Rangers may have frustrated Celtic in their 1-1 draw at a rocking Celtic Park on Sunday, but the stalemate has only delayed the inevitable as Ange Postecoglou gets set to lift the Scottish title.
Celtic bossed the first half in the Glasgow sunshine in another frenetic Old Firm derby, and they surely would have sealed the title had former Yokohama F. Marinos man Daizen Maeda not blazed over with Allan McGregor’s goal at his mercy shortly after the half-time break.
Maeda’s miss seemed to re-energise the visitors and after Fashion Sakala had equalised for Rangers with an unstoppable left-foot finish, the Zambian striker almost won the game when he burst clean through on goal, only to see his shot bounce back off the foot of Joe Hart’s post.
The draw was a fair result between two of world football’s most bitter rivals, even if there’s little doubt Celtic will ultimately be crowned champions.
That could happen against Hearts at Celtic Park next Saturday, with Celtic currently six points clear of Rangers with only three games remaining.
It will mean Postecoglou adds the Scottish Premiership to the League Cup crown he collected in December, with only a Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers – who else? – preventing Celtic from fighting for the treble in Postecoglou’s first season in charge.
It’s an impressive feat for a manager most Scottish fans had never heard of before his arrival in Glasgow, and while it might be tempting to view Celtic’s triumph as some kind of vindication for Postecoglou, the truth is he’s been doing this his entire life.
The question now isn’t so much where Postecoglou goes from here – the English Premier League surely awaits – but whether Australian football will actually learn anything from his achievements.
(Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Because it’s not like we haven’t seen this before. Postecoglou has now won the National Soccer League with South Melbourne, the A-League with Brisbane Roar, the Asian Cup with the Socceroos and the J.League with Yokohama F. Marinos.
And just like the critics who’ll insist the Scottish Premiership is nothing more than a two-horse race, who won’t count the title in Yokohama because they find Japanese football too difficult to comprehend, and who believe the Socceroos had it easy in the Asian Cup despite facing a South Korean side containing Son Heung-min in the final, so too will this latest triumph be dismissed by those unwilling to admit that an Australian manager could ever be world-class.
But it won’t be dismissed by as many as usual – at least not in Australia – because if there’s one thing we’ve learned in Australian football, it’s that overseas success is a surefire way to shake off our cultural cringe.
Postecoglou himself said the lack of appreciation for the magnitude of Australia’s Asian Cup win was one of the reasons he was keen to move on from the Socceroos job.
That’s a lesson Football Australia would do well to heed, not least because Australia is co-hosting a FIFA Women’s World Cup next year that plenty of politicians will put their hands out for free tickets to while doing nothing to ever advance the cause of football in this country.
And there’s another important lesson we can learn from a manager who has simply ignored the critics and blazed his own path.
Our football can be successful. It’s just difficult to succeed without a little bit of self-belief.
On a weekend in which plenty of Aussies tuned into the Old Firm Derby, it seems like far fewer watched any A-League Men action. And just two weeks out from the finals, the Australian Professional Leagues had better come up with some compelling storylines.
Because Ange Postecoglou needs to be the first of many successful Aussie coaches.
Our football has always been good enough. But right now the domestic game sorely needs an injection of self-belief.
coolncold
Roar Rookie
The title of this article is "Ange Postecoglou's latest triumph proves what can be achieved with a bit of self-belief". It is not sure about his belief. However, there are two things that can be seen. He likes to coach young players. For the 19 new players he had recruited for Celtic in the 2021 to 2022 season, the average age is around 23. Secondly, he seldom blames on the referees and individual players.
burgermeister
Roar Rookie
I'd say success in 3 leagues in 3 very different parts of the world is qualification enough to say 'world class' to be fair. He can't help the nt players at his disposal and got the same group result as every wc coach but hiddink - failure to qualify for rnd of 16.
Garry
Roar Rookie
well I dont think we can afford a real name player in those positions.. but midfield maybe. Kevin De Bruyne wb nice :stoked: btw Id drop Le Fondre and pair Chirs Wood with Trent
Grem
Roar Rookie
I'm hoping for a real name player who can still play and draw 5-10000 spectators himself.
Garry
Roar Rookie
Im thinking 2 kiwis! — Reid & Wood.. both may be too expensive as both recent EPL players. I expect Wood to have done his job at Newcastle & to be on his way out looking for new pastures, Reid also might stay at Brentford. Im thinking that perhaps they may wish to return ‘home’ but be too expensive for Phoenix.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think we need more than that. We've got Talbot, Niewenhaus, Yazbeck, Wood, Burgess, Heward Bell/ Redmane, Le Fondre ( who will come good) to work around. I hope we can keep Caceras and Van Der Saag. There's also Grant, Bratten and a few others who are still decent A League players. We need a great attacking midfielder to replace Ninkovic, a fast striker to replace Bobo and complement Wood and Le Fondre, a quality centreback to replace Wilkinson and help Warland and Dohnahie and a quick winger to replace Barbarousis. Hopefully there's a couple of real marquees in their to bring the crowds back and guide the many youngsters we produce.
Garry
Roar Rookie
I thought Folami was too early so yes too early. Both Fornoroli & Folami were signs of desperation. I still am amazed by those that critize McLaren. He’s a goal scorer NOT a goal maker. Bring in Cummings, Caceres & Garruchio, dump Stensness and with the overseas players available its a good squad.
Garry
Roar Rookie
Yep..unfortunately that means one of my 2 favs misses out..still more likely Sydney as we need max pts .... we need new centreback (depends on Wilko - either faster one to cover him OR top one to replace him) & new (tall) top striker. I think we have plenty of midfield options already ( the youngsters all look capable)
Grem
Roar Rookie
It’s only Wellington we can overtake now and we are a chance. In some ways I think a year out of finals will hopefully be good for our club. Our results in the Asian Club Championship combined with missing out on the final 6 necessitates a complete rebuild ready for the new stadium. Fresh players, fresh approach and a new stadium – looking forward to next season already.
Grem
Roar Rookie
I think this article's heading could be dedicated to Nick Montgomery! Congratulations to the CCM - top 6. Is it too early to give Garang a go in the Socceroos alongside Jason Cummings?
Ad-O
Guest
Pushed? I think we made Chile and Holland respond but they found goals pretty quickly when they needed them. Sure Ryan was weak at times. All the more reason to have played more conservatively. We were never gonna beat those teams going toe to toe.
Bludger
Guest
Sir, you have hit the nail on the head. Players make coaches. I am still stunned how Australia could not blow away Thailand in that campaign in the cold rain of Melbourne. Highly over-rated as an international boss. Does well with expensive talent it seems.
David V
Guest
Honestly, you can't imagine how brutal managing or playing for either Old Firm club is - not in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense. Ange has revitalised a club that was stagnating even when they were winning titles. Along with Steven Gerrard before he left for Villa, he's done a lot to change the mood of Scottish football.
chris
Guest
I think you meant 2014. True, we conceded 9 goals (having scored 4) but we pushed an excellent Chile team and Dutch team all the way. By the time Spain came around we had virtually a 3rd string team on with so many players out. And we should have beaten the Dutch (at least a draw) after a couple of soft goals that Mat Ryan would be the first to say he was at fault.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
You been listening to someone from South Melbourne it seems regards Paramount Plus. Paramount is growing, Halo is the series that is hot now, and doesn't need the AFL in the slightest. In the US it grew from 3 million to over 30 million in a year. AFL is a massive waste of money because its overpriced.. They would have to make an addon where you pay extra for sport for it. The one price for everything is a lot better than being stuck in a sports only addon. It would be enourmous irony though that CHannel 7 which has been pushing AFL into Sydney for 50 years gets dumped along with news ltd. AFL will sell anyone and everyone out for a dollar so why have these fools been supporting them.
Ad-O
Guest
Now, now. Lets not go overboard. Ange's tactical vision in Brazil 2016 was possibly one of the most naive displays I've ever witnessed from the head coach of a small nation. Conceding 9 goals in 3 games is inexcusable. Its all well and good having success in 2nd rate competitions, and he probably has earned his chance at a higher level. But lets hold our horses declaring him "world class" when he hasn't achieved anything against "world class" opposition.
Wake UP!
Guest
Celtic's budget is what compared to 10 other SPL clubs? Rangers is bigger of course, but let's not get too carried away here. If he took Aberdeen or even Hibernian to the SPL title then he could carry on. Talk about a sledgehammer to a butterfly.
Mark
Guest
The ACL is weaker now than it has been in years. with the CSL bubble having burst, COVID lockdowns in China making that situation worse, and expansion of the competition diluting the field. I can’t remember the last time there was a weaker group than the one City were in. They really should have been able to finish top and progress.
Hudddo
Roar Rookie
It was 3 years before a senior debut.
Para+Ten ISUZU Subway support Australian Football
Roar Rookie
Well Chris, if 7 are without a major code there might be no other choice. Football with a real Football women and men team will be fine; I can see that working OK, but as you point out, the suits, with football prejudices could be disruptive and problematic.