How Ange is paving the way for A-League’s best to target Europe
Ange Postecoglou’s Europa League success with Tottenham is arguably the biggest moment in Australian football, and it could pave the way for the A-League’s best coaches to target Europe.
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Ange Postecoglou’s success in guiding Tottenham to Europa League glory is a boost for a host of Australian coaches hoping to follow in his footsteps.
Former Victory coach Kevin Muscat has already tasted great success in Asia and seems ready for another tilt in Europe.
Then there’s the likes of current A-League coaches John Aloisi (Western United), Steve Corica (Auckland FC) and Ufuk Talay (Sydney FC) who have all been open about their ambitions to eventually further their career abroad.
Postecoglou’s coaching journey that started in 1996 at South Melbourne shows that, with patience, Australian coaches can mix it with the best overseas.
He now surely cannot be sacked by Tottenham.
And despite suggestions he might resign, Postecoglou’s comments after Spurs’ 1-0 win over Manchester United in Thursday morning’s Europa League final suggests that he wants to stay.
“I still feel there’s a lot of work to be done … but not as much work as people might think,” he said.
“(Winning the Europa League) can be a great platform for us to keep going.
“I don’t feel like I’ve completed the job yet. We’re still building. I think there’s an opportunity here.”
It should be no surprise that Postecoglou wants to stay at Spurs given the club’s Europa League success has earned them a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Of course Tottenham will need to strengthen its squad, and hopefully Spurs owner Daniel Levy is willing to spend the money needed to bring more star quality to the club.
Levy must back Postecoglou, both in supporting him, rather than sacking him, and providing him with the necessary funds to ensure Spurs not only improve on their dismal 2024-25 Premier League campaign, but are also competitive in the Champions League.
There’s no doubt that Spurs had some luck in the final, but despite Manchester United having some chances and Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario needing to make some saves, Postecoglou’s men deserved their win.
It was also great to hear Postecoglou acknowledge the different style that was needed to win the final, and that he was willing to sacrifice his preference for attacking football to ensure his side held on by sitting back and defending in numbers after going ahead just before half-time.
“I’ve always felt that knockout football’s different from league football,” he told TNT Sports.
“When you’re in that situation it comes down to really good organisation and having a really clear game plan.
“I felt we were going to be really hard to break down. I always felt comfortable that if we got ahead, that we could negate most of what Manchester United were going to throw at us.”
DANIEL MUST DELIVER
Daniel Arzani owes his Victory teammates a semi-final-winning display in Auckland on Saturday after the silly way he gave the already dominant Black Knights even more reason to end the Melbourne club’s season.
For those who missed Arzani’s comments immediately after Auckland’s 1-0 win over the Victory, the Socceroos playmaker described the Black Knights as “one-dimensional” and suggested the scoreline flattered the winners, despite most people being of the belief that the New Zealand outfit should have won by more.
Arzani also said that Auckland’s goal, a header from Logan Rogerson, came from a “nothing ball from the sideline” from Francis de Vries.
What Arzani conveniently forgot to mention was that De Vries got the better of him before delivering the cross that led to Rogerson’s goal.
It’s no surprise that Auckland coach Steve Corica intends to remind his players of Arzani’s comments before kick-off on Saturday.
The Black Knights didn’t need any extra motivation to clinch the semi-final in front of a packed house at Go Media Stadium, but they will definitely be further fuelled for success after Arzani’s comments.
Having talked the talk, Arzani must now walk the walk.
No doubt he’s going to be booed by Auckland fans every time he touches the ball, but he recently said that he loved being jeered by rival fans and that it inspired him to produce his best.
He now must prove that, because anything less than that on Saturday will make the Victory’s already difficult task even tougher.
TOUGH TASK FOR UNITED
Western United can ill-afford to dwell on the club’s seemingly significant off-field problems if the John Aloisi-coached team is to have any chance of producing a semi-final miracle at AAMI Park on Saturday night.
Melbourne City already has one foot in Saturday week’s grand final after beating United 3-0 in last Friday’s semi-final first-leg battle at AAMI Park.
As if that wasn’t enough for United’s players to be thinking about this week, they also are allegedly owed wages and superannuation from the club, which has been slapped with a host of breach notices from Professional Footballers Australia.
Hopefully, KAM Melbourne’s purchase of Western United and Western Melbourne Group will soon be ratified by the APL and Football Australia to solve the club’s financial woes.
It’s a shame the way things are going at the wrong time for United after such a good season under the tutelage of Aloisi.
For the neutrals, an early United goal on Saturday night at AAMI Park would be ideal as it would give Aloisi’s men hope and put City on edge.
However, the reality is that City’s professionalism and organisation will be extremely difficult for United to overcome in trying to overturn a three-goal deficit.
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