The former Celtic boss has since managed Tottenham and Nottingham Forest
Ange Postecoglou has thanked Celtic for giving him more than he gave them - after Liverpool manager dreams came closer than he’d ever thought.
The Hoops hired the Aussie from Yokohama F. Marinos in 2021 and he went on to win five out of six available trophies before joining Tottenham two years later. His high-octane attacking methods were doubted upon his hiring due to a lack of European experience but his style from stints in Australia and the Far-East made him a Celtic hero. Shown footage of being serenaded by ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ in his final match as boss, the 2023 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness CT, a wowed Postecoglou says the club’s history of success meant he was more of a beneficiary for having a slice of that rather than the club gaining from him.
He told Howie Games: “It's almost surreal. You kind of go ‘is that me in that sort of image?’ I grew up watching those images. That's my childhood of me watching a manager walking around a ground with a trophy with thousands of supporters there. Now you're that person and it is surreal. Everyone's got sort of bucket list. If you're a golfer, you want to play certain courses, if you're a tennis player you want to play certain tennis tournaments.
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Ange Postecoglou on managing Celtic
“I think if you're a manager, Celtic is one of those clubs, it would be on your bucket list because it's just a special football club. The support, the history of the football club, the city itself in Glasgow and sort of how all-encompassing it is with everything, every sort of waking moment I literally could not open the door without it being in your face.
“My wife's the world's greatest shopper and I knew from the Amazon delivery whether it was a Rangers supporter or a Celtic supporter by the way that the parcel was delivered to me. It was such a magical time for me. I really think I got more out of it than then than the club itself because the club has had a lot of success but it was such a sort of enriching experience for me.”
A previous appearance on the show had Postecoglou chuckling over his dream of managing Liverpool, who he grew up watching, as a kid back home. Having since managed in the Premier League at Tottenham and Nottingham Forest, now the boss of Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Pro League team Al-Nassr, dreams of Anfield suddenly didn’t feel so far away.
Ange Postecoglou has managed Celtic, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in the UK.placeholder image
Ange Postecoglou has managed Celtic, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham in the UK. | Getty Images
Who did Ange Postecoglou want to manage?
He added: “There's been forks in the road where I just think ‘God, it could end up so much so differently’ and yet here I am. I think I remember, I think it was on our first podcast where it was said, you know, what's next, and could we see you at Liverpool? I was a massive Liverpool supporter. I remember the question and I think both of us had a chuckle. But there was an uncomfortable chuckle because who knows?
“I never sort of put it out there as an ambition, but that was kind of in my head about that's where I wanted to end up, you know, somewhere in that sort of environment. I think the fascination is that it's actually happened, how's it happened? Why is it happening? And some of those questions I still don’t really understand.”
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