'Everyone's noticed': Why Ange's 'high wire act' is turning heads in Europe
Updated . First published at
The Ange Postecoglou rollercoaster is already one of the Premier League's most compelling storylines.
And the Australian manager's unapologetically bold commitment to attacking football is now a talking point throughout Europe.
Tottenham Hotspur are the favourites to win the Europa League after two eye-catching victories to start the campaign.
Watch every match of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Conference League, streaming ad free, live and on demand on Stan Sport
Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham Hotspur reacts after the team's victory. Getty
Postecoglou leads Spurs into battle again on Friday (6am kick off AEDT) against Dutch club AZ Alkmaar in London.
"Because the Premier League has such a dominant space in the sports media landscape, everyone's noticed what he's done at Spurs," European football expert Lars Sivertsen, a Norwegian based in London, told Stan Sport.
"And particularly how stylistically unique he is. You guys (Australians) know that better than anyone, how dogmatic he is in terms of how the team plays and they're great to watch.
READ MORE: Crucial miss swings football's clash of the titans
READ MORE: Harsh Bunnies call on 'unlucky' rookie revealed
READ MORE: 'Go away, David': Brutal reaction to Warner offer
Antonio Conte remonstrates with referee Danny Makkelie. Getty
"I mean, Spurs went through the spell of having Antonio Conte, having Jose Mourinho, having great but grumpy defensive managers and it was all very sad and unpleasant.
"And on the other hand, it's so much fun (under Postecoglou) and even when it goes wrong, there's something laudable about what they're attempting to do."
But while their European campaign has begun brightly, Spurs are seventh in the Premier League after eight games and already eight points behind leaders Liverpool.
"So I do get the sense that the Spurs fans are a bit angsty. The mood at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium can shift in a minute as Postecoglou will have noticed by now," Sivertsen said.
"But I think across the board there's a lot of admiration for how he's turned his team into this enterprising, fun machine in a pretty short space of time."
Mourinho - who is now managing Turkish club Fenerbahce - is a believer, naming Spurs and another of his former clubs, Manchester United, as the Europa League favourites.
"Because the Premier League is very different," Mourinho explained.
Fenerbahce take on United in Istanbul on Friday (6am kick off AEDT).
Sivertsen, however, has his concerns over Spurs and their "high wire act" being sustainable.
Ange Postecoglou at Groupama Arena in Budapest. Getty
He believed Tottenham was "very vulnerable to injuries" and would need lady luck on their side if they were to lift silverware.
"If their back four stays fit, I think Spurs can go very far this season," Sivertsen said.
"But the second one of those guys gets injured - Micky van de Ven in particular - they have a problem. Because they need the speed of those guys to compensate for some of the slightly wild tactics.
"He (Postecoglou) puts so much faith in those guys. The Tottenham defenders have to defend one-on-one without protective protection from the system so often and the first choice guys can do it.
"But the second you're down to the back of it (squad depth), it gets a bit iffy."
In Thursday's (AEDT) Europa League games, Galatasaray scored three first half goals en route to a 4-3 victory over Swedish club Elfsborg while Norway's Bodo/Glimt netted a late winner to beat 10 man Braga 2-1.
Mauro Icardi opened the scoring for Turkish league leaders Galatasaray in the 28th minute before Abdulkerim Bardakci's header 11 minutes later hit Elfsborg goalkeeper Isak Pettersson and deflected into the net.
Baris Alper Yilmaz made it 3-0 a minute before halftime.
The visitors scored early in the second half through Niklas Hult on a counter before Michael Baidoo made it 3-2 from the spot.
But Yunus Akgun stretched the advantage to two on a fine solo effort in the 83rd minute.
Johan Larsson scored in stoppage time for Elfsborg.
Bodo/Glimt needed substitute Villads Nielsen's stoppage time goal to get past Braga in Portugal.
Sikou Niakate netted for the home team in the 64th minute to erase the visitors' 1-0 lead three minutes before he was sent off after receiving his second yellow card.
Galatasaray and Bodo/Glimt are both on seven points to provisionally lead the table in the revamped competition.
Sixteen games are scheduled for Friday (AEDT). - with AP
