The Olympic Room – with its gleaming panels and glass walls – overlooks the Melbourne Cricket Ground arena, the mecca of Australian sport. It was filled on Tuesday lunchtime with business, political and civic leaders, as well as those who had paid for the privilege of being there. Three hundred or so of Melbourne’s most influential mingled, waiting patiently.
Sponsors spoke, so too a minister. Then it was time. Slick haircuts swivelled, suit seams strained and heels lifted to get a better view. Onto the stage walked a stocky, clearly jet-lagged man wearing a jumper. In the audience, like Swifties at the same venue earlier this year, these Angees reached for their iPhones. Ange Postecoglou was home again.
The 58-year-old took the Premier League by storm last season, stunning sceptics with an early unbeaten run, yet the winds changed mid-season. By the end, Spurs had held onto fifth place, but Postecoglou found himself in a final week tempest. The fierce North London rivalry swirled around the Australian and his team’s role in the title race between Manchester City and Spurs’ rivals Arsenal.
He said last week his side’s 2-0 loss to City in front of a muted Tottenham Hotspur Stadium crowd was the “worst experience” he has had as a football manager, and that although he disagreed with fans’ preference to see Arsenal disadvantaged, he should have handled the situation better. “If you want a head on a stick, it’s my ugly mug, mate.”
Despite a commitment to eye-catching football, the jury on Postecoglou is still out – both in North London and in Australia, which may be home to his most passionate acolytes – and this was a day for them – but where adoration is not universal and some critics remain.
In his first Melbourne appearance ahead of Wednesday’s exhibition match against Newcastle, the heaviness of that final week – which ended with a 3-0 win over Sheffield United to secure a spot in the Europa League – seemed to have followed Postecoglou to the other side of the world. He appeared laboured, and seemingly resigned to his role as protagonist in this brief post-season promotional exercise.
But to those in the room at the MCG, his demeanour mattered little. At least he and his mug were there, uttering its famous catch cry. How was he, his host enquired: “Yeah, good,” he said, before adding “…mate”.
Postecoglou was an overnight success in the Premier League, years in the making. His career has undergone a long transformation from NSL winner and A-League mastermind, to football nomad and tactical darling in the world’s highest-profile league.
The journey has brought benefits – he said he now makes “a decent living” – but there are parts that have been “pretty bizarre”. For example, he now has Robbie Williams penning songs about him. “I went from Rod Stewart up at Celtic, to Robbie Williams. You could say my life’s changed a bit.” Unless guests were invited, tickets to this event cost $295. “I used to go the pub and watch Cold Chisel play,” Postecoglou said. Even in his sleep deprived state, he was giving value for money.
Over a 20-minute question-and-answer session, Postecoglou largely stuck to script. On his doubters? “There’s no greater weapon to have in your armoury than people under-estimating you.” The scrutiny of the Premier League? “A lot of people thought I’d struggle with that side of it. But, you know, that’s for me, that’s what I’ve craved my whole career.” Yet he did provide a more personal insight to the room. “It’s probably not going to go down too well but there is no work-life balance. That’s the reality of it.”
And with that he was whisked away for a couple of hours before an open training session and a press conference in the evening. That media opportunity drew 10 television cameras to Melbourne’s AAMI Park, and dozens of reporters. A-League events in the same room are lucky to draw a few. Postecoglou was joined on the podium by Son Heung-min, the reason behind a large Korean contingent of media further crowding the windowless room.
By this stage, the Australian – who arrived at 5am on a flight – appeared even less enthusiastic. One reporter asked him about the international calendar and domestic league matches taking place overseas. “After a 26-hour flight, mate, that’s a tough question,” Postecoglou said.
He wouldn’t entertain discussions of off-season plans from the one English reporter who travelled. “They’re secret plans,” he said with a smile, drawing a line no other reporter would step across. “The plan is to stay for a couple of days, catch up with some mates here and then we’ll head back, spend some time with the family, but we’ll keep working away.”
The Australian said he didn’t want to focus too much on how Spurs can catch Manchester City or Arsenal. “I tried to stress during last week that I don’t think your measure should be opposition clubs, your measure should be yourself,” he said. He shared some insight into the difference between sporting rivalries for the British and Australians, who are “a bit less territorial”.
And on handling the media? “The media is the media wherever it is,” he said, giving those present as close to a compliment as they would receive. “If I’m happy, I’m happy, if I’m not, I’m not.” Spurs’ media minder, hearing Postecoglou’s tone loud and clear, kept the whole thing to a tight 20 minutes, and then Ange was off again.
The reporter to extract the warmest response from Postecoglou appeared to be in his 50s. Reading off his phone, through heavily accented English it was clear he was part of the 180,000 people in Victoria with Greek ancestry, a community Postecoglou is proudly a part. Would Australia’s most successful manager – who was actually born in Greece – ever consider the managing the Greek national team?
“It’s definitely my future, you’ll see me in Greece,” Postecoglou said, counting down the minutes to his off-season. “But it’s more likely to be on an island on a sunbed somewhere.”
