Australia will have a new coach after it was announced that Hesterine de Reus has been fired. (Copyright Patricia Giobetti for The Equalizer)
Football Federation Australia announced on Thursday that Hesterine de Reus has been fired as coach of the women’s national team and Sydney FC coach Alen Stajcic will take over on an interim basis.
Stajcic will guide the Matildas through the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in Vietnam from May 21-June 9, which serves as Asia’s qualifying event for the 2015 World Cup. The top five teams of eight will advance to play in Canada next year.
“After a review by FFA it was determined that a change in coaches was in best interests of the Matildas program,” FFA CEO David Gallop said.
The news comes after several reports of a player mutiny against de Reus.
Eleven key points of contention were addressed by Australia’s players’ union after being raised by the Matildas, including the “disregard for player well-being and development and commitments outside of the game”, as well as the “intimation of non-selection if players take overseas contracts.”
With de Reus’ departure, along with Tom Sermanni’s firing from his U.S. post last week, there will be natural connections drawn to Sermanni’s old job, but there is no indication of anything being at play at this time.
