Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa were both childhood heroes of his and he could scarcely believe it when he had the opportunity to chat with Ardlies face-to-face at Hotspur Way.
Despite growing up on the other side of the world, Postecoglou was obsessed with English football as a kid, and like many, Villa’s brilliant solo goal in the FA Cup final in 1981 is one of his enduring memories.
When asked about that goal, the Tottenham head coach told The Daily Mail: “Yeah I have seen it. I am still like a kid half the time. I got introduced to Ossie Ardiles and I was buzzing, mate.
“Even in Australia, he had a massive impact. When I got the job here one of my two best mates said I had to meet Ardiles and Villa. So I have ticked half of that off, yeah.”
Postecoglou opened up on his earliest memories of watching football as a kid, admitting that football was one of the only things that he and his immigrant family could identify with amidst a completely different sporting landscape in Australia, which is dominated by AFL and cricket.
He continued: “We were obsessed with English and Scottish football. The big matches were marked on our calendars. When you love football in Australia there is a big commitment because you are talking about 2 am in the morning.
“My early FA Cup Final memory was 1974 and Liverpool against Newcastle. Then 1975 would have been West Ham and Fulham. All these things stay with you. I remember Trevor Brooking scoring [in 1980] and I remember Alan Taylor scoring [in 1975]. Villa scoring for Tottenham.
“It was something that took us away from our existence. We were a migrant family trying to adjust to life in a country where they loved sports we didn’t understand.
“As a kid, it was easier for me to understand cricket but my dad lived in Australia for 50 years and still didn’t understand it for the life of him. I took him to the MCG in Melbourne one day and he lasted until lunch. Chris Tavare was batting so maybe it was understandable. Not a great choice by me.
“But because we were struggling with so many things, the football was great. We understood it. Dad understood it. Everything we experienced with my family or friends in terms of football made a massive impact on us.”
Postecoglou has spoken a lot about how his love for football comes from his father, Jim, and about how going to see the local side on the weekend was the main bonding time he would get with his old man (BBC Sport).
The 58-year-old admitted that he wishes that his father was around to see how far he has come in the game.
The Spurs head coach added: “All that stuff we used to watch together in the middle of the night. Father and son. So just to see me out there now.
“Yeah, he would be proud but he would have been giving me clips round the ear, mate, for doing things wrong because that was his way of complimenting me. But it’s not lost. One of my best mates lost his dad recently. We are at that age.
“The only words of comfort I can give is that I see my father in me. I look in the mirror and see him. That’s his expression or I say something and I know it’s him talking.
“We carry them with us. I have no doubt about that. He’s on the journey but it would have been nice to give him a bit of a glimpse of what his boy became.”
Spurs Web Opinion
It is clear that the main reason that Ange does not drift away from his principles is that they are extremely deeply rooted. His love for attacking football evidently comes from what he and his dad loved watching when he was a kid.
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