He’s one of the biggest names in Australian football right now. Ange Postecoglou is continuing to put the land down under on the footballing map internationally.
Fresh off guiding Celtic to the Scottish Premiership title, there are now recent talks of where Australia’s coaching darling will be headed next. Some are suggesting he should set his sights to the English Premier League.
This includes former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, who spoke on Optus Sport’s GegenPod Football Podcast.
“I don’t get the argument that he can’t manage in the Premier League,” he said.
“Look at his track record, it speaks for itself. I think people would have sat up and noticed the job he’s done at Celtic.”
Postecoglou has won over Scottish fans just as he did in Australia at club level, with South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar.
Closer to home, it’s not just fans he’s won over though. Very few involved in football have anything bad to say about the newly-crowned Celtic champion manager.
But much like the initial reception that Postecoglou found in Scotland, it wasn’t always this way, as outlined by Football Coaches Australia President, Phil Moss.
“I had a few friends, particularly Rangers fans, who were let’s just say encouraging me to reach out to Ange and warn him against taking the job, it was that strong a feeling from certain sections,” he told Soccerscene.
“I just smiled and waved really. As anyone who knows Ange – and I’m not professing to know him very closely – but I’ve had some dealings with him over the years, and it was always going to be successful.
“Ange eats that sort of pressure for breakfast, lunch and dinner. If he decided that was the job for him, then you knew he was going to turn into a success.”
Moss is optimistic that Postecoglou is paving the way for Australian coaches overseas. Having previously coached at the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos, the Celtic move was one of the biggest in the history of Australian coaching.
But alongside the likes of Kevin Muscat (Sint-Truiden and Yokohama), Harry Kewell in England, and Alen Stajcic (Philippines women’s national team), he’s overcoming the obstacles that get in the way of Australian coaches.
“The main obstacle is our lack of profile down here when it comes to European circles and competitions,” Moss continued.
“If you look at a Steven Gerrard for instance, Ange’s CV leaves his in coaching terms a long way behind. But Ange obviously doesn’t have the profile from his playing career.
“He’s formally in the A-League and NSL as well, but let’s not forget the success he had with South Melbourne in the National Soccer League.
“What its done is a couple of things. Initially when players first started going overseas from Australia it opens doors, and it sparks interest of people in positions of power over in Europe that Aussies know how to play.
“This will now certainly let people understand that we know how to coach.
“It opens doors and gives coaches in Australia the confidence to know that they can aspire to rise to a higher level, despite maybe not having a high profile European playing career.”
Despite Postecoglou and other international coaches’ successes, the FCA still faces challenges at home when it comes to their own coaches.
“Our role at FCA is to go on the journey with the coaches,” Moss said.
“A key part of our work at the moment is working towards aligning our AFC/FA coaching badges with UEFA. At the moment, if you go through the AFC/FA coaching licenses, that doesn’t align to Europe.
“For coaches like Ange and Kevin Muscat, they’ve all had to go through or are going through a process of aligning their qualifications.
“It’s a big issue because it basically means any coach going through the AFC coaching pathway at the moment is reassessing if that’s the right pathway for them at the moment.”
And although many Australian coaches are still facing issues reaching their potential in a position in a European league, Postecoglou is well and truly a trailblazer.
“We’ve got to put this into context, he took over what local pundits were saying was the worst Celtic squad in 30 years where they lost the last league title by 25 points,” Moss said.
“That is a massive turnaround, just to get even with Rangers, let alone beat them to the title this season. As Ange said the other night, to fit two seasons into one – with a rebuilding season and a season for the title – is a phenomenal effort.”
