Nepal propelled by unbreakable spirit and bus-driver-turned-head coach on Asian Cup quest
Australian Matt Ross plotting upwards curve following unconventional route into professional game
Matt Ross turned his life upside down to move across the world for football and found himself driving a bus.
After sticking to his guns to forge an upwardly-mobile career, however, the Nepal head coach said his own mental toughness “pales into insignificance” with that of the players in his world No 175-ranked squad.
“When you hear of the conditions in which some of our boys grew up, and the sacrifices their parents and extended families have made, it melts your heart,” said Ross, ahead of Nepal’s friendly with Hong Kong on Thursday.
“It equips our team with such belief and strength. We have an unbreakable spirit.”
The Australian and his wife quit their teaching jobs in 2011 to move to Germany, where the 47-year-old, who had been coaching part-time, pursued a professional football role.
While his wife landed a teaching post, Ross was running into dead ends and took a job as the school’s bus driver. In 2013, he finally gained unpaid work as a video analyst for Eintracht Frankfurt Women.