From Uruguay to France, Tony Franken has seen it all – but nothing quite like this

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There isn’t much Tony Franken hasn’t seen in Australian football. He’s been there for some of the game’s greatest moments – the penalty shootout against Uruguay that ended 32 years of heartbreak for the Socceroos, the four World Cup campaigns that followed, and all the madness in between.

But Saturday night? That was something else.

“It took me a couple of days,” he said.

“I didn’t get a lot of sleep – emotion and thinking about things. Not nerves or anything, but just … you know, it’s unprecedented, really. I normally fall asleep anywhere, but I didn’t the last couple of nights.”

You could call Franken the godfather of Australian goalkeeping. A 14-time international and long-time coach with the Socceroos, he has worked with Mark Schwarzer, Zejlko Kalac, Maty Ryan, and alongside revered coaches such as Guus Hiddink, Graham Arnold and Ange Postecoglou. He doubles as Football Australia’s head of goalkeeping, overseeing talent identification, coaching appointments across both men’s and women’s national teams of all ages, as well as coach education in his specialist field.

For the past two years he has been on staff with the Matildas, replacing John Gorza following his retirement after the Tokyo Olympics. It has been one of the most enriching experiences of his career – and that’s before we even get to what happened against France.

Tony Franken and Matildas goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold, who he says has taken her game to a new level in the past 12 months.Credit: Rachel Bach/Football Australia

Lydia Williams, one of the three goalkeepers in the Matildas’ World Cup squad, has known Franken since she was 15, when he told her she was being overlooked for the 2004 U-20 World Cup.

“It was my first training session, and they were about to go, and he was like, ‘You’re too young. You’ve been here for one camp. We can’t take you. But I’ll see you in a couple years,’” she said.

“Then I made the national team, and when the spot came open … I was just, like, ‘Is he available?’ He’s just fitted right in. And he’s just been a real, real support and helped the group – and not only just the goalkeeping group, the whole group.“

This masthead spoke with Franken just half an hour after his review of the quarter-final against France with Mackenzie Arnold, who became a national hero not only by saving three penalties – not including one that had to be recounted – but also keeping her head after missing the chance to win it for Australia by clattering her own spot kick into the post.

Mackenzie Arnold saves the fifth penalty from Eve Perisset.Credit: Getty Images

Schwarzer has called it the best performance by any Australian goalkeeper at a major tournament, and Franken agrees.

Arnold made her Matildas’ debut back in 2012, but only cemented herself as the team’s first-choice – after Williams’ long reign and Teagan Micah’s stint between the sticks in Tokyo – earlier this year at the Cup of Nations.

“I’ve definitely seen a different Mackenzie Arnold since then,” he said.

“Her mental fortitude at the moment … if we look back six to 12 months ago, I don’t know if she would necessarily handle that. But she’s totally different now. I can’t fault her mentality.

“I’ve been watching her a lot in the WSL in England with West Ham, and they rave about her. Her performances have been very good, very consistent. It was trying to transfer that club form to international form.

“She’d probably say exactly the same thing – her performances weren’t as consistent or of that calibre when she had the opportunity.“

Franken and his two video analysts, Marty Judge and Sharna Naidu, watched as much footage as they could of France’s possible penalty takers to inform the advice they would give Arnold.

But in the end, it was up to her – and her “gut instinct” –which she said took over on the night.

“It’s a team effort,” Franken said.

Tony Franken with Mark Schwarzer in 2008.Credit: Getty

“I’ve learned over experience that it’s not only my eyes: I get the goalkeepers, we view the penalties, they have an opinion, we come to a consensus, we talk to the assistant coaches. We’re all clear on what we think through the intel is best to do it.

“But we won’t say, ‘Oh, you should have done this, or you should have done that,’ because you’re in the moment. You might see something that you feel different than what we’ve talked about.”

After the shootout, Franken found himself chatting with former Socceroos team manager Gary Moretti, with whom he worked when they beat Uruguay, and who now has a senior role within FIFA.

“We both agreed that both that, and the other night, were the top two in Australia’s history by far,” he said.

“The emotion of how long that penalty shootout went, and how it was see-sawing … I wouldn’t say I was calm. I was with the other goalkeepers, Lydia and Teagan, who have been fantastic – we’ve got a really close goalkeeper unit. For me, they’re sponges. They just want information, they want to learn, they want to become better. And that makes me better.

“Together, we were pushing Macca on and giving her the signals that hopefully were needed. I won’t put it down as an enjoyable experience. But when you do win those, it is very, very enjoyable.”

Franken can sense there is something special unfolding outside the team’s bubble. Australia is united behind the Matildas. His friends in football are walking on sunshine. It’s all he’s ever wanted.

He can see it, he can hear it, and he hasn’t felt it on this level since 2005 – but he won’t let it wash over him until the job is done.

The Matildas have united the nation like few before them.Credit: Getty

“We’re still in this inner circle, as Tony talks about, so I’m trying to be a little bit distant from what’s actually happening,” he said.

“When this is all over, I know there’s going to be major repercussions in terms of the women’s game and football in general in this country, and that’s what I’m really looking forward to. But at the moment, I try not to get too involved with it. I know it’s ridiculous, and I’m hoping when this is all over to sit back and be happy that the game’s in a better state than what it was a couple of months ago.”

He can also sense this team has much more to give.

“The girls, it’d be very [easy] to get carried away with the result last two nights ago. They were on a massive high. But around the group, I don’t see that,” he said.

“They’re quite level-headed. The job’s not done by any means. It was a fantastic result – it is great for the game – but we can reflect on that later. We’ve got still two games to win the World Cup. And that’s what the girls are focused on. I don’t see their head in the skies at this point. They’re ready for Wednesday.”

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