The eye-opening, little-known PNG gig that shaped new Matildas coach before he hit big-time

It’s easy to be blinded by Joe Montemurro’s glittering resume ahead of his first game in charge of the Matildas against Slovenia in Perth on Thursday night — and to assume the biggest lessons were learned at the largest clubs.

A select few boast stints in charge of the women’s programs at Arsenal in England, Juventus in Italy and Lyon in France. None, however, have those well-known names sitting alongside what was a Papua New Guinean start-up called Football Club Port Moresby on their resume.

“They were starting a new franchise team, and they were trying to just lift the level of the league, and I was basically asked if I would want to go there for three months to set up this new franchise,” Montemurro told Fox Sports Australia ahead of his Matildas’ coaching debut.

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Matildas coach Joe Montemurro's career-shaping stint in PNG (Photo: Reggie Davani) Source: Supplied

The new Matildas boss has never spoken in depth about this little-known and incredible part of his journey to the top of football management before. His time, in what is still very much a developing football market, gives an insight into how deep Montemurro’s passion for developing players runs and the lengths he’ll go to in order to create an environment in which those players can be their best.

Montemurro was working in the football system in Victoria when his phone rang with that job offer from Papua New Guinea in 2013. The man on the other end of the line was former PNG international Reggie Davani, who Montemurro had signed as a player during his time with Sunshine George Cross and Coburg United.

“I decided to go and give it an opportunity, and it was probably one of the best opportunities of my life in terms of learning,” said Montemurro.

“He [Reggie] felt that I could help put the whole methodology, the whole of football plan together for them and kick start their structure.”

Davani, now working as the Boys Youth Technical Director at the Central Coast Mariners, had just returned to PNG from Australia and alongside his brother Alex, wanted to set up a club that broke the mould of what was available to players in Port Moresby at the time.

“It was lacking really for player development,” said Davani.

“There is an abundance of players but there was a lack of coaches and so myself and my brother Alex and my wife Richanda thought we’d just create a platform.

“The whole idea around it was just to create a platform to develop young players at the National League level in Papua New Guinea and then provide them with opportunities.”

‘Joe was the perfect guy’ (Photo: Reggie Davani) Source: Supplied

That message resonated with financial backers who quickly came on board. The whole idea was conceived and created in five weeks. Football Club Port Moresby was born. The name is a play on Football Club Barcelona.

“It was like, well we need a good coach that was not just about coaching but also can we create some pathways underneath that,” said Davani.

“Joe was the perfect guy.”

Montemurro touched down in Port Moresby not really knowing what to expect. Asked what the biggest challenge was when he arrived at the club one word quickly springs to mind.

“Logistics,” he says.

Before Montemurro could even think of training sessions, tactics or fixtures he needed to ensure the players could just get to training from villages around the capital.

“Some players were coming from places two or three hours away to get to training, and we had to organise logistics through buses and so on,” said Montemurro.

“You know if they’re in the village it’s hard to get a hold of them,” Davani added.

“Communications in terms of phone lines; the network doesn’t reach that far out for some of these boys.

“It’s a lot better now than what it was then but some of these boys were coming from hours away.”

After transport, the next task on the to-do list was combating the year-round heat and humidity.

“We had to be quite creative in terms of making it early training because of the heat,” said Montemurro.

“We were training at 6:30 and 7 o’clock in the morning.”

‘Some of these boys were coming from hours away’ (Photo: Reggie Davani) Source: Supplied

Professionalism despite those hurdles became paramount.

The players were taken to a local hotel to have their nutritional needs met to ensure optimal performance.

“A lot of these guys can’t afford to have a proper meal,” said Davani.

“Having pasta; It’s too expensive for a normal kid who is coming from areas that are poor in Port Moresby.

“Eating steak and chicken; that’s all a luxury for some of these boys to get that before a game and to eat at a hotel.

“For them that was another world but that was the level and standards that we wanted to introduce.

“Joe wanted to do that and wanted to provide those experiences and help the place.”

FC Port Moresby became a vehicle for change outside of the club as well. Community pathway programs were created and players, having been coached by Montemurro, would go out and pass those skills on to local kids.

“That was extra money outside of football as well for those players,” said Davani.

“We said you’re not just going to play football. You’ve got to do something else to develop yourself as well and learn some new skills.”

Players were sent into corporate companies and private schools to take them further out of their comfort zones while others studied all in the pursuit of personal development.

The impact on the field was clear to see for the fledgling outfit.

With Montemurro at the helm, FC Port Moresby would go on to finish runner-up in 2013, losing the grand final to powerhouse Hekari United 3-0. Sadly, given their grand ambitions, they would fold in 2016 amidst complications with the format of the local competition.

FC Port Moresby (Photo: Reggie Davani) Source: Supplied

FC Port Moresby (Photo: Reggie Davani) Source: Supplied

Davani remains a firm believer in the principals behind the club – especially the ideals around professionalism and outreach – and while FC Port Moresby is currently dormant it isn’t dead.

“It was just an exciting time for us because we were playing his brand of football – Joe Montemurro style – free flowing, very attacking, very attractive top football that he introduced in a short space of time,” said Davani.

The humble football surrounds, by world standards, shaped Montemurro significantly as a manager.

“It made me realise the beauty of the game, the strength of the game and how powerful it is in changing lives,” he said.

“Some of those players were coming from villages around the capital and earning very little money and just the appreciation was incredible.”

Remarkably, just four years after organising those village bound buses Montemurro would land at Arsenal in the Women’s Super League following successful stints at Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City in the then W-League after his return from PNG.

“It’s sort of like that football journey that has to happen,” Montemurro said.

“You have all these experiences and not only the stint in PNG, but opportunities just being in the lower leagues in Victoria, working in development at the local level, they shape you because when the opportunities come you don’t take things for granted.”

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That is the key message Montemurro has preached to his players wherever the game has taken him around the world. The goal is for this version of the Matildas to embody the most fundamental trait learned from his foray into Papua New Guinean football.

“It shaped one word that I use a lot and it’s a selfless mentality. Doing things within the group and not asking for accolades, not asking for things back,” he said.

“You do it because it’s the right thing for the team and it’s the thing that needs to be done.”

The touchline at HBF Park in Perth, which will be the scene of his first match in charge of the Matildas, seems a long way from Port Moresby.

It might’ve been an inconceivable goal for the same man who waited for those buses to deliver him his players for those early morning training sessions, but Montemurro has clearly never put a cap on what opportunities football would throw his way.

“No, I’ve never thought of what if or what could happen,” said Montemurro.

“I’ve always just done the best that I can in the moment that I’m in. I’m humbled, honoured and privileged to be working in football and now to be wearing this badge and to be leading the national team is something that probably still hasn’t sunk in.”

The players, who have cried out for clarity and direction since Tony Gustavsson left his post after an ill-fated Olympic campaign in France last year, are about to get their wish according to Davani.

“He was a coach that really broke the game down for me to be honest and I use the analogy that he painted the picture, and you could see all the colours,” he said.

Montemurro, the football artist, is about to begin what he hopes will be a new work of art.

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