Born in Glasgow, Tom Sermanni played professional football as a midfielder for clubs in Scotland, England and Australia. After his playing days ended, Sermanni began coaching in Canberra at the AIS and in the NSL with Canberra Cosmos. He was appointed to coach the Matildas, guiding them to the 1995 FIFA Women’s World Cup and stayed on as coach up until 1997, before heading to Japan and the USA. He returned to coach the Matildas where they reached the final of the 2006 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2007 in China. The crowning glory of Sermanni’s tenure came in May 2010 when he coached the Matildas to claim the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. It was the first major continental title won by Australia since joining the Asian Football Confederation in 2006. Sermanni lead the Matildas to their fifth FIFA Women’s World Cup in June/July 2011, where they reached the quarter finals. In late 2012 he resigned as Matildas coach and was appointed coach of the USA Women’s National Team, a position he held until April 2014.