In the coming weeks, Ange Postecoglou hopes to be able to swap the managerial hot seat for a bar stool on a nice Greek island in the Mediterranean from where he can follow the World Cup finals. And while the former Socceroos coach admits he’ll have mixed feelings when he watches the Socceroos on the screen, as the team runs out for the start of their World Cup matches, and as they listen to the Australian National Anthem, he’s certain he’s made the right decision to leave the job after steering them to qualification.
Speaking in a recent interview with BBC World Football, Postecoglou threw some more light onto the timing and reasons behind his surprise decision to resign from the Socceroos post, after steering the team to World Cup qualification following a marathon qualifying journey.
He said, “It was probably 12 months in the making. Probably the final six months I was resigned to it. I think just prior to the Confederations Cup I got the sense I was becoming more frustrated with aspects of what I was doing, rather than enjoying it. Once the role was done, it was time for me to kind of move on and allow the team to go the World Cup with a different voice in their head and hopefully keep growing and have some success.”
Postecoglou spoke of his growing sense of frustration that people didn’t really care so much for what he was trying to achieve to develop the team and the culture, but only cared about the results.
He said, “Through qualifying there was a bit of a grind to be fair. I just felt I wasn’t making the inroads and impression that I wanted to. At the end of the day, all people really cared about was just to qualify. They didn’t care how we qualified. They just wanted to qualify.
“I just felt the sense of failure in the fact that the conversation went back to that rather than us growing as a nation. As I said, once we qualified, I said, at the end of the day, I’ve done what was asked of me. We’ve won an Asian Cup, we’ve qualified for the World Cup. I just felt the time was right for me to move on. Which is maybe difficult for people who don’t know me, to understand. But certainly, the least surprised people are the ones who do know me well.”
Whilst accepting the importance of results, Postecoglou explained that isn’t what drives him as a coach.
“I’ve been a manager for 20 years and the win-loss column is the most in a football sense of measurement. But that’s not why I coach. I love building a certain style, a philosophy of play and creating things that hopefully make a difference. That’s what really drives me. That’s what I feel passionate about. And if I don’t feel that marries up with where I’m at, it’s best I remove myself because I’ll coach, but I won’t coach well. I’ll just do the job.”
And what of the upcoming World Cup in Russia. Will he be watching and does he think there will be a tinge of regret that he won’t be there with the Socceroos?
“All things being equal, we’re having a break here in Japan. I’ll be on a nice island in Greece somewhere, at a bar with a beer in hand, cheering them on with a bit of luck.”
He anticipates mixed feelings when watching the Socceroos.
“Of course there will [be a tinge]. I mean that will be the toughest time for me, and probably why I’ll be in a bar in the Mediterranean somewhere, because I’m under no illusions of what I’ve given up. I realise I’ve given up a hell of a lot by making that decision but I still feel it’s the right one.
While there will be some regret that I’m not there, I’ll still take some pride in the fact that a lot of the players that have grown in the last four or five years, I’m sure will make an impact, and that I’ve played a part in that.”