The Celtic boss has earned notable comparisons to the serial-winning Spaniard…
Just over two months on from the sacking of Antonio Conte, Tottenham Hotspur are still yet to name a permanent, long-term successor to the experienced Italian.
The Lilywhites had looked to have settled on Feyenoord head coach, Arne Slot as their leading option only to see the Dutchman opt to stay put in Rotterdam, with chairman Daniel Levy now left scrambling around once again in this frustrating and protracted manager search.Having once been among the mix for the Premier League title and having powered their way to the Champions League final during Mauricio Pochettino’s time at the helm, the north London outfit now appear a long way off competing for major honours, after finishing eighth and missing out on European qualification in 2022/23.
Spurs are seemingly crying out for a figure in the dugout who can lead them back into contention near the summit, with the aim likely to be to close the gap on the likes of Manchester City at the summit.
The Etihad outfit have undoubtedly been the dominant force in English football in recent years, with serial-winning coach Pep Guardiola having now claimed five league titles during his seven-year stay at the club, firmly establishing himself as arguably the “greatest manager of all time”, according to Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.
To try and compete with the Spaniard’s winning machine may appear rather impossible, although Tottenham could potentially finally their own version of Guardiola in the form of one reported target – Ange Postecoglou.
Should Tottenham appoint Ange Postecoglou?
Much like Guardiola has “infiltrated” and “dominated” the Premier League – according to Neville – Postecoglou has also enjoyed a similar impact at current club Celtic, with Hoops legend Chris Sutton noting earlier this season:
‘He’s doing to Scottish football what Pep Guardiola did for the English game. It’s a completely new approach that’s almost unheard of up here.’That likeness between the former Barcelona boss and the Greek-Aussie has also been made by former Australia defender Craig Moore, with the one-time Rangers man stating:
“Ange Postecoglou is a very proactive coach in terms of the style and brand of football he likes to play. The likes of Klopp, Bielsa, Tuchel, even Guardiola.
“He really likes his teams to play football in the right way. His teams need to have a lot of energy, to work extremely hard for that style to be effective. He always looks to play out from the back.”
That free-flowing approach – which has already seen Postecoglou lead the Old Firm outfit to two league titles and two League Cups since his arrival in the summer of 2021 – has been the 57-year-old’s method throughout his managerial career thus far, having even earned praise from Guardiola himself after taking on City while in charge of Yokohama F.Marinos back in 2019:
“Yokohama played some incredible football and they were an incredible test for us. I knew how good they were and it was tough for us”The parallels between the two coach’s work has also led to suggestions that the one-time Melbourne Victory boss is even highly regarded by those at the Etihad, with journalist Rory Smith having revealed that “there are a lot of people at City who really rate him”.
An “infectious” presence on the touchline – as hailed by compatriot, Tim Cahill – Postecoglou could well be the Guardiola-esque figure that Spurs are desperately craving in order to compete once again at the top end of the table.
As pundit Mark Schwarzer stated, the appointment of the Celtc tactician could make Tottenham “genuine contenders” once again…
