"The biggest trouble with Celtic is trying to keep hold of Ange. In three or four years, you're going to have the same situation. He has won multiple titles and he will be trying to get a move to England or one of the big leagues. That is his pathway."
Ange Postecoglou is cut from the same cloth as Pep Guardiola and Maurizio Sarri – an emphasis on a high-octane style of attacking football, with an unrelenting belief in their philosophy.
But his appointment as Celtic manager has caused a stir in Scotland. Fans have questioned his ability and credibility to make the step from Asian to European football.
Postecoglou has been tasked with leading an embattled Celtic back to the Scottish summit after the Bhoys were dethroned by bitter rivals Rangers in 2020-21.
There are some parallels to legendary manager Arsene Wenger. Like Postecoglou, the Frenchman had history in Japan, having spent a year with Nagoya Grampus before being brought to the UK by Arsenal in 1996.
Social media was not around at the time of Wenger's Gunners arrival, though it would be safe to assume he would have been subjected to similar criticism from a supporter base desperate to wrestle the trophy back to Celtic Park.
Those questioning Postecoglou's pedigree should look no further than his CV – the most decorated coach in Australian football history, having also transcended and changed the landscape of the sport Down Under.
From South Melbourne to Australia and Japan, Postecoglou has won it all – a pair of National Soccer League championships, back-to-back A-League titles, a record 36-match unbeaten streak at Brisbane Roar, plus a ground-breaking 2015 Asian Cup triumph with the Socceroos and a J1 League crown with Yokohama F.Marinos, while silencing his doubters.
A former Australia international, Postecoglou – who delivered two NSL trophies within three years of his tenure in charge of boyhood club South Melbourne – truly announced himself at the helm of 'Roarcelona'.
After a brief and unsuccessful stint in Greece in 2008, followed by a short spell in the semi-professional state league in Victoria which resulted in relegation, Postecoglou landed in Brisbane the following year.
Postecoglou oversaw a rebuild and after asking to be judged a year from the time he replaced ex-Socceroos boss Frank Farina, his project culminated in the development of arguably the greatest footballing side in the history of Australian football.
Playing an entertaining and possession-based brand of football, the Roar won the championship in 2010-11 and successfully defended their trophy the following season amid a 36-game unbeaten streak – an all-time Australian football code record for the longest undefeated run, surpassing rugby league outfit Eastern Suburbs' record set 74 years prior.
Postecoglou also coached Melbourne Victory before his Australia appointment in 2013. In the A-League, his teams scored 1.7 goals per game; only one head coach (minimum 30 games) has a higher average in the competition's history (Graham Arnold - 1.8).
The Greek-born boss left Australia's domestic competition with a 51 per cent win percentage as head coach – the joint-fifth best of any manager in the competition's history.
Erik Paartalu was one of Postecoglou's first signings as Roar coach and the ex-Australia international told Stats Perform: "He will be absolutely buzzing. He isn't the type to take a job on lightly. He would've researched beforehand. I'm sure he's probably been offered jobs of this calibre before but wasn't ready.
"Ange has always been ambitious. This guy just doesn't stop. Any other Australian coach that would've won the J.League would've just stopped there and chilled out in Asia. The guy is in his mid-50s. He would've researched this whole situation at Celtic, who is leaving and who is coming, who can I get in? I know he's already thought about his next step from here."
"With Ange, it was the tactical side of it where he explained and broke things down so easily on the pitch, whether that be playing 11-v-seven, so you would have a huge overload and confidence in possession. Or if it was in a video session, always pointing out the good things about people," said Paartalu as he reflected on his Roar days. "He always pumped up the smaller details of the team. His way to getting us to feel, you just felt so confident."
Postecoglou, like Manchester City's Guardiola and former Chelsea and Juventus boss Sarri, pushes the boundaries. Firmly set in his belief of how football should be played, Postecoglou's approach never waivers and success follows the 55-year-old in his pursuit of excellence.
"That's what we loved about him," Postecoglou said. "We went on that unbeaten streak and then lost five in a row. Never even mentioned getting close to the record. It was just like 'if we play the way we play, we'll wipe this team off the park'.
"In the first grand final [2011 against Central Coast Mariners], the goal I scored in the last couple of seconds [of extra time, 120th minute to force penalties after 2-2 draw], it was the build-up before that showed everything that we're about. [Michael] Theo had the ball and could've gone long, but he throws it to [Massimo] Murdocca and we build up from the back and get a corner. That was so typical of the way he wanted us to play. Even in training, it was like, 'don't put the ball above waist height or in the air'. If you did that, you had to give the ball to the other team. So we were drilled into knowing short passes, through lines, everyone in the right position, movement off the ball, entry points on the edge of the box, guys overlapping, 4-3-3 and don't cross the ball in if you're not sure. That was his blueprint. We were going to play his way all the way to the death. When we lost five in a row, he never got angry. He was so clear, saying keep doing it, be confident, keeping passing the ball.
"He definitely improves players' game intelligence when they work under him. You feel 10-feet tall and just know your job inside and out because of the way he prepares you."
Handpicked to introduce style and substance to the Socceroos in 2013, Postecoglou led Australia at the 2014 World Cup. Undaunted by the 'Group of Death', Australia left Brazil emptyhanded, but took it to Chile, the Netherlands and holders Spain in stunning fashion.
Postecoglou delivered a first Asian Cup to Australia in 2015, while he secured qualification for the 2018 World Cup before stepping down prior to the Russian showpiece.
The Socceroos scored 86 goals in A-Internationals under Postecoglou – the second most they have scored under any manager since the beginning of 1965 (Frank Farina - 197). Australia won 22 games during his tenure; only two managers have won more since the beginning of 1965 (Frank Farina - 34 and Holger Osieck - 23).
Postecoglou eventually landed at F.Marinos – part of the City Football Group – in 2018.
Physical performance coach Gregory King was part of the team Postecoglou put together to accompany him on his journey in Japan, where he ended F.Marinos' 15-year wait for league glory in 2019.
Postecoglou left F.Marinos with the highest winning percentage (49.2 – 58 victories in 118 games) in the history of the club. Since joining the Yokohama club, only two managers have a better winning percentage than Postecoglou; Toru Oniki (65) and Go Oiwa (50) from a minimum of 10 games.
Despite the language barrier, F.Marinos bought into the Postecoglou way. Since 2018, the team ranked first for passing accuracy (86.5) and possession (63.2), while they were second for goals per game (1.9), expected goals per game (1.8), shots per game (15.2), shots on target per game (5.3), shot conversion rate (12.6), shooting accuracy (47.2), chances created per game (11.4), passes per game (619.4), passing accuracy in opposition half (82.4), big chance total per game (2.4), big chance created per game (1.8) and big chance scored per game (1.1).
"He definitely has a really good understanding from conditioning, strength and sport-science point of view," King told Stats Perform. "His attention to detail is optimal. You know you can't pull the wool over his eyes. He knows everything going on within his team but he lets you run your own department. He gives you a license to achieve the objectives of the team in your own way."
During F.Marinos' triumphant season in 2019, Postecoglou's men covered the greatest distance in the J1 League (116.48), ahead of Oita Trinita (114.79km). They also tallied the most total sprints with 191, more than FC Tokyo (174).
As Postecoglou prepares to take pre-season training with Celtic, King said: "They're definitely in for a lot of hard work. Really quality football sessions based around the principles of how he wants to play. But, there's no holding back in terms of intensity.
"I think they will enjoy the sessions, however they will be pushed physically. The football we played in Yokohama was extremely high intensity. The physical qualities have to be at their peak. We expected our best players to play regularly, so to be able to do that, the players have to have a lot of good hard work behind them and to be able to cope with it."
"I'd be very surprised if he wasn't looking closely at injury history, how many games they've been able to play over the past seasons in terms of durability. Speed is obviously a massive factor from the forwards and also the centre-backs being able to play really aggressive and a high line. You can only do so much when you have them. We feel we can improve them all physically but from a conditioning point of view, you have to recruit players strong in those areas already to be able to play the way we did."
Arteta urges Arsenal to find consistency ahead of West Ham trip
Mikel Arteta urged Arsenal to find consistency ahead of their Premier League trip to West Ham on Saturday.
The Gunners produced one of their best performances of the season in a 5-1 thrashing of Sporting CP on Tuesday in the Champions League.
Arteta knows the challenge will be to continue that form in England's top division, where they sit fourth – trailing leaders Liverpool by some nine points.
"That's what we need to do. We need to find consistency," the Arsenal manager said. "You want to be challenging for the big things? You have to be consistent.
"Win and win again. [Sporting] was a very different game but we reacted really well, let's move on now."
West Ham delivered their best result of this campaign, too, in their last outing after a 2-0 away victory over Newcastle United on Monday.
That victory lifted the Hammers up to 14th in the table and somewhat eased the mounting pressure on Julen Lopetegui, who will be suspended on Saturday due to an accumulation of bookings this season.
"The only thing in our control is to play football, attack and defend well, and combine play better," Lopetegui said of the Newcastle win.
"We continue with this mentality. I am happy for the players because they can see we can do well as a team. I am happy for them."
On his ban, he added: "I am not happy. But more importantly, the players will be on the pitch. A win is always important. It shows we can compete and trust in ourselves."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
West Ham – Tomas Soucek
No player has scored more Premier League goals for West Ham this season than Tomas Soucek (three), who formed a dominant midfield duo with Carlos Soler on Monday at Newcastle.
Indeed, 17 of his last 18 strikes for the Hammers have either put them one goal ahead (12) or drawn them level (5) in the match.
Arsenal – Bukayo Saka
Only Mohamed Salah (16) has been involved in more Premier League goals this season than Arsenal’s in-form Bukayo Saka (12 – four goals, eight assists).
In fact, Saka – who found the net against Sporting on Tuesday – has both scored and assisted in three different games this top-flight term, with only Salah again doing so more (four).
MATCH PREDICTION – ARSENAL WIN
Arsenal are the favourites heading into this London derby considering their recent head-to-head record against Saturday's hosts.
The Gunners have lost just one of their last 16 Premier League away games against West Ham (W10 D5), winning this exact fixture by a remarkable 6-0 scoreline last season.
West Ham have also lost more games in this competition overall (36) and at home (15) against Arsenal than they have versus any other opponent in the competition.
Their problems have not just come against Arsenal, too, given West Ham have lost their last two home London derbies in the top flight, going down 2-0 against Fulham and 3-0 against Chelsea.
That form in derby-day fixtures is in stark contrast to Arsenal, who have lost just two of their 26 Premier League matches against fellow London clubs since the start of the 2022-23 season (W18 D6).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
West Ham win – 18.5%
Draw – 20.3%
Arsenal win – 61.2%
Jamaica College clip Hydel 1-0 to set up ISSA Champions Cup final with Glenmuir
Former champions Jamaica College (JC) edged Hydel High 1-0 to book their place in the ISSA Champions Cup final, where they will meet defending champions Glenmuir High.
Jabari Howell’s 45th-minute strike was enough to separate the two sides in a semi-final contest that lacked fireworks but delivered drama in crucial moments at the National Stadium on Wednesday.
While Jamaica College aim to cop the Champions Cup title for a third time, they will face a formidable opponent in Glenmuir High in what promises to be an epic showdown on Saturday. As such, Jamaica College’s Head coach, Davion Ferguson, is focused on ensuring his players are at their best heading into that game.
“It was a difficult game; we knew Hydel have quality, and they really came and pushed us back, but our boys were resolute. We wanted to get another goal, and it never came, but we managed to keep a clean sheet, which is important. So we look forward to the final on Saturday; the key now is to get the boys recovered. It has been a tough week for them both mentally and physically, so the key now is to get them recovered, and then we look at Glenmuir,” Ferguson said in a post-game interview.
Both Hydel and Jamaica College came out probing for weaknesses, but clear-cut chances were few and far between. Hydel had an early opportunity in the 20th minute when Dontae Brooks weaved past a defender, only for his left-footed shot to lack the venom needed to beat Jamaica College’s goalkeeper Adriano Kitson.
Jamaica College’s first real threat came in the 35th minute when Nashordo Gibbs delivered a delightful cross to the unmarked Jamoy Dennis. However, Dennis failed to capitalize, heading the ball over the bar as Hydel goalkeeper Idrian Robinson advanced off his line.
Just when it seemed as though the teams would head to the break goalless, Howell stepped up to deliver what turned out to be the decisive blow. Howell, left with space and time, unleashed a firm right-footed drive that zipped past Robinson at the near post on the stroke of the break.
Hydel continued to show life in the attacking third on the resumption, but their push for the elusive equaliser was undone by missed chances and a resolute Jamaica College defence.
At the other end, Jamaica College went close to extending their lead in the 58th minute as Javaun Mills embarked on a solo run, only to watch his shot curl just wide of the post.
Hydel’s best chance came in the 68th minute when Brooks broke free on the counterattack but failed to round the onrushing Kitson, who timed his intervention perfectly to preserve Jamaica College’s slim lead.
D’Sean Henry had a golden opportunity to level the score in stoppage time. On the break, with only Kitson to beat, his shot went agonizingly wide, leaving Hydel ruing what could have been.
While Hydel gradually piled on the pressure late in the game, the Old Hope Road boys remained composed, with Giovanni Taylor nearly doubling their lead in the 76th minute. Taylor’s break was thwarted by Robinson, who came off his line to neutralize the threat.
Hydel’s Head coach Devon Anderson acknowledged that they paid the price for not being more clinical in the final third.
“It was a game of chances, and JC capitalised on an error from our goalkeeper at the near post. We got a few chances to put the ball in the back of the net and we failed... goals win games, and once you fail to score, you will come out on the losing end, and that is what happened,” Anderson said.
Champs Glenmuir High march into Champions Cup final after 5-1 beating of Ocho Rios
Reigning ISSA Champions Cup titleholders Glenmuir High made another resounding statement in their title defence as they dismantled Ocho Rios High 5-1 in a lopsided semi-final contest at the National Stadium. on Wednesday.
Glenmuir’s fluency and attacking prowess overwhelmed yet another opponent, as five different players found the back of the net to secure yet another berth in the final.
Orel Miller (40th), Dusting Cohen (42nd), Ronaldo Campbell (64th), Orane Watson (69th), and substitute Nyron Allen (71st) got the job done for the May Pen-based school after Kaneil Brown gave Ocho Rios a surprise 21st-minute lead.
Though still on course to retain their crown, Glenmuir’s Head coach Andrew Peart remains grounded.
“The final is just another game... it is just another step on the journey, and that is just it. Last year was last year; this is a different year, so new possibilities. So we are just going to hydrate, head home, and watch the next game,” Peart shared.
His counterpart Veron Peterkin felt his team was overwhelmed by the occasion.
“We made some very expensive mistakes; the discipline wasn’t there throughout the game, and so it is just one of those things. It’s the first time we have made those errors; it is their first time playing in the National Stadium for these boys, so credit to Glenmuir for capitalizing on our errors, and we know what we have to fix moving forward,” he noted.
Despite Glenmuir’s dominance in possession and two early warning shots from Watson in the sidnetting and Ja-Son Whyte’s shot from a distance that was kept out by Ocho Rios’ custodian Maleek Martin, it was Ocho Rios High who stunned the crowd with the opening goal in the 21st minute.
Kaneil Brown tried his luck from the top of the 18-yard box, and the effort proved rewarding as Glenmuir’s goalkeeper Justin Murray lost his footing and could only watch as the ball rolled past his near post.
The goal briefly gave Ocho Rios hope, but it would only serve as a wake-up call for Glenmuir, who shifted into high gear at the backend of the first half.
They pulled level in the 40th minute through Miller, who calmly finished off a well-worked buildup orchestrated by Whyte, with Cohen serving up the final past for the player sporting the number 17 jersey to register his 18th goal of the season.
Just two minutes later, Cohen turned from provider to scorer, expertly heading in a delightful chip from Miller, and the quick double salvo flipped the match on its head as Glenmuir went to the break 2-1 up.
The champions picked up where they left off on the resumption, maintaining relentless pressure on Ocho Rios. Although Orane Watson appeared to extend Glenmuir’s lead in the 50th minute, his goal was ruled offside, momentarily delaying the inevitable.
However, Ronaldo Campbell made no mistake in the 64th minute, nodding in a perfectly weighted cross from O’Neil Headley to make it 3-1.
Five minutes later, Watson finally got his goal—his 33rd of the season—turning his marker inside out before driving a powerful right-footer past Martin, who was left flat-footed.
The rout was completed in the 71st minute when substitute Nyron Allen broke away and audaciously chipped the ball over the onrushing Martin, capping off a scintillating performance from Glenmuir.
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