“I always win things in my second year. Nothing has changed. I don’t say things unless I believe them.”

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, having just seen his side lose 1-0 at home to rivals Arsenal back in September, was in defiant mood and that quote has followed and been repeated to him all season.

His side came close to proving him right earlier this year.

Spurs held a 1-0 lead after the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool, only to then capitulate 4-0 in the reverse fixture at Anfield.

But Tottenham fell at the fourth-round hurdle of the FA Cup, losing at Aston Villa, while the club are on course for their worst campaign in the Premier League era as they are 17th with one game to go and a mammoth 45 points behind champions Liverpool.

Yet, the 59-year-old Australian, who began working at Spurs in July 2023, is one game away from having the last laugh.

Ange Postecoglou has taken charge of 99 Tottenham matches, winning 46, with 15 draws and 38 defeats. Spurs have scored 179 goals and conceded 148

He will take charge of Spurs for the 100th time on Wednesday when they play Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao.

A win would take Spurs into the Champions League, silence Postecoglou’s critics, maintain his superb second-year record and maybe keep him in his job.

He won the Australian title with both South Melbourne and Brisbane Roar and the Japanese league with Yokohama F. Marinos – all in his second season or second full season in charge.

Postecoglou also won the Asian Cup two years after becoming Australia boss – and the Scottish championship in both seasons with Celtic.

The 59-year-old did not see out two seasons in charge of the three clubs he failed to win anything at – smaller clubs Panachaiki and Whittlesea Zebras, and Melbourne Victory, whom he left after 18 months for the Australia job.

We have taken a look at how he has enjoyed second-season success throughout his career.

Celtic (June 2021-June 2023)
Postecoglou had a win percentage of 73% at Celtic, the best spell of his career

Matches: 113. Wins: 83 Draws: 12. Losses: 18. Goals scored: 284. Goals conceded: 108.

Postecoglou came to Celtic in June 2021, just after Steven Gerrard had guided Rangers to the Scottish Premiership title.

But the Australian did not need two seasons before winning, as he took the Bhoys to five trophies in his two years at the club.

In his first campaign they became Scottish champions and won the League Cup, before they added the Scottish Cup to make it a domestic treble in his second year with him then before moving to Tottenham.

Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart had already won two Premier League titles with Manchester City before he was instrumental in Celtic’s success. He felt one of Postecoglou’s main strengths was getting his players to view the game in a different way and teach them new skills.

“He is top, really, really good,” said Hart after Postecoglou’s second Scottish title victory in May 2023. “He is really clear in what he wants and the biggest buzz for me is playing for someone who is pushing me and I am learning new things every day – it makes me feel alive.

“I have played in different teams that have been successful. Identity in football has always been there, but in terms of having a real way of playing, this is the first time I have been part of a team with that.

“I genuinely feel comfortable making risky passes, short passes, and if someone does miss a pass or a tackle and the ball goes in, I don’t think any of us would even flinch because that’s what we are being asked to do.”

Yokohama F. Marinos (January 2018-June 2021)
Postecoglou celebrating with his players at winning the J1 League

Matches: 161. Wins: 79. Draws: 30. Losses: 52. Goals scored: 313. Goals conceded: 228.

Before Celtic, Postecoglou had a three-and-a-half-year spell in Japan with Yokohama F. Marinos.

He went there in January 2018 and almost won a trophy in his first 10 months, only to lose 1-0 to Shonan Bellmare in the J.League Cup.

But success was not too far away as his side then won the J1 League to become Japanese champions, finishing six points clear of FC Tokyo.

That title took the side into the Japanese Super Cup (their version of the Community Shield), but Yokohama could not add another trophy as they lost 3-2 on penalties against Vissel Kobe after Yokohama had fought back from 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 down to leave it at 3-3 after 90 minutes.

“Ange really gave the club purpose,” said Dan Orlowitz from the Japan Times.

“It was a refreshing style of football that the league hadn’t really seen. Even when YFM struggled results-wise in 2018 it was very clear that the players and above all Ange believed in what he was doing.

“The fans believed in him as a result, and over the next year he let go of players who weren’t a good fit for the system and brought in players who were a great fit. All of that added up to the triumph of 2019.”

Australia (October 2013-November 2017)
Postecoglou (right) after guiding Australia to the 2015 Asian Cup

Matches: 49. Wins: 22. Draws: 12. Losses: 15. Goals scored: 86. Goals conceded: 58.

During his playing career, Postecoglou was a defender and represented Australia four times and in 2013 he got the chance to become his country’s national manager.

At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Australia finished bottom of a tough group that also included the Netherlands, Chile and 2010 winners Spain.

Australia hosted the Asian Cup in January 2015 and Postecoglou guided the Socceroos to the final with a crowd of more than 76,000 watching the game against South Korea in Sydney.

Midfielder Massimo Luongo (now at Ipswich Town) put Australia ahead, before Son Heung-min, Postecoglou’s current captain at Tottenham, equalised in the 91st minute to take the tie to extra-time. But James Troisi, who developed through Newcastle United’s academy, scored the winner as Postecoglou and Australia celebrated a 2-1 victory to win the tournament.

Former Everton midfielder Tim Cahill was a key player for Australia at that time and, in an interview with Optus Sport in 2024,, external was full of praise for Postecoglou.

“I never knew Ange until he came to the Australia job, he had a great pedigree,” said Cahill. “When you listen to him, everything he talks about is simple and logical – he wants the ball in play, action and intensity and that’s what the players want.

“The way you look at a coach is their presence and secondly their training, everything was measured and calculated. What I love with Ange is he is very honest, very detailed. He has a really nice way about him and you see the way he connects with players.”

Brisbane Roar (Oct 2009-April 2012)
Postecoglou and Brisbane Fury captain Matt McKay hold the Premiership plate in February 2011

Matches: 83. Wins: 42. Draws: 24. Losses: 17. Goals scored: 142. Goals conceded: 91.

Before becoming Australia manager, Postecoglou had an 18-month spell at Melbourne Victory, but was not there long enough to have a second full season.

That came after he had great success with another Australian side in Brisbane Roar. In a two-and-a-half-year spell, they won the A-League Championship in 2010-11 and retained their title the following year.

“Ange’s massive strength is his ability to be able to bring players along that journey and buy into what he does,” former Brisbane captain Matt Smith told BBC Sport.

“There’s zero tolerance for players that don’t want to follow. We were never made to feel comfortable, we were always pushing to be better, always developing, always working harder than any group I’ve experienced before.

“It didn’t matter if you were the biggest player in the dressing room or the youngest – if you weren’t pulling your weight or following his principles, he was very ruthless.”

Australia Under-17s and Australia Under-20s (Jan 2001-Feb 2007)
Postecoglou congratulates his players after the Under-20 international between Australia and Fiji on 21 December, 2002. Australia defeated Fiji 11-0

For a seven-year period, Postecoglou coached the Australian youth teams, gaining success at both the Oceania Under-17 and Under-20 Championships, winning each event on three occasions.

After that, he had brief spells at Greek side Panachaiki (nine months) and Australian outfit Whittlesea Zebras (three months) before joining Brisbane Roar.

South Melbourne (January 1996-December 2000)
Paul Trimboli and Ange Postecoglou celebrate winning the Ericsson Cup in May 1999

Matches: 155. Wins: 82. Draws: 30. Losses: 43. Goals scored: 276. Goals conceded: 194.

Postecoglou’s first managerial job came at South Melbourne in the Australian National Soccer League (the predecessor to Australia’s A-League).

It did not take long for him to be successful as he steered them to successive championships in 1997-98 and 1998-99, with them also winning the Oceania Club Championship in 1999.

Bbc.com

Serial entrepreneur and husband to tennis great Serena Williams, Alexis Ohanian, recently acquired an 8-10% stake in Chelsea Women worth an estimated £20 million. The Reddit founder believes the Blues will become a “billion-dollar franchise.”

This marks Ohanian’s second investment in women’s football, following his previous role as the largest shareholder in US National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) franchise Angel City FC.

The 42-year-old was present at Wembley alongside his wife for the Women’s FA Cup final against Manchester United, which Chelsea won 3-0 to complete the domestic treble without losing a match.

“Chelsea are very unique. These are the queens of global soccer, and they’ve got the trophy case to prove it. They are a very special club,” Ohanian told BBC Sport.

“The sky is the limit,” he continued. “You heard our president say the club are unapologetically ambitious – I want to get that tattooed on me. That is what we’re trying to build here – the best team in the world and at the forefront of women’s sport.”

“This will be a billion-dollar franchise one day. I hope my dollars, my pounds, can go towards that and especially back home in America. This is going to be America’s team.”

Ohanian’s reputation for having the “Midas touch” led Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor to describe his investment as a “game-changing endorsement” for the club.

“It was really nice. When I found out about the news, I was really excited for them to join the club,” Bompastor said. “They were here at Wembley to show their support. You can feel from the beginning they have the right mentality coming into Chelsea.

“This was the best way to welcome them, with this game, this final, and this result. These people are so passionate about women and women’s sport. It’s so nice to have them around, enjoy it, and be with them in these moments.”

While the Blues increasingly dominate the domestic scene, the next frontier is translating that success into European glory. Earlier in the campaign, Barcelona delivered a harsh lesson to Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, demolishing the Londoners 8-2 on aggregate.

Insideworldfootball.com

Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami had one of their worst performances of the season, losing at home to their Florida rivals.

Lionel Messi’s frustration grew as Inter Miami’s miserable run continued with a 3-0 loss at home to Orlando City in Major League Soccer (MLS).

The Florida derby defeat on Sunday leaves Miami with one win from their last seven games in all competitions. They have slipped to sixth in the Eastern Conference, with Orlando leapfrogging them.

Messi had just two shots on target and scuffed a free-kick as his form slumped with that of his team.

“Now, we’ll truly see if we’re a team in difficult times, because when everything’s going well, it’s very easy,” Messi told Apple TV.

“When difficult times come, that’s when we have to be more united than ever, be a true team, and pull ourselves together,” he added.

Messi questioned the refereeing, but in truth, the loss had little to do with officiating and much to do with shambolic defending, a disjointed midfield and a punchless attack led by the rapidly fading Luis Suarez.

Orlando grabbed the lead in the 43rd minute with a goal of absurd simplicity. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese launched the ball downfield, and Luis Muriel ran clear and slotted past Oscar Ustari.

The visitors were getting plenty of joy from going direct against a Miami backline, which was all at sea. Argentinian Martin Ojeda should have done better when he found himself clear on goal, but blasted over.

Miami’s veteran keeper Ustari made a fine double save, but then the 38-year-old found himself to blame for Orlando’s second goal.

The ball fell to Marco Pasalic on the edge of the box, and his low shot went through the hands and legs of Ustari to double the Orlando lead.

Miami coach Javier Mascherano threw on attacking players in a bid to retrieve something from the game, but it was in vain.

In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Duncan McGuire broke down the left, and his low cross was slotted home by Icelandic forward Dagur Thorhallsson to wrap up an impressive performance from the visitors.

Miami have conceded 20 goals in their last seven games, with their only victory coming against the New York Red Bulls on May 3.

Mascherano said the first goal changed the game.

“I’d say for 25 or 30 minutes, we had it completely under control playing in the opponent’s half, but this is how it is, clearly. I’m not going to deny what the result is,” he said.

Miami’s MLS campaign was going well until their exit in the Concacaf Champions Cup at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps. Mascherano admitted the team’s morale had been hit.

“Clearly, something has happened where the team has lost a lot of confidence. We have had a drop in level, individually and collectively, and it’s clear one way or another – we have tried with different schemes, different names, and still today, we are hurting. We will keep trying to find a way.”

Aljazeera.com