Since arriving in England last summer, Ange Postecoglou has won over many people with his exciting, attacking football philosophy, but he already had a fan in Joe Hart long before that.
Tottenham Hotspur made the rather bold decision at the end of last season to appoint Ange Postecoglou to the manager role at the club. Some suspected it was too big a leap for the former Celtic manager, but they have been proven wrong.
Postecoglou led Spurs to a fifth-placed finish last season, and continues to defy the sceptics with his adventurous style of play.
While his high defensive line has been caught out at times, leading to some pundits describing his tactics as naive, Postecoglou ploughs on and remains firm in his mindset that he knows best. Based on recent results, you’d have to say he’s probably right, too.
A big part of Postecoglou’s style of play involves his defenders, and indeed his goalkeepers, playing out from the back.
It’s a very common pattern of play these days, but former Tottenham and Celtic keeper, Joe Hart, admitted he was stunned when Postecoglou explained this method to him during their time together in Scotland.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Hart said: “Ange Postecoglou blew my mind because he really opened me up. I always thought playing out from the back, does that mean I have to do Cruyff turns, pick passes? He helped me to see that, no, it doesn’t; it means I need to stand on the ball and make sure my centre halves are on either side of me and my six is showing.
“I’m not playing out for the sake of it. I’m playing out to score. If that full press comes and all I see is opposition players next to mine, I’m given that clarity in my mind that there’s a little dink into the striker’s chest.
“All these things came together, and it became a totally different game and a totally different thought process. I feel truly blessed because I would honestly feel out of my depth sat here three years ago trying to have a conversation about playing out from the back.”
Postecoglou is an incredible coach and a brilliant man manager, who is clearly getting the best out of the Tottenham first-team squad right now. I would be very, very surprised if he doesn’t end up winning a trophy at Spurs.
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