Tottenham have finally named their manager for next season. It’s Enze Postecoglou, a former mentor of Oh Hyun-gyu.
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr. Postecoglou as the new first-team coach,” Tottenham said through their official channel on June 6 (KST). He has signed a four-year contract. Postecoglou will make history as the first Australian-born manager in the English Premier League. Postecoglou will start on July 1 and will confirm his coaching staff in due course.
Postecoglou’s appointment was only a matter of time. On the same day, European transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano tweeted, “Tottenham will appoint Postecoglou as their new manager. The deal is already done. The day before, he tweeted, “Tottenham have reached a verbal agreement with Postecoglou. All that remains is an agreement with Celtic,” Romano said, adding, “Celtic and Tottenham have agreed on compensation. Postecoglou has accepted all the terms. All that remains is to finalize the details. He even added the signature ‘HERE WE GO’, which is practically official. The BBC also broke the news: “Postecoglou has agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager. An official announcement will be made once the final details are finalized.
The initial speculation was that it would be two years or 2+1 years, but surprisingly, it ended up being four years. It’s a sign of the team’s commitment to building a new team under Postecoglue.
Initially, it seemed as though Postecoglou would stay at Celtic. Celtic were so determined that he didn”t see Tottenham as an attractive option. “Everyone asks me about it,” Postecoglou said of the Tottenham rumors in a recent interview. I want to focus on winning, and for some people the position might be attractive, but not for me,” he said in a recent interview. That changed after they beat Inverness to win the Scottish Cup. After completing the Domestic Treble – League, League Cup, and then Scottish Cup – there was nothing left for Postecoglou to achieve on the Scottish stage. Postecoglou wanted a new challenge, and Tottenham offered him one. The deal was finalized quickly, in what could be described as a blitzkrieg. Thus, Tottenham’s search for a new manager came to an end.
Tottenham’s search for a new manager has been difficult to say the least. It was on par with the search for Jose Mourinho’s successor. Tottenham fired Antonio Conte in March, citing poor performance. Conte led Tottenham to the European Champions League last year, but the team hasn’t performed as well as expected this season, with Conte sticking to a tactic that emphasizes Ivan Perisic. For the first time in his career, Conte failed to lift a trophy.
Tottenham went on to make an inexplicable move. Conte’s right-hand man, Christian Stellini, was given the job. However, Stellini was also ousted after a shock 1-6 loss to Newcastle. Tottenham turned to Ryan Mason, a former coach at the club, to take over as acting manager. It was a disaster. But Mason didn’t live up to expectations either. Spurs failed to qualify for the Europa League. It had been 13 years since the 2009-2010 season that the Spurs had missed out on European competition. 토토사이트
Looking to rebound, Spurs turned to a new manager. Mauricio Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann, former Bayern Munich boss Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso, and Brighton boss Roberto De Jervi were among the candidates. However, negotiations hit a snag when Fabio Paratici left the club after being disciplined. To make matters worse, the club failed to qualify for the European club competition. Unsurprisingly, the manager they wanted didn’t want to come to Tottenham. The most likely candidate, Nagelsmann, wanted the right to buy players and appoint the head coach, and negotiations broke down.
Feyenoord coach Arne Slott was next in line for the job. “See you in London,” Slott said, signaling a possible move to Tottenham. But Slott chose to stay. The Spurs were hesitant to spend the large release clause on Slott. “I’ve heard a lot about other clubs being interested in me,” Slott said, “but my desire is to stay at Feyenoord and continue to build on the foundation we’ve built over the last two seasons.” The deal was finally announced on March 26. Pochettino, who the fans wanted to keep, chose to join ‘rivals’ Chelsea.
Fans were disappointed and angry, and Tottenham’s pace quickened. Postecoglou was the final choice. Postecoglou has been in charge of Celtic since 2021. Having previously played for Melbourne Victory, the Australian national team, and Yokohama Marinos in Japan’s J-League, Postecoglou’s first stint in Europe unleashed his potential at Celtic. His unorthodox policy of favoring Japanese players led to a double in his first season, winning the Scottish Premiership and League Cup. After winning back the title from Rangers and gaining the overwhelming support of the fans, Postecoglou has deepened his colors this season. He even won a treble this season. It was Celtic’s eighth treble of the season.
Postecoglou plays a fiery style of attacking soccer, scoring 114 goals in the league. He’s openly said that he likes the style of Man City and Napoli. He also has no preconceived notions about opening the door to Asian players. Oh Hyun-kyu was one of Postecoglou’s top picks, and he also pushed for other Korean players. His lack of big league experience is a weakness, but with what he’s shown so far, he’s more than capable of taking the reins at Tottenham. The British media called him a “gem” and expressed their expectations. “I’m sure Spurs fans will be in for some entertaining football,” said ‘legend’ Chris Sutton.
Of course, he’s a bit of an unknown quantity to Spurs fans. There’s also the fact that he’s from Australia, a country on the fringes. “It’s like an Australian basketball coach going to the NBA,” said former Australian international Craig Foster. Postecoglou is going to the ‘big six’ in England with an incredible history. It’s very exciting.” There is more negativity than positivity among Tottenham fans who wanted a proven mastermind.
From Son’s point of view, there are many positives, as he prefers to play attacking soccer and has a manager who understands Asian players. Heung-min had one of his best seasons in 2021-2022, leading the league in goals, but last season he had to settle for double-digit goals. Of course, seven consecutive seasons of double-digit scoring and double-digit offensive points is nothing to sneeze at, but there’s an aging curve that’s been talked about. A new coach will be crucial for Son as he looks to rebound, and for now, it’s not a bad idea. The two teams met in the 2015 Asian Cup final in Australia. Australia won the title with a 2-1 victory, and Postecoglou was the coach at the time. Son Heung-min scored a dramatic equalizer to send the game into extra time.
How Postecoglou will change Tottenham. With speculation already swirling around the prospect of luring the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi to Tottenham, it will be interesting to see what the Australian manager can bring to a club that has repeatedly failed to hire a mastermind.