00:05The list of the most significant figures in Australian football
00:08would include star players like Craig Johnston,
00:12Mark Viduka, Harry Kuehl, and Tim Cahill.
00:17But that list is now arguably topped by a manager,
00:21Ange Postacoglu.
00:25After coming through the ranks at his boyhood team,
00:28South Melbourne Hellas,
00:30the Greece-born Postacoglu made almost 200 league appearances
00:34before a serious knee injury curtailed his playing career,
00:38aged just 27.
00:41But Postacoglu was a student of the game
00:44and learned from the club's head coach,
00:46Hungarian legend Fenec Pushkas.
00:50By 1996, Postacoglu was in charge of South Melbourne,
00:54leading them to consecutive National Soccer League titles
00:58in 1998 and 99,
01:00as well as winning the 1999 Oceania Club Championship,
01:04which in turn led to South's participation in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship
01:10against Manchester United.
01:19Ready for the next step,
01:20Postacoglu became coach of Australia's national youth teams in 2000.
01:25But his time at the national set-up did not go smoothly,
01:29and in 2007 was involved in a famous argument on television
01:33with former soccer root Craig Foster.
01:39Postacoglu was soon relieved of his duties by Australia's governing body,
01:43and he remained out of the game for two years.
01:47All that early promise was destined to go to waste.
01:56But he returned in 2009 to take over Brisbane Raw.
02:01He immediately jettisoned the club's experienced household names
02:05in favour of promising young players.
02:07By the end of the following season,
02:09he'd won the league and championship double,
02:12embarking on a 36-game unbeaten run,
02:15during which his club earned the nickname Raw Salona
02:19for their intricate pass-and-move style.
02:23Another title the following season
02:25made Postacoglu the most successful coach
02:28in Australian football history.
02:36Reborn, it now seemed inevitable Postacoglu
02:39would be offered the national team job at the next opportunity.
02:42And that duly arrived in 2013,
02:45with the Socceroos in need of replenishing
02:47ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
02:53Postacoglu grasped that mettle,
02:56but in a group of death,
02:57his side lost all three matches
02:59to the Netherlands, Chile and Spain.
03:04Nonetheless, it had sowed the seeds
03:06for the following year's Asian Cup on home soil,
03:09where a mostly young squad secured
03:11the biggest trophy in Australia's history.
03:16It was the culmination of the Postacoglu project,
03:19one built around believing in young players,
03:22trusting a proactive, possession-based style of football,
03:25and instilling belief
03:27that Australia could compete
03:29against anyone in the world.
03:33When Postacoglu resigned two years later,
03:36after qualifying for the 2018 World Cup,
03:38he commented that he did not think Australia
03:41was a football nation
03:42that believed it could compete
03:43at the highest level.
03:47It was natural,
03:49Postacoglu's ambition would take him overseas.
03:57First to Japan,
03:58where he guided Yokohama F Marinos
04:01to their first J League crown
04:02in 15 years
04:04in just his second season.
04:08Then to Celtic,
04:10becoming the first Australian manager
04:12to coach a major club in Europe,
04:14and quickly winning over the home fans
04:16after his appointment
04:17was greeted by reporters asking,
04:19Ange who?
04:23Two seasons,
04:24and two Scottish premierships later,
04:26achieved playing eye-catching football.
04:29Postacoglu was the name
04:30on everyone's lips.
04:34The time was right
04:36for an even bigger move.
04:38The only question
04:39was who would take the punt
04:40on the avuncular Australian.
04:43The answer
04:44would be Tottenham Hotspot.
04:49Now affectionately known
04:51as Big Ange,
04:52Postacoglu's no-nonsense demeanor
04:54secured him the backing
04:55of the Spurs fan base.
04:57But success
04:58has so far proved elusive.
05:03But with a proven track record,
05:05the next high point
05:06on Postacoglu's journey
05:08is surely not far away.
05:13Enhancing his status
05:14as the primary export
05:16from a confounding
05:18football nation.
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