Australia's Ange Postecoglou to leave Celtic for EPL role as Spurs ...
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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou raises the Scottish Cup trophy on Saturday in his last game before moving to English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou – the Australian coach who has just guided Celtic to an historic titles treble – has reportedly agreed a two-year deal at English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
The 57-year-old former Socceroos manager’s appointment is set to be confirmed by the London club.
British news outlets have reported that Postecoglou told Celtic’s major shareholder Dermot Desmond that he wanted to accept Spur’s offer on Saturday night, just hours after leading Celtic to a record eighth Scottish League Cup-Premier League-Scottish Cup treble.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Postecoglou’s contract could run for three years and “he has cost Tottenham less than £5million ($NZ 10 million) in compensation”.
Postecoglou had won five of the six trophies available in two successful seasons at Celtic where he won over the Glasgow club’s huge fan base with his attacking brand of football and savvy signings.
Scottish newspapers claimed the Australian was keen to take his Celtic assistant manager John Kennedy to Spurs. Former Socceroos star Harry Kewell is also on the coaching staff at Celtic.
Jane Barlow
Celtic's Jota (L) celebrates with fans after scoring in the Scottish Cup final.
Postecoglou will become the first Australian to manage a Premier League club.
The former Australian international fullback won Australian National Soccer League titles as a player and as a coach at South Melbourne FC.
He guided the Brisbane Roar to the A-League premiership crown in 2010-11 when the Queensland club was dubbed “Roarcelona’’ because of Postecoglou’s insistence on all-out attack which led to a record 36 consecutive unbeaten games.
After a season with Melbourne Victory he became Socceroos coach in 2013, coaching them at the 2014 World Cup finals before leading them to the Asian Cup title in 2015.
The Socceroos qualified for the 2018 World Cup finals, but Postecoglou stepped down before the tournament and became coach of Japanese club Yokohama Marinos, who he steered to the J-League title in 2019.
He remained in Yokohama until 2021 until Celtic came calling.
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Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou lifts the League Cup in February.
Postecoglou’s appointment was not initially applauded by Celtic fans concerned he had never coached at a high level in Europe, but he soon won them over by winning the League Cup and the Premiership title in his first year after Celtic had trailed arch rivals Rangers by 20 points the previous season.
The Australian completed the clean sweep in 2022-23 with a 3-1 Scottish Cup final win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle last Saturday.
Postecoglou will become the fourth manager at Spurs since just-appointed Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino was fired in 2019. That list includes Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, who was sacked in March after 16 months in charge.
Postecoglou is expected to oversee a clearout of players with World Cup winning French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris expected to leave and speculation rising that England captain and top-scorer Harry Kane is on Real Madrid’s radar with Spurs valuing him at more than £100 million ($NZ 200 million).
