 games, that's all we get. That means every minute counts to make sure we can play together and get the understanding and the details. So sometimes it's not about the best player, it's about who plays best together."

Part of that preparation includes Australia facing Jamaica, Czechia and Spain on home soil later this week for the Cup of Nations.

Along with more international fixtures that are rumoured to be against top-20 talent in Europe in April. Before returning home for the July fixtures shortly before the World Cup kicks off on July 20.

That's it.

It continues the Matildas' trend to play European teams and top-20-ranked opponents ever since Gustavsson took over the reins to address a key weakness.

A review was conducted to look at the Matildas' previous results at tournaments and it identified key areas that needed to be addressed before the event in July.

Australia have historically not performed well against European teams and have had only a 20% win rate against top-20-ranked teams at tournaments.

That is why the world No. 12's have played a number of top sides in the last two years, while also simultaneously trying to build squad depth and replace injured stars.

It only paid off in the last four games of the year, but from here on out it's all about finding the winning formula for the World Cup, with the best players available.

"If you look at the ranking of the teams, a lot of top-ranked teams are on our side of the bracket. So it's a tough draw, but you can't affect the draw, what you can affect is how you plan for the draw and now it's all about planning," he told Optus Sport.

"It's mostly about making sure that we get the right type of games, the right type of opponents to prepare for that group stage. That's what we've done mostly since the draw, it was intense.

"It was text messages and phone calls and video conferences all really that night of the draw to make sure that we caught some teams before others did and make sure we've planned that the best way possible.

"And then it's obviously our analyst with scouts and analysing and get all those things when it comes to scouting our opponents, where do we send people live to see the games and really dig deep into the details of the opponents as well."

Australia and the rest of the world will have to wait until the final whistle of the Matildas' World Cup campaign to assess if the plan worked.

And if the meditating coach found the winning formula for the squad.

Originally published for Optus Sport on February 15, 2023