‘Breath of fresh air’: More plaudits for Postecoglou as Spurs grab inspirational win

Ange Postecoglou is a man who can do no wrong in his new Tottenham kingdom.

At least, that’s how the Australian must look to Spurs’ long-suffering fans, who have seen their new saviour’s unbeaten start to life in the Premier League now gilded by the latest of late comebacks at home to Sheffield United that turned a probable first defeat into a fourth straight win.

Ange Postecoglou wills Tottenham Hotspur to a memorable Premier League win over Sheffield United on Saturday.Credit: Getty

Coming at the end of a week in which the 58-year-old has been saluted as the league’s manager of the month – in his first month – and shortlisted for the title of FIFA’s best men’s coach of the year, here was a 2-1 victory to pipe the icing on the cake on Saturday (Sunday AEST).

Postecoglou is 58, and no stranger to Australian soccer fans. He started his managerial career here in 1996 and coached the men’s national team between 2013-17. But he is – or was – far less well known in the UK, where fans only started to take notice in 2021, when he took charge at Scottish side Celtic.

But Max Rushden, a British radio and TV presenter and podcast host who is now based in Australia, says this adds to Postecoglou’s appeal.

“He feels like a new young manager and the way he talks about the game and the way he’s so open is sort of a breath of fresh air,” said Rushden.

“He’s just so honest and decent.”

Of course, the winning helps – as Rushden acknowledged.

“The start he’s had has been, you know, probably not beyond his wildest dreams. But they’ve been a couple of close games and last night to get two goals in injury time and the way it happened.”

“The way it happened” was far from the best performance Spurs have produced under the Australian. But the resilience and spirit that’s pushed them to their best start to a top-flight season for 57 years once again shone through.

Richarlison – the star striker Postecoglou had been struggling to get the best out of – returned to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to prove himself a matchwinner. The striker had made headlines during the week with his revelation while on international duty with Brazil that he would “seek psychological help” for off-field issues.

The Brazilian was brought off the bench in the 80th minute and headed Spurs level after the first eight minutes of stoppage time had been added on. A couple of minutes later Richarlison then expertly found the unmarked Dejan Kulusevski in the box to fire home a 100th minute winner and seal the latest-ever winning comeback in Premier League annals.

Postecoglou could not have been more thrilled, but mainly it was just genuine delight for the Brazilian.

“We’ve got to maintain a balance in life and even for him, he needs to understand his football is still good. He’s a fantastic footballer,” Postecoglou told BBC Sport.

“He’s got so much to give and that can help ease the burden he’s feeling in other parts of his life. I’m really pleased for him.

“Hopefully that gives him a bit more of a settled feel to deal with the other areas in his life.

Richarlison celebrates his goal that ignited Tottenham Hotspur.Credit: Getty

“For everyone, it’s about not letting it overwhelm you and, hopefully, a day like today helps him.”

Former Socceroo Craig Foster said Postecoglou was challenging the idea that elite soccer only existed in Europe and South America.

“Not just Australian football, but all of Australian sport should be immensely proud that Australia has six nominees for FIFA awards in the world’s biggest and most competitive game,” Foster said.

“For Ange to rise from the NSL with his boyhood club South Melbourne and as a proud Greek-Australian to the EPL says much about modern Australia and the rise of football as the multicultural game at the forefront of national consciousness.

“Ange is opening pathways for a new generation of highly educated Australian coaches and challenging the notion that elite football only exists in Europe and South America.”

Postecoglou said wins like Sunday’s helped fuel belief in his team.

“There’s some real resilience and spirit within that group already, which is great to see because they are a relatively new group,” he noted.

Rushden said: “Sometimes you just have moments where it just feels everything is working for you and that’s how it is right now.”

While Tottenham fans are enamoured given the promising start after years of hardship, Rushden said Postecoglou was also helping to fill a void from an Australian perspective.

“Obviously, you have Sam Kerr, one of the greatest footballers in the world, but in the men’s game right now there’s a bit of a void of talent in terms of Australian soccer players currently playing,” he said.

“It’s not the age of [Harry] Kewell, and Mark [Viduka] and stuff like that and so I think he’s sort of filling that void a little bit.

“They can’t look at the men’s game and go ‘We’ve got one of the best players in the world’ but actually they have now a manager who is very quickly making his name known everywhere he’s gone.”

But this may just be the start.

Next weekend, Postecoglou gets his first taste of a north London derby against Arsenal at Emirates Stadium, before another test against Liverpool.

“Tottenham have two very difficult games coming up ... we’ll learn a lot from them on sort of where they are,” Rushden said.

If Postecoglou is the toast of Tottenham already, he’ll be positively revered if he can oversee a defeat of the Gunners down the road on their home patch.

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.