'He wasn't supposed to be the man': What Ange Postecoglou's trophy-winning achievement should mean to Australia

Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League triumph is one of the seminal moments in Australian sporting history, explains David Weiner, author of the book The Goals That Changed Australia.

But will it be enough to save Postecoglou his job?

Ange Postecoglou steering Tottenham to the Europa League is almost too remarkable to have been on Australian sport's bucket list.

Tottenham's 1-0 win over Manchester United isn't just the end of a 41-year European drought, or excruciating 17-year wait for any sort of silverware for their fans; it is an unfathomable rung on Australia's beloved sporting belt.

"In terms of Australian coaches, I think it's the greatest achievement by an Australian coach of all time," said Stan Sport football expert Mark Bosnich during Thursday's coverage.

Re-watch Tottenham v Man United in the UEFA Europa League Final with the full replay, mini match and highlights now streaming on demand on UEFA Europa League Final.

"By far."

It is all the more significant for Australian sport given who was in his brains trust as well.

Alongside him was his Socceroos captain Mile Jedinak, one of his assistant coaches, along with Nick Montgomery, Central Coast Mariners' A-League Championship winning coach from 2023, as well as his Mariners assistant Serge Raimundo.

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This was Australian football influencing the world stage.

In my recent book The Goals That Changed Australia, the Socceroos and Matildas' story for school aged readers, I explained: "His extraordinary results have reminded the world that there is great talent and knowledge here in Australian football."

Before the naysayers jump in with 'it's Europe's second tier trophy' and 'didn't they come 17th in the league', as an Australian, just take a step back and drink in this achievement.

While Australian sport is blessed with some exceptional minds, very few have exported that knowledge on a global scale, or navigated the behemoth that is the world of football.

No one - no one - outside Europe, or from Argentina, has claimed a European club trophy as a manager.

That it is Ange Postecoglou, from Australia, is extraordinary.

Sixteen years ago, Postecoglou was between jobs coaching semi-pro side Whittlesea in Victoria's state league.

He is not supposed to be drinking from the same trophy that football luminaries Diego Simeone, Jose Mourinho, Unai Emery, Maurizio Sarri, Julen Lopetegui, Rafael Benitez and Gerard Houllier have sunk champagne from.

He wasn't supposed to be the man who would break Tottenham's trophy drought where Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Mauricio Pochettino could not.

And few outside of the "true believers", as he described them today, thought he would see through one of the coldest quotes in football history.

No surer proof of the way the man backs himself.

"I don't usually win things," he said in September.

"I always win things in my second year. Nothing's changed."

Yeah, but that was at South Melbourne, the sceptics said.

Or Brisbane Roar. The Socceroos. Just Japan club football with Yokohama. Celtic.

Even on match eve, Postecoglou once again had to defend his journey to the media establishment, retorting to a journalist who suggested a defeat would make him a "clown".

"He overcame incredible professional obstacles to reach the top," I explain to the young readers of my book.

"He never lost his ambition nor his commitment to what he believed in.

"It is hard not to admire his passion, focus and dedication."

Today, the entire football planet is saluting his bravado.

"He did say he'd win in his second season. Congratulations," said Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, amongst a wave of congratulations.

And the win came in an excruciating intense context: win, and make the Champions League.

Lose, and finish fourth last, with nothing.

Tottenham's Premier League form has been nothing short of diabolical, bulldozed by an unprecedented injury toll.

Even in this final, Spurs were missing their three most creative influences - James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Lucas Bergvall, while skipper Son Heung-min looked well short of fitness in his cameo.

Manchester United might have been incredibly poor, but Spurs were resilient and dogged.

Brennan Johnson's scrappy first-half goal was wonderfully symbolic too.

Contrary to the myth that Postecoglou is too stubborn to yield, or will place the aesthetics over all else, the European run proved he is, above all, a serial winner.

Everyone talks about Ange Ball. But this was Ange Ball, the winning ugly version.

Spurs dug in in Bilbao; defensively disciplined and stoic; men behind the ball when required, and heroics, from Micky van de Ven and goalkeeper Vicario with stops late on.

Further proof that the dressing room had never lost faith.

Over the knockout stages of the Europa League, Postecoglou has adjusted more than he has at any stage of his career, and his players, when he finally had them fit and on the park, repaid the faith.

After the game, Postecoglou conceded he had zeroed in on the Europa League crown at the expense of the domestic campaign, knowing what a release it would be for a supporter base that has forgotten the joy of success, and can finally shell the Spursy crown, bestowed for their ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Take a look at the tears of joy, the jubilation and amongst the players.

It was a transformative night.

"All the fans get battered," match winner Johnson explained.

"We get battered for not winning a trophy. "We had to get the first one, I'm so happy.

"Ever since I came here it has been 'Tottenham, good team but can't get it done'. But we got it done."

Just as he had promised. But what happens now?

A trawl through social media through the season sent you down a deep rabbit hole of Spurs content creators and fans incandescent with rage over Spurs' dismal domestic form.

But Postecoglou has delivered precisely exactly what fans have long craved at north London: a trophy - something not even their fierce rivals Arsenal could enjoy this season despite being in much stronger shape.

With it comes Champions League nights back at their world class stadium.

Rumours swirled recently that Postecoglou could walk before he is pushed, particularly if he won the Europa League, with his 'job done'.

But unlike the end of his Socceroos tenure, the Australian gave a fairly firm indication the ball is in chairman Daniel Levy's court.

He says he wants to continue to build, and he will have learnt lessons from this season, particularly with preparing for and balancing the demands of domestic and European competition with his high octane style of football.

"I am the manager of the football club, that decision (his future) is not in my hands. It doesn't affect me though."

He continued: "I don't feel like I've completed the job here; we're still building."

Will Levy give him that mandate or be spooked by their Premier League finish?

Surely, after sticking with him this long (unlike Jose Mourinho, who he sacked on the eve of a League Cup final) it would be the most Spursy thing, which Postecoglou has tried to eradicate, to rip up a plan and start from scratch.

One of the great mistakes of Levy's era was not providing Pochettino with the funds to build momentum after making a Champions League final in 2019 and challenging for the Premier League.

Tottenham plateaued. He's at a similar sliding doors moment now.

Stick with Postecoglou and invest in the squad? More great nights might follow. What if the sack does come?

There aren't many Europa League winning managers readily available, and Postecoglou will continue to turn heads, wherever he lands.

"We Aussies might be a blip on the other side of the world," my chapter on Postecoglou's Socceroos concludes with.

"But we can keep reaching new milestones with dreams, talent, and incredible hard work. "Ange has proven that for all of us."

The Goals That Changed Australia is available now as paperback or e-book, and audiobook.