Postecoglou interview: I feel individuals will underestimate me
I
t was round 5 years in the past that Ange Postecoglou’s brokers thought the Australian may land a job in England.
Postecoglou had coached his nation to Asian Cup glory in 2015, whereas he had loved profitable stints domestically in Australia and Japan.
Given his engaging model of soccer too, the 57-year-old seemed like an thrilling rent for somebody.
“I walked into a lot of corporate boxes, met a lot of CEOs of English Premier League clubs and Championship clubs,” recollects Postecoglou. “They had no idea who I was mate. It was a waste of time.
“I used to tell them (my agents): ‘Mate it’s like you’re taking me for auditions in Hollywood and I’m getting rejected all the time’. It was doing nothing for my self-esteem.”
Postecoglou has made it to the massive time now, although, after being employed by Tottenham this summer time.
It is in appointment that has largely been effectively acquired by supporters, who’re excited by the Australian’s plans for attacking soccer, however there are those that are sceptical.
“I still think people will underestimate me,” says Postecoglou. “People have underestimated me my whole career, and I don’t want to change that – that’s good for me.
“I think the more people underestimate me, the better a chance I have of getting under their guard, because what I do, I’m always well prepared, I don’t underestimate anybody.”
The early indicators have been promising for Tottenham on their pre-season tour of Australia and Asia.
They suffered defeat to West Ham of their opening sport, however recorded 30 photographs on purpose and their assault was reworked.
Postecoglou’s model is born out of his upbringing. His father beloved engaging soccer, revering the good Ajax groups of the Nineteen Seventies and the Dutch aspect who made the 1974 World Cup remaining.
“He hated Italian football – it was the era of Catenaccio,” says Postecoglou. “Whenever it came on he would turn it off: ‘I’m not watching this’.
“But if somebody exciting was playing – like Ajax or at that time, Liverpool were a fantastic passing team, an attacking team, or if there was a player in there that he really liked – like a Glenn Hoddle at Spurs – he would point him out and so that resonated. That’s why he loved the game.”
That love of attacking soccer grew over Postecoglou’s taking part in profession, with a stint working underneath Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas at South Melbourne Hellas a defining time.
Puskas coached the membership from 1989 to 1992 however, with Puskas talking higher Greek than English because of a stint at Panathinaikos, Postecoglou turned his translator – in addition to being the staff’s left-back and captain.
“He was the most humble of people, which resonated with me,” says Postecoglou. “Just because you’ve achieved, if you can be kind to people, the effect it has can be unbelievable.
“Anyone would say his teams just wanted to outscore the opposition, that’s all he wanted to do. He goes: ‘We will win 5-4 every week and I’ll enjoy it’.
“I was a defender, so we copped four goals and I was like ‘s***’, but he was buzzing because what a game.
“We loved playing like that because we weren’t worried about making a mistake or conceding a goal. I just thought to myself, what a fantastic outlook to have. We ended up being champions that year.”
Postecoglou’s relationship with Puskas prolonged to him being the Hungarian’s chauffeur, driving him round in a banged-up Datsun 200.
“I had the s***** old car, because I was on hardly any money,” he recollects. “So I’d be literally pulling up and putting a guy in my car, which was worth £500 at the time, didn’t have a window winder because my mate had broken it the year before, so he couldn’t even wind his window, and I’m driving one of the world’s greatest players around in this car that’s bloody embarrassing.
“We went to one game, I was driving him to the airport and I got a flat tyre on the freeway and had to pull over to the side.
“So here I am, in the club tracksuit, driving one of the world’s greatest footballers to the airport so we don’t miss our flight, I get a flat tyre, and I’ve got the jack and I’m on the middle of the highway.
Postecoglou’s Tottenham showed promising signs against West Ham
/ AFP via Getty Images“He didn’t get out of the car. He stayed in the car. I’m going: ‘Boss, d’ya mind just…’ – because he was a big guy at the time – ‘d’ya mind getting out?’
“And he goes: ‘No, I’m not going anywhere’. I think about it now and think: ‘Man, I would have done things differently, I would have paid for a taxi for the man’.”
Postecoglou’s is a good distance from these days altering tyres on the aspect of a highway and he’s as a substitute doing his personal rebuild at Tottenham.
It is early days and at current he’s now attempting to overtake an excessive amount of, as he works out what must be completed.
“You listen a lot, don’t do a lot of talking,” he says.
“I haven’t got a full picture of everything I need to have real clarity about what we need to do but in the 12,13 days I’ve been at the club, the fog is lifting. I can see more of what needs to be done.”
Postecoglou has been effectively acquired by the Tottenham gamers, with midfielder Yves Bissouma calling him a father figure earlier this week.
The Australian typically retains conversations with gamers brief, partly as a result of he’s “terrible” at small speak, however he has nonetheless constructed connections at no matter membership he has labored.
People have underestimated me my complete profession, and I don’t need to change that – that’s good for me.
“It’s just not me as a person. I’m not someone who is going to sit down with you and have a chat about things,” says Postecoglou.
“It’s not who I am. Even with my friends, they know me, I’m like that. I think the way you connect with people is if people know you and understand you and that’s you as a person, they’ll accept that. I just try to be me.”
That is definitely how Postecoglou comes off throughout this intimate roundtable in Perth on Tottenham’s pre-season tour.
He is sincere and tells it like it’s, offering partaking firm over a 40-minute interval the place the tales vary from tales of Puskas to Sir Alex Ferguson.
“We (Sir Alex and I) were walking to a press conference, and he said: ‘You’re never going to like this stuff. I hate it’,” says Postecoglou.
“I kind of hung on his every word [when I met him]. Like I said it was only 10 minutes, and I remember I had his book as well, because one of my best mates is a massive Man United supporter and he said to me if you meet Fergie get him to sign this for me.
“I said: ‘I can’t do that. I’m managing against them, that’s pretty embarrassing’. To be fair he signed it for me.
“And I said to him: ‘It’s for my mate’. Because he wrote: ‘To Nick,’ he went: ‘Yeah right it’s for your mate’. I went: ‘Yeah it is’.
“But more important was the impression he made on me that if you can do that to a person, that person then leaves thinking or feeling like you’ve given them that time of day, and that that has an unbelievable effect.”