00:04The list of the most significant figures in Australian football would include star players
00:10like Craig Johnston, Mark Viduka, Harry Kuehl and Tim Cahill.
00:16But that list is now arguably topped by a manager, Ange Posta-Coglu.
00:25After coming through the ranks at his boyhood team's South Melbourne Hellas,
00:29the Greece-born Posta-Coglu made almost 200 league appearances
00:33before a serious knee injury curtailed his playing career, aged just 27.
00:41But Posta-Coglu was a student of the game and learned from the club's head coach,
00:46Hungarian legend Fenej Puskas.
00:49By 1996, Posta-Coglu was in charge of South Melbourne,
00:53leading them to consecutive National Soccer League titles in 1998 and 99,
00:59as well as winning the 1999 Oceania Club Championship,
01:04which in turn led to South's participation in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship
01:09against Manchester United.
01:18Ready for the next step, Posta-Coglu became coach of Australia's national youth teams in 2000.
01:24But his time at the national set-up did not go smoothly.
01:28And in 2007, was involved in a famous argument on television
01:32with former soccerer Craig Foster.
01:38Posta-Coglu was soon relieved of his duties by Australia's governing body,
01:42and he remained out of the game for two years.
01:46All that early promise was destined to go to waste.
01:55But he returned in 2009 to take over Brisbane Roar.
02:00He immediately jettisoned the club's experienced household names
02:04in favour of promising young players.
02:06By the end of the following season,
02:08he'd won the league and championship double,
02:11embarking on a 36-game unbeaten run,
02:14during which his club earned the nickname Roar Salona
02:18for their intricate pass-and-move style.
02:22Another title the following season
02:24made Posta-Coglu the most successful coach in Australian football history.
02:35Reborn, it now seemed inevitable Posta-Coglu
02:38would be offered the national team job at the next opportunity.
02:41And that duly arrived in 2013,
02:45with the Socceroos in need of replenishing
02:47ahead of the 2014 World Cup.
02:52Posta-Coglu grasped that mettle,
02:55but in a group of death,
02:57his side lost all three matches
02:58to the Netherlands, Chile and Spain.
03:03Nonetheless, it had sowed the seeds
03:06for the following year's Asian Cup on home soil,
03:09where a mostly young squad
03:10secured the biggest trophy in Australia's history.
03:15It was the culmination of the Posta-Coglu project,
03:19one built around believing in young players,
03:21trusting a proactive, possession-based style of football,
03:25and instilling belief
03:26that Australia could compete against anyone in the world.
03:32When Posta-Coglu resigned two years later,
03:35after qualifying for the 2018 World Cup,
03:38he commented that he did not think Australia was a football nation
03:41that believed it could compete at the highest level.
03:46It was natural, Posta-Coglu's ambition would take him overseas.
03:56First to Japan,
03:57where he guided Yokohama F Marinos
04:00to their first J-League crown in 15 years,
04:03in just his second season.
04:08Then to Celtic,
04:09becoming the first Australian manager
04:11to coach a major club in Europe,
04:13and quickly winning over the home fans,
04:15after his appointment was greeted by reporters asking,
04:19and who?
04:22Two seasons,
04:23and two Scottish premierships later,
04:26achieved playing eye-catching football.
04:28Posta-Coglu was the name on everyone's lips.
04:34The time was right for an even bigger move.
04:37The only question
04:38was who would take the punt
04:40on the avuncular Australian.
04:42The answer
04:43would be Tottenham Hotspur.
04:48Now affectionately known as Big Ange,
04:52Posta-Coglu's no-nonsense demeanor
04:53secured him the backing of the Spurs fan base.
04:56But success
04:57has so far proved elusive.
05:02But with a proven track record,
05:04the next high point on Posta-Coglu's journey
05:07is surely not far away.
05:12Enhancing his status
05:13as the primary export
05:16from a confounding
05:17football nation.
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