Beers, barbecues and beaches in Melbourne sounds like a much better place to watch the Glasgow Derby than the cold shores of Britain; but that is where Ange Postecoglou grew up watching Celtic take on Rangers in his childhood.
It isn’t quite a million miles away from Glasgow – 10,541 to be exact – but it may as well have been for the Aussie boss, who never thought in a million years that he would have managed a derby game in Hoops colours.
Despite not being a ‘pub guy’ – which is likely where more than half of Glasgow will watch Sunday’s lunchtime fixture – Ange still settled down with his friends to watch the illustrious fixture with a nice array of shrimp, in what he describes as one of the biggest fixtures on the planet.
But this weekend will be much different, with the Aussie boss lining up in the dugout against Steven Gerrard for the first time in his long career. And, with the game being just two days after his birthday, he will be hoping his side can reward him with a belated present with all three points at Ibrox.
Speaking to The Glasgow Times, Postecoglou was buoyant of his chances in enemy territory after Thursday’s aggregate triumph over AZ Alkmaar.
I wasn’t a pubs kind of guy, I preferred watching with the comforts of home with a few mates and a couple of beers.
That was our experience. I have a group of friends and whenever there was a big fixture, we’d get around to someone’s house, have a barbie and watch the football.
It’ll be magic. I can’t wait. It’s not stuff that you dream about because when you are living in Melbourne and you are a million miles away, how can you dream you’ll be part of a fixture like this one? It seems too far-fetched to come from seeing it in a young boy’s mind.
To be involved, it’ll be special. Hopefully, we will give a good account of ourselves and make it a memorable day. We knew this was a big week for us and getting through Thursday night was our first priority. Now it’s Sunday.
Ange stressed the importance of the game as a worldwide fixture; being watched by mass audiences across the globe, it is imperative that Celtic continue test their good form against their admittedly shaky neighbours.
It’s a massive game and a fixture that has global significance. I can tell you Down Under in Australia, it’s one of the fixtures everyone looks out for every year from around the world.
The Glasgow Derby is right up there and it’s never lost on me how big a game it is. To be part of it is something special.
