The Sun have revealed that it was Pep Guardiola who first recommended Ange Postecoglou to Celtic back in 2021.
Postecoglou’s arrival at Tottenham has been met with scepticism from some quarters owing to the Australian’s lack of experience at the highest level but one man who does not doubt the 57-year-old’s credentials is Guardiola.
His Manchester City side faced off against Postecoglou’s Yokohama F. Marinos side in pre-season back in 2019, with the Spaniard clearly impressed by what he saw from the J-League outfit at the time.
(Photo by Berengui/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
When asked about the Australian’s arrival at Tottenham, Guardiola said a couple of days ago (via Football.London): “Another exceptional manager is coming. I was lucky to meet him in Tokyo years ago when he was Yokohama’s manager, one of the clubs in the City Football Group.
“It was an interesting chat and I had a good relationship. He has done an incredible job and will do an incredible job at Spurs.”
The Sun have now claimed that Guardiola has played a pivotal part in Postecoglou’s journey, with the City boss said to have recommended the Aussie coach to Celtic. Had he not got the Celtic job, it is unlikely that Postecoglou would be sitting in the Spurs hot seat right now.
The report explains that Eddie Howe was hesitating over whether to take the job at Parkhead two years ago which is when Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond bumped into Guardiola in a hotel.
The 52-year-old allegedly explained there was a manager he rated highly who was currently at Yokohama and that he deserved a big break, with Desmond taking the advice on board and bringing Postecoglou to Glasgow.
Spurs Web Opinion
This anecdote gives me more confidence that Postcoglou’s methods are perhaps transferable to the elite level.
If the best coach of the modern era felt that Postecoglou had something special, that is certainly a massive endorsement of the 57-year-old’s ideas and tactical nous.
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