Australia football legend and Western United manager John Aloisi has credited Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou with opening doors for Aussie coaches looking for a chance in Europe.
Postecoglou became one of very few Australian coaches in top-flight European leagues when he moved to Glasgow in the summer of 2021, and the Scottish Premiership has since become a hotbed for Aussie football talent.
Aliosi, who remains third in the Socceroos’ all-time top goal-scorer list despite retiring in 2007, believes that the Celtic manager has shown the world that Aussie coaches have something to give to football outside of Asia.
Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Aloisi said: “Ange has opened doors for, I believe, more Australian coaches going overseas and doing well and showing what we’re capable of doing.”
“We did it as players, so I can’t see why we can’t do it as managers and coaches. We love the game, we’re very knowledgeable about the game and our work ethic is second to none, and to be a top manager, I think you have to have that work ethic,”
“It’s exciting because it gives everyone belief that hopefully one day they can manage at a top European level, and around the world – and that’s what we’re all striving for.”
Though many Celtic fans will remember the hysterical reaction when Postecoglou’s name was first touted as a potential for the managerial position, Aloisi believes that British football has come a long way from the days of widespread indignation when Arsene Wenger made a similar move from Japan to the UK in the nineties.
“It’s changed because the world’s opened up a lot, so people know what’s going on around the world a lot more,”
“I remember when I was in England, foreign managers? There weren’t a lot, and people sort of frowned upon Wenger when he first arrived because (they were asking) ‘who’s he? He managed in Japan, where’s Japan?’ – that sort of thing.
“Whereas now the world understands that with football, the quality is all around the world.”
Yet another positive Australian testimony for trailblazer Postecoglou
It’s clear from the fanfare surrounding the Sydney Super Cup that Postecoglou has had a profound and lasting impact on Australian football, and from Aliosi’s comments, it sounds like this is being felt in the wider reach of the game, not within the A-League.
Anyone who has read Postecoglou’s book Changing The Game will know that this was a mission statement of sorts from the start, to make football a more prominent sport in a country where traditionally there’s been more interest in rugby and cricket.
With his Yokohama F. Marinos predecessor Kevin Muscat repeating Postecoglou’s feat of winning the J-League, it seems only a matter of time before another big European side takes a chance on a different Australian coach who has learned their trade in the Asian leagues.
Whilst interest in Postecoglou himself will no doubt persist so long as he continues to impress at Celtic, it appears that he sees himself as the Hoops manager for the forseeable.
In other news: Ange Postecoglou and Celtic’s January transfer plans become clearer
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