Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, has praised Ange Postecoglou's historic entry with Tottenham Hotspur into the Premier League.
The appointment of Postecoglou as Spurs manager on a four-year contract was made public on Tuesday. He will assume control on July 1 and become the first Australian to coach a team in the top division of English men's football.
Postecoglou and legendary coach Guardiola met in July 2019 when the Melburnian was in charge of J1 League team Yokohama F. Marinos.
In a friendly match between City and Marinos, which the English powerhouse won 3-1, the Japanese team had 58% of the possession.
Guardiola told media before City's Champions League final match against Inter Milan, in which the English team will attempt to complete the triple, that "another exceptional manager is coming."
'When he managed Yokohama, one of our clubs in the City Football Group, I had the good fortune to visit him in Tokyo years ago, and we had an intriguing conversation.
"I get along well with the Celtic Glasgow owner."
He was fantastic [at Celtic], and he will be fantastic at Spurs.
Hopefully, we can net one goal on the road.
Guardiola referenced City's failure to win games late in his speech.
Postecoglou, who is ruthlessly attacking-minded and focused on possession, won't adopt that strategy in light of that 2019 friendly.
After that friendly match in 2019, Postecoglou said to Optus Sport, "People will say it was a friendly game, in pre-season, they didn't take it too seriously," "I would hazard to guess how many times a team coached by Pep has been out-possessed."
I've heard it said that possession means nothing. I believe it does, especially when possession is problematic and occurs in significant areas rather than just the back.
But facing a squad like City or a coach like Pep requires some bravery and conviction because you worry that things could go very wrong and you could lose your job.
Postecoglou wanted his squad to challenge both the Premier League heavyweights and themselves, but he also believed that degree of fear prevented rivals from pushing City and benefited them.
Although it was a friendly game, he stated, "from both sides of th
e game they walked away knowing that even the very best can be tested if you believe in something."
The teams I teach are of the opinion that if you play this style, you don't have to modify it and you won't be afraid or hesitant of the competition.
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