The 59-year-old is used to lifting silverware in his career, but when Tottenham play Manchester United in the Europa League final on May 21, it’s going to be one of the biggest moments of his career.
A lot is riding on this for Postecoglou because things haven’t gone well since he headed for the Celtic Park exit door during the summer of 2023.
Tottenham are sitting 17th in the Premier League table; they have lost 20 league matches and 24 in total this term – In comparison, Postecoglou only lost 18 games throughout his time at Celtic.
It’s fair to say that if Postecoglou doesn’t secure that trophy, then all he can fall back on is the club’s league form, and it has been beyond dreadful.
But ahead of that crunch match in Bilbao, against an equally abject Manchester United, the man who led Celtic to a Treble is pretty upbeat, and he gave Scotland’s most successful club a mention.
Ange Postecoglou on Celtic going ‘one year’ without a trophy
When Postecoglou joined Celtic in 2021, Rangers had just won the Premiership title under Steven Gerrard, and stopped the ten.
It was a disastrous season for the club, after years and years of dominance, the trophy count stopped, and the fans made their feelings clear.
When discussing what winning a trophy would mean at Tottenham, Postecoglou listed and shared his trophies during his career, including brilliantly stating that, going one year without any silverware for Celtic, is ‘a long time in Scotland’, as he told his Europa League press conference.
“A lot of the success I have had has been stuff that’s pretty significant,” said Postecoglou. “Yokohama hadn’t won a championship for 14 years. Australia had never won a continental championship.
“Brisbane had never won one. South Melbourne, my first job, we hadn’t won one in seven years.
“Celtic was one year. Trust me. That’s a long time in Scotland. But they had to wrestle back the dominance they had for so long.
“It’s the significance of them. You know what it does to the club and to the people. When you look at the historical backdrop of this club (Tottenham), and what it has sort of been on for the last 20-odd years. I feel like it could be a turning point in the way that the club is perceived, but more so, how it perceives itself, which I think is the biggest thing.”
https://youtu.be/_JtY70jyZsg?si=SrhkKdwDIC-nI_wE
Postecoglou’s trophy haul as a manager ahead of Tottenham vs Manchester United Europa League final
Postecoglou has managed 11 teams, including his current one, during his managerial career, which started in 1996 with South Melbourne.
The Greek-born Australian spent many years coaching in his homeland, including finding success in Japan, before that road led him to Glasgow.
The trophies continued throughout those clubs, and he has a pretty full trophy cabinet, with his most famous and successful time coming in the colours of Celtic.
