The Rise of Big Ange

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have not won a trophy in 15 years now. With talent coming and going, poor leadership, and a gaggle of missed opportunities caused by poor managerial decisions, Spurs fans have been clinging to hope that one day their dream manager will arrive to elevate them to the highest level of English football. And yet every time they sign someone with the capabilities to bring them upward, what ensues is chaos and a complete team meltdown. Often considered the joke of the Big Six, Tottenham needed to make moves this summer, with both the managerial and director of football positions left empty. The frontrunner after a while to fill the former position was German manager Julian Nagelsmann, who denied the club not far into the search. Second behind him was former Feyenoord skipper Arne Slot. Slot seemed to be the right fit for them, but eventually chose to continue the project he was building at the club.

So with all that complete, where did Spurs stand? Less than a month to select a new manager and only one major candidate left: Australian manager Ange Postecoglou. Most recently finishing back-to-back title-winning seasons with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, “Big Ange,” as he is affectionately known, had managed clubs all over the world. But would he be successful with Tottenham? The Premier League is the highest level of competition out there, and though Postecoglou had proven himself in smaller leagues, he lacked the resume that some of his fellow candidates had. Most notably, many Spurs fans were skeptical when comparing him to Slot. Regardless, the cameras flashed and the deal was completed to bring the Greek-born Australian to Tottenham for what would be an emphatic start to the season.

Postecoglou’s coaching tenure didn’t arise from nowhere. His family migrated from Athens to Australia after a military coup took control of the family-owned business when Postecoglou was just five years old. Angelos started going by Ange for short and joined South Melbourne FC in Australia at nine years old, slowly rising through the ranks and eventually earning a starting position for the club. At South Melbourne, he won two Australian titles under manager Ferenc Puskás, who helped to inspire the 4-3-3 format that served as the basis for his strategy as a manager. After a knee injury ended his playing career at the young age of 27, he rejoined South Melbourne as manager and coached them to their next two titles, in 1997-98 and 1998-99, making him the only person involved with all four title victories.

Eventually, he was called to manage the Young Socceroos, Australia’s national youth team. As he was struggling to find success with them, pundits began to call for his replacement, especially after a live TV interview with a passionate Craig Foster. After failing to qualify for the U20 World Cup in 2007, he was finally removed from his position. Postecoglou felt that this moment was the end of his managing career, and turned towards small clubs in the Greek third division and Melbourne. But he made his big return to Australia as manager of the Brisbane Roar, where he achieved massive success. In just two years, he brought the Roar to back-to-back titles and became the winningest manager in Australian football history. Over an incredible 36-game unbeaten streak, he curated the style of possession-based football he is now famous for. But despite his incredible successes with the Roar, he decided to leave the club for a weaker Melbourne Victory squad. Perhaps it was his homecoming, or perhaps he just wanted to take his football style and share it with a new club. He failed to replicate his silverware success with Melbourne, but he was able to boost the club upwards in the standings. When his contract expired, he made himself available to other positions and spent some more lackluster time with the Australian National team, guiding them to an AFC Cup and again jumping ship for Japan. He was the first Aussie to manage in the J League. There, he led the Yokohama F. Marinos to their first J. League title in 15 years, by installing his possession-heavy aggressive style with the club. It was a highly successful four years for Big Ange, but when offered a position in Europe, there was no way he could say no. This time, he was en route to Scotland, where he looked to guide Celtic FC back to the top of the Premiership.

When signed to his position at Celtic, Ange was a nobody. When he was appointed, he treated the opportunity as the greatest in his life and started making fundamental changes that brought the club from nothing to the top. He deployed a masterful 4-3-3 formation using wide wingers to stretch opposition shapes and use a central midfielder to punish through the wide passing lanes that often result. Like Puskas, Postecoglou encouraged his players to hold a high line and focus on scoring, and he did extremely well, posting goal differentials of +70 and +80 across the first phases of his two seasons at Celtic. And this strategy brought him immense success, as Postecoglou brought Celtic back-to-back league titles as well as a treble in the 2022-23 season. But despite his emotional attachment to Celtic, its players, and life up north, Postecoglou could not pass up the opportunity to manage for Tottenham. As he said goodbye to Celtic and their fanbase, despite his extremely short tenure at the club, he received positive wishes from fans, players, and staff alike who wished him the best of luck as he ventured to north London.

And now, he’s here. He journeyed all over the world and put away his personal struggles to fight from a relatively unknown Australian manager to the head of one of the Premier League’s largest clubs. He is everything Tottenham could have asked for. He won Manager of the Month for August and has guided his team to four wins and a draw so far this season. Though he has been shifting around players in the lineup, he managed to break through the defenses of Manchester United and Sheffield United at home, with the latter game coming with an emphatic finish and preserving a record-breaking statistic: across his last 50 home matches, Postecoglou’s sides have been undefeated. Full-stop. 

Here’s how the now famous AngeBall works—rather than Conte’s style of playing on the counter, Postecoglou encourages his players to find through passes, play from the back, and control the ball. Use patience to break the opponent’s shape, as he did against Manchester United. Stay on the front foot, he tells his players, and they have converted that into an excellent start to the season. Granted, Spurs are yet to face other competitors for the League title, such as Liverpool and Arsenal, but Postecoglou’s strategy has clear benefits. He’s also been aided by the signing of midfielder James Maddison and the revival of midfielder Yves Bissouma’s career. Bissouma has been able to play as a great distributor, completing over 90 percent of his passes and ranking amongst the top 13 percent of midfielders for take-ons and progressive carries. Maddison’s impact saw him win the Premier League’s Player of the Month award for August, scoring once, assisting twice, and ranking among the top three percent of midfielders for both expected assists and shot-creating actions, both of which have been critical to Tottenham’s relentless attack. The impact of striker and now captain Heung-Min Son can never be overstated, with him already securing a hat trick against Burnley and making significant contributions to the attack. This revamped Tottenham attack finally appears to have what it takes to win games, but more importantly, Ange has been able to install this system in about a month.

However, hidden below the tactics is perhaps the most important thing Postecoglou has provided his team—assistance and community. Ange is an understanding man, knowing that passion is not enough to win matches but effort is key. He has shattered the poor culture of Tottenham under its previous managers by creating a better sense of equality amongst the players. Even those who won’t start are training amongst the starters and everyone gets an equal opportunity to develop and improve their skills. Bissouma, who struggled under Conte and had minimal minutes during the Italian’s tenure, has seen a revival in his career, which he credits to Postecoglou’s encouragement and belief in his leadership qualities.  Flash forward to the season’s opening and Bissouma seems like a new man, with the drive and play that he was previously lacking. Former Everton striker Richarlison also faced struggles coming to the club, scoring just a single goal in his first season and, this season, admitting to facing mental adversities. Since that disclosure, Postecoglou has dedicated himself to providing resources to both Richarlison and the rest of the team to boost their mental game, and it showed with Richarlison scoring his first home goal for Spurs to draw level against Sheffield United, and assisting winger Dejan Kulusevski as he scored the winner.

Overall, this Tottenham team has yet to find their ceiling. But there is an intangible difference between this Tottenham side and those in years past. With Postecoglou on the touchline, it seems clear that Tottenham want to reinvent their style of football and play by their new style under Ange Postecoglou. Fans love him, players love him, his staff love him; it’s hard not to love Ange Postecoglou. Many believed he wouldn’t be able to find success in the Premier League with a dejected Tottenham club but he has proved all of them wrong, and this season looks like his to conquer.