Whateley: Ange is the greatest coach this country has produced

Gerard Whateley • May 22nd, 2025 1:45 pm

This is one for the true believers.

In Ange we trust.

It’s what we’ve known for so long.

It’s what Spurs never really understood.

And perhaps too late they’ve figured it out.

Ange Postecoglou delivered a trophy for Tottenham Hotspur… just as he promised he would.

Spurs' first trophy in 17 years and the club’s first European title in 41 years.

It’s the finest triumph by an Australian coach on the international stage.

It enshrines Ange as the greatest coach this country has produced.

And it comes against a fearsome backdrop and amid crippling adversity.

Making it all the grander.

Postecoglou’s tenure in the Premier League has been volatile and tumultuous.

The darling early as he collected back-to-back Manager of the Month accolades and disarmed a grizzled league with his forthright attitudes and straight talking.

He waged an ideological war of style over pragmatism.

Increasingly he came to be treated with suspicion, derision and ridicule which reached the bottom at the pre-game press conference where he was left to tell the world he would never be a clown.

But today, a club that is spectacularly unsuccessful and notoriously self-destructive, is celebrating like they haven’t done in a generation.

Just as South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar before them.

Just as Australia did after victory in the Asian Cup.

Just as Yokohama F. Marinos in Japan and Celtic in Scotland have experienced under the hand of Ange.

At first, Spurs fans sang of their love of 'Big Ange' and then they chanted for his removal.

Hopefully in their wild celebrations some will have the self-awareness to understand how dismal and defeating their attitudes are.

Ange sacrificed the end of the Premier League season to zero in on the Europa League trophy.

It was a high-risk strategy, it might cost him his job… but here we are.

There were no points for style in the final against Manchester United. Cup finals are the domain of functional necessity and Ange’s teams have always thrived in cut-throat games.

These events ensure Ange leaves a legacy at Tottenham and one day Spurs will wonder what it might have grown into had they managed a little more faith.

Today he stands as a Europa League champion and in his home town we couldn’t be prouder.

In Ange we Trust.

The capacity to buy into one man’s vision.

He’s a winner… I’m bursting with pride.

The greatest coach this country has produced.

To mangle a bit of John Lennon - I don’t believe in Spurs, I just believe in Ange.