Alen Stajcic is the new coach of the Matildas after being appointed by the Football Federation of Australia to guide the national women's team through to the 2016 Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro.
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Sydney FC's W-League coach will become the full-time coach of the national team having led Australia to the Asian Cup final in a caretaker role after the shock sacking of Hesterine De Reus. Stajcic's appointment was announced on Monday but it remains to be seen whether he will continue to coach Sydney FC's W-League team for in the short term.
The W-League season finishes in December, earlier than previous years due to the men's Asian Cup held in Australia and while the Matilda's do not go into camp again until January, there is much planning to be done before the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada.
Stajcic said he was looking forward to tackling the challenges ahead for the Matildas.
"It's an honour to be appointed as full-time head coach of the Matildas," Stajcic said. "I enjoyed the experience of working with the playing group at the Asian Cup earlier this year and I'm grateful to the FFA for giving me this opportunity.
"I'm excited about the future of the women's football and look forward to working hard with the playing group to ensure the Matildas succeed on the international stage.
"The Matildas are entering a busy but exciting period with the World Cup in Canada (June 2015) closely followed by the 2016 Olympic Games qualifiers and then the Olympic Games in Rio over the next 18 months.
"There is no doubt we face an important phase but we have a very talented young group of players and I'm confident that with hard work we will be able to do Australia proud."
