Ange Postecoglou, the Greek-born Aussie, has taken another step in his stellar coaching career by joining Tottenham Hotspur on a four-year deal from Celtic.
The 57-year-old concluded his tenure with the Scottish champions by capturing a domestic treble. Tackling the English top flight will be a different ball game for Postecoglou, who starts his new role on 1 July.
Postecoglou joins the north London outfit bereft of European football for the first time since the 2009/10 campaign, with at least half-a-dozen other head coaches turning down the opportunity.
Ambitious Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has put his faith in Postecoglou to capture their first Premier League crown, and reportedly paid Celtic just under £5 million in compensation.
Postecoglou, who scooped five trophies in two seasons with Celtic, seems a bargain buy for Spurs. He’s made an immediate impact with the sportsbooks. His appointment has seen Tottenham’s odds to win the Premier League slashed from 66/1 to 40/1, to leapfrog Roberto De Zerbi’s rejuvenated Brighton & Hove Albion (50/1).
With the English top-tier flight brimming with talented head coaches, and many former international bosses, Postecoglou will need to hit the ground running. Australians who closely follow the Premier League will no doubt be fascinated by how Postecoglou tackles the world’s most popular and lucrative top tier.
Aussie fans who fancy a flutter on backing their coveted compatriot for next season’s Premier League champions should pay attention to some of the best deposit bonus Australia sites to check out the perks and promotions for the outsiders who will be an unknown quantity next term.
Champions Manchester City are runaway favourites (4/6) with Bet365 to retain their title with Arsenal (7/1), Liverpool and Manchester United (both 8/1 shots) ahead of Chelsea (12/1), Newcastle United (14/1) and dark horses Tottenham.
Postecoglou’s tactical prowess has proved that there’s far more to success on the pitch than just having a squad full of exceptional players. His innovative tactics, possession-based playing style and commitment to attacking football have always resulted in a swift impact on teams with a regular haul of trophies.
Winning prizes is something that Tottenham fans have been yearning for years, with their historical success dating back to the last century.
Postecoglou’s profile
He transformed Celtic from the doldrums to set the Scottish side alight, having joined from Japanese side Yokohama F Marinos in June 2021.
Postecoglou, who migrated from Greece to Melbourne in 1970 aged five, kicked off his football career as a defender with South Melbourne Hellas — now South Melbourne FC. During his stint at the club, traditionally favoured by Greek immigrants, he lifted the 1984 and 1991 Championships.
His winning mentality has been continuous throughout his coaching career, which started with South Melbourne in 1996. Postecoglou led the club to consecutive titles and Oceania Club Championship glory.
Postecoglou won back-to-back A-League Championships with Brisbane Roar with his tactics earning the nickname Roarcelona, because they emulated the innovative tiki-taka style of Barcelona.
He proved successful with Melbourne Victory before joining the national team in 2013. Postecoglou steered the Socceroos to the 2014 FIFA World Cup finals and lifted the 2015 AFC Asian Cup. He arrived in Glasgow following a trophy-winning spell in Japan.
Versatility with Australia
Postecoglou’s attacking 4-2-3-1 formation took the Socceroos to 2014 South Africa. Wide forwards peeled off the flanks, while midfielders held their positions to allow full-backs to attack in unison.
When central midfielders had the ball in deep positions, they played direct balls up to the striker or pumped it to wide midfielders.
Postecoglou mixed things up for the 2015 Asia Cup by reverting to 4-3-3. His emphasis on retaining possession saw full-backs advance forward as the midfielders attacked as a trio.
Postecoglou then turned to 3-4-2-1 to tackle both the 2017 Confederations Cup and their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Unique philosophy in Japan
Postecoglou utilised an expansive 4-3-3 formation with Yokohama from 2017. His fluid midfield trio and three wide forwards worked in unison as they captured their first J-League title in 15 years.
Underlapping runs by full-backs with fearless wide forwards resulted in huge gaps for his side to constantly probe and become a major threat in front of goal.
Champions at Celtic
Employing 1-4-2-3-1 and 1-4-3-3 formations in Scotland, Postecoglou often played a high line of defenders with the side defenders positioned wide to push off the opponent’s wingers.
This left free wide spaces behind them, which the centre-backs and defensive midfielders covered. As play was constantly being built out wide, the no.8 pushed forwards to support the frontline to provide an added threat on goal.
New style at Spurs
Postecoglou is expected to revert to a variation of the familiar 4-3-3 shape that proved successful in Japan and Scotland.
Postecoglou will bring backroom duo John Kennedy and Gavin Strachan from Celtic to Spurs. Japanese goal-machine Kyogo Furuhashi also ready to join him from the Scottish champions as Tottenham could lose England hot-shot Harry Kane during the summer.
Regardless of whether it is an expensively-assembled squad or not as an overhaul is required, Postecoglou will choose a formation to suit their strengths.
Postecoglou is expected to utilise his top striker to stop passes between centre-backs rather than pressing aggressively like Kane currently does.
Furuhashi was a big hit in Scotland, supported by versatile and combative midfielders willing to play wide. They opened up the pitch as the two closest midfielders moved towards the ball, with the third sitting central and ready to pounce should the opposition attempt to switch play.
Postecoglou favours vertical direct plays from the defensive line to move the ball right into the offensive third. All players must be highly effective in his teams, so he’ll demand midfielders beat defenders with dribbles, passes and running duels.
Conclusion
It will be fascinating to see who Postecoglou brings in and how he will evolve the squad tactically next season, as they will be eager to earn a place in Europe.
His sides seek space by rotating players, utilising the width, suffocating opposition and pressing deep to create space.
Tottenham fans can look forward to more attack-minded tactics as the entire side will be a threat on the counterattack.
