Jordan Nobbs has hailed Joe Montemurro’s influence on this current Arsenal side after the team picked up the club’s 15th league title on Sunday.
“Winning the Women’s Super League is not only a big milestone for Arsenal as a club, it will be a massive turning point for this team,” Nobbs wrote in her column in the Daily Telegraph.
“It is the 15th time we have won the league, but it is our first in seven years. That is a long wait and for a club such as Arsenal, it was time we got back to winning trophies again.
“A huge amount of credit has to go to Joe Montemurro, our manager. Without doubt, he is one of the main reasons we were able to lift that trophy. Joe is an incredible man and when you have someone directing the ship in the right direction, it is easy for players to follow and show our talent.
“A lot of managers think getting the off-field things right informs what happens on the pitch, but Joe works the other way round. He fully believes that what you do on the pitch and getting that clarity sets the tone for everything else.
“There have been no white-water rafting or SAS training weekends for team bonding. Once or twice we have gone for food with him – he is of Italian descent and loves his Italian food – but I think he knows we are all in a good spot.
“He has made a relaxed, stressfree environment: he trusts in players when they say they are tired, want to do more, or need to, maybe, see their family or friends. He has allowed us to be in the best head space to enjoy our football and has allowed us to develop as individuals and a team.”
Joe – or “Pepe”, as he prefers to be known – Montemurro wasn’t a name familiar to most football fans, even the ones who follow the women’s game. Certainly, few expected it’d be a coach from Australia replacing Pedro Martinez Losa as the manager of the Arsenal women’s team.
However, Arsenal did their homework and found an interesting coach who would take the team forward.
Montemurro was, if nothing else, highly qualified.
As a player, Montemurro had spells at Brunswick Zebras in Australia, Neuchetel Xamax in Switzerland and Potenza in Italy. His playing career was predominantly spent in Australia as a midfielder until he retired and moved into coaching in 1995. From that point, it was all about education and learning from his idols.
Montemurro spent much of his coaching career hopping between various youth set-ups in Australia. From 2001 to 2006, he headed three different teams and had reasonable success. Green Gully Soccer Club, a Melbourne-based club that participated in the Victoria Premier League, was his first big break. He took their u21 side to second place in his first year. He then moved on to coach the youth team of the Melbourne Knights, who were then playing in the now defunct National Soccer League. It was during the 2002-03 season that he guided them to the play-off to become the National Youth Champions.
When the National Soccer League folded in 2004, Montemurro was offered a senior position in the Victorian Premier League. However, he opted to stay in youth football, and moved on to cross-town rivals South Melbourne.
It wasn’t until 2006 that he made the set-up to senior football. His record at South Melbourne saw him drafted in by Sunshine George Cross. The Georgies, as they were known, were struggling near the bottom of the Victorian Premier League. Montemurro was tasked with keeping them up and, with a draw against Melbourne Knights on the final day of the season, he did exactly that. He parted ways in mid-2007 to take on a role at Hume City, who he guided to promotion.
After that was a brief stint with North West Wanderers, before returning to youth football in 2010 with South Melbourne.
It was in 2014 that he got his first major job coaching in women’s football. Having gained his UEFA A license, he was appointed head coach for women’s football at the National Training Centre in Melbourne. His work there saw him become a youth coach with the Melbourne Victory Women’s team, who he guided to their highest league position in their history, before trading clubs again, this time to Melbourne City, the newest acquisition of the Manchester City Football Group.
When Melbourne City’s women’s team joined the Australian Women’s League, Montemurro became their head coach. It was here that he had his biggest successes and likely came to Arsenal’s attention. In his first season in charge, Melbourne City went the entire campaign without losing, scoring 42, conceding just five and winning the league and cup double, all in their maiden season in the division. His second season wasn’t quite as impressive, as they finished fourth in the league. However, it still ended in success as they went to win the play-offs and be crowned Champions for a second season running.
In the meantime, his role with City had expanded to include assisting with the men’s team in the A-League. By 2017, he had become the Chief Assistant Coach, and had to relinquish control of the women’s team. 10 months later, he took up his first job outside of Melbourne: Arsenal, all the way over in London.
It’s unknown when Arsenal became aware of Montemurro’s talents, but they might have received a recommendation from Kim Little. The Scottish midfielder spent a single season on loan at Melbourne City, while she was contracted to the American side Seattle Reign. She was a part of that unbeaten season, where she scored 9 goals in 12 appearances. She was happy to hear that her coach from that time was coming to Arsenal, and optimistic that he could get Arsenal back to title winning ways.
“I worked with him for four months and I played out in Melbourne in the W League there, and I really enjoyed working with him.” Little told Arsenal.com.
“He likes to coach and play the way that I enjoy playing, which is playing good football with a purpose with a kind of relaxed atmosphere around the team.
“I played under him for quite a short period of time, but we had a great team there and we played possession-based football, playing through the thirds with a purpose trying to break teams down as quickly and effectively as possible.
“Everybody doesn’t know too much about Joe, because he has obviously been coaching in Melbourne, but we’re all looking forward to him coming in, putting his stamp on the team and taking us forward in terms of performance.”
Playing philosophy
Montemurro describes his playing philosophy as fluid. He believes in having “thinking footballers” – players who can, in any situation, make the right decision on the pitch – who can play proactive football. For him, football is less about individual styles and more about a holistic approach.
Upon his appointment as coach of Melbourne Victory, he said: “I’ve always been fluid in my philosophy. Big statements like “I’m a ball possession playing side”, I personally don’t know any team that doesn’t want the ball. I think that’s just the base of the game.
“We will always play a game where football decisions are made. I will always give the ammunition to players to make the right decisions on the park. We will be well organised, I’m a detail freak, and we will always play a beautiful attacking brand of football. A technical base of football is always where we are heading.”
Australian publication The Football Sack described Montemurro as one of the most qualified Australian coaches around. He completed his UEFA A license and worked on a UEFA Pro Diploma with the Italian football federation. On top of that, he has a Masters in Sports Coaching from the University of Queensland. There is no aspect of coaching that he has left untouched.
While Arsenal may be getting a good tactician, they’ll also be getting someone who clearly values the human and psychological side of coaching. Montemurro names “personality” and “character” as the fundamentals of being a good coach, along with having a clear strategy on how the game should be played. He aims to make his players better people as well as better footballers as, in his words, not every girl will go on to become a professional footballer. His choice of favourite coaches is revealing on its own: Marcelo Bielsa, Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti head his list due to their willingness to go deep into group dynamics as well as tactics.