'Our legend': Australia football hails Europa-winning Postecoglou
Tottenham beat Manchester United in Bilbao to win the Europa League (Thomas COEX)
Ange Postecoglou was lauded back home Thursday for "inspiring the next generation of Australian coaches" after steering Tottenham to their first trophy in 17 years by winning the Europa League.
Australian football celebrated the embattled 59-year-old's success after Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final in Bilbao on Wednesday night.
Advertisement
Despite that, Postecoglou's job hangs in the balance after a dismal Premier League campaign that has Tottenham languishing near the bottom of the table.
Governing body Football Australia hailed "the three Aussies at the centre" of Tottenham's triumph.
Postecoglou's assistants include former Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak and Leeds-born naturalised Australian Nick Montgomery.
"Congratulations for continuing to break down barriers and inspire the next generation of Australian coaches," Football Australia said in a statement.
Boyhood club South Melbourne FC -- known as the "Hellas" -- celebrated Postecoglou as "our legend".
Advertisement
"From his early days as a Hellas junior, to a championship-winning captain and coach, Ange has gone on to become a serial winner wherever he's been," the club said on social media.
"His football journey is truly one of a kind."
Greek-Australian newspaper Neos Kosmos said Postecoglou's win was a source of immense community pride, while local politician Steve Dimopoulos said it was a "major achievement".
Former Yokohama, Celtic and Australia coach Postecoglou had consistently said this year that he always wins a trophy in his second season and his words came true in Bilbao.
Advertisement
National broadcaster ABC said that Postecoglou had "silenced his Tottenham Hotspur doubters".
"To some it was a meaningless boast," it said on its website.
"To others it was a delusional symptom of the failure virus that has infiltrated everything associated with Tottenham for the past two decades or more.
"To Ange Postecoglou, it was belief."
sft/pst/dh
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Versatile' Tielemans the 'go-to guy' for Aston Villa
Of all the blizzard of statistics measuring Youri Tielemans' season for Aston Villa, this number particularly stands out. In the most competitive area of a squad growing in depth around him, Tielemans started 52 of Villa's 57 competitive games, more than anyone else except Morgan Rogers. Advertisement Until a minor injury finally interrupted his season in May, Tielemans had started every game except the two Carabao Cup matches, for which Unai Emery made more radical team changes. In arguably the deepest high-quality squad in the club's history, Tielemans was the go-to guy. "He's our best player by a mile this season," said John McGinn in a TNT Sports interview last month. "His first year was a bit stop-start, but he's a huge player for us and he's versatile - he can play as a 10, eight or six." Tielemans' status at Villa has transformed over the past 18 months. Advertisement After his arrival, he spent the first third of the Premier League season as a substitute. Then, after finally working his way into the first XI - starting both of the statement wins over Manchester City and Arsenal in December 2023 – a calf injury set him back for a month. But his status had been established, and once fit again, he was rarely left out. "Last year was very important in how he adapted to us, and how he was understanding how we wanted to build with him," said Unai Emery in January. "This year, he's playing consistently, again in different positions because he is a versatile player." Advertisement That word again: versatile. There is room for specialists in an Emery squad, but he has depended most heavily on players like Tielemans, McGinn and Rogers - footballing Swiss Army knives he can deploy in different roles as the situation demands. Villa's two full seasons under Emery have run to 56 and 57 games and, given the Spaniard's record in Europe - and the Europa League in particular - they could easily match that total again in 2025-26. The strength of Villa's squad comes not only from depth, but flexibility. But Profit and Sustainability Rules are not flexible. Like last summer, at least one top-liner will surely have to go if Villa are to limbo under the PSR bar again. Advertisement Tielemans' arrival as a "free" - in transfer-fee terms - would make selling him a profitable prospect. His record last season would command a significant fee. That same record, though, makes him perhaps the most difficult man in the squad to replace, and selling him the hardest to countenance. Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Combat and creativity - the rise of Tielemans at Villa
"I think he's one of the leaders on the field," Unai Emery said of Youri Tielemans in April, with the Aston Villa boss describing the Belgian as "very important" to how his side plays. After struggling in his first season in the West Midlands, Tielemans had a point to prove in 2024-25. Advertisement And, although Villa missed out on Champions League football on the final day, the 28-year-old has made his presence felt in the heart of midfield over the past nine months. But how has he done it? [BBC] Nothing illustrates the change in his role more than the amount of time he has spent on the pitch. In his first season at Villa Park, he played just 1,620 minutes in the Premier League, waiting until November for his first Premier League start. Last season - despite featuring in just four more games - Tielemans nearly doubled the amount, playing 3,032 minutes. His versatility is a key asset, with Emery able to deploy him in several of the different central midfield positions and even occasionally on the left-hand side. Advertisement He even ended up as Villa's third top goalscorer despite scoring only three times, following the departure of Jhon Duran to Al-Nassr. Nevertheless, his influence in the final third focuses more on his ability to break down the opposition, and he created more chances (61) than any other Aston Villa player this season. That number put him ninth overall across all players in the Premier League and is a significant improvement on his first year at the club where he only created 18 opportunities. Add to that his 2,517 touches - again highest for his team-mates - and it merely emphasises his impact. Advertisement At the other end of the pitch, Tielemans has been just as impressive. Not only has he won possession the most times (145), but he also made the most tackles (84) across the entire season, with the latter number more than doubling his tally from the previous year. With his dual ability to play high up the pitch, and to drop deep to win the ball back, it seems pretty clear Tielemans' improvement has made him one of Villa's most important players under Unai Emery. If he were to leave this summer, it would be a damaging blow for hopes of a Champions League return next season.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Micky van de Ven says Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham sacking was ‘strange', expects Thomas Frank as successor
Tottenham Hotspur defender Micky van de Ven has described the club's decision to sack head coach Ange Postecoglou as 'strange'. Postecoglou was dismissed last week, 16 days after winning the Europa League — the club's first trophy in 17 years — with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in Bilbao and on the second anniversary of his appointment. Advertisement The Athletic reported on Monday that Spurs had made contact with Brentford over appointing Thomas Frank as Postecoglou's successor. The Australian, 59, guided Spurs to a fifth-place finish in the Premier League during his first season in charge. But their form plummeted last term, and they lost 22 times on the way to 17th place in the top flight — their worst finish in the Premier League era. Van de Ven was one of Postecoglou's first signings and the centre-back questioned the decision to sack him after scoring for the Netherlands in an 8-0 victory over Malta on Tuesday evening. 'He is the first coach in a long time who has won a trophy and has had success at Spurs,' the 24-year-old told Voetbal Zone. 'So if you look at it that way, it is of course a strange choice. 'It is a choice from the club about which we (the players) have little to say, so we will see what happens now. Of course, we see some rumours about the Brentford head coach (Frank), who it will probably be. So yes, a choice from the club about which we have little to say. 'I think many of the players got along with (Postecoglou) well. He is the first coach who has brought success to Spurs in a long time. That also shows that he has a certain quality. That also means that he has a winning mentality. 100 per cent. 'From that, you would of course say that it is strange that he was fired. What we have shown in the Premier League is, of course, unacceptable. That would, of course, have multiple factors, but that would not only have been the coach.' Talks are ongoing between Spurs and Brentford around Frank about a £10million ($13.5m) compensation fee and which members of his backroom staff would join the Dane in moving across London.
