Pep Guardiola isn’t the only Premier League manager to have been mentored by an all-time great – while the Manchester City boss was guided by Johan Cruyff, Tottenham’s Ange Postecoglou was advised by Ferenc Puskas.
Postecoglou was a player at South Melbourne when Puskas was surprisingly named as the team’s new boss in 1989 – it would be the Real Madrid and Hungary legend’s final job in club management, after he’d previously guided Panathinaikos to the European Cup final.
Then in his mid-20s, Postecoglou was already the team’s captain – in an exclusive interview for the latest issue of FourFourTwo magazine, the Greek-born Spurs boss explained how he learned from Puskas’ attacking methodology during their time together, and even acted as his chauffeur.
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“It was just the bizarre world of football that, in a backwater of the game, we literally got one of the greatest footballers of all time on our doorstep,” Postecoglou told FFT. “I had great times with him.
“He struggled to speak any English but had worked in Greece. I was captain, and with my Greek background I ended up being both his interpreter and his chauffeur. I tried to squeeze in as much time with him as possible.
“He just had a brilliant outlook on life, more importantly than just football. He was a very humble man, and because of that he had the respect of everyone. That was a good lesson for me and for all of us – if you achieve great things but stay humble, people will respond to you more than if you start talking about your personal achievements.
“He never did that, and as a coach he wanted his teams to score goals – that’s all he was interested in. If we won 5-4, he was happier than if we’d won 1-0. I loved the time I had with him.”
Puskas departed South Melbourne in 1992, after helping them win the domestic title. “We tried to keep in contact afterwards, but by the time I became a manager myself his health had deteriorated, which was such a shame,” Postecoglou said. “I think he took huge pride in us, though.
“We came really late in his journey as a manager, but I think he enjoyed working with a young group of guys who worshipped him. I was the leader of that pack, and I’m sure he’d have taken pride in seeing me develop as a coach.”
Read the full interview with Postecoglou in the current issue of FourFourTwo, in shops now or BUY HERE WITH FREE DELIVERY
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