Ex-Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou wins special Greek award

The National

2 days ago

Postecoglou was recognised for his Europa League success with Tottenham Hotspur.
The 59-year-old guided the North London club to their first major honour in 17 years, although he was relieved of his duties less than a fortnight later and now finds himself without work.
Postecoglou was recently invited to the draw for the 2025/26 Greek Super League, at which he was presented with an award of special recognition by president and Nottingham Forest owner, Evangelos Marinakis.
"Thank you very much, it is an honour to be here today," said Postecoglou [neoskosmos]. "I left Greece when I was five years old, but when we left, my parents, my father, passed on the love he had for football to me.
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"I grew up with the names Mavros, Papaioannou, Delikaris. I had not seen them, but I knew them as if I had seen them, because my father spoke to me.
"I had this dream since I was little, as a player I did not succeed, but as a coach I tried to make my father proud for the sacrifices he made for me and my sister and every day I think about the sacrifices he made.
"My father is not with me today, but he sees me and is proud of what I have built, I have my wife by my side, and we continue. I want to make you proud, Greece and Australia. It is a great honour to be here."
Marinakis added: "What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek, and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece.
"[He is] a man who not only does not hide his origin but is also proud of it.
"What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece.
"We must thank him especially for this, and we wish him well, although we are sure that he will do well as he has the ability. Wherever he goes, the successes will come."