Ange Postecoglou Biography
Head coach of Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Angelos Postekoglou (/ˈændʒ ˌpɒstəˈkɒɡluː/ anj pos-tə-KOG-loo; Greek: Άγγελoς Ποστέκογλου, Angelos Postekoglou, born 27 August 1965) is a manager and a player in soccer.
Postecoglou was born in Greece and moved to Melbourne when he was five years old. He played four appearances for the Australian national team in the late 1980s and was a defender with South Melbourne Hellas for the majority of his club career. In 1996, he took up management with South Melbourne Hellas, where he won the OFC Champions League in 1999 and twice in the National Soccer League. Next, he took charge of the under-17 and under-20 national teams.
Postecoglou won the 2011 Premiership and the 2011 and 2012 Championships for the Brisbane Roar. He also managed Melbourne Victory in the A-League. From 2013 until 2017, he served as the men’s senior national team manager, leading them to both the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. After winning the J1 League in 2019 with Yokohama F. Marinos, he spent the next two seasons winning five medals, including two league crowns, with Scottish team Celtic. In 2023, he was appointed head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, a Premier League team.
Ange Postecoglou Early life
On August 27, 1965, in the Greek suburb of Nea Filadelfeia, behind Athens, was born Angelos Postecoglou. When he was five years old in 1970, the Postecoglou family moved to Australia after his father, Dimitris (“Jim”), lost his business as a result of the Greek military coup of 1967. In Melbourne, Victoria, he was raised.
Ange Postecoglou Net Worth
Ange Postecoglou is thought to have a net worth of approximately £4 million. This is determined by his manager’s pay, his profits from prior coaching positions, and any possible endorsement or sponsorship agreements.
Postecoglou is an extremely accomplished manager who has taken home awards from Scotland, Australia, and Japan. He is the English Premier League manager of Tottenham Hotspur at the moment. He makes almost £2 million a year in pay.
Ange Postecoglou Playing career
Nine years old when he initially joined South Melbourne Hellas, Postecoglou progressed through the youth ranks to play 193 games for them as a one-club player in the National Soccer League from 1984 to 1993.
He participated in their 1984 and 1990–91 championships as a player, leading them to a historic victory over the Melbourne Knights in the latter year. Ferenc Puskás, a well-known player from Hungary whom his father had informed him about when he was a young boy, served as his coach. Postecoglou claims Puskás used an attacking winger and stiff full-back in a 4–3–3 shape. Though Postecoglou’s usage of attacking full backs in an unconventional inverted position is different from Puskás’, he improved on this tactic in his own coaching.
Postecoglou’s career would end prematurely at the age of 27 due to a knee injury. As decided by supporters and a panel of experts, Postecoglou was selected as the starting left back for South Melbourne’s squad of the century in 2000.
Ange Postecoglou International career
In four senior Australian tours, Postecoglou competed from 1986 to 1988. He had previously competed for Australia at the youth level in 1985.
Ange Postecoglou Coaching career
South Melbourne
After stepping down, Postecoglou joined South Melbourne as an assistant coach. After Frank Arok was fired in 1996, Postecoglou was appointed head coach.
After a seven-year drought, he guided South to back-to-back National Soccer League crowns in 1997–98 and 1998–99. He also won the 1999 Oceania Club Championship, which qualified South for the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship.
He resigned from his position as South Melbourne’s coach during the 1999–2000 NSL season in order to take on the post of Australian youth team coach. Being a part of all four of South Melbourne’s NSL title-winning teams—the first two as a player, the last two as a coach—makes him unique.
Young Socceroos
In 2000, after achieving success as a domestic coach, Postecoglou was appointed coach of Australia’s young teams. He contributed to the identification and development of Australian players throughout his time there. On The World Game, Postecoglou and football analyst Craig Foster got into a heated debate live on TV. In February 2007, he was relieved of his duties as coach following Australia’s failure to make it to the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Following his resignation as the Australian youth team’s coach, Postecoglou served as an elite consultant for Football Federation Victoria and a football analyst for Fox Sports.
Sensing that his widely reported spat with Foster had rendered him unhireable, Postecoglou ran coaching clinics throughout the city while coaching Panachaiki in the Greek third tier and Whittlesea Zebras back in Melbourne.
Brisbane Roar
Postecoglou took over as Brisbane Roar coach on October 16, 2009, after Frank Farina was fired. Postecoglou let go of Liam Reddy, Craig Moore, Bob Malcolm, and Charlie Miller to begin the rebuilding of the team. The Dutch team FC Utrecht purchased Adam Sarota, Michael Zullo, and Tommy Oar, while Sergio van Dijk, a striker, joined Adelaide United. Postecoglou, who requested to be judged after a year, disproved the doubters by triumphing and engaging in attractive football.
The media widely acclaimed the round 13 victory over Adelaide United, scoring 4-0, as some of the best A-League play in history. In front of 52,168 spectators at Lang Park, Postecoglou guided the Roar to both the Premiership and the Championship during the 2010–11 season. The Roar defeated the Central Coast Mariners 4–2 on penalties in the Grand Final. The Roar shattered the previous Australian football record with their 36-game unbeaten streak, losing just one game during the entire season. He signed a two-year agreement with the club on March 18, 2011, which kept him there through the 2013–14 campaign.
Brisbane Roar became the first team to win the A-League twice in a row in the 2011–12 season, and with four national titles, Postecoglou became the most successful Australian domestic football coach.
Postecoglou announced his resignation as Brisbane Roar’s head coach on April 24, 2012. After leading the Roar to consecutive A-League titles, a premiership, and two straight trips to the AFC Champions League, Postecoglou departed the team after two and a half years.
Melbourne Victory
He confirmed his signing of a three-year contract to become head coach of Melbourne Victory, an A-League team, on April 26, 2012. In order to begin the rebuilding process, Postecoglou let go of players including Matthew Kemp, Grant Brebner, Rodrigo Vargas, Tom Pondeljak, Ante Čović, Carlos Hernández, Harry Kewell, and Fabio Alves. Additionally, Ubay Luzardo and Jean Carlos Solórzano were sent back to their respective clubs when their loan periods ended. Signing Jonathan Bru, Guilherme Finkler, Adama Traoré, Marcos Flores, Mark Milligan, Theo Markelis, Sam Gallagher, and Spase Dilevski helped Postecoglou complete his roster.
Melbourne Victory’s first match under Postecoglou’s leadership ended in a 2-1 loss to crosstown rivals Melbourne Heart in Round 1. In Round 4, the Victory defeated Adelaide United 2 to 1 to record his maiden victory. Melbourne Victory advanced to the A-League Preliminary Final the next year, defeating Perth Glory 2-1 at Docklands Stadium in an elimination final. Melbourne Victory then faced Central Coast Mariners in the preliminary final, where they were defeated 2-0.
Australia national team
On October 23, 2013, Postecoglou was named head coach of the Australian national team for a five-year term, taking over for German Holger Osieck. Postecoglou was given the responsibility of revitalizing the Australian national side, which was judged to have been overly dependent on players from its 2006 Golden Generation, resulting in a run of outcomes that ended in back-to-back 6–0 losses to Brazil and France. Tim Cahill’s goal helped Australia win 1-0 against Costa Rica in his debut game as manager of the national team.
Australia was placed in Group B for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, with 2010 runners-up Spain, Chile, and the Netherlands. The team was eliminated from Group B after losing to Chile 3-1 and the Netherlands 3-2. They then defeated to Spain 0-1 to complete their elimination. Australia’s strong showings in a challenging group gave rise to the notion that a new Golden Generation was ready to emerge.
Australia was coached by Postecoglou in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, when they defeated South Korea 0-1 in the group stage but defeated Kuwait 4-1 and Oman 4-0. After that, they defeated China 2-0 in the quarterfinal and the UAE 2-0 in the semifinal. Australia won their first AFC Asian Cup final, defeating South Korea 2-1 in extra time.
On November 22, 2017, just two weeks after Australia qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Postecoglou announced his resignation as Socceroos head coach.
Yokohama F. Marinos
Postecoglou was named head coach of Yokohama F. Marinos on December 19, 2017, with an expected start date following the 2017 Japanese Emperor’s Cup. At Yanmar Stadium in Osaka, Postecoglou’s first domestic match as Yokohama’s coach resulted in a 1-1 draw with Cerezo Osaka. Yokohama F. Marinos faced possible relegation during a challenging start to the season, but Postecoglou led the team to the J-League Cup final and a 12th-place league result. Despite finishing the season with the second-highest goal total, the team also let up the third-highest goal total of any club.
Following an expression of interest from the Greece national team to take on the role of manager, Postecoglou’s contract with Yokohama F. Marinos was extended. Yokohama’s faith in Postecoglou paid off in 2019 as he led the team to their first J. League championship in fifteen years. By doing this, he made history as the first Australian manager to win a Japanese league championship.
Celtic
On June 10, 2021, Postecoglou signed a 12-month rolling contract to take over as manager of Celtic, a significant Scottish Premiership team. This made him the first Australian manager to lead a big European club. Following their first league title loss to Rangers in ten years, Celtic suddenly lost out on signing English manager Eddie Howe. Talksport broadcaster Alan Brazil, a Celtic supporter, made fun of the new hire and later apologized on his show a year later after Postecoglou had won the title. Tom Rogic, an Australian player for Celtic, commented on the mood at the appointment, saying, “I laugh sometimes when I look back.” Even though I was somewhat familiar with him, other people had the impression, “Who’s this guy?”
On July 20, Postecoglou made his competitive debut against FC Midtjylland of the Danish Superliga, tying 1-1. Eight days later, the team was eliminated following a 2-1 loss in the second leg held in Denmark. On July 31, he was defeated 2–1 away by Heart of Midlothian in his league debut. The Scottish League Cup was won by Celtic on December 19, 2021, following a 2-1 victory over Hibernian at Hampden Park. The following 2 February, Celtic defeated rivals Rangers 3-0 to take the top spot in the league table for the first time this season, ending the opposition manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s 13-game unbeaten run.
With one game left, on May 11, they sealed the league title with a 1-1 draw at Dundee United, demonstrating that they would not let their lead slip. As the first Australian to win a league title in Europe, Postecoglou made history. Throughout his debut season, he won the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year and SFWA Manager of the Year in addition to being the league manager of the month five times, from October 2021 to January to April 2022.
On July 31, 2022, Celtic defeated Aberdeen 2-0 at Celtic Park to start the 2022–2023 season. In Postecoglou’s second season with the team, Celtic would rule the Premiership, finishing first and taking home the title for a second consecutive year. After defeating rivals Rangers 2–1 in the championship match, Postecoglou won the Scottish League Cup on February 26, 2023, his second consecutive year. In Postecoglou’s final game as the Hoops’ manager, on June 2, Celtic defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle to win the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park, giving them a record eighth domestic treble for the season.
Tottenham Hotspur
Postecoglou was named Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach on June 6, 2023, with a four-year deal. With his appointment, he became the first Greek and Australian manager in Premier League history. Postecoglou became the first manager since David Wagner to win the Premier League Manager of the Month title in his debut month in the division after being undefeated with two victories and a draw in his first three games. In addition to being the second manager from outside of Europe to win the trophy (Mauricio Pochettino being the first), he is the first Australian to do it.
After a 2–2 draw in the North London derby, Postecoglou became the first Tottenham manager in four years to earn points from Arsenal away at the Emirates Stadium. After Spurs won 2–1 at home, Postecoglou led his team to their first win over Liverpool in five years on October 1. Postecoglou was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Month award for September after extending Tottenham Hotspur’s winning streak for a second month. He went on to win the award, making history as the first manager to win it in each of his first two months of the competition.
On October 23, Postecoglou won his seventh league game in his ninth overall after defeating Fulham 2-0 at home. In their first nine games, he smashed the record for the most points collected by a Premier League manager. His team scored 23 points, surpassing the 22 points scored by Chelsea’s Guus Hiddink in the 2009–10 campaign.
Ange Postecoglou Social Media
- Twitter: @AngePostecoglou
- Instagram: angepostecoglou
Ange Postecoglou Personal life
Growing up, Postecoglou was in Melbourne, Victoria. He began playing Australian rules football at a young age and developed a lifetime passion for the Australian Football League’s Carlton Football Club.
Postecoglou is wed to Georgia, who was a marketing manager at South Melbourne during his tenure as the team’s manager. James, Max, and Alexi are the three sons they have together.] James, their eldest son, is currently stationed at Lemnos and serves in the Hellenic Armed Forces.
His father passed away the same year, but he worked hard every day of his life, he stated in a 2018 interview: “People claim they migrate to another nation for a better life. My parents moved to Australia to give me the chance to live a better life, yet they did not enjoy a better life themselves.” The only times the father and son spent time together were when they went to soccer games, which is how young Ange developed a “fascination” with the game that lasted a lifetime. “My motivation is always to produce teams that my dad would enjoy watching,” he stated about his managerial style. Additionally, Postecoglou grew up cheering for AEK Athens and Liverpool.
Postecoglou made a significant impact on Australian football both on and off the field as a player and coach, and in November 2022 he was inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame.
Apart from English, Postecoglou speaks Greek very ease.
Ange Postecoglou Awards & Nominations
As a Player
- National Soccer League (NSL) Premiership: 1993–94, 1996–97
- NSL Championship: 1993–94
As a Coach
- A-League Premiership: 2011–12 (Brisbane Roar)
- A-League Championship: 2011–12, 2012–13 (Brisbane Roar)
- AFC Asian Cup: 2015 (Australia)
- J1 League: 2018 (Yokohama F. Marinos)
- Scottish Premiership: 2021–22, 2022–23 (Celtic)
- Scottish League Cup: 2022–23 (Celtic)
- Scottish Cup: 2022–23 (Celtic)
Nominations
- The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: 2023
- AFC Coach of the Year: 2015, 2019
- A-League Coach of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17
- J1 League Coach of the Year: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
- Scottish Premiership Manager of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
Did Ange Postecoglou play football?
Ange Postecoglou, the current coach of the Socceroos, began his playing career in Melbourne, where he was a member of South Melbourne’s National Soccer League team from 1984 to 1993. As a player, he was a member of South Melbourne teams that won two championships: in 1984 and 1990–91, the latter while he served as captain.
How many trophies has Ange Postecoglou won?
The Australian has won 21 trophies as a coach at the club and international levels thus far in his career. His two most prosperous club careers to date, in terms of trophies, were with South Melbourne, where he was born, and subsequently Celtic.
What watch does Ange Postecoglou wear?
However, whether on purpose or not, Postecoglou pledged his support to his new team, the Lilywhites, by donning a white Rolex Explorer II watch in the 2-2 season opener against Brentford.
When did Ange start coaching?
In 1996, he started his coaching career with South Melbourne, a former team, and remained there until 2000.
What formation does Ange play?
Playing system: 4-2-3-1. This season, Ange Postecoglou has deployed a 4-2-3-1 configuration, which has allowed his midfield triangle—which consists of the well-defined “6,” “8, and “10”—to produce the best results.
