Tottenham Hotspur fans are enjoying very happy times right now, and a lot of that is down to the manager, Ange Postecoglou. Here’s everything you could possibly want to know about the big man in the dugout.
Eyebrows were raised when Ange Postecoglou was chosen as the new Spurs head coach in June 2023, but he has very quickly won over the Tottenham faithful, and has even endeared himself to the neutral fans, too, thanks to his commitment to attacking, exciting football.
Full Name: Angelos Postecoglou
Age: 58-years-old
Date Of Birth: August 27, 1965
Place Of Birth: Athens, Greece
Nationality: Australian
Ange Postecoglou’s time at Tottenham Hotspur
After the high profile appointments of Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy took things in a different direction by hiring the relatively unproven Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2023. With Tottenham out of European competitions this season, and with star man Harry Kane leaving the club, expectations were pretty low for Spurs going into the 2023/2024 campaign.
However, Tottenham could not have asked for a better start to the season, enjoying a ten game unbeaten run to sit at the top of the Premier League table. Heung-min Son, named as the new Tottenham captain, found his shooting boots, new signing James Maddison was pulling all the strings in midfield, and the Lilywhites defence looked stronger than ever.
Then, the wheels began to fall off when Spurs succumbed to a defeat to Chelsea, with key players leaving the game with suspensions and injuries. Three further defeats followed, but the North London side have since pulled things back together, players are coming back from injuries, which made for an exciting second half of the season.
Ange Postecoglou’s previous coaching roles
Ange Postecoglou found his true calling in coaching. He has had success at both the domestic and international levels. Notably, he guided the Brisbane Roar to consecutive A-League championships in the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, playing an attractive and attacking style of football that has become his trademark.
Postecoglou’s coaching prowess eventually led to him becoming the head coach of the Australian national team. Under his management, the Socceroos qualified for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and they also won the Asia Cup in 2015.
Postecoglou left the national team in 2017 and went on to coach clubs such as Melbourne Victory in the A-League and Yokohama F. Marinos in the Japanese top flight. He achieved significant success with Yokohama, winning the J1 League in the 2019 season.
In 2021, Ange Postecoglou took on a new challenge as the head coach of Celtic, one of Scotland’s most successful football clubs. His transition from Australian and Asian football to managing a prominent European club marked a significant step in his coaching career, but was a challenge he thrived under.
During his time in Scotland, Postecoglou helped to establish Celtic as the unquestionable dominant force, winning back-to-back SPL titles, one Scottish cup, and two Scottish League Cups. His crowning achievement was securing an historic treble in the 2022/23 campaign, which was his farewell gift to Celtic before moving on to Spurs.
Interestingly, Postecoglou spends an average of 2.63 years in his coaching roles before moving on. He has managed 488 games across his career in total, and has won 263 of those matches, resulting in a win percentage of 53.8% overall.
Ange Postecoglou’s coaching career
Tottenham Hotspur (July 2023 – July 2027 expected)
Celtic (June 2021 – June 2023)
Yokohama F Marinos (February 2018 – June 2021)
Australia (October 2013 – November 2017)
Melbourne (April 2012 – October 2013)
Whittlesea Zebras (January 2009 – June 2009)
Panachaiki GE (March 2008 – Deember 2008)
Australia U17 (July 2003 – June 2006)
Australia U17 (July 2001 – June 2002)
Australia U20 (January 2001 – February 2007)
South Melbourne (January 1995 – December 2000)
Ange Postecoglou’s playing career
Admittedly, Ange Postecoglou has fared far better as a coach than he ever did as a player. Postecoglou played as a defender and spent the majority of his professional playing career with South Melbourne in the National Soccer League.
He began his playing days during the 1984-1985 season. He also played for another Australian club, Sydney Olympic, before returning to South Melbourne again. Postecoglou did feature for the Australian national team on two occasions, but never managed to establish himself as a regular there (Transfermarkt).