There is a case for it.

Most people will tell you that the best managers in the world are all in the EPL, with a handful lingering in Serie A, La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Guardiola, Klopp, De Zerbi, Ancelotti, Xavi, Pioli at Milan… these are the names that immediately come to mind when talking about the world’s best. But many – especially among the Celtic and Spurs fans – are beginning to make the outrageous claim that Ange Postecoglou deserves to be part of the conversation.

The main reason for this (besides his current lofty place on the EPL table) is that Ange came from far further back than the others to reach the heights. South Melbourne (not to mention Whittlesea Zebras) is an inauspicious start when compared with Pep who started as a youth player at Barcelona and went straight into their coaching ranks after his career.

Similarly Klopp started in the German leagues (mostly for Mainz) and went straight from the first team to the managerial bench.

Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton is getting rave reviews as an up-and-comer but he also spent his whole playing career in Italy then worked his way up through lower level teams as a manager before getting such a strong reputation as an innovative and attacking manager at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Of all these, Ange is the one who has most had to work his way up through the levels to reach the top. I won’t say the others were simply handed success, but they started from the top of the football world as players and more-or-less stayed there as managers.

Arguably, Ange’s greatest achievement was at Brisbane Roar. The A-League is a salary capped league which means all teams are on (almost) a level playing field. Clearly some teams are better resourced than others.

For Ange to walk into an underperforming Roar side, rip out the overpaid deadwood, start again with a focus on youth and play with such fearless panache was amazing. The fact that his team went on an unbeaten run of 36 matches is nothing short of incredible. But this showed his true mettle better than anywhere else because in a salary capped league where success can’t simply be purchased, it is the manager who most makes a difference. (Look at Monty at the Mariners last year, and watch him go at Hibs.)

After being tempted home to Melbourne he set up a fearsome Victory machine (perfected by his assistant, Kevin Muscat) but then answered the call of his country – winning the Asian Cup in 2015. Even if we were at home, winning the Asian Cup is one hell of a feat against the likes of Japan, South Korea, Iran et al.

He then took off for Yokohama and started his process all over again, in a country where he couldn’t speak the language. Somehow he got his message across and YFM won their first J League title in 15 years (once again the success being continued by Ange’s former assistant, Muscat).

It’s ancient history now that a decent percentage of the Celtic support where horrified when an unknown Australian was handed the keys to their club. Part of the outrage was due to their anger with the board for screwing up the Eddie Howe deal but Ange had a mountain to climb in terms of fan and player perception.

How quickly he turned them around. The Celtic forums were absolutely frothing with the joy they found in their manager. They loved the way he handled the press and the respect with which he treated the fans and the club’s traditions.

They appreciated the shrewdness of his player dealings – once again getting rid of any players unwilling to commit to his very demanding playing style and replacing them with high energy players from bargain basement leagues. (He's notable for improving players also which is not necessarily the sort of thing Pep and Klopp are noted for - they buy pre-existing quality.)

They adored the playing style. “We never stop” was the mantra, and Celtic wore teams down with impressive fitness, fast ball movement and unrelenting attack. Ange was furious on the sidelines if one of his players took too long to take a throw in because it was giving the opposition a chance to rest and regroup. Attacking a tired team in disarray is a main part of the Ange system and his teams get a lot of goals late in both halves.

He won five out of six domestic trophies during his two years at Celtic. That’s not entirely unusual for Celtic managers over the last 15 years, but the style with which he did it will never be forgotten. His departure was much lamented, by the same fans who’d blasted his arrival.

That led him to Tottenham Hotspurs, where after six matches they are four points off the top and unbeaten. What’s more, they are playing in the typical Ange style – adventurous from the back, utilising inverted fullbacks to move down the park in triangles and overwhelming teams with fast ball movement and numbers in the box.

The fans are singing: “We’ve got our Spurs back” after some turgid years under much more famous managers (Mourinho and Conte) who probably wouldn’t be in the best manager conversation now after previous success.

Spurs have become the team most popular with hipsters due to their (and their manager’s) style. Even the press, famously savage in England, are eating out of his hand. It’s like the whole country (or a decent chunk of it) is willing Spurs to do well. They’re unlikely to overcome the might of Pep’s City this season but week by week they are laying down markers and growing in confidence. If Ange can continue the growth and add three or four more top class players over the next couple of windows, they will emerge as genuine contenders.

So is he the best manager in the world?

Certainly the Spurs fans would not want anyone else.

And Pep will be looking uneasily into the rear view mirror as the Postecoglou Pantechnicon roars up behind.

 

Adrian's books can be purchased at any good bookstore or through ebook alchemy. His first sci-fi novel (Asparagus Grass) was published by Hague Publishing in July 2023. The ebook can be purchased here and the paperback can be ordered here or at your local store.