Could Italian legend Carolina Morace get back into coaching with the Matildas? | (Credit: Getty Images) Could Italian legend Carolina Morace get back into coaching with the Matildas? | (Credit: Getty Images)

With the tenure of Tom Sermanni coming to a close on 30 November, the spotlight now turns to the search for the next coach of the Westfield Matildas.

The FFA put out a call for Expressions of Interest for the coaching position with deadline set at 18 November.  As Sermanni said in his last interview with TheWomensGame, "there will be a great deal of interest in this job because its a great job."

And there has been.  Local coaches  and international coaches alike have put their names forward for the role and in the upcoming weeks the FFA has a task of whittling down the field to a Top 5 and then the final selection.

So who are the candidates?

While we are not privy to the full list, the names we have been able to ascertain come from varied backgrounds and include many high credentialled candidates from Australia and abroad.  We have a provided a quick look (in no particular order) at some of the coaches who have put their hat in the ring for the Matildas' position.

Tony DiCicco: The most credentialled of applicants to put their name forth.  DiCicco is a US Soccer Hall of Famer and led the USWNT to their last World Cup victory in 1999, as well as the Gold Medal at the 1996 Altanta Games.  In his term as the National Team coach, he finished with a 103-8-8 record.  In 2008 DiCicco coached the U20 WNT (with Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux) to the USA's second U20 World Cup title.  DiCicco was also in line for the recently vacant USWNT coaching position which Sermanni filled.

Jitka Klimkova is the current coach of Canberra United and orchestrated the team's stellar 2011/12 season culminating in their first Championship.  Under Klimkova United has been heralded for their possession based, solid defending and high goalscoring brand of football.  Klimkova has also previously coached the Czech U19 Women's National Team.

Carolina Morace: A former player, Morace has coached the Italian WNT and the Canadian WNT leading Canada to the 2010 CONCACAF Women's championship.  During her reign Morace was praised for the style of football the Canadians played, however, her time with Canada turned sour towards the end with disputes with the Canadian Soccer Association and a last place finish in the 2011 Women's World Cup finally leading to her quitting.

Mike Mulvey has returned to women's football this year as the coach of the Melbourne Victory Women.  Mulvey recently was the coach of Gold Coast United in the Australian A-League but prior to that he had a long stint in the women's game including coaching the Young Matildas and the Queensland Academy of Sport women's football program.

Spencer Prior is an ex-EPL professional who has been part of the Australian coaching system for the last two years as an Assistant to Sermanni. Prior has been involved in the several campaigns with the squad including the Quarter Final appearance at the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.  Prior is also the recently appointed Head Coach of the Young Matildas.

Alen Stajcic: A longstanding coach in the Australian women's game, Stajcic is the current coach of Sydney FC in the Westfield W-League.  For many years he was also the Young Matildas (U20) coach as well as the Head Coach of the NSW Institute of Sports Women's Football program.  In all positions Stajcic has played an instrumental role in the development of a significant number of the current senior Matildas squad.

Also rumoured to be within the mix (but yet to be fully confirmed) are Hesterine de Reus (the current PSV Women's Coach and former coach of the Jordanian WNT) and Randy Waldrum (Notre Dame and U23 WNT Head Coach).  Waldrum is another who was in contention for the USWNT post while de Reus guided the Dutch U19 Womens to the semi finals of the 2010 UEFA U19 Women's Championships.

As to the coaching selection panel, its certain John Boultbee (FFA Head of the National Teams including the Matildas) will have a say as will Han Berger (FFA Technical Director).  There has also been talk of a past player being on the selection committee with Cheryl Salisbury and Julie Murray's names thrown around but the exact composition is unclear.

Timing on the decision is also not concrete but its unlikely that the Matildas will have a coach in place by Christmas.  In the meantime its business as usual with Prior and Sermanni regulars at W-League matches and keeping an eye out for potential national team players.

So the wait goes on...