After receiving a special accolade in his native Greece, former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou revealed he has no plans to step away from management anytime soon…
Although he guided Tottenham to their first trophy in 17 years by winning the Europa League against Manchester United last season, the 59-year-old was dismissed by Daniel Levy following a troubling Premier League campaign that saw Spurs finish 17th in the table.
With ex-Brentford boss Thomas Frank taking over at Tottenham following Postecoglou’s exit, big Ange was linked with replacing Frank at the West London club.
Born in Nea Filadelfeia near Athens, Postecoglou moved to Melbourne, Australia, at the age of five in 1970, where he began his football journey first as a player and later found greater success as a manager.
The widely admired Postecoglou received a special honour for being the first Greek to win a European trophy and used the moment to deliver a heartfelt tribute to his late father.
Addressing the crowd in his native language during the launch of the new Greek Super League fixtures, Postecoglou said via Neos Kosmos: When I left Greece, my father and my mother, mostly my father, passed on the love they had for football to me.”
“I grew up with the names. He supported AEK, Mimi Papaeoannou, Thomas Mavro and [Georgios] Delikaris. hadn’t seen all these players but I knew all these names as if I had seen them, because my father always told me about these stories.”
“Since I was little, I had the dream of one day reaching this level. Unfortunately as a player, this wasn’t possible, I realised that early on.”
“But as a coach, I tried with all the passion I had for football to make, especially my father, and my mother proud of the sacrifices they made which made them leave their own country, their family, for me and my sister to give us the opportunity to live our dreams.”
Ange added: “And every day I think about that, the sacrifices he made. My father is not with me now but I know he sees me and is proud of what I have achieved so far. I always have my wife and my children by my side.”
“The goal is to continue, we’re not done yet. I want to do all of Greece and Australia where I grew up, but especially Greece because I was born here, proud with all the things I hope will happen in the future.”
“But it’s a great honour to be here. I am low profile and don’t talk too much but know that in my heart these moments remain very close to me. Thank you very much.”
Ange Postecoglou was a guest of honour at the draw for the 2025-26 Greek Super League season.
The Greek-Aussie received an award in recognition of his accomplishments.
Postecoglou spoke passionately about Greece and his father’s love for AEK. pic.twitter.com/YHQRrLACUo
— Sacha Pisani (@Sachk0) July 10, 2025
Conor Spence
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