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Ange Postecoglou

Discussion in 'Ex Players' started by Mr. Slippyfist, May 29, 2021.

Discuss Ange Postecoglou in the Ex Players area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. JML67 Gold Member Gold Member

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    what a bloke
     
  2. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Ange Postecoglou didn't sign up at Celtic to hear fans chanting his name into heartfelt renditions of Christmas hits, but the Australian manager is enjoying the feeling he's shifted some initial perceptions and low expectations.

    After a shaky start, Celtic have settled into life under Postecoglou and are currently unbeaten in eight games in all competitions, including their last seven league games.

    The Hoops are also in the Scottish League Cup semi-final and beginning to find their groove in the Europa League.




    They now sit second in the Scottish Premiership, only four points behind Rangers, while their most recent victory over Dundee even saw fans work "Postecoglou" into a reworked chant of Wham'* 'Last Christmas'.

    In July, Postecoglou noted he'd felt other European clubs had "swiped away" his past accomplishments as they had been achieved in Japan and Australia.

    Four months on the former Socceroos boss has brought an exciting brand to Celtic, giving fans reason to believe.

    "In terms of opening eyes, I think what it has done is there's certainly more interest in Japanese football now because obviously Kyogo's (Furuhashi) come here and he's done well and obviously with my background in Japan," Postecoglou told reporters on Tuesday.

    "Inevitably eyes shift to different areas when people have an impact.

    "So I'm hoping that means that this part of the world looks at the other side of the world, Asia and obviously where we are a little bit differently and rather than looking at a person's passport, just maybe look at what they've achieved and what they can bring to the table.

    "But from my perspective, and personally about me, I think people are at least now understanding my background and the way I've done things has put me in a place where I've been given an opportunity and people are now prepared to give me that opportunity, whereas probably at the start they were questioning whether I should even have an opportunity.

    "So that's where we're at but the difficult stuff's still ahead of us and I need to make sure I bring success to the football club, and I'm sure hopefully that'll help change some of the perceptions."




    Rangers recently lost manager Steven Gerrard to Aston Villa but Postecoglou was adamant his rivals' disruption wouldn't affect his own charges.

    "It is very intense over here and there's a story every day about something, so if you start buying into that stuff you'll be chasing things down rabbit holes that you'll never get out of," he said.

    "We've been really good so far, just concentrating on ourselves and making sure that we keep building on what we're doing."

    Postecoglou relished how his charges had shown resilience after a difficult start but stressed they hadn't "accomplished anything yet".

    "It's all good saying 'well we've hit a decent bit of form' but until you bring success to an organisation, to a club, then that's when you know that you've begun the process of accomplishing something," he said.

    "But I'm loving it. It's what I've always wanted. It's where I want to be. I wouldn't change it for anything."
     
  3. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Ange Postecoglou uncovered: Celtic boss recalls Greek 'chaos' and the local priest questioning his subs
    The third division of Greek football may seem like a million miles away from life as the Celtic manager.




    But Ange Postecoglou insists his humble beginnings were key to him becoming Australia's most successful ever coach and the first from his country to manage a top-flight club in Europe.

    His spell in charge of Panachaiki from March to December 2008 were his first steps into professional football club management following a stint coaching the Australian national U17 and U20 sides.




    He got the job after Con Makris, an Australian-based businessman bought the club and appointed him.


    Despite being born in Athens before emigrating to Melbourne with his parents aged five, Postecoglou admitted he was viewed as a foreigner but felt the experience was an enlightening one that he has carried with him throughout his career and into his current role at Celtic Park.




    “I still use some of the methods I worked on and put into practice during that time in Greece. Absolutely," he said.

    “That was a tricky time, and probably the only time in my career, where there was a little bit of uncertainty.

    “I was working pretty regularly up until then but my tenure with the national youth teams came to an end.

    “I was struggling to get a job back in Australia. I always had belief in my own abilities but I then got the chance to go to Greece.




    “Even though I am Greek, they saw me as a foreigner - as an Aussie.

    “My command of the Greek language wasn’t great at the time, but it was an important period for me.

    “I had all these theories in my head about coaching when I took on that job, so to be able to work on them was great.

    “It allowed me to experiment on what worked, and what didn’t.




    I had a group of players who were totally different to my own culture and upbringing in Australia.

    “But I just found the experience really rejuvenating in terms of my career and my beliefs. It really helped me going forward.”

    Greek football fans are known for displaying their passion but the level of scrutiny he faced – which included the local priest questioning his decisions – only gave Postecoglou satisfaction and a drive to succeed in demanding environments.

    “I loved the chaos of Greece. I love Greek football and how you go from one extreme to the other so quickly.




    “The same people who wanted to carry you on their shoulders after a win would be having a go at you outside the bus seven days later.

    “I could see their faces - it was exactly the same people.

    “But I loved that. It sort of lit a fire inside me at the time and since then, things have gone well.

    “That time in Greece just showed me that I love being around passionate football people.






    The fans were very passionate and if we lost, they’d let you know they weren’t happy.

    “I remember once we lost a game and I was crossing the street the next day. The local priest stopped me.

    “He started questioning my substitutions in the game and that summed it up.

    “The whole city was enraptured by their team and I loved that.




    It just showed me that I was comfortable in that sort of environment. There was nothing I needed to fear.

    “Working under that scrutiny wasn’t going to change me, or give me stress.

    “Greece showed me that was the type of environment that I did want to be in.

    “Before I came to Celtic, people weren’t warning me as such, but they tried to prepare me for what I was going to face


    But what they didn’t realise is that this is exactly what I want. This is where I want to be, where I have always wanted to be.

    “That part of it wasn’t daunting for me at all."

    Coaching has been part of Postecoglou's make-up since his youth. He took his first steps on the ladder at the age of 12 after taking charge of the Year 7 team at Prahran High School in Melbourne.

    “Looking back, it seems crazy. To me more than anyone else," he reflected.




    “I don’t know why people were listening to a 12-year-old but there must have been something about me that made them.

    “It’s quite bizarre when you think about it, but it’s probably why I have always felt more of a coach.

    “I struggled with my playing career as I just felt that my destiny was to be a manager.

    “That was the space where I always felt most comfortable.




    “I would have been annoying as a 12-year-old coach. In fact, I am sure that I would have annoyed a lot of people.

    “But that’s when the coaching career started.

    “There hadn’t been a soccer team before and we put a group together.

    “We had a music teacher who said he would take the team but there wasn’t any coaching or training




    He would sit and mark his homework while we all just had a kickabout.

    “After the first few sessions, I took control. It sounds bizarre because I was so young.

    “But for some reason, I took control of the whole thing and people listened.

    “I didn’t just pretend to be the coach. I picked the team, we had sessions and I told everyone what to do




    Looking back, I think I got power hungry!

    “I was a player, coach and captain and one of my closest mates, we are still friends to this day, wanted to bring me down a peg or two.

    “He decided that the team would have a vote to see if I should continue as captain.

    “We had the vote and it ended up being unanimous.




    I said to my mate, ‘How could it be unanimous if you called the vote in the first place?’

    “And he said, ‘I voted for you too. You are the best person for the job but I just wanted to see if other people would vote for you!’

    “I was running the show and to this day, I don’t understand why anyone listened to me. I wasn’t anything special!

    “My mates still say to me, ‘Why were we listening to you back then?’




    But we ended up winning the under-12s state championship at South Melbourne’s ground.”
     
    Last edited: Nov 16, 2021
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  4. McChiellini..

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  5. LectersLuncheon

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    I'm resetting my sleep sounds from whale songs and thunderstorms ...to "Ange Postecoglou picks you up, rocks you back and forth and tells you about his footballing philosophies".
     
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  6. George Theodorou

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    Ange wants to be recognised as a good manager from Australia, and lift the profile of Australian managers and Australian football. He is not intimidated by any manager on this planet because he has 100% belief in his own abilities. He wants to leave his mark. He understands how important football is to the community and to the supporters, especially from working class roots that he himself was a product from. If he feels the love he will give his 100% effort. South Melbourne FC is a classic example of this. He also can fill Parkhead with 60,000 for each home game, so he has his platform already , so why would he go elsewhere ?
    I believe he will stay at Celtic for longer than 3 years and will not chase EPL cash. He will look to make Celtic become an undefeatable team in Scotland and in Europe, something he can do in Scotland more readily than in England.
     
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  7. George Theodorou

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    Very good players in Iran.
     
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  8. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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    Last edited: Nov 17, 2021
  9. King of Kings

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    As has been said, it’s largely irrelevant at this stage.

    I just find the notion that he would turn down the opportunity to move to the EPL, treble his wages, massively increase his profile etc (and as you yourself said, lift the profile of Australian managers) all a bit nonsensical frankly.
     
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  10. Avatar Daizen The Last Hunskelper Gold Member

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    An EPL team coming in for Ange is what's nonsensical. Achievements in Scotland, Japan, and Australia won't even cause a blip on their radar down there.

    They'd probably consider someone who finished top 4 in the Championship on Football Manager 20 before they went for Ange.
     
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  11. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  12. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

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  13. BigManSmalls

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    Brilliant interview. I love this man
     
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  14. Liam Scales Gold Member Gold Member

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    Wonder if making waves in the CL would though
     
  15. Mevin Gold Member Gold Member

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  16. Twisty Rodgers out !!! Gold Member

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    Just a sound big *, isn't he.
     
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  17. TheHappyLoss

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    Ange, not sure if you read these sites. If so you are invited to my house for Christmas dinner.
     
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  18. AdamRS Gold Member Gold Member

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  19. Doogs. Lustig your the one, you still turn me on.

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    I * love you Ange Postecoglu.
     
  20. Double Dutch

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    * Belss you Mr Miyagi...we love you and always will :ange2: