Aussies outraged over Ange Postecoglou photo with Collingwood gun
Ange Postecoglou is on top of the football world, but not all Aussies are happy about his recent photo with an AFL star.
Ange Postecoglou is on top of the football world, but not every Aussie is happy with him right now.
Everything the Aussie football manager has touched has turned to gold at Tottenham this season with the London club sitting on top of the Premier League table.
After winning three consecutive “manager of the month” awards, the former A-League coach has turned Tottenham into every Australian’s second-favourite team.
There are limits to the adoration, however.
A photo of the former Celtic manager meeting with Collingwood star Josh Daicos in London this week has put Carlton fans in an awkward position.
Fresh from the club’s AFL premiership victory, Daicos was given a behind the scenes tour of the Premier League giant’s training facilities as part of an off-season holiday in Europe.
That visit, organised by a mutual sponsor shared between Tottenham and Collingwood, included a meeting with Postecoglou, who appeared just as excited about meeting the Aussie footy star as the Magpie was about meeting the hottest man in world football right now.
“It’s been really good to meet a few of the players and watch them train. Just seeing the facilities here, it’s probably by far the best venue I’ve been to,” Daicos said in a video shared by Tottenham.
“The way they cater for their players is quite amazing and you can see why they’re on top of their game at the moment.
“Training is quite intense and you can see the attention to detail. It’s very similar to us in terms of splitting off into groups and focusing on individual needs.
“We draw massive inspiration from these boys and to watch the likes of Sonny [Son Heung-min] and the rest of them go about it has been amazing.”
To some however, the photo is sacrilege with Postecoglou a vocal supporter of Carlton, Collingwood’s bitter rival.
Postecoglou showed his support for Carlton in September when the Blues made a thrilling run into the preliminary finals before they were knocked out by Brisbane.
“Go the Blues. They’ve had a great year and we’ve had a long period without success. Good luck to Michael Voss and the boys,” Postecoglou said from a media conference in London before Carlton’s clash.
Postecoglou has deep ties with Carlton and was even part of the committee that was responsible for the club appointing Brendon Bolton as head coach in 2016.
It’s why some Blues fans weren’t happy to see the loved Carlton figure all chummy with Daicos.
One fan on the official Reddit AFL group page said: “Poor form from a Carlton fan. Shame on u Ange”.
There were plenty of other light-hearted comments about Postecoglou’s betrayal.
“As a long suffering Blues and Spurs supporter, I don’t know how I should feel about this,” one fan posted.
There were plenty more Aussie fans on Spurs’ social media channels that loved the cross over between Aussie sports overseas.
Meanwhile, after a win over Crystal Palace last week, Postecoglou’s team went five points clear at the top of the table.
The Australian’s 26 points from his opening 10 games in charge is the best return of any new manager in Premier League history.
Not since Spurs last won the league in 1960-61 have they enjoyed such an advantage at the summit of the English top flight.