Ange Postecoglou’s time in the Premier League is proving to be a revelation. Under his management, Tottenham Hotspur has become an unlikely title challenger. But just what calibre of teams did Ange Posecoglou manage before Spurs, and what did he learn from his appointments?
Today, I’m looking at a football manager who climbed from obscurity through every bracket of the game and reached one of the most enviable positions. Here are the teams coached by Ange Postecoglou.
Ange Postecoglou’s playing career
Angelos Postecoglou was born in Athens, Greece, in 1965. His family later moved to Australia. Despite the country’s relative lack of interest in soccer during the 1970s, Ange was devoted to developing a playing career.
Postecoglou spent his entire career playing for South Melbourne as a right-central defender. With him, the club won two National Soccer League titles during the 1991 season, doing it under the management of the legendary Ferenc Puscas. In fact, Postecoglou would later confess that he learned a lot about teamwork from the famous Hungarian former player.
At the end of his playing career, there was little doubt that Ange, a team captain for several years, would continue into management.
The clubs that Ange Postecoglou managed in Australia
Having built a strong reputation nationally, Ange Postecoglou was quickly given the role of Assistant Manager of South Melbourne for whom he had played his entire career.
He then became a senior manager of the Australian youth team setup in 2000. The manager, from the beginning, worked to develop technically proficient players active in an attacking setup. It was a risky, exciting move considering the state of development of Australian football at the time.
He held this role for seven years before taking on the role of manager of Brisbane Roar, one of the nation’s more important clubs. Postecoglou enjoyed great success turning Brisbane into the country’s champions. He managed to dominate the A-League using fluid attacking transitions and quick short passes in a 4-3-3 formation.
Next, he managed Melbourne Victory, being provided with a healthy transfer budget. While Postecoglou enjoyed relatively little success here, he was appointed as manager of Australia in 2013.
Australian national team
The Socceroos qualified for the 2014 and 2018 World Cup tournaments, took part in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup and won it.
Accepting that the Socceroos were in need of a new managerial direction ahead of the 2018 World Cup, Postcoglou presented his resignation.
Fans of Tottenham will not be surprised to learn that Ange Postecoglou implemented an aggressively offensive, possession-based style of play when managing Australia. The Socceroos usually played in a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 formation. The team played from the back and engaged in an active press even against opponents such as Brazil, and even at the risk of losing by a wide margin.
Managing Celtic and Yokohama
Ange Postcoglou was still building his reputation when he accepted a job in the J1-League with Yokohama Marinos. It would also not surprise new fans of the manager to learn that the Japanese team often registered the best attacking and the worst defence in the competition. The club won the league title in 2019.
Up next was the opportunity to manage the legendary Celtic Glasgow. This was easily the best-known club that Postecoglou had managed up to his stage, and the coach quickly proved capable of dealing with the pressure of the situation.
The Australian quickly became beloved by the club’s supporters because of his offensive 4-3-3, possession-based style of football. During his tenure, the team won two Scottish Premiership titles. The second, in 2023, was part of a treble win.
Tottenham Hotspur
Ange Postcoglou became the manager of Tottenham Hotspur in June 2023, one of the most high-profile jobs in the Premier League. It was also a position that fell under great scrutiny. Spurs had parted acrimoniously with its last managers, having not won a single trophy. Furthermore, while Postcoglou had won titles in Australia, Japan and Scotland, he was a relative unknown to English football fans.
During the 2023/24 season, Tottenham, who’d recently lost their captain, Harry Kane, proved to be one of the strongest teams in the EPL. Furthermore, Ange Postcoglou was lauded for his tactical choices. The manager, without a fault, implemented an aggressive, attractive style of football.
We’ve yet to witness conclusively what Postcoglou’s reign will bring. However, what is clear is that the manager has already secured a cult hero status for Tottenham Hotspur supporters.
