Ange Postecoglou has worked his way up from quite modest beginnings, having immigrated to Australia as a young child via ship, to the point where he is now in the running for one of the most prestigious roles in the Premier League.
The Australian manager, who is 57 years old and won five trophies in two seasons at Celtic, including the Scottish triple this year, is a leading candidate to become the next manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
Spurs supporters who wanted a “bigger name” may be disappointed with Postecoglou, who was born in Athens, but he is familiar with success because he has won league titles in three different nations.
After achieving championship triumph in Australia with South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar, followed by success in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos, the team surprised naysayers by achieving success in Scotland.
The unambiguous version Postecoglou also enjoyed a successful four years as the coach of Australia, a run that culminated in the country’s victory in the 2015 Asian Cup.
Tim Cahill, a former star for Everton who played for the Socceroos under Postecoglou and has remarked that his “leadership and beliefs are infectious,” played for the Socceroos under Postecoglou.
“The most important part was the belief he instilled in us to play a style of football that could test any team we came up against,” said Cahill. “That was the part that was the most important.”
Recollections of my father
Athens, the capital of Greece, is where Postecoglou was born. In 1970, when he was five years old, his family made the journey to Australia by sea and eventually settled in Melbourne.
His parents hoped that they could provide him with a better upbringing than they had been able to.
Last year, he stated to Sky Sports that “there was a never-ending struggle there to establish ourselves,” and he made this statement.
“He (dad) was working around the clock, my mom was working, we were attending school, and we were putting money up so that we could get a house. For a period of years, another family and ours lived together in the same house.
Postecoglou stated in an interview with The Scotsman newspaper that his hard-working father had been a significant influence on both Postecoglou’s life and his mentality about sport.
“The only time I ever got to see any joy in my dad was when we went to the football on a Sunday. That’s the only time I ever got to see him smile.” Because of this, what he said left an effect on me because it allowed me to make the snap judgment that football is one of the things in his life that brings him joy.
This connection is what has inspired Postecoglou to build teams who play the kind of beautiful and offensive football that his father found enjoyable to watch as a spectator.
“He’s not with us now, he passed away a couple of years ago, but he’s in my head,” he added. “He’s not with us now.”
“I know that, and every time my team plays, I’ll sometimes have an ugly 1-0 win, and I know what he’s saying, which is, ‘Don’t celebrate because that was crap.'”
Japan legacy
During his playing career, Postecoglou was a defender with South Melbourne in what was then known as the National Soccer League. He was a part of the team that won two championships, the second of which he led as captain.
He was only able to earn four caps for Australia before a knee injury forced him to call an early end to his playing career.
In 1996, South Melbourne presented him with the opportunity to coach for the first time, which he seized with both hands and used to win back-to-back league titles.
As his reputation rose, he was given the job of coaching the Australian Under-20 squad. After that, he spent a year in Greece with Panachaiki before coming back to Australia to play with Brisbane Roar.
After winning the A-League title with Brisbane Roar and being awarded coach of the year, he was recruited away by Melbourne Victory, and then in 2013, he was hired by the Socceroos.
In 2018, he was given the head coaching position at Yokohama F. Marinos in the J-League. In his first season there, the team finished in 12th place, but in the season after that, they won the championship for the first time in 15 years.
Fans in Yokohama were enamored by the team’s swashbuckling attacking approach as well as Postecoglou’s unwavering dedication and enthusiasm.
Before departing for Celtic in 2021, he made the following statement: “People who watch Marinos now know what to expect from us in terms of our football. They know that we won’t change our approach, and that we believe in something as a football club.”
“I believe that to have been the most significant aspect for me.”
Postecoglou was adamant about leaving his mark on Yokohama, and his replacement, Kevin Muscat, went on to win the J-League championship in 2022.