Ange Postecoglou: The Australian's best Celtic moments
- Published
Ange Postecoglou made a big impact in just two years at Celtic
Ange Postecoglou has left Celtic sooner than their fans would have liked, but departs for Tottenham having restored the club to a dominant position in Scottish football.
The 57-year-old Australian won five domestic trophies from a possible six, including a treble, wrestling the title from Rangers before defending it again this season, all while exhibiting a thrilling style of play.
From shrewd signings, thumping Old Firm wins, media barbs and more 'mates' than an Australian barbecue, here are Postecoglou's defining Celtic moments.
'We never stop'
Celtic gave a rare peek behind the scenes by posting a video of an early Postecoglou training session at Lennoxtown. It was the first airing of the Australian's now famous mantra.
Barking at his players, Postecoglou said: "Just get it into your heads: we never stop, we never stop. We'll stop at half-time, and then at the end of the game when we celebrate. But during the game we don't stop."
After a rocky start, it showed in Celtic's performances and the 'We never stop' catchphrase has become synonymous with the Aussie and his style of play.
Remember, too, when he could be heard on the live TV coverage loudly berating his team for passing the ball backwards in a cup tie against Raith Rovers. Scary stuff.
Signing Kyogo Furuhashi
When Celtic announced they had signed Kyogo from Vissel Kobe in the J-League, most fans were scrambling to stick the Japanese striker's name into Google.
While the results looked promising, Kyogo's impact at Celtic has been phenomenal.
He scored 20 goals in his first season - including two in the League Cup final against Hibernian - despite spending three months out injured.
The signing of Kyogo has played a big part in Celtic's success
This season he repeated his League Cup final double, this time against Rangers, and scored his 34th goal of the season in the Scottish Cup final.
Kyogo has been a huge success and the shining example of Postecoglou's ability to get great value from the Japanese market.
The 3-0 game
After a slow start to Postecoglou's first season, Celtic got themselves together and were in a battle with Rangers for the title by the winter break.
The second Old Firm game of the season took place at Celtic Park in a rare evening derby game, with the Ibrox side top of the standings.
But Postecoglou's team, aided by the signings of Matt O'Riley, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda in January, blew their rivals away in a dominant 3-0 win, with all the goals scored in the first half amid a raucous atmosphere.
It was the turning point in the title race and exhibited Postecoglou's philosophy perfectly.
"I said to the players that we had 60,000 in tonight and I'm sure a lot of them walked in with some problems in their life," he said afterwards.
"For this 95 minutes we made them forget that and feel good and that's something special."
The 4-0 game
Fast forward to this season and Rangers were aiming to bounce back and regain the title.
Heading into the first Old Firm game of the campaign in early September, Celtic were favourites and already had a two-point lead having stuck nine goals past Dundee United the previous week.
Again they blew Rangers off the pitch, with a series of quick throw-ins and free kicks leading to three first-half goals in a dominant 4-0 win.
Celtic never looked back (or never stopped, if you like) and claimed another league title under Postecoglou.
The Australian's derby record was just three defeats in 11 games against three different Rangers managers, with one of those losses coming recently when the title was already sealed.
'I'm a lucky man'
Most of the time Postecoglou has exuded calm authority as Celtic manager. But his feistiness has glinted at times, much to Celtic fans' amusement.
Rangers boss Michael Beale clearly irked him by commenting he was a "lucky man" for having the biggest budget in the league to work with.
There have been a few pointed barbs in reference to those comments, none bigger than on the Celtic Park pitch as Postecoglou addressed fans after another title win.
"Champions again because I am a lucky man," he said with a wry grin.
'Come on, mate...'
As well as attacking football and trophies, Postecoglou has brought his own Aussie personality to fronting questions from the media.
"I'm not an accountant mate, I'm a football manager," was his response to a question about the boost to the club's finances after reaching the Champions League.
"I'm still on the same planet mate, I haven't come from outer space," he replied after being asked what he knew about Hearts before his first league match in charge.
There were many more 'mates' along the way as he kept reporters across the country on their toes.
The treble goodbye
Postecoglou signed off in style as Celtic beat Inverness Caledonian Thistle to win the Scottish Cup and claim a domestic treble.
It completed the set for the Australian, who steadfastly avoided questions about his future post-match, which was telling.
He stood quietly on the Hampden pitch as the Celtic fans sang 'You'll Never Walk Alone', and belted out his name in a final plea for him to stay.
It was in vain, but an emotional moment nonetheless, and the end of an era for Celtic.
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