Our followers and subscribers are quite clearly intrigued to find out who current Yokohama F.Marinos boss Ange Postecoglou is, finding out about his achievements thus far in his managerial career in Australia and Japan and what type of set up he implements. So we at CeltsMedia put this to the test and got Aussie journalist David Davutovic to answer your questions on the best Australian manager of all time.
@ccoyle67, @chris_boyd17 & @chrissy.gall82 asks: What type of style and formation does Postecoglou play and do you think he will implement that at Celtic Park?
DD: Unsure of formation, but the style will be attacking and highly entertaining. He was attack-minded from the outset, which was born from his playing days at South Melbourne (he also represented the Australian senior national team) and especially after the influence of world football great Ferenc Puskas, who coached South Melbourne during Ange’s twilight years as a player. Injury ended it prematurely where he focused on coaching and he has refined the approach over 25 years, becoming bolder and more innovative with time. Success has followed when he has been backed/given time.
@innes_scullion2020asks: What is Ange Postecoglou’s best performance as manager? What is the game that stands out to you?
DD: His Brisbane Roar side revolutionised the A-League between 2010-12, with the most flamboyant football seen in Australia. They won back-to-back titles during this period and went on a record 36-game unbeaten streak. Yokohama F. Marinos has been his most consistent display of offensive football. But his best performances came with the Socceroos, the Australian senior men’s national team – and two games stand out. Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup and Chile in the 2017 Confederations Cup. Netherlands finished with a 3-2 loss, but if you get a chance, have a look at the respective team sheets then watch the game. To see Australia put Louis van Gaal’s Dutch to the sword was exhilarating and underlined the huge belief he instilled in the players in a shirt period (it was just his 5th game with the Socceroos). The Chile game ended 1-1, but to Socceroos mauled Chile and beat them at their own game. It was high-octane and epitomised Postecoglou’s philosophy.
@turnbulleditz & @colbrown82 asks: What type of player do you think he will bring in? Do you think he’ll use any particular contacts in Australia or Japan?
DD: Ange will bring in players that fit into his system, so first he’ll have a good look at Celtic’s current squad and determine which players will fit into his approach for next season. He has developed an impressive global network of contacts but historically he has preferred to start with a clean slate wherever he has gone, so rarely has he hauled across players and coaches from his previous club. But as Shunsuke Nakamura and Ki Sung-yeung have demonstrated, Japan and Asia has plenty of talent and having coached in the J1 League for 4 seasons, he will have an impeccable knowledge of players across the league, so my hunch is that he will make a few signings from the Japanese league.
@bhoysbible asks: Postecoglou will be coming in and in a relatively short period of time he will face Champions League qualifiers in July, do you think he will prioritise that or look to the rebuild?
DD: It will be a balance. He will be determined to qualify for the Champions League, no doubt. But there will be an eye on the bigger picture, because Ange won’t be satisfied qualifying for the Champions League, he will be aiming to make the knockout stages. Perhaps that is more feasible in season two considering a reasonable rebuild must occur. It was a similar story when he got the Socceroos job in 2013 – an overhaul ensued with an eye on winning the 2015 Asian Cup, which he did, but he was determined to be competitive at Brazil 2014, which they were.
@mgunn_19 & @frankmcgarvey87 asks: Do you think he’s done his due-diligence coming into Celtic? Do you think he will have a degree of knowledge of Scottish Football or is he coming into the unknown?
DD: Absolutely. Anyone who has worked with Ange knows about his insatiable work ethic and attention to detail – he will have a really sound knowledge of Celtic and Scottish football. I think he would have had a really good grasp of Celtic before this opportunity came up, because he is a lover of football and watches matches from all over the world. He also would have watched Celtic closely while he was Australia boss, while analysing Tom Rogic’s performances.
A big thanks to David who took the time to answer the questions with such detailed and fascinating answers. After today’s defeat to Honda FC in the Emperor’s Cup it looks likely that Ange Postecoglou will be announced as Celtic manager over the next few days. For David to give us such detailed insight into Ange is not only interesting but useful to the Celtic faithful as well.
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