Tottenham Hotspur manager, Ange Postecoglou, has opened up about his journey from being an immigrant to reaching his current position in a revealing interview with Gary Lineker.
In the interview, Postecoglou reflected on his past and how football played a pivotal role in his life.
The Australian manager shared that he had never imagined he would reach his current position as the manager of a top club like Tottenham Hotspur.
He acknowledged that his journey had been unique and that it took someone to look beyond the norm to consider him for such roles.
He told BBC:
“I never thought I would get here, to be honest, not because of my ability, just because no-one was looking this way.”
“I have ended up really late in my career, managing one of the most famous clubs in the world in Celtic and one of the biggest football clubs in the world in Tottenham.”
“It has come late, it just took someone to look beyond the norm.”
The Australian was indeed the most unpopular name among the host of managers Levy was considering.
He ended up choosing the former Celtic man and the decision has turned out to be an ace one.
He has made an instant impact at the club.
He has created a special bond between the manager, the players and the fans.
The players love playing for him and they are playing some of the most attractive football in the league. All of this in just few months.
Ange Postecoglou also delved into his family’s immigrant background. He revealed that he arrived in Australia as an immigrant on a boat at a young age. Despite the challenges they faced, football served as a unifying passion between him and his father
He fondly remembered their shared moments, watching football together, and the connection it provided. Football became an integral part of their lives, allowing them to bond and find comfort in their new home.
He said:
“We were immigrants. I don’t look like your typical refugee, but I was five years old when we came, we went by boat, had no certainty about anything.
“At the time Australia was looking towards immigrants to help with the workforce, my dad was an unskilled labourer, so we took that leap, stayed in a refugee camp for a while then got a house.
“I had a father who, like every little boy, I just wanted to get close to, but he was working all the time.
“The only thing he kept inside of him from the old country was his love of football. AEK Athens was his team, I was born a couple of kilometres from the stadium.
“He loved football and, growing up, that was my connection. Our local team was Greek, an immigrant team, and we went there on Sundays and could speak Greek, he felt comfortable for two hours.
“I loved that, what it did to him as a person and I wanted to get close to that. We would sit up late and watch the games, mostly from England. Match of the Day was our two-hour fix. It was week-old footage but that’s where it started.”
