5 clubs desperately in need of Ange Postecoglou
Forget the Premier League, Europe is full of attack-minded clubs struggling in mid table of their respective leagues, just crying out for a Celtic-style Ange Postecoglou revolution.
As Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou closes in on back-to-back SPFL titles and a maiden Scottish Cup crown, his name continues to be linked with more jobs than a construction site.
The Australian has most recently been attached to Premier League giants Tottenham and Chelsea, who both lurch from one disaster to another.
England’s top flight has long been considered a ‘holy grail’ of sorts for Australian players and coaches, but, as the likes of Graham Potter, Mauricio Pochettino and Antonio Conte will attest, the road to glory is fraught.
While Postecoglou may be tempted by the iridescent glow of the world’s most lucrative league, the football technical analysts here at beIN SPORTS have identified five clubs across the rest of Europe, who could desperately use the Postecoglou 'Midas' touch and may represent a better path to England’s top flight for the in-demand Australian.
1. Atalanta
The Bergamo club ticks all the boxes for a Postecoglou renovation. Blessed with a glut of young rising stars, Atalanta plays fast, attack-minded football. Under the watchful eye of Gian Piero Gasperini, La Dea have developed into one of the most attractive attacking teams in Europe, albeit they struggle for consistency. While a win over Roma has breathed life into Atalanta’s quest for a place in Europe next season, this club seems perfectly matched with Postecoglou’s coaching philosophy. It wouldn't take much to turn Atalanta into a contender and the club is stacked with 'next-big-things'. Gasperini was said to want out prior to the 2022-2023 season and it remains to be seen what the future holds for the 65-year-old Italian.
2. Borussia Moenchengladbach
Across his stints in Australia, Japan and Scotland, Postecoglou has successfully implanted his style on teams in vastly different predicaments. While Atalanta needs some defensive tweaks to bring it into the top echelon of Italian clubs, Gladbach presents an altogether different challenge. Nestled in the middle third of a congested Bundesliga table, ‘the foals’ have swung from contender to also-ran and everything in between this season. As the nickname suggests, Gladbach boasts an enviable youth production line and espouses the type of bold, attacking football which has put Postecoglou’s name up in lights at Celtic. Gladbach plays with the toughness befitting its industrial roots and Postecoglou could be just the man to weld the parts into a consistent unit capable of challenging Germany's elite.
3. Nice
With a swag of big name recruits, the French club has flattered to deceive over the past few seasons. Like Celtic at the time of Ange’s appointment, Nice seems ripe for a clean-out. Its roster boasts established names like Ross Barkley, Dante and Aaron Ramsey, but it's the emerging young talent - spearheaded by the likes of Khephren Touram, Jean-Clari Todibo and Hicham Boudaoui - that an innovative manager like Postecoglou could build a new team around. Nice has underwhelmed in recent seasons, struggling to develop an identity, despite regularly being touted as a Ligue 1 challenger to PSG. Could Postecoglou help some of that potential translate into results?
4. West Brom
Rather than parachuting into the Premier League pressure cooker, Postecoglou could do worse than to go the hard way, via the EFL Championship. Vincent Kompany has just showed what a team can achieve with a tactical style revolution and West Brom, a club traditionally not averse to the beautiful game, seems a perfect fit for Postecoglou. Not least because he’d link up with his old Melbourne Victory, Celtic and Socceroos protege, Tom Rogic, at the Hawthorns. The Baggies are desperately trying to stay in the promotion play-off conversation at time of writing, but should they finish mired in mid-table, it would not surprise to see Postecoglou heading a shortlist of managerial candidates.
5. Bayern Munich
While it’s highly unlikely Thomas Tuchel will get moved on so soon after stepping into the Bayern hot seat, would failing to defend its Bundesliga title result in the unthinkable - a European giant sacking its manager and taking a punt on an ‘unknown’ Australian? It happened at Celtic. Player power appears to hold sway at Bayern and Postecoglou would waste little time establishing who the boss is.
Outside of dressing room politics, Bayern plays dynamic, counter-attacking football and has a host of the best players on Earth in its roster. Jamal Musiala is a classic Postecoglou ‘pivot’-style midfielder, while the likes of Alfonso Davies and Joao Cancelo could easily play the ‘inverted fullbacks’ role he's brought to Celtic with great success. It’s mouth-watering to think what Ange could do with this club. Would the Bavarians be so bold as to approach the Australian?
