It’s on record through various players who signed for Celtic how Ange Postecoglou gets their immediate buy-in when he calls them to join the club.
Postecoglou, as Celtic supporters know, is an amazing motivator and every fan remembers that famous first mic’d up training session at Lennoxtown.
The Australian managed to convince the likes of Joe Hart, Kyogo Furuhashi and Matt O’Riley to sign for Celtic after speaking to them on the telephone.
So what did Ange tell these players that made them immediately want to come to Parkhead? Former Celtic goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist spills the beans.
The ‘famous phone call’ Benjamin Siegrist had with Celtic hero Ange Postecoglou
The former Swiss U21 international goalkeeper was brought in to provide competition for Joe Hart at Celtic in 2022.
And here, he speaks about the ‘famous phone call’ he had with Ange before agreeing to join Celtic.
Siegrist told The Bondi Podcast, “Yes, I remember my stepdad was with me in my apartment and I got the number and I said, ‘What’s your name?’ I was like, I’ve got to take this.
“And he [Stevie Woods] was like, ‘Look, we were really impressed with you the last couple of years and you were on our books for a little while and let’s have a conversation’.
“And then I told my agent at the time and then obviously had this famous phone call with Ange Postecoglou.
“When he calls, you say yes. It’s one of those ones where when he speaks, you just buy into it.
“He’s a fantastic coach, fantastic motivator. I think all the players that he signed had this phone call and all the players said, yeah, like as soon as he starts speaking, it’s the deal is done.”
What Ange Postecoglou really tells players that convinced them to join Celtic
It must have been a hell of a speech to make a player just agree to come to Celtic so what exactly did Ange tell Siegrist?
The former Celtic goalkeeper continued, “He just makes you believe like you can play in his system. He tells you how it is. He said, ‘Look, you’re not guaranteed anything, but if you put the work in, I guarantee you will get an opportunity’.
“And he’s going to try and make you a better player. And he was obviously telling me the system is probably different than anything I’ve ever done.
“The positioning and just the risky pass, which from the outside, it looked very risky. And unless you actually start training, you’re like, it’s not that risky, it’s just pass the ball to the free man.
“There’s obviously a little bit more to it, but and he said, ‘Look, Joe’s done brilliant. He’s got the system one year under his belt, but he’s a little bit older than you. And if he’s learning the system, you can too’.
“And he said to me, he said, ‘Look, you can go sign for another team and play another hundred games, or you can come play for me and learn something and develop yourself.
“And I was like, ‘Yeah, sign me up. That’s what I want to do.’”
Unfortunately for Siegrist, he only managed to make two Celtic first-team appearances in his three years at the club before moving on to FC Rapid.
Now at Genoa on loan, the former Celtic man has, again, made just two appearances for the Serie A side.
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