The ultimate goal for the transplanted Australian – who joined Juve off the back of his Women’s Super League success with Arsenal – is to follow the template of the men’s team by turning the women into a European super power.
They qualified easily for this season’s group stages of the Champions League but a 2-1 home loss to last season’s finalists Chelsea showed there is still a significant chasm to be bridged.
“I was brought here to grow the program and get us closer to a lot of the top clubs in Europe,” Montemurro told FTBL.
“The game against Chelsea – although we didn’t get the result we wanted – was a showcase of that both in a club perspective and also a football point of view.
“This is a club noted for its winning mentality and massive ambition to be the best – you feel it when you walk through the door.
“There’s a lot of class about the place, the standards are very high and I just love it. One of the mottos here is ‘Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing’.
“And that sort of sums a lot of things up about being in a special place.”
Montemurro has had a romantic connection with the Bianconeri since his playing days in Melbourne with Brunswick Juventus as a youngster.
“It’s quite surreal – the black and white stripes mean a lot to people across the world,” he added.
“Coming from Italian decent that was our community group in Melbourne playing together for (former NSL side) Brunswick Juventus.
“Low and behold I find myself here and it’s quite emotional in many ways.”
The journey ahead, Montemurro said, differs from his four years at Arsenal where he lifted the WSL title and League Cup.
“There it was about getting the club back to winning ways in terms of where it had previously been,“ he said.
“We did that over the period I was there by getting it back to the top echelon and also into competing in Europe.
“I am one to judge myself on how I leave a place and I was happy that I left the place in a good state for the next person to take on. That’s really important to me
“This project is a little bit different. The club is only four years in its existence and has had success straight away through its planning and structure – but now it needs to bridge the gap in Europe and hopefully we have started that.
“With the growth of women’s football in Europe, for me the timing in coming here was perfect.
“The team is growing and getting better with each week.”
The women’s Serie A has thrown up a new set of challenges from the WSL for Montemurro, with canny and cagey tactical nuances often coming to the fore.
“When you have a football culture like Italy then tactically they are very shrewd,” he explained.
“I’ve been really surprised by the level here … coaches throw a lot of tactical questions at you and you have to find solutions.
“At a big club like Juventus the pressure is always on but it’s a positive pressure. There is a plan and a roadmap going forward to get us to the next level over the next two or three years.
“We don’t have any superstars but we have a very well organised and structured team. I’ve imposed the way I’ve done things in the past whilst not losing sight of what the players are already good at.”
Copyright ©FTBL All rights reserved.