Team of the Decade: Sam Matheas

The final entry into our Men’s Team of the Decade is Coach Sam Matheas.

Sam Matheas was a passionate and methodical coach who spent two stints at Melbourne University, finishing third in a highly competitive State 3 North-West League in the 2011 and 2012 season, just missing out on an automatic promotion spot. This is the Men’s club’s highest finishing point achieved over its history.

Teams that played under Sam played an attacking brand of football, taking advantage of the local and overseas talent that Melbourne University attracts. Sam was very well connected across the league and had a deep knowledge of opposition teams and players. Using this knowledge, he prepared his teams to nullify the key threats from opposition teams, who were often highly paid players.

Sam was a passionate communicator from the side lines, who let his players, the referee and opposition know exactly what he was thinking. Players were well briefed about their roles ahead of games, with each player receiving detailed diagrams of set pieces with their name highlighted by hand. He was instrumental in putting together year books for the club to document the achievements of all the men’s teams each season that he was at the club.

Sam made many lasting friendships at the club and was influential on many senior players careers.

Congratulations and thank you Sam!