Postecoglou, Ange

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Personal

Fullname: Angelos Postecoglou
aka: Ange Postecoglou, Ange, Poste, Postie, AP
Date of birth: 27 August 1965
Birthplace: Athens, Greece
Raised: Melbourne, Australia
Started: 10 June 2021
Left: 5 June 2023
Succeeding: John Kennedy (Interim) / Neil Lennon (Permanent)
Successor: John Kennedy (Interim) / Brendan Rodgers (Permanent)

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Biog

“Just get it into your heads: we never stop. We never stop. We’ll stop at half-time and we’ll stop at the end of the game when we celebrate. But during the game, we don’t stop”
Ange Postecoglou (Dec 2021)

The Greek-born and Australian-raised Ange Postecoglou arrived at a very demoralised Celtic when he first started. Celtic had been distraught in the past covid-impacted season (2020/21) ending up empty-handed after having dominated the league for the previous nine seasons completing a record quadruple treble.

Celtic had collapsed badly in Europe, lost both domestic cups (no finals), numerous failed transfers & loans, youth players leaving fast, finished far behind in the league title race and ended with no victories v league title winners Sevco. The squad was on its knees with key players departing, so  leaving little confidence in what was left.

The fallout at Celtic saw calls for big changes from the exasperated support, and a new chief exec and director of football were starting alongside Ange Postecoglou at the start of the new season. They all had a major task in front of them.

Ange Postecoglou had cut his teeth in the unfancied Australian and Japanese leagues as well as the Aussie national side, and made a major name for himself. He was to be sought after by various clubs, albeit not by the mega clubs. Celtic was a major new challenge but there was confidence in him although a very different proposition to his previous clubs.

Ange Postecoglou is the first Australian (born & raised) to manage a major club in Europe, with non-Europeans  & non-Latin Americans previously most often overlooked. He is the second manager Celtic have employed from the Japanese leagues, Wim Jansen being the first.

In truth, due to the general paucity of the genuine candidates available for the managerial role, Eddie Howe was the top pick and as good as Celtic could aim for, but Celtic lost out after an unnecessarily long protracted process. That is admittedly why Celtic ended up moving for Ange Postecoglou very late on in May/June 2021. Many more established names in Europe were out of Celtic’s budget range in an inflated market.

It can’t be denied that this was an appointment initially met with a certain amount of criticism from sections of the Celtic support. Some critics saw parallels to that of the failed Ronnie Deila, but looking at their records, Ange Postecoglou had far more to support his case, and fans did very quickly warm to Ange Postecoglou the more they read up on him, with plenty of positive reports coming out from Japan & Australia.

His best days as a manager to date were solely in Australia and Japan, and so he had a lot to prove to himself as much as all others. Some Australian commentators even remarked that any success could open doors finally to other coaches from his homeland.

As expected, the journalists asked nauseasting questions but Ange Postecoglou replied with the disdain they could often deserve (e.g. “I’m not an accountant mate. I’m a football manager”).

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First Season (2021/22)

“One of the greatest honours in football.”
Ange Postecoglou on Celtic appointment (Jun 2021)

It was never going to be easy and this was clear after Celtic lost the opening league match to Hearts despite taking the lead. The weaknesses carried over from the last regime were going to take time to overcome, and that was clear from some of the early performances and results. An early knockout from the Champions League qualifiers was no major surprise but humiliating defeats in the UEFA Cup (to Alkmaar & Real Betis) and also domestically (to Sevco & Livingston) was generating some noises from sections of the support. Fears were that Celtic were going to surrender the league title before Halloween.

Initially his main supporters were really old followers of Ange in Australia, who repeatedly were calling for patience with his footballing philosophy, but that is something often in short supply in the more cut-throat leagues in Europe. However, if one decision more than any other was to prove the value & worth of Ange then it was to be the transfer in of Kyogo Furuhashi. Clearly an Ange signing, he was a star from the off scoring a hat-trick on his debut, and it proved Ange’s eye for talent.

If the first few months were a mixed bag in terms of results, then at least the greatest aspect could be said to have been the turnaround in the squad. Signings like Joe Hart, Jota (on loan), Kyogo and CCV were illustrating some needed fresh quality. However, it was the incredible resurgence in certain players in particular Rogic, Ralston and McGregor that were catching the eye, and giving confidence in the manager’s ability.

Proof that the players & support were behind Ange and had bought into his philosophy, can be little better demonstrated than by the 50k+ attendance at the 3.30pm midweek kick-off v Ferencvaros (2-0) in the European League at home. Incredible turnout complimented by a great performance.

The successful League Cup campaign brought him his first piece of silverware, most notably as it was his charge Kyogo who stole the limelight. It showed that Ange’s methods and thinking had some steel and the philosophy was bedding in.

In retrospect the results were improving, reinforcing the changes in hand, albeit he needed to start winning matches against teams at a level on paper at least on par, in Europe his sides had fared badly to date.

On the back of Kyogo’s success, Ange was able to obtain some leverage and brought in a further trio from Japan, and his squad was strengthening for the league challenge. All his new transfers had hit the ground running.

The game that really proved everything was the unexpected but incredible 3-0 victory v Sevco in February 2022 which finally put Celtic in the lead for the title race. It just rewrote the script and answered all prior criticisms. Every player was incredible that day and that it was his new players at the centre of this success spoke volumes.

The performances did once again become a bit of a concern albeit still getting the results, but with Sevco stalling, Celtic were now in front for the title in the season. The side was bolstered by some convincing wins over Ross County and Livingston, with Giakoumakis finally making his mark and stepping up especially with his sublime hat-trick v Ross County in a 4-0 win.

In many ways, this incredible turn in form since the difficult early days demonstrated Ange’s mantra:

“We’ve just got to keep going and keep performing, keep making sure that we play our football and believe in our football.”

What most proved his mantra and approach was the 2-1 win away to Sevco which effectively was the key result that was to seal the league title. A more comfortable victory than even the scoreline suggests. Even a disappointing exit from the Scottish Cup which ended hopes of a debut treble for Ange couldn’t devalue the great form domestically this season.

The run-in after the split was relatively straightforward, with a no goal draw with Sevco being the one that ultimately sealed any challenge away from Celtic.

The league trophy was lifted and a double in his debut season was incredible. As he was to say it himself, it was like he had gone through two seasons in one, but the joy from both him and the squad was clear to all. It was vindication for himself too as he put it himself:

“The jury was out on me. There was no great recognition of what I had done [before].”

So what had Ange Postecoglou achieved? In many ways it was clearly a success against the odds despite what any cynic may argue.

Ange Postecoglou hadn’t just revitalised a team, he had reconnected a disenfranchised support and incredibly even brought back some credibility to the Celtic board for their appointment & backing of him.

Whatever else had happened over the past season, he had done an incredible job rebuilding a squad in tatters. A remarkable season which few could have honestly predicted.

The challenge to come would be to carry this on but more importantly aim to step up in Europe too and keep the squad motivated to build on the success. As was to be his most oft-quoted line:

“Just get it into your heads: We never stop. We’ll stop at half-time and we’ll stop at the end of the game when we celebrate. But during the game, we don’t stop.”

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Second Season (2022/23)

“Champions again because I’m a lucky man!”
Ange Postecoglou on League Trophy day (May 2023)

After the emotions of his first season, Postecoglou had now even greater motivation in him to push Celtic further forward. Morale had returned and there was optimism that Celtic could step up a gear even in Europe. The more cautious though were still concerned especially after the debacles in the Uefa Cup as well as the failure to overturn Sevco in the last two meetings. Postecoglou though wanted more:

“If you play for survival that’s all you’ll ever get, you’ll never get anywhere.”

The support as a whole were well behind the manager, and most had bought into his philosophy, but more importantly were very much enjoying the fare on the pitch, his respect for the club & support, and also his commitment to advancing the club. He regularly commented on his immigrant background to Australia, and some saw emotional parallels to this to the history of the founders of the club.

The main aims were clear: further development of the squad and players, win the league as a priority (due to Champions League qualification spot), progress in Europe, and also to help the bottom P&L line for the bean-counters.

Domestically, it turned into a season to remember, albeit a disappointment in Europe. Celtic struck gold, and created history with an eighth domestic treble, a feat never reached before anywhere in world football.

It must be noted that he had achieved this having come to Celtic on his own, and had to adopt the same coaching team as was much criticised over the past couple of seasons.  He had now set his imprint on the club, and all were reaping the rewards. Effectively he had managed it all himself.

With respect to his restructuring of the squad, there was the benefit of a more relaxed summer with Celtic entering the Champions League group stage automatically for a change. The key transfers of the summer were the conversion to permanent of both CCV and Jota, whilst Bernabei, Siegrist, Mooy and Abilgaard (loan) were brought in to shore up the squad. On loan Jenz was needed to support the defence. It turned out to be the most laid back transfer window Celtic had had for at least a generation. As the season turned, out Postecoglou had a Midas touch with players, albeit some slipped through his fingers. As he himself put the importance he placed on the playing personnel:

“To me it’s – what’s their character? What’s their personality? What’s their motivation for coming to this football club? If I get the wrong one, not only does it affect that player but it affects my dressing room as well.”

In the league challenge, Postecoglou continued from where he left off and Celtic from the start of the season were continuing their dominance with some major skelpings along the way such as a nine-nil victory over Dundee Utd.

The league campaign after the 4-0 victory over Sevco in only the first meeting of the season clearly showed that there was only going to be one team in competition for the title, and Postecoglou had clearly made his mark. With the players having now fully signed up to his methodologies, the squad as whole adapted to his strategies of patience and starting moves from the back, so retaining possession and getting all involved.

Admittedly, the domestic competition was generally underwhelming or at least inconsistent, with second placed Sevco sacking their manager mid-season once the gap had grown too large. Celtic were dominant throughout the campaign, and few punches landed from the other clubs, with Postecoglou’s mantra of “We never stop until the final whistle” proven by the number of late goals and wins, and even breaking scoring records in the season.

A pivotal 4-3 victory v Hearts likely reflected the best at Celtic that season and defined best the current mentality at Celtic under Postecoglou. If any victory could be said to have been the decisive one for the league title then it would be have to be this victory. There may be other higher profile examples, but the ethos of the ‘we never stop‘ mantra can be little bettered than from this pulsating and difficult match that saw the two sides fight out a hard match with Celtic winning by the benefit of a stronger mentality more than all else. The team played together and battled together, with the goals coming in droves.

Sevco did manage a 2-2 draw at Ibrox in the New Years derby, but a 3-0 defeat to Sevco over Celtic came too late for them as the title was already wrapped up by this point, and Celtic did play a number of reserves (a rare faux pas by Postecoglou).

The league title campaign was a perfect textbook guide for any future campaigns, with the players even fighting to play. Postecoglou had achieved the most important target for the season, as the league title winner would win automatic Champions League qualification. With a sly dig at his Sevco counterpart who claimed that Postecoglou was lucky, Postecoglou celebrated the title win stating:

“Champions again because I’m a lucky man!”

The most befitting point for Postecoglou was possibly winning the league title away at Hearts, as having won the league title back to back was an incredible achievement, especially taking in that it was at Tynecastle where he opened his account with a frustrating defeat which initially signalled little light ahead.

As a measure of Postecoglou’s ability, the players were developing so much that there was wide competition for who could be ranked as the key player for the season. CCV was a rock in defence, Hatate was a skillful player leading the attacks from midfield, McGregor was a strong captain controlling the flow of the side from midfield, Jota was the fans favourite with his multitude of skills, whilst Kyogo was scoring high quality goals consistently. Another example was Juranovic who was one of the key successes but left in January 2023. Having had an incredible World Cup (mid-season in Qatar 2022), he was a key man for Croatia who reached the semi-finals. So in retrospect, he will give due respect to Postecoglou for the part he played in his development.

However, it was Europe that was the bugbear again. Automatically in the Champions League group stages facing European Cup holders Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shaktar was never going to be easy, but Celtic well underperformed. Celtic caused Real Madrid problems at home but they still comfortably defeated Celtic at the end. Against both Leipzig and Shaktar, early doors it was posited that Celtic could overcome the sides, yet Celtic tripped up & faltered badly.

Fair to argue that as a measure of the progress of the first team under Postecoglou, that Celtic were disappointed with only achieving a single point in an away match v Shakhtar instead of winning all three. A decent away performance boded well.  In fairness, Celtic did have their moments in the matches and could have pulled off a result but the overall scores can’t be countered. Surprisingly, a number of key players were often under par, and this ended up leading to a last place in the group.

Celtic were once again at square one in the group stages BUT it was not unfair to expect more. Criticisms on the manager’s attacking philosophy were raised as a number of the goals came from counter-attacks. The manager’s formations & team selections often irked some when he could have pushed on more defensive or more holding midfielders.  A poor & disappointing run. In a manageable group, Celtic floundered, and this was the sole area in which admittedly the manager did fail, albeit with the caveat of the more limited resources at hand.

In fairness, Postecoglou wasn’t stubborn, and you could see that he had learnt a lot from the run in Europe, and his playing philosophy was adjusting to the new competition experiences he was facing. You had to acknowledge & respect that.

In the cups, there was only one side in it: Celtic. The League Cup became a stroll, with Celtic triumphing in the final v Sevco to lift the title to provide Postecoglou the one trophy that escaped him the previous season. Defeating Sevco in the Scottish Cup semi-final, sent Celtic to the final v Inv Caley. The match was overshadowed by rumours of interest from the EPL for Postecoglou, but Celtic prevailed, and sealed the incredible domestic treble, a record breaking achievement, the eighth in the club’s history.

This all came despite the issues with the incompetence the implementation of VAR in Scotland, or as Postecoglou commented:

“VAR doesn’t miss anything by the looks of it – especially with us.”

The emotions were high at Celtic, and it is no exaggeration to say that there was a mutual emotional attachment between the club & the support that could be little matched anywhere else. It’s difficult to describe. In a football world overwhelmed by sport-washing and franchises, Celtic were a bright light in all that gloom. Postecoglou could see this, and the mutual respect was humbling. The crowds came out to celebrate & praise Postecoglou deservedly.

There were issues to still address, for example transfers were overall positive, but there were concerns with some not paying off to date (if not failing), most notably, Ideguchi, Koboyashi, Bernabei and Abildgaard (on-loan). Some even questioned the lack of success of youngsters coming through, but in a very strong competitive squad, it was never going to be easy for any new player or youngster to overtake any of the current first eleven.

However, those areas could be addressed, and in a season of further progress, great football, records being broken, and the link between the manager & support as strong as it could ever be, it was a golden season. Postecoglou was the driver for this all, and there was potentially so much more to come.

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Leaving Celtic (June 2023)

As was becoming the norm by this time, it meant that Postecoglou was repeatedly being linked to any roles down south, especially as the number of chopping and changing managers had reached epidemic levels. It was later revealed that he had ignored approaches from clubs such as Brighton, Southampton and Wolves.

The vacant Spurs role was though always going to be too tempting, and coincidentally he was in consideration for the post along with ex-Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers (sacked recently by Leicester). Few felt initially that Postecoglou would take that role as it was a poisoned chalice for many other managers over the years, with reports that others had already turned the offer down.

However, the offer in so many ways was always going to be too difficult to turn down for himself (i.e. financial, the challenge, the pressure from those with vested interests, national interests, global prestige, last chance at his age for such a role in the mega-leagues etc). The EPL at this time was arguably the premier league in the world in any sport.

In what was a quick turnaround after the Scottish Cup final, Ange Postecoglou opted to take the vacant Spurs managerial role in the EPL. As one of the richest clubs in their league (and world football), it was too big an offer to easily refuse. Postecoglou had hinted in emotional terms about his journey at Celtic and it was clear that his time was coming to an end, and it was clear moving to Spurs was a big decision he was making:

“Let’s not beat around the bush, I was a joke when I was appointed [to Celtic]. A lot of people made fun of my appointment. But the [Celtic] supporters, for their own reasons just put their collective arms around me and said no, he’s one of ours.”

The Celtic support had to take in the decision swiftly, but at least he was not leaving Celtic in the lurch like Brendan Rodgers had done so. Celtic were in an infinitely better position than the day Postecoglou had arrived. There was still so much to achieve at Celtic (especially in Europe), but financial offers such as the one from Spurs were ones that for most can come only once in a lifetime. It also further highlighted the already recognised gulf that Celtic could not fill.

We were all going to miss him. He’d far exceeded all expectations and helped return respectability back to the club. We wished him the best.

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Analysis
“All you can ever ask for in life, and particularly somebody like myself, is an opportunity. Being given the opportunity to manage this great football club (Celtic) was the best day for me.”
Ange Postecoglou (Mar 2023)

When Ange arrived, few if anyone in Scottish football knew much about him. Just before his departure in an emotional interview he laid it out very plainly about his arrival at Celtic:

“Let’s not beat around the bush, I was a joke when I was appointed. A lot of people made fun of my appointment. But the supporters, for their own reasons just put their collective arms around me and said no, he’s one of ours.”

The Celtic support was patient, but there’s no denying there were concerns and justifiable criticisms in the early months when there were some stutters.

After that, domestically at least, it was all one way traffic. The football improved, atmosphere at the matches went through the roof and then the results followed. Postecoglou had turned the sinking ship that was Celtic around! After having lost his opening competitive match to Hearts, no serious Celtic commentator genuinely thought Celtic could wholly recover in that first season. So it is a great testament to Postecoglou that he did do the job without resorting to financial profligacy as other managers have done at other clubs.

The Angeball style took time to bed in, and clearly everyone bought into it. Not always a convincing method, and could be risky, but it fundamentally changed the style at Celtic. Playing from the back, not relying on long ball, pressing game and passing was dragging Celtic into the modern age.

It was also the players. The contingent of Asian players helped promote a mindset of commitment and professionalism, and they practised as they preached. Goals from Kyogo, setup play by Hatate and pressing by Maeda all contributed strongly. Others like O’Riley, CCV, Starfelt and Jota will be forever in debt to Postecoglou for the faith he put in them.

The overall result cannot be denied. Domestic dominance with great football with more to come. In retrospect, it’s fitting that he won his second league title v Hearts who had defeated him in his first competitive match at Celtic.

One notable criticism was that which sides did Postecoglou defeat that were on paper at least far stronger clubs? In truth, arguably none. In fairness this was over only two campaigns in Europe, and he was still learning in these new environments. Having made the Uefa Cup Conference Cup knock out stages it was demoralising to be knocked out so quickly against Bodo Glimt. It was a repeat comment in his first half season how poorly his sides had done against more competitive sides (and at that early period it included Sevco).

It was clear that Postecoglou himself had much to adapt and learn himself, and clearly his tactics did evolve over time. With all due respect to the Japanese and Aussie leagues, they are not as competitive or as tactically developed as the European leagues or competitions. There is a more cut throat edge in Europe.

Domestically, there’s no denial that he overcame what was initially a more confident and settled Sevco squad that had won the league the season before he had arrived and had inexplicably reached the Uefa Cup final in 2022. Yet it’s hard to argue they were ever a far better squad than Celtic’s (except at the time of his arrival), but Ange Postecoglou rebuilt the squad very quickly to take Celtic back to the summit of Scottish football, and never once looked to be going to lose that spot. The defining point was the incredible 3-0 win v Sevco at Celtic Park (February 2022). After that match there was no turning back, as demonstrated by the incredible run of results domestically.

After just two seasons at the helm, it felt premature to leave and a job incomplete (especially in European competition), but a very thankful support nonetheless with memories that will last forever.  The problem was if this was going to be the norm moving forward, taking in managers with only an expectation of a 2-3 year tenure, then start all over again. The managerial merry-go-round across football was hitting epidemic proportions, and sadly Celtic were not immune to the problem.

For an Australian, without a prominent European playing career behind him, to get all the way to the top to manage a mega rich EPL club in this era was an unfathomable achievement. As the pool for managers selected for the elite wealthy clubs is like a closed shop, Ange Postecoglou’s accomplishment is incredible. Even Brendan Rodgers with his stellar record at Celtic, struggled for opportunities despite his ambitions & experience, albeit he did land what was at the time a plum role at Leicester (but not one of the elite sides):

“Spurs Fans questioning if Ange Postecoglou is good enough for Spurs. Well, I tell you one thing the question is more about if Spurs is good enough for Ange Postecoglou at the moment”.
Ramon Vega (ex-Spurs & ex-Celtic player) (June 2023)

The support had taken Ange Postecoglou to heart and he had taken Celtic to his big Aussie heart too. It felt like such a perfect fit.

He was going to be very much missed for everything including his humorous and pithy replies to the mundane questioning by the SMSM. It wasn’t just a manager we were losing, it was a great man too.

With a heavy heart, we wished him the very best.

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Post-Celtic

“I’m not surprised Spurs fans are frustrated with Postecoglou because he’s from Celtic.”
Louis Saha ex-Spurs player on the appointment of Postecoglu (June 2023)

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