Tony Gustavson pays tribute ahead of Olympic semifinals against Sweden

It all started in April with the dream numbers for Australia’s new league captain.

2–5 against Germany and 0–5 against the Netherlands.

But then Tony Gustavson’s “The Modildas” rose, playing 0-0 against Sweden in Olympic-type representation and now preparing for a historic Olympic semi-final in Yokohama.

not yet, At the Olympics or the World Cup, Australian women’s footballers have gone beyond the quarterfinals.

Now they have won against Great Britain in the Olympic quarterfinals this year, in an extended play that ended 4-3.

– This is huge, says left-wing Steppe Cadley at a news conference.

– We always felt like we were fighting with the best but never really got there. So it is better to go to the first four places now.

How would you describe Tony Gustavson as a coach and the journey you have made since his first matches?

– I could not praise him

– When he first arrived, we were really just starting out, we didn’t have much time. But we lost a lot of goals during those competitions and he said, “We shouldn’t be number one now, we should be number one in the Olympics.”

When he first arrived, we were really just starting out.

– He instilled that hope in every individual player. I had a lot of talk, there were bumps and obstacles along the way, but the ultimate goal should be where we are now: in order to be able to win an Olympic medal.

In the semifinals on Monday In Yokohama, south of Tokyo, waiting – again – Sweden. In addition to the goalless draw in Kalmar in June, the teams had previously met at the Olympics, where Sweden went 4-2 on 1-2.

– Sweden is an incredible team, they are now flying forward, says Cadley.

– But we hope to be able to beat everyone on the team.

Swedish midfielder Magdalena Eriksson – teammate with Australia’s big fix star Sam Kerr at Chelsea – says Australia have “become stronger under Tony”.

Sweden national team captain Peter Gerhardson talks about how Gustavson started in the echo, but then changed.

What was your relationship with Tony, and how much of a fight did it have?

– When you compete with each other, it’s the same thing, but we’m good friends outside, Gerhardson said before the team stage competition at the Olympics.

– Although we are not personally acquainted, we have talked to each other many times over the years. I have the utmost respect for his footballing prowess. I was close to working with him at Hummerby (2008), but then I stayed in Helsingborg.

Tony Gustavson – with a background as a coach at Homerby, and elsewhere – coached women’s football at the highest level for almost a decade.

He took Tyrus to the Swedish Championship Gold (2012) and the Champions League Final (2014). During the 2012 Olympics, he captained Pia Sundage’s assistant national team to the United States and won gold, and in 2014–2019 he held the same role under Jill Ellis – resulting in two World Cup golds (2015 and 2019)).

Now someone is waiting The real test of the Olympic semifinals.

– Playing against your country of birth is always unique, so it’s great, says Gustavson.

Before the match, we will be friends and colleagues. But once the competition started, it was a “game”.

And tribute from the players?

– For my part, I can’t appreciate the players enough. They welcomed me into a unique environment. They have such interest and are proud to represent their country. It makes me proud to be a small part of it.

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