Ange Postecoglou became the first Australian to coach a major European club and swiftly restored Celtic to the top of the Scottish tree. He now takes on a new challenge at Tottenham Hotspur.

Postecoglou is a Greek-Australian football manager and currently the manager of Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.

He had a successful career as a player as a one-club man for South Melbourne, lifting the NSL Championship in 1984 and 1991. His time at the club included a spell where he was managed by footballing legend Ferenc Puskas, who influenced his future coaching style.

Postecoglou cut his managerial teeth in the Greek and Australian leagues, winning back-to-back A-League championships as manager of Brisbane Roar in 2012.

He had a spell in charge of Melbourne Victory before being appointed as Australia head coach in 2013, where he guided the Socceroos to the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals and also won the 2015 Asian Cup.

Postecoglou resigned as Australia's head coach before Russia 2018 to take charge of Japanese side Yokohama and won the J-League title with them in 2019.

He moved to Celtic in June 2021 and won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish League Cup in 2021/22, then successfully defended both titles the following season before adding the Scottish Cup to his pile of silverware.

The 57-year-old was appointed head coach of Premier League side Tottenham on a four-year deal on July 1, 2023.

Early managerial career

After a spell as assistant manager, Postecoglou became head coach of South Melbourne in 1996 and guided them to NSL titles in 1997/98 and 1998/99, and the 1999 Oceania Club Championship.

He then took up roles coaching Australia's youth sides in 2000, but after missing out on qualifying for the 2007 U-20 World Cup and an on-air row with respected TV pundit Craig Foster his career went into decline.

His next move was Greek third division side Panachaiki, followed by a short stint at Whittlesea Zebras.

Postecoglou in the A League

Postecoglou joined the Roar in October 2009, and had great success winning the A-League Championship in back-to-back seasons.

The Greek-Australian's first year in the Premiership at the club brought a 36-game unbeaten run. The following year saw Brisbane win the A-league Championship again.

It was not just success that he brought to Brisbane, he also introduced high quality football.

Postecoglou joined Melbourne Victory for the 2012/13 season, but was unable to lift the A-League Championship with his new club before the Socceroos came knocking.

Postecoglou managing Australia

Postecoglou only made four appearances for the national side as a player, but he faired far better as head coach of the Socceroos.

He led Australia to the 2014 World Cup, where they finished bottom of a tough group that included Spain, the Netherlands and Chile.

But his managerial high point came when Australia lifted their first ever Asia Cup in 2015, defeating South Korea 2-1 after extra time.

He earned two draws in the group stages of the 2017 Confederations Cup and booked Australia's place in the 2018 World Cup, but resigned shortly after securing qualification in November 2017.

Postecoglou managed 49 Australia games, claiming 22 wins with a win rate of 44.9%.

Success in Japan

Less than a month after his resignation from the Australian national team Postecoglou was announced as manager of the Yokohoma F. Marinos in Japan's J-League.

After struggling in his first season with a calamitous defence that leaked too many goals, the club finished in 12th, and lost in the final of the J-League Cup. But Postecoglou bounced back in 2019.

He guided F. Marinos to their first title in 15 years and became the first Australian manager to win the J-League.

The 2020 season was heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and F. Marinos eventually finished in 9th place. He left the club in June 2021 to join Celtic.

Postecoglou at Celtic

The atmosphere that Postecoglou walked into at Celtic was downbeat following a season that saw them fail to secure ten title victories in a row.

With the departure of key figures like Scott Brown, Odsonne Edouard, Kristoffer Ajer and Ryan Christie, Postecoglu had a big rebuilding job on his hands.

Over the course of his first season Celtic signed seventeen first-team players, most notably several names from the J-League including Kyogo Furuhashi, Daezan Maeda, Reo Hetate and Yosuke Ideguchi joining the club. These signings were supplemented by Premier League experience in the form of Joe Hart, James McCarthy and Cameron-Carter Vickers.

The rebuild worked and in his first season at Celtic Postecoglou won the Scottish Premiership, four points clear of rivals Rangers, and the Scottish League Cup beating Hibernian in the final.

He made it five trophies in two seasons after completing the domestic treble during the 2022/23 campaign. Beating Inverness 3-1 to win the Scottish Cup, Rangers 2-1 in the League Cup final and winning the league by seven points ahead of their bitter local rivals.

Then after much rumour and speculation he moved to the Premier League to take the reins at Tottenham.

"I would like to sincerely thank everyone at the club for everything they have given me," Postecoglou said in a statement.

"In particular, (majority shareholder) Dermot (Desmond), (chairman) Peter (Lawwell) and (chief executive) Michael (Nicholson) and the Celtic board have shown me tremendous support in every aspect of my time at Celtic and I will forever be grateful for this.

"They brought me to the club and I have worked so closely and so well with them for the past two years, I will always have a special relationship with them.

"They wanted me to extend my time at Celtic and while I am so respectful and understanding of their position, a new opportunity has been presented to me and it is one which I wanted to explore."

Personal life

Postecoglou is married to Georgia and the couple have three sons James, Alexi and Max. 

Postecoglou net worth

His annual pay is approximately £2million a year, and his net worth is believed to be around £4million.