Tottenham ‘excited’ to have Greek-Australian coach join club

Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday confirmed the appointment of Greek-Australian Ange Postecoglou as the head coach of the English Premier League powerhouse. 

“Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play. He has a strong track record of developing players and an understanding of the importance of the link from the academy – everything that is important to our club. We are excited to have Ange join us as we prepare for the season ahead,” said the club’s chairman, Daniel Levy, in an announcement.

Postecoglou was born in the Athens suburb of Nea Filadelfia and grew up in Melbourne from the age of 5 when his family emigrated to Australia in 1970 after his father went out of business during the 1967-74 colonels’ dictatorship.

His involvement with soccer started on the field at the age of 9, as a player for South Melbourne Hellas, which he went on to coach.

He managed at South Melbourne, winning the National Soccer League twice and the Oceania Club Championship, and then led the Australian national Under-17s and Under 20s before moving on to managing in the A-League, winning the Premiership in 2011 and the Championship Grand Finals in 2011 and 2012 with Brisbane Roar, becoming the first coach to win consecutive A-League Championship titles. 

According to the Tottenham, announcement, he then became Australian senior national team manager from 2013 to 2017, taking the team to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, winning the AFC Asian Cup in 2015 and securing qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

He won the J1 League with Yokohama F. Marinos in 2019 and joins Tottenham on a four-year contract from a stellar run at Celtic, where he won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup in 2021-22 and delivered the treble, winning the Scottish Premiership, Scottish League Cup and Scottish Cup in 2022-23. 

Postecoglou also did a brief stint in Greece, as the coach of Panachaiki in 2008.