THE WIZARD OF AUS

How success at Celtic propelled Ange Postecoglou into the Tottenham Hotspur hot seat

- Phil Gordon

It is very rare for Glasgow to be confused with Melbourne. And yet, the 27-degree evening temperature and a week of unbroken sunshine meant that, as Celtic celebrated a domestic treble in early June, it seemed like even the weather had come under Ange Postecoglou’s control.

Postecoglou had given up his trademark sweater as he perspired in his suit. It was more like Seville as the sun beat down on the huge Celtic support at Hampden Park for the Scottish Cup final’s evening kick-off, with the 3-1 defeat of Inverness Caledonian Thistle delivering a world-record eighth treble for Celtic.

Postecoglou moved into an elite bracket of Celtic managers to achieve a domestic clean sweep. The 57-year-old Australian joined Jock Stein – who also won the European Cup in 1967 – Martin O’Neill, Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon.

O’Neill was on television commentary duty for this season’s final and, after Postecoglou had won Celtic’s 41st Scottish Cup, discussed the Australian’s future: “There is something special about this club that you never want to leave,” he said. “I was hoping that the Champions League football, having had the experience last year, that Ange would want to take the club further.”

Yet O’Neill was wrong. The allure of taking Celtic into another European campaign was not enough for Postecoglou to resist an offer from Tottenham Hotspur. Just three days after collecting his fifth trophy in two seasons in Scotland, he was named Antonio Conte’s permanent successor.