Ange Postecoglou opens up on playing on pitch covered in TOADS as Tottenham prepare to brave 3G Tamworth turf
ANGE POSTECOGLOU will bid to stop Tottenham’s FA Cup hopes croaking on Tamworth’s plastic 3G pitch on Sunday.
But that is nothing compared to the surface the Aussie and his South Melbourne team once played on in Fiji — which was infested with TOADS.
In 1999, Postecoglou’s Aussie side travelled to the Pacific Island for qualifiers ahead of the inaugural Club World Championship and found a ground littered with the amphibian critters.
But they showed enough Kermit-ment to reach the finals a year later and faced Treble-winners Manchester United in Brazil.
Postefroglou . . . sorry, Postecoglou recalled: “Warming up, there were toads which kept jumping on the pitch. At the time, you’re kind of going, ‘Really?’
“But when you realise what was at stake — a fair bit of money and the opportunity to play at the Maracana against some of the best teams in the world — it was quite extraordinary.”
That game 26 years ago was the Oceanic final of qualifying against local side Nadi at Prince Charles Park. South Melbourne won 5-1 and went on to play United, Vasco da Gama and Necaxa of Mexico.
The gap between Postecoglou’s Melbourne team and United is similar to the 96 divisional spots between Tottenham and National League Tamworth.
United won 2-0 but it was much tighter than had been expected.
And the Aussie knows players can pull a ribbit out the hat for the biggest game of their lives.
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Postecoglou, 59, added: “We were a semi-pro team playing at the Maracana against the great Manchester United. So there was a fair difference between us.
“But qualifying for that tournament probably destroyed our domestic season because players didn’t want to risk getting injured.
“We ended up losing but we gave a decent account of ourselves and some of my players, probably played the best game of their lives.
“You know Tamworth have had a couple of defeats recently. It’s probably because their mind has been on this game.
“What we’re going to face on Sunday is players hoping to play the best game of their lives.”