Experienced Coach Takes Charge of Scotland Women’s National Team
Unlike other teams, Scotland has been at a loss recently. This past Wednesday, the Scottish FA made an exciting announcement that Australian assistant Melissa Andreatta has been appointed to be head coach of Scotland’s women’s team. On account of Scotland’s not-so-great-streak as of late, their fourth straight loss in the current Women's Nations League campaign on Tuesday, a 6-1 rout by Germany. In her previous role, Andreatta was an incredible asset to her team. Her strategies and actions were among the defining factors that helped Australia reach the Semifinals at the Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Cup.
Andreatta’s hiring is especially crucial for Scotland as her strategy and long-time knowledge can help pull Scotland’s women’s team out of the championship gutter all the way to the top. Her story begins as she guided home club Brisbane Roar to the W-League Premiership title, which is now known as the A-League, in 2018 and was voted Coach of the Year in the country's top division. Ex-midfielder Andreatta qualified as a teacher before becoming head coach of her former club, The Gap, whom she guided to back-to-back State League Championships in 2007 and 2008. At first, she joined Brisbane Roar as an assistant while also working with Football Australia's technical department. This near decade-long association began in a technical analyst role in the countdown to the Rio 2016 Olympics, where later she was promoted to a full-time assistant with Australia by fulfilling various other roles. For the last two-and-a-half years, she has also led the Australia Under-23s, with one of her priorities being to nurture young talent.
With a resume as bulky with experience on and off the field, many Scotland fans and spectators hope Andreatta will be the team’s savior. In that sense, what this means for Scotland’s women’s team is hope. It’s a lifted spirit and a fresh perspective determined to make it to the top. What’s more, this move comes perfectly timed as the former Scotland interim head coach, Mick McArdle, steps down following that massive loss on Tuesday. Plus, as the cherry on top, having an Australian join the team adds to diversity as Andreatta becomes the fifth-ever notable female coach in Scotland women’s team history.
