Tom Sermanni named new head coach of U.S. Women's National Team

Tom Sermanni was named the new head coach for the U.S. Women's National Team on Tuesday, according to a U.S. Soccer press release. Sermanni, 58, was the Australian Women's National Team head coach for 8 years and also played more than 300 professional matches from 1971 to 1989.

“I’m honored to have this opportunity to work with tremendous players and in a program that has had such a tradition of success,” said Sermanni. “U.S. Soccer has always been at the forefront of supporting the women’s game, and it’s exciting to coach the team in this next chapter of its history."

The team's former coach, Pia Sundhage, left in September to coach for the Swedish women's national team, saying that the decision had a lot to do with homesickness. Sundhage had coached the team since 2008 and led them to two Olympic golds.

Olympic sports writer, Philip Hersh, thought the move was a "step back" U.S. women's soccer:

https://twitter.com/olyphil/status/263337616055877633