As Celtic extended their lead at the top of the SPFL Premiership on Saturday it was also a special day for the Celtic boss as he was to be inducted into the Football Australia Hall of Fame.
This award was perfect timing as Postecoglou takes his current Hoops team down under to compete in the Sydney Super Cup against Sydney FC and Everton in the four team tournament.
It will allow the manager to continue some of the momentum from recent results and also give some players more game time as the Hoops look to come back firing after the World Cup break.
This tournament will be the first time that the former Socceroos boss has returned to Australia with a football side since leaving the national team job and going off to manage in Japan and Scotland.
He has done so much for Australian football and made history this year as he became the very first Australian manager to take charge of a side in the Champions League. His efforts have not gone unnoticed with this tournament even being dubbed as his ‘homecoming’.
Soccer Football – Champions League – Group F – Real Madrid v Celtic – Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain – November 2, 2022 Celtic manager Ange Postecoglu looks on as Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti reacts REUTERS/Susana Vera
“I feel old, usually when you get into these things you’ve got a sort of a body of work behind you but yeah, truly humbled,” said Ange Postecoglou speaking to Celtic TV.Â
“I guess from my perspective the majority of my sort of football journey was in Australia and I think for me it was always about how can I achieve things that I sort of watched and dreamt about as a kid and most of it revolved around Australian football.
“When I think about sort of everything that’s happened to me in my life and in my sort of professional journey, you know football’s been the one constant through that. To be recognised in this way for me and my family, obviously my parents – my father in particular who was the one that sent me off on this path I think you know is truly humbling and I feel pretty blessed that everything that I’ve achieved so far has been recognised in this way.”
Celtic supporters will be hoping that the success which Postecoglou brought to the club last season will be extended beyond and that he will be around the place for a long time to come.
“Definitely hopefully more to come but nothing that sort of stands out. I think along the way what’s really been important to me and what’s really sort of resonated with me is the people’s that it’s brought into my life. Football in Australia, my best mate are guys I met at South Melbourne when I was eight years old.
“The people I’ve met along the way, some of my best friends some who are not friends but just people who have helped me along the journey.
Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Celtic v Motherwell – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – May 14, 2022 Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership with the trophy and his staff Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington
“We’ve all come from football and like I said it’s been one constant so I think when you reflect on it and you look back I’ve obviously had a lot of success and even that success it’s when I think about it it’s about the people I shared it with.
“The players, the coaches, the people involved in the football club so for me that’s always been the number one thing to highlight is just that people that it’s born into my life.”
