Joe Montemurro has been unveiled as the new head coach of the Matildas, ending a 10-month search for a new coach.
Montemurro has signed a three-year deal that runs until the end of the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The 55-year-old Australian, who was most recently coaching French giants Lyonnes, replaces Tony Gustavsson in an appointment which is long overdue.
"To be given the opportunity to lead one of the best brands in the world, one of the most exciting teams in the world, and to do it at home, it's something quite emotional," Montemurro told reporters in Sydney.
"It's all set up for me to take over and bring it to the next level. Is the Asian Cup winnable? Of course it is. I want to win, I want to win playing a great brand of football."
Gustavsson did not have his contract renewed after last August's group stage exit at the Paris Olympics and since then the Matildas have been in limbo.
Football Australia had the chance to make a move on Montemurro, who missed out to Gustavsson in 2020, in the months leading up to the Olympics.
The Melburnian coached the A-League Women All Stars in May of last year when he was without a job.
He then signed a deal with Lyonnes six weeks out from the Paris Games at a time it was widely known Gustavsson had no genuine appetite to extend his deal.
The flow-on effect of Football Australia's go-slow approach has been that the ageing Matildas squad have been treading water for the best part of a year.
The belated appointment of Montemurro has left Australia up against it heading into next year's Women's Asian Cup on home soil.
Interim head coach Tom Sermanni has done his best to keep the squad motivated through a series of friendlies that have only helped Football Australia cash in on the popularity of the Matildas or in the case of a 4-0 defeat to Japan earlier this year, highlighted why next year's Asian Cup will not be a walk in the park.
Sermanni will sign off as an interim coach in Monday night's friendly with Argentina in Canberra.
Former Arsenal and Juventus manager Montemurro now has just a handful of international windows to put his stamp on the team and will take charge of his first game against Slovenia in Perth later this month.
With a squad featuring Arsenal's UEFA Women's Champions League-winning trio Steph Catley, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Caitlin Foord along with Chelsea striker Sam Kerr, expectations on Montemurro to deliver long-overdue success will be high.
"We are at an exciting moment for the Matildas with the Women's Asian Cup nine months away," said Football Australia interim Chief Executive Heather Garriock.
"We expect this team to be focused, driven and ready to show the world what we believe they're capable of."
After a modest playing career, Montemurro started his coaching career at state level in Victoria before taking over Melbourne Victory's women's team in 2014.
He quickly established a reputation for playing attractive football and moved across his hometown the following season to join Melbourne City, where his team won two W-League titles.
In November 2017, he moved to England to take over as Arsenal head coach and within six months had steered the club to victory in the FA Women's League Cup.
The Women's Super League title was to follow in 2019 before a switch to Juventus women, where he won the Serie A and Coppa Italia double in 2021 during a successful three-year spell.
He was hired by Lyon Women to replace UEFA Women's Champions League-winning coach Sonia Bompastor following her departure for Chelsea in June 2014.
Information from AAP and Reuters was used in this story.