Ange Postecoglou has been hired as Tottenham manager on Tuesday night AEST as the English Premier League club begins its latest reboot after another turbulent season.
The Australian, who has just won a trophy treble with Celtic in Scotland, is the fourth permanent manager to be hired since Mauricio Pochettino’s departure in 2019, and he is tasked with the responsibility of turning Spurs’ fortunes around after 15 years without a trophy.
He signed a four-year contract and follows on from Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte, who all had short-lived reigns.
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“Ange brings a positive mentality and a fast, attacking style of play,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said. “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.”
Tottenham will hope Postecoglou can emulate the success he had in his two seasons at Celtic, where he won five trophies — two league titles, the Scottish Cup and two League Cups.
“Of course, we wanted Ange to stay with us at Celtic,” Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson said, “and while there is real disappointment that we are losing him, he has decided he wants to look at a new challenge, which we respect.”
The 57-year-old Postecoglou, who was born in Greece and raised in Australia, was previously coach of Australia and also Japanese club Yokohama F. Marinos. He is a blunt speaker, with his players and the media, and has clarity in his vision of football.
Postecoglou was congratulated by Football Australia after securing his dream job.
”This appointment is a personal triumph for Ange and his family, and we are absolutely delighted for them,” said Football Australia CEO James Johnson in a statement.
“Ange personifies the Australian football story: a proud Greek-Australian who immigrated to Australia at a young age and found his place in a new Australia through football. After making a name for himself domestically, from his playing days at South Melbourne Football Club to his success as Socceroos’ head coach leading the team to Asian Cup glory in 2015 on home soil, Ange has gone on to test himself successfully in the global football arena against the world’s best.
“This new chapter at Spurs for Ange is a testament to his enduring determination, skill, and vision as a leader. It is also a moment of great pride for Australian football and highlights this current golden age as we see more of our coaches making an impact on football around the globe and a steady presence of players across European leagues, particularly in Great Britain. Together with our co-hosting of the FIFA Women’s World Cup commencing next month, this is a clear indication that our country has emerged as a new power in global football and underlines the compelling legacy we are building for Australian football.”
Postecoglou joins Tottenham at the end of a season in which it failed to qualify for Europe for the first time since 2009.
Tottenham has also had to endure the upheaval of Conte’s departure in March, which was quickly followed by the exit of his former assistant Cristian Stellini, who was appointed interim manager until the end of the season.
The team’s form was so poor under Stellini that he lasted just four games — the last a 6-1 rout by Newcastle, which saw Spurs concede five goals inside 21 minutes. Another assistant, Ryan Mason, took over to the end of the campaign.
As well as managerial instability, Tottenham has also lost managing director of football Fabio Paratici after he lost his appeal against a 30-month ban for his part in a false accounting scandal involving former club Juventus.
Levy is under pressure from supporters to get his latest appointment right, with the ongoing trophy drought leading to growing unrest.
Levy’s change of strategy — bringing in proven trophy winners in Mourinho and Conte, who are largely pragmatic, defensive-first coaches — didn’t work, so he has gone back to his former approach of hiring a manager who plays more expansive football and promotes younger players.
One of Postecoglou’s first jobs at his new club may be to try to convince Harry Kane that his future remains at Spurs.
The England striker has one year left on his contract and has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Real Madrid this summer.
Kane became Spurs’ all-time leading scorer this season when surpassing club great Jimmy Greaves’ record of 266 goals. He also set a new record for his country, with 55 goals.
He has scored 213 Premier League goals and is closing in on Alan Shearer’s all-time record of 260.
While his departure could earn Tottenham as much as $186 million to reinvest in the team, it would leave a significant hole for Postecoglou to try to fill.
Postecoglou described his time at Celtic as an “honour.”
“They wanted me to extend my time at Celtic and while I am so respectful and understanding of their position, a new opportunity has been presented to me and it is one which I wanted to explore,” he said.
“Our supporters have been magnificent to me and I thank them for the way they have embraced me during the past two years. My ambition was always to give our fans a team they could be proud of, a team people talked about, and I think we have achieved that.”
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