Sam Kerr's telling unseen move as Matildas search for new coach after Olympics disaster

A telling truth has emerged around Sam Kerr in the wake of the Matildas' Olympics exit, with the sidelined superstar deafly silent throughout Australia's disastrous campaign at the Paris Games. The Aussies were eliminated from the women's football competition in Paris after defeats to Germany and the USA, with a 6-5 triumph over Zambia not enough to see the Matildas progress as one of the top eight teams out of 12.

It's an extremely disappointing scenario for a Matildas side that captured the hearts of a nation by storming into the World Cup semi-finals on home soil last year. With the Aussies coming crashing back down to earth in Paris, coach Tony Gustavsson has fallen on his sword after coming to a mutual agreement with Football Australia to leave his role after the Matildas' Olympic Games flop.

And amidst all of this there is the situation with sidelined captain Sam Kerr, whose silence has been deafening during the Matildas' Olympics tournament. Kerr is normally active and ever-present on social media but the superstar striker has not posted one piece of content about her teammates during the Olympics.

Kerr did share an Instagram story with footage of the Australian women's water polo team that she captioned: “How gooooood @water polo aus." But the 30-year-old hasn't mentioned the Matildas at all in what is a bizarre development considering she is the regular captain of the side.

The curious situation has only fuelled speculation that Kerr has had a falling out with Football Australia, with The Australian reporting that her relationship with the governing body is at an “all-time low”. The same report goes on to say that Kerr's role as mentor for the Aussies while injured during last year's World Cup may have been grossly under-appreciated, with her absence brutally felt at the Olympics in Paris.

The report said Kerr “took on an unofficial role of captain/coach” during their home World Cup and provided her teammates with “guidance when there was none coming from elsewhere”. It goes on to claim that many believed it was Kerr's influence that 'drove' the Matildas to their historic fourth place finish at the World Cup.

Matildas in search of new coach as Tony Gustavsson departs

The Matildas' disastrous exit in Paris means they are now on the lookout for a new national team coach, with Gustavsson's exit a formality after the nature of Australia's Olympics campaign. Gustavsson's contract was coming to an end and he hadn't been offered an extension, plus the Swede had been linked with other coaching roles.

Gustavsson copped backlash throughout the Olympics after admitting his players weren't ready after their opening defeat to Germany. And side's defence was also shambolic at times after conceding 10 goals in three games, with the coach's tactics and refusal to rotate his players also heavily scrutinised.

The coach's management has come under fire in Paris with reports claiming the team is disorganised and not on the same page as Gustavsson. And the coach also failed to get the best out of Mary Fowler after continually playing her as a striker, despite the Matildas looking better when she dropped deeper and Michelle Heyman went up front.

Socceroos great Craig Foster said the Matildas' disappointing exit showed the team had failed to 'evolve' under the coach. "Is this particular group of players being put in a position where they can excel to the best of their capability? Certainly in this tournament you cannot say ‘yes’,” Foster said on Stan Sport.

“That’s the most important lesson from here — it’s not just that we went out, it’s to say, ‘Hang on a minute, why was Germany considerably better than us when we have all these players playing in top teams?’. “This is a great squad ... why was USA so superior to us? I think the work on the ball is missing. We are an unbelievable counter-attacking team... when we’re allowed to use our speed, we are amazing.

“What we have is this extraordinary generation who all started very young, and so have an immense amount of experience. They are all now playing with the world’s top clubs. The challenge we’re having is the football of the other countries is evolving, and our football hasn’t evolved much in the last three years.”