‘Barely a ripple’: Postecoglou sounds warning over Women’s World Cup legacy

Ange Postecoglou is pleased his homecoming with Tottenham Hotspur will enhance what was already a big week for Australian football – but warned that administrators cannot simply expect the FIFA Women’s World Cup to leave a lasting legacy for the sport.

One of the main factors behind Postecoglou’s decision to quit as Socceroos boss five years ago was his disappointment that winning the 2015 Asian Cup on home soil did not move the needle for football in Australia, and that the team’s historic accomplishment was quickly forgotten.

Ange Postecoglou is back in Australia for his first pre-season match with Tottenham Hotspur.Credit: PA

On Monday, he sat alongside Spurs star Son Heung-min – who had earlier raised the unhappy memory of his South Korean team’s 2-1 extra-time defeat to the Socceroos in the tournament’s final – for his first press conference since arriving back home for Tottenham’s pre-season clash against West Ham on Tuesday night at Perth’s Optus Stadium, and only his second since taking on the job.

After batting away a series of opening questions about the future of Harry Kane and predictably giving away little, Postecoglou offered a positive assessment of where he thinks the Australian game currently sits, and was optimistic – if not exactly confident – of where it might go next.

“Where it is right now it’s where it’s been many times. It’s what happens from now on,” he said.

“Australian football has been pretty good, always, at making a mark. Sonny mentioned 2015 – we won the Asian Cup and barely a ripple.

Tim Cahill and Ange Postecoglou soak in the Socceroos’ Asian Cup triumph in 2015.Credit: Brendan Esposito

“Particularly with the girls, it’s getting great exposure all over the world – in the UK, great exposure over there – and a great chance to make an impact. The Socceroos, I thought, were brilliant at the World Cup [in Qatar]. The A-League’s producing some good young players.

“It’s about the game taking advantage of that and making an indelible footprint in the sporting landscape here, which we know is always challenging.

“Hopefully, this time it takes advantage of it.”

Fresh off winning the domestic treble with Celtic last season, Postecoglou admitted it was “pretty bizarre” that his first match with Spurs – to be played in front of an expected crowd of 50,000 people – has brought him back home.

“We could have gone anywhere in the world, and we end up back in Australia, which is great. I’m chuffed to bits that this is going to be our first official game,” he said.

“It’s fair to say that since [my] appointment there’s been a fair bit of attention, which is great –- not so much for me personally, but for the game here in Australia, absolutely.

“It’s been a big 12 months for the game itself. We’ve got the FIFA Women’s World Cup about to start, which is going to be great for the nation, so any focus there is on football is brilliant.

“If I can add to that a little bit, I take great pride in that.”

Postecoglou handled the predicable flurry of questions about Kane from the travelling English press pack with consummate ease. Kane, 29, is out of contract at the end of the season and the subject of huge transfer interest from Bayern Munich.

The German club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness declared over the weekend that Kane had expressed his desire to move, and predicted that Spurs would eventually have to buckle to his demands, having turned down two previous bids.

“Nothing earth-shattering or defining,” Postecoglou said of his one-on-one meeting with Kane last week.

“Just a good chat. I introduced myself, and we spoke mainly about the club, where he thinks it’s at and where he thinks we can improve things. He’s been training ever since.

“There are a lot of people that know Harry better than me, but he’s not going to get fazed by anything. He’s here, and while he’s here, he’s totally committed to what we’re doing. In terms of me, [Hoeness’ comments] have zero impact on me. If other clubs want to talk about our contracted players, that’s more of an issue for them than us.”

Postecoglou’s assured start to life as a Premier League manager is no great shock to those who have followed his journey closely – including his West Ham counterpart, David Moyes, whom he caught up with on Sunday at a function in Perth.

They have coached against each twice before – in 2013, when Postecoglou was in charge of the A-League All Stars at the start of Moyes’ short-lived reign at Manchester United, and two years ago in a pre-season clash between Celtic and the Hammers in Glasgow.

Asked if he had any advice for Postecoglou, Moyes said: “He’ll never get more pressure than he did managing Celtic Football Club. [It’s] probably the third or fourth best-supported club in the world. And if you manage Celtic Football Club, you’re used to pressure, so he’ll have no problem.”