Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou and his intense work ethic hailed by former assistant

Originally published at: Celtic boss Postecoglou and his intense work ethic hailed by former assistant

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has earned more rave reviews; this time from former assistant John Hutchinson. Hutchinson was Ange’s assistant at Yokohama F Marinos, a job that the former A League star got through bothering Ange on LinkedIn. It paid off for Hutchinson, who worked closely with the current Celtic manager in Japan, and learned…

G’day Euan,
I’ll share with you a quick story of a Scotsman who had a profound impact on a bunch of current and former Australian coaches.
Eddie Thomson played 162 games for Hearts and 91 games for Aberdeen from the mid-60s to the mid-70s before relocating to Australia’s sunny shores. He played and coached in the NSL and managed the Socceroos for over 5 years. By the time Eddie took on the role of head coach at Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J-League in 1997 he was an Australian citizen.
We talk about Ange Postecoglou being the first Australian to manage in a quality overseas league, but Eddie beat him to it by 15 years. Thomson has had a profound effect on a group of current Australian managers. Australian players Eddie signed to Sanfrecce that went on to carve successful careers as managers include Tony Popovic (current Melbourne Victory Manager), Graham Arnold (Socceroos boss), Stevie Corica (Sydney FC boss), Hayden Foxe (Western United assistant), Phil Stubbins (former Newcastle Jets boss), Aurelio Vidmar (former Socceroos assistant under Ange, now managing in Thailand) and Ian Crook (former Sydney FC).
Ange has made, and will continue to make, a massive imprint on football in Australia. But the deeds of the late Scot from Rosewell, Midlothian cannot be overlooked, nor should he ever be forgotten as a mentor and a man who cut a pathway for Australian managers overseas.
I’m certain that Ange would agree.
Regards from Oz

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