As an Australian who has been involved with Australian football at the top level in both journalism/TV and and administration, let me say that it is almost impossible for any Aussie coach to reach the FC Twente/Sampdoria/Auxerre level of coaching unless they actually played for these clubs. That is what makes Ange's achievements up to now so special. No club in Europe would take the risk on someone like Ange precisely because he is Australian and has only coached in Asia.I don’t see many people throwing shade for him being Australian but the leagues and countries he has managed in.
He’s been coaching for almost 30 years. If after say 10 years he left Australia and went to manage a FC Twente/Sampdoria/Auxerre or even a club in one of Europes second tier divisions and done well people wouldn't care whether he was Australian or not.
I’ve seen people make comparisons with Poch and De Zerbi but Ange’s CV compared to Poch’s when he joined us and De Zerbi’s before joining Brighton, aren’t comparable imo.
From a cultural perspective I quite like the fact he’s Australian as I’m sure a lot of people will. Fluent in Australian so wil be able to understand most of what he says, Ozzies are generally seen as no nosense, say it how it is kind of people which will align with a lot of people over here but tbh I don’t know how much people really care about these things, they’re nice extras but we’re all fickle fuckers who want to see us win at the end of the day.
In fact, I'm struggling to think of anyone from the entire Asian Confederation that has coached a top team in Europe, and the AFC have produced quite a few top players. (I'm open to correction).
So, Tottenham Hotspur with another trailblazing first, a manager from the AFC in one of Europe's top 5 leagues and with a top club.
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