He means every word of it. That’s the first thing Tottenham fans must understand about Ange Postecoglou, a man given to making expansive statements of intent about his footballing philosophy – and then making good on his promises.
Any jittery Spurs supporters or worldly-wise Premier League pundits reassuring each other that, surely, the former Celtic boss will have to temper his most ambitious tendencies once he recognises the realities of the rebuilding job he’s taken on? That is not how he works.
His is a faith built on a strong foundation. A belief sturdy enough to withstand whispers and moans from the boardroom, gleeful opposition fans singing about getting ‘sacked in the morning’, even doubt and dissent in the dressing room… including, during his time in Japan, the threat of a bathhouse rebellion. He shall not be moved.
In a little under a year of pulling together a biography of Postecoglou, including spending a time in Prahran, the old Greek-infused area of Melbourne where he grew up, a few familiar themes kept recurring. And the most common repeating pattern hardly took the boffins at Bletchley Park to identify.
In long talks with old friends, colleagues, team-mates, mentors and peers who had shared his footballing adventures in Australia, Greece and Japan, it became clear that this guy is not just driven, talented, smart and persuasive – all essential qualities for any coach hoping to carve out more than few months on the touchline at the lowest level. He’s also unyielding in his belief that there is only one way his teams will play. Can play. Must play.
New Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou will have already stamped his principles at the club
The Australian joins the Spurs after a Treble-winning campaign at Scottish giants Celtic
All of his teams possess the same trait – which is a must to play an attractive brand of football
So, yes, the book – after a couple of tweaks to include this hardly-unexpected move to the Premier League – contains plenty of background material about the overwhelming influence of Postecoglou’s father, Jim, whose passing did nothing to lessen his importance in Ange’s ongoing footballing evolution.
There’s plenty in there, too, about the importance of playing under Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas when the Galloping Major himself was manager of South Melbourne, a club Postecoglou would later lead – in his first stint as a head coach – to back-to-back Australian titles, an Oceania Championship triumph and, of course, matches against Manchester United and Vasco de Gama at the inaugural FIFA World Club Championship in Brazil. All the major twists and turns in the life story of a fascinating character are, hopefully, covered.
What really stands out, though, is the amount of opposition he has overcome – much of it internal, from player discontent to directorial doubts – in pressing ahead with a master plan that he knew, with absolute certainty, would come good. Eventually.
To hear those closest to the action tell it, he’s been on the brink of the sack so often that life under Daniel Levy shouldn’t require much of an adjustment. He’s also presided over several squad clear-outs, firmly but respectfully moving on those who can’t or won’t change their playing style to his requirements.
Even among the footballers previously convinced that this wild-eyed idealist was doomed to failure, there is now a recognition that he probably knew what he was talking about. Because he’s delivered. Consistently.
Simply the act of managing the Socceroos at a World Cup would be considered, by most fair judges, to be proof of concept. In Postecoglou’s case, though, that merely represented the fulfilment of an ambition he set himself while still at school. Talk about chutzpah.
And now, in becoming the first Australian to manage in the Premier League, he’s reached a new high point. With apologies to fans of Celtic and defenders of Scottish football in general, even those special Champions League nights playing host to Real Madrid cannot compare with the daily allure of the English game. Not for a kid who grew up devouring every word in the month-old Shoot and Match magazines available at the one Melbourne book shop catering to a ‘soccer’ clientele.
Nothing about his rise to this position has been easy or straightforward, of course. There’s a great deal of hurt in his locker, alongside all the trophies and plaudits collected along the way.
Postecoglou is pictured as a child, holding his immigration number upon arrival in Australia after reaching the country by boat
The Postecoglou family (pictured) came Down Under to escape a military junta in Greece
Postecoglou’s late father, Jim (left) has a big role in his ongoing footballing evolution
Not even among the early contenders to be interim head coach of South Melbourne, at least not until one stunned director witnessed the young assistant rip into veteran first-teamers with vehemence and accuracy on a bus journey now part of club folklore, he’s had to prove his worth at every level of the game.
That much became clear even during an uproarious week spent hanging about with his old mates back home, with the laughter – and there was a lot of laughter – often prompted by incredulity not over how far Postecoglou has come, but the acknowledgement of how far he fell in the wake of a bizarre TV bust-up with a player-turned pundit… followed by a mad misadventure in the Greek lower leagues.
Spending time at the suburban HQ of Nunawading FC, a tidy little ground tucked in behind the Tally-Ho Scout Troop Hut in leafy Forrest Hill, was an education in itself. As recently as 2009, he was bouncing around between TV gigs, helping out a regional team and coaching 11-year-olds at Nunawading, a community club where he is, unsurprisingly, still revered as a footballing visionary on a par with the game’s greatest pioneers.
The adulation is nice, of course. But the truly unique thing about Postecoglou is that he gets more enjoyment from the doubt, the criticism and the carping virtually guaranteed in the early days of any new gig.
When everyone outside of is screaming about poor results or disjointed performances, but he can see the building blocks of greatness coming together… that’s his sweet spot as a manager. He loves it.
Postecoglou (middle of the centre row, with beard) has a long-lasting legacy at South Melbourne, where he was a champion player and coach
He is pictured lifting the trophy as a player and then again as a coach for South Melbourne FC during the NSL days
The Aussie coach has always been a fan favourite and enjoys taking the time to give back
Postecoglou proved his success was not isolated to Australia, delivering Yokohama F. Marinos their first title in 15 years in Japan
Revolution – Ange Postecoglou: The Man, the Methods and the Mastery by John Greechan will be published in October
The concern, for both manager and club, is that he might not be given a chance to turn around a sluggish start at Spurs. That his greatest weakness – simply not being Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel or another manager with a grand European pedigree – will be held against him, should he fail to deliver instant results.
The knowledge that he is likely to be on a shorter leash at Tottenham, that he really could do with getting the doubters onside quickly, will not cause him to change course by so much as half a degree.
Stick him in the most pressurised situation imaginable – away to Arsenal after a run of six without a win, with the fans baying for blood and everyone in football recommending that he keep things tight and plays for a draw – and he’ll still send out a team intending to score as many goals as possible.
Part of that is rooted in the relationship with his late father; even now, he still talks about playing in a way his old man would have enjoyed.
But he is also insistent in his belief that controlling games – being the better team, rather than occasionally beating the better team – is the only way to achieve long-term success. And his conviction will not be shaken.
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