Not many people could have foreseen the arrival or success of Ange Postecoglou in Europe just over 18 months ago.
However, one man who was ahead of the curve on the Celtic manager was former Hoops midfielder and Australian international Jackson Irvine.
The 29-year-old came through the Lennoxtown academy system, making a handful of appearances for the club, before going on to have a solid career in Scotland, England and Germany.
His successful spells at clubs such as Celtic and current side St Pauli have led Irvine to earn a host of international call-ups, and the midfielder currently sits on 49 caps for his country.
During his earlier days playing for the Socceroos, the ex-Ross County and Hibernian man got the chance to work with current Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou.
Of course, now, Postecoglou is well-known across Scotland, and to an extent, his name will now be on the radar across several leagues in Europe.
However, you don’t have to go far back to discover a time when even the Celtic support didn’t know anything about the 57-year-old when he was working in Japan.
Postecoglou’s appointment at Celtic came as a surprise and out of nowhere. However, it wasn’t much of a surprise to Irvine, who just a few months earlier had predicted Ange’s move to Europe.
Speaking on the popular Open Goal podcast, the Australian international spoke extremely highly of the Yokohama F Marinos boss at the time of its recording.
So when Postecoglou was first linked with the job, many Celtic and Scottish Football supporters made their way to the clip of what Irvine had to say about his old manager.
Although some may have had their doubts at first, Irvine’s words proved to be spot on, and the rest, as they say, is history, with Ange Postecoglou now leading the Bhoys to trophy success and into the Champions League.
Irvine recently reflected on those comments ahead of the Qatar World Cup with his nation next month, as he laughed off the criticism he received for what he had to say about Ange initially.
The midfielder also continued his praise for his former club and manager, stating that it was ‘immense’ to see his fellow countryman managing at a top club in the Champions League.
He said [Socceroos]: “It went viral a couple of times because it went viral the first time just out of, like, that’s a bit weird. How’s he seen that one coming?
“It was so funny. I did that interview with the Open Goal guys; I’ve known them for a long time. Obviously, they were asking about my career, and I spoke about Ange and how I’d love to see him in Europe, I think he’d be really successful and all this.
“And then when he got linked to the Celtic job, it (the interview) started getting shared. I was just getting slaughtered by people, just being like, ‘oh, Jackson Irvine, he says he’s good. So he must be great. Like, who the hell is this guy? What does he know; this is Celtic it’s not bloody Ross County’.
“I was just getting absolute pelters, and then about two months later, it started getting shared again, and everyone was like, right, maybe he kind of understood what he was talking about. But yeah, it was absolutely crazy how that came together in such a short space of time.
“The success he has had there is unsurprising from a lot of people’s perspectives in terms of what we knew he would bring to a club like that.
“But it wasn’t an easy one to go into and to now be managing in the Champions League at the Bernabeu; it’s absolutely immense for Australian football to have someone who has been a huge contributor to football in our country representing us on arguably the highest level of football in the world.”
Celtic supporters couldn’t be happier with current leadership as Irvine’s comments come to light once again.
At the time of Jackson Irvine’s original interview with Open Goal, no one could have predicted what would come next for Ange Postecoglou and Celtic.
But ultimately, it has led perfect match of a manager and club, with Postecoglou rebuilding the Hoops and lifting a league and cup double in his first season.
And in the early stages of his second season, the improvements keep on coming, with the Celtic support being left delighted at our progress over a year on from Ange’s appointment.
The Parkhead faithful are hoping this is only the beginning of Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic story and there is plenty more success to enjoy.
To think some of our first insights into our boss came from Irvine’s original interview during a point of turmoil for the club, and now we are almost united as one at the beginning of a new era of success.
In other news, Celtic support avoid TV blackout as Motherwell announce broadcast boost.
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