Ange Postecoglou’s management style influenced by football legend he used to drive to training in his ‘crappy old car’
HUNGARY legend Ferenc Puskas had a huge influence on Ange Postecoglou’s football outlook.
And that was partly down to the new Spurs boss giving Puskas lifts in his “crappy old car”!
Australian Postecoglou, 57, played under former forward Puskas for South Melbourne between 1989 and 1992.
He said: “I was fortunate enough to spend a few years with the great Puskas — an absolute gentleman and someone who holds a very dear place in my heart.
“I used to pick him up from his house and drive him to training in my crappy old car, which I was embarrassed about.
“We swapped many stories and his philosophy on football was basically just go out there and enjoy yourselves and score goals.
“He looked after me for two or three years — we had a very close relationship.
“From the moment he wandered through, he was just humble. We were constantly pestering him to tell us stories about Real Madrid.
“He was forever downplaying everything and it just showed you his humility in dealing with people.
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“I was lucky because when he came to Australia, his English wasn’t great but he had coached Panathinaikos to a European Cup final. So his Greek was decent. I acted almost as an interpreter.
“We used to play with two wingers and he was forever telling our wingers never to come back and defend.
“I was a full-back so it used to infuriate me, but we won a championship and part of the reason we won was the atmosphere within the group. No one wanted to let him down.”
However, Spurs players should prepare for more frosty exchanges with Postecoglou.
This was demonstrated when he walked out of a TV interview in Scotland recently when told he had to wait for an ad break to finish. He explained: “I don’t do small talk.”
That lack of easy sociability was extended to his coaching staff. Rarely, if ever, did he enquire about their home lives.
But his Celtic side did his talking for him, embracing his positive, attacking mindset . . . once they had got used to his unusual matchday routine.
He added: “The game day is the players’ day, not the coach’s day. We’ll have a team lunch or a meeting three hours before the game. I give my talk and we go through our analysis.
“Then I will stay out of the way until about two minutes before kick-off, when I go into the dressing room and wish them all the best. During the game I tend to stand alone and watch it like I would at the cinema watching a movie.
“My half-time address will be one or two key points. Players will only listen for a couple of minutes — the key messages.”