Ange Postecoglou

Ange Postecoglou
Angelos Postecoglou (Angelos Postekoglou; born 27 August 1965) is a soccer manager and former player who is the head coach of Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Born in Greece, Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne from the age of five. As a player, he spent most of his club career as a defender for South Melbourne Hellas and played four games for the Australia national team in the late 1980s. He began managing at South Melbourne Hellas in 1996, winning the National Soccer League twice and the OFC Champions League in 1999. He then led the national under-17 and under-20 teams.
Postecoglou managed Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory in the A-League, winning the Premiership in 2011 and the Championship in 2011 and 2012 for the Brisbane Roar. He was the men's senior national team manager from 2013 to 2017, winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2015 and also going to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He won the J1 League with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019, and then won five trophies (including two league titles) in two seasons with Celtic. He became head coach of Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.
Early life
Angelos Postecoglou was born on 27 August 1965 in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburb of Athens, Greece. After his father, Dimitris ("Jim"), lost his business following the 1967 Greek military coup, the Postecoglou family migrated to Australia in 1970, when he was five years old. He grew up in Melbourne, Victoria.
Playing career
After first joining South Melbourne Hellas as a nine year old, Postecoglou rose through the youth ranks to play 193 games from 1984 to 1993 for them in the National Soccer League as a one-club player.
As a player, he was involved in their 1984 and 1990–91 titles, the latter as captain in a famous win over rivals Melbourne Knights. He was coached by Hungarian Ferenc Puskás, a renowned player who his father had told him about as a child. According to Postecoglou, Puskás played a 4–3–3 formation with rigid full-backs and attacking wingers. Postecoglou built on this strategy in his own coaching, however his use of attacking full backs in a non-traditional inverted position differs from Puskás.
A knee injury would prematurely end Postecoglou's career at age 27. In 2000, Postecoglou would be named as the starting left back in South Melbourne's team of the century as voted by fans and an expert panel.
International career
Postecoglou represented Australia at senior level four times between 1986 and 1988. Prior to this, he represented Australia at youth level in 1985.
Coaching career
South Melbourne
Following his retirement, Postecoglou took up the role of an assistant coach at South Melbourne. Postecoglou gained the head coaching position in 1996, following the firing of Frank Arok.
He led South to consecutive National Soccer League titles in 1997–98 (ending a 7-year drought) and 1998–99, as well as winning the 1999 Oceania Club Championship, which in turn led to South's participation in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.
After the 1999–2000 NSL season, he stood down from the South Melbourne coaching role when he was appointed coach of the Australian youth team. He is the only person to have been involved in all four of South Melbourne's NSL title-winning teams, the first two as a player and the latter two as coach.
Young Socceroos
Following his domestic coaching success, Postecoglou became coach of Australia's youth sides in 2000. During his tenure, he played a role in identifying and developing Australian players. Postecoglou was involved in an on-air argument with football pundit Craig Foster on The World Game. He was replaced as coach in February 2007 after Australia failed to qualify for the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup. After his departure as coach of the Australian youth teams, Postecoglou worked as a football pundit for Fox Sports and as an elite consultant to Football Federation Victoria.
Feeling that his much-publicised argument with Foster had made him unemployable, Postecoglou coached Panachaiki in the Greek third division, and Whittlesea Zebras back in Melbourne, while running coaching clinics in the city.
Brisbane Roar
On 16 October 2009, Postecoglou was signed as the new Brisbane Roar coach, replacing Frank Farina. Postecoglou started rebuilding the team by releasing Liam Reddy, Craig Moore, Bob Malcolm and Charlie Miller. Tommy Oar, Michael Zullo and Adam Sarota were bought by Dutch club FC Utrecht and striker Sergio van Dijk went to Adelaide United. Postecoglou, who asked to be judged a year from the time he took over, proved the critics wrong by winning and playing an entertaining brand of football.
The 4–0 win against Adelaide United in round 13 was highly praised in the media as some of the best football the A-League has ever seen. Postecoglou led the Roar to the Premiership and Championship in the 2010–11 season, winning the Grand Final 4–2 on penalties against the Central Coast Mariners in front of 52,168 people at Lang Park. The Roar only lost one game all season and went on a 36-game unbeaten run, which broke the previous Australian football record. On 18 March 2011, he signed a two-year extension with the club keeping him until the 2013–14 season.
In the 2011–12 season, Brisbane Roar became the first team to win back-to-back A-League championships and Postecoglou became the most successful Australian domestic football coach, with four national titles.
On 24 April 2012, Postecoglou announced his resignation as head coach of Brisbane Roar. Postecoglou left the Roar after two-and-a-half years, during which he led the club to back-to-back A-League championships, a premiership and consecutive qualification for the AFC Champions League.
Melbourne Victory
On 26 April 2012, it was announced that he had signed a three-year contract with A-League club Melbourne Victory as head coach. Postecoglou started rebuilding the team by releasing Matthew Kemp, Grant Brebner, Rodrigo Vargas, Tom Pondeljak, Ante Čović, Carlos Hernández, Harry Kewell and Fabio Alves, with Jean Carlos Solórzano and Ubay Luzardo returned to their respective clubs after their loan deals had expired. Postecoglou rounded up his squad by signing Jonathan Bru, Guilherme Finkler, Adama Traoré, Marcos Flores, Mark Milligan, Theo Markelis, Sam Gallagher and Spase Dilevski.
Postecoglou's first game in charge of Melbourne Victory was the Round 1 clash against crosstown rivals Melbourne Heart, an encounter which the Victory lost 2–1. His first win came against Adelaide United in Round 4, with the Victory prevailing 2–1. The following year, Melbourne Victory made the A-League Preliminary Final after beating Perth Glory in an Elimination Final 2–1 at Docklands Stadium. Melbourne Victory then played in the Preliminary Final against Central Coast Mariners and lost 2–0.
Australia national team
Postecoglou was appointed head coach of the Australia national team on 23 October 2013 on a five-year contract, replacing German Holger Osieck. Postecoglou was tasked with regenerating the Australian national team, which was deemed to have been too reliant on members of their Golden Generation of 2006, subsequently leading to a stagnation of results that culminated in successive 6–0 defeats to Brazil and France. In his first game as Australia's manager, a home friendly match against Costa Rica, Australia won 1–0, courtesy of a goal from Tim Cahill.
For the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Australia were drawn in Group B alongside holders Spain, 2010 runners-up the Netherlands and Chile. The team lost to Chile 3–1 and the Netherlands 3–2 to be eliminated from Group B, and concluded with a 3–0 loss to also eliminated Spain. Australia's competitive performances in a difficult group led to belief that a new Golden Generation was about to begin.
Postecoglou coached Australia in 2015 AFC Asian Cup, where they beat Kuwait (4–1) and Oman (4–0), but lost to South Korea (0–1) in the group stage. They then beat China 2–0 in the quarter-final and the United Arab Emirates 2–0 in the semi-final. Australia beat South Korea 2–1 after extra time to win in the final for its first AFC Asian Cup.
Two weeks after Australia qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, on 22 November 2017, Postecoglou announced his resignation as Socceroos coach.
Yokohama F. Marinos
On 19 December 2017, Yokohama F. Marinos announced they had appointed Postecoglou as head coach with his tenure set to begin after the 2017 Japanese Emperor's Cup. Postecoglou's first domestic game as coach of Yokohama ended with a 1–1 draw against Cerezo Osaka at Yanmar Stadium, Osaka. After an initial difficult start to the season, which saw Yokohama F. Marinos facing potential relegation, Postecoglou guided the club to the final of the J-League Cup, and a 12th place finish in the league. Although the club finished with the second highest number of goals scored in the season, they also conceded the third most goals of any club during the season.
After receiving interest from the Greece national team to become their new manager, Postecoglou extended his contract with Yokohama F. Marinos. Yokohama's belief in Postecoglou was rewarded during the 2019 season when he guided the club to their first J. League title in 15 years. In doing so, he became the first Australian manager to win a league title in Japan.
Celtic
Postecoglou became the manager of Scottish Premiership club Celtic on 10 June 2021, signing a 12-month rolling contract, making him the first Australian manager to coach a major club in Europe. Celtic, who had just lost their league title to Rangers for the first time in a decade, had abruptly missed out on hiring English manager Eddie Howe. The new appointment was mocked by Celtic fan and Talksport presenter Alan Brazil, who apologised on his show a year later, after Postecoglou had won the league. Australian Celtic player Tom Rogic reflected on the atmosphere at the appointment: "I laugh sometimes when I look back. Although I knew him quite well, there was a perception of: 'Who's this guy?'".
Postecoglou made his debut in a UEFA Champions League qualifier on 20 July, drawing 1–1 against Danish Superliga club FC Midtjylland; a 2–1 loss in the second leg in Denmark led to elimination eight days later. He lost his first league game 2–1 away to Heart of Midlothian on 31 July. On 19 December 2021, Celtic won the Scottish League Cup after defeating Hibernian 2–1 at Hampden Park in the final. The following 2 February, a 3–0 win over rivals Rangers put Celtic to the top of the league table for the first time in the season, ending a 13-game unbeaten start for opposing manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Having not let their lead slip, the league title was sealed on 11 May with a game remaining, after a 1–1 draw at Dundee United. Postecoglou became the first Australian to win a league title in Europe. He was the league Manager of the Month five times in his first season, for October 2021 and January to April 2022, while winning the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year and SFWA Manager of the Year.
For the 2022–23 season, Celtic began the campaign with a 2–0 win against Aberdeen on 31 July at Celtic Park. Celtic would dominate the Premiership in Postecoglou's second season at the club, remaining on top and winning the league for a second season straight. On 26 February 2023, Postecoglou won his second Scottish League Cup in a row after beating rivals Rangers 2–1 in the final. Celtic would end the season with a record eighth domestic treble after they won the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park against Inverness Caledonian Thistle on 2 June in Postecoglou's last match in charge of the Hoops.
Tottenham Hotspur
On 6 June 2023, Postecoglou was appointed head coach of Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year contract. His appointment saw him become both the first Australian and first Greek to manage in the Premier League. After an unbeaten start with two wins and a draw in his first three matches, Postecoglou received the Premier League Manager of the Month award for August, becoming the first manager since David Wagner to win the award in his first month in the division. He is the first Australian to win the award, and the second manager from outside of Europe, the first being Mauricio Pochettino. On 24 September, Postecoglou became the first Tottenham manager to earn points from Arsenal away at the Emirates Stadium in four years since Pochettino, after the North London derby ended in a 2–2 draw. On 1 October, Postecoglou guided Spurs to their first victory against Liverpool in five years, following a 2–1 win at home. After continuing Tottenham Hotspur's unbeaten streak for a second month, Postecoglou was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for September, eventually winning it and becoming the first ever manager to win the award in each of his first two months in the competition.
On 23 October, Postecoglou achieved his seventh victory in his ninth league game, following a 2–0 win over Fulham at home. He broke the record for most points earned by a Premier League manager in their first nine games, with his side accumulating 23 points and overtaking the 22 achieved by Guus Hiddink from Chelsea in the 2009–10 season.
Personal life
Postecoglou grew up in Melbourne, Victoria. From an early age he started playing Australian rules football and became a lifelong supporter of the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League.
Postecoglou is married to Georgia, who worked at South Melbourne as a marketing manager when he served as manager of the club. Together they have three sons, James, Max and Alexi. Their oldest son, James, currently serves with the Hellenic Armed Forces and is based in Lemnos.
He said in a 2018 interview that his father, who died the very same year, worked hard every day of his life: "People say they go to another country for a better life. My parents did not have a better life, they went to Australia to provide opportunities for me to have a better life." Father and son had time together only during their outings together to soccer games, from where young Ange got a life-long "fascination" with the sport. He said of his management "My motivation is always to produce teams [my] dad would enjoy watching." Postecoglou also grew up supporting Liverpool and AEK Athens.
In November 2022, Postecoglou was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to Australian football on and off the field as a player and as a coach.
In addition to English, Postecoglou is fluent in Greek.
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
South Melbourne
National Soccer League Championship: 1984, 1990–91
NSL Cup: 1989–90
Dockerty Cup: 1989, 1991
Buffalo Cup: 1988
Australia
Trans-Tasman Cup: 1988
Manager
South Melbourne
National Soccer League Premiership: 1997–98
National Soccer League Championship: 1997–98, 1998–99
Oceania Club Championship: 1999
Australia U17
OFC U-17 Championship: 2001, 2003, 2005
Australia U20
OFC U-20 Championship: 2001, 2002, 2005
AFF U-20 Youth Championship: 2006
Brisbane Roar
A-League Premiership: 2010–11
A-League Championship: 2010–11, 2011–12
Australia
AFC Asian Cup: 2015
Yokohama F. Marinos
J1 League: 2019
Celtic
Scottish Premiership: 2021–22, 2022–23
Scottish Cup: 2022–23
Scottish League Cup: 2021–22, 2022–23
Individual
National Soccer League Coach of the Year: 1997–98
Australian Sports Medal: 2000
PFA Manager of the Year: 2010–11
A-League Coach of the Year: 2010–11
PFA Manager of the Decade: 2015
AFC Coach of the Year: 2015
Scottish Premiership Manager of the Month: October 2021, January 2022, February 2022, March 2022, April 2022, August 2022, September/October 2022
PFA Scotland Manager of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
SFWA Manager of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
Premier League Manager of the Month: August 2023, September 2023
Football Australia Hall of Fame inductee: 2022
References
External links
Melbourne Victory profile
Oz Football profile
1965 births
Living people
Footballers from Athens
Greek emigrants to Australia
Australian men's soccer players
Men's association football defenders
South Melbourne FC players
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Australia men's international soccer players
Australian soccer managers
South Melbourne FC managers
Panachaiki F.C. managers
Brisbane Roar FC managers
Melbourne Victory FC managers
Australia men's national soccer team managers
Yokohama F. Marinos managers
Celtic F.C. managers
Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers
National Soccer League (Australia) managers
A-League Men managers
J1 League managers
Scottish Professional Football League managers
Premier League managers
2014 FIFA World Cup managers
2015 AFC Asian Cup managers
2017 FIFA Confederations Cup managers
AFC Asian Cup-winning managers
Australian expatriate soccer managers
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Japan
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Expatriate football managers in Japan
Expatriate football managers in Scotland
Association football coaches
Naturalised soccer players of Australia
Soccer players from Melbourne
Australia men's under-20 international soccer players
Greek men's footballers
Greek expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in England
Australian expatriate sportspeople in England