Hertha Berlin youth coach Thomas Broich has disclosed the fascinating call he had with Ange Postecoglou after Celtic lost 4-0 to Bayer Leverkusen back in September.
The Hoops went through a ropey period to begin with under Postecoglou both domestically and in Europe. Despite impressively qualifying for the Europa League, Ange struggled in his first 2 games as Celtic shipped 8 goals.
After the 4-0 Parkhead mauling in which Celtic had their chances, long-term ally Broich had a call with him where Ange emphasised his determination to go all out in the return game.
Celtic would end up losing 3-2 in Leverkusen, but put on a fine attacking performance that saw us create some big chances. And speaking to Optus Sport, Hertha coach Broich has disclosed details of that conversation:
“They were getting better, and better, and better. I remember watching the first game when they played Leverkusen at home, they lost 4-0. (It) Looked bad on the score sheet, but it was actually not a bad game of football. And I asked him, ‘Well, now you’re travelling to Leverkusen, what’s the approach going to be?’ And he was looking at me like, ‘What do you mean?’ He was like, ‘Obviously, Leverkusen’s a strong side and good form and they’ve got pacey guys’. He was like, ‘You reckon I’m going to change a thing?’
“He wanted to boss their game. And it wasn’t important to win that game that day. Well, obviously he was going for it, but he always had the development of the team, the progression in mind.
“He was like, ‘Yeah, I mean, we might not be able to beat them this year. But what about next year? What about the year after?’ And I just love that way of thinking. He never even thought about for one second to kick balls long or to park the bus. He was like, ‘No, I won’t stop’. It’s so inspiring.”
Ange Postecoglou’s “never stop” philosophy has won plenty of admirers at Celtic
Ange’s philosophy at Celtic is well known by now. He refuses to allow his team to stop at any stage of the 90 minutes. It doesn’t matter who the opposition is either – he wants to be in their faces and taking the game to them
Cynics will say this is the reason Celtic conceded 15 goals in the Europa League group stages. But alternatively, it was an extremely exciting campaign in which Celtic landed some blows on top-quality sides. Let’s also not forget that we actually took 9 points from the group.
These comments from Broich also show that Ange was looking ahead to next season and the long-term. It wasn’t simply about trying to get a result against Leverkusen there and then. Instead, it was about building a belief in the players and ensuring that they would be more ready for similar challenges in the future.
We know by now that the Celtic boss is stubborn in his approach. But not once this season has it been to his detriment, and that’s the most impressive thing about this season.
It’ll be absolutely fascinating to see how this Celtic side competes in Europe next year – hopefully in the Champions League. There were lessons to be learned after this year’s Euro campaign for sure. Improvement will certainly be expected.
But Ange has total backing from the club’s supporters in any case. He’s more than earned that.
In other news, Video: Celtic B starlet Karamoko Dembele rinses 2 rival players in brilliant clip
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