Journalist Suleyman Ozturk has indicated that Ange Postecoglou had been on Ajax’s radar previously and the club will be rueing their decision not to appoint him.
Postecoglou has had to prove doubters wrong all the way through his footballing journey, having managed to succeed every step of the way since leaving Australia to try his luck aboard.
He guided Yokohama Marinos to a historic J League triumph after a difficult start at the club and won five of the six trophies on offer in Scotland in his two years at Celtic despite being written off at the start.
There were eyebrows raised once again when Tottenham took a punt on the 58-year-old in the summer but he has hardly put a foot wrong since arriving in N17, with the Lilywhites now sitting at the top of the Premier League table.
(Photo by AMA/Corbis via Getty Images)
Will Ajax regret not going for Ange Postecoglou?
Ozturk believes that the only reason Ajax didn’t appoint Postecoglou was because of his unusual background and added that the Dutch club would now have found themselves close to the top of the table rather than languishing in 16th place if they had swooped for the Australian.
He told Voetbal Zone (as translated by Sport Witness): “He was scouted ten years too late. He was already a good trainer ten years ago, but he is from Australia and talks a bit strangely.
“He doesn’t really have a football background, so we can’t take him seriously, many clubs must have thought. He has indeed not played 130 international matches, but he is a very good trainer.
“If he had been scouted in time… He could have worked for number sixteen in the Eredivisie, and then they would have been second.”
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Postecoglou’s success will perhaps open the door to coaches who do well in South America and Asia, to perhaps get an opportunity in Europe. It will force top teams to scour the world for coaching talent, just as they do for players.
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