Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has faced Man Utd once before in little-known clash during Fergie glory days
TOTTENHAM boss Ange Postecoglou takes on Manchester United in his first home Premier League match – an opponent he has met once before.
The Red Devils were Treble winners and Champions League holders when they clashed with Postecoglou’s South Melbourne in the Club World Championship in 2000.
The Australian outfit qualified for the tournament by winning the 1999 Oceania Club Championship – one of four trophies Postecoglou won with the club.
United had drawn with Necaxa and lost to Vasco Da Gama going into the match, and needed a win and Necaxa to lose by more than one goal to progress to the next round.
Despite that, Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a weakened team although Andy Cole, Phil Neville and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer all started, while David Beckham came off the bench.
United won the game 2-0 thanks to a Quinton Fortune double, but were knocked out as Necaxa only lost 2-1 to Vasco de Gama.
South Melbourne also went home early but for Postecoglou it was a valuable experience as he got a chance to sit down with Ferguson.
Reflecting on the meeting, Postecoglou said: “I coached against Sir Alex Ferguson in 2000 in Brazil, we did a press conference together and he gave me 15 minutes of his time.
“It was gold for me. I was 34 at the time and I was coaching a team from Australia against Manchester United in the Club World Cup and spent 15 minutes which was gold.”
Postecoglou is seeking revenge as Spurs welcome United to North London this evening.
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Spurs drew their first game under the Aussie against Brentford last week, with summer signing James Maddison producing two assists.
Postecoglou will be hoping for more of the same from the midfielder as his side overcome the loss of Harry Kane, who scored on his Bayern Munich debut on Friday.
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