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Postecoglou quits after guiding Socceroos to WCup
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Ange Postecoglou framed his departure as Socceroos head coach with a stereotypically Aussie scenario.
He’d decided to quit last week immediately after Australia qualified for a fourth consecutive World Cup, only to be talked out of it an hour later.
Five beers later, he was wavering amid the celebrations. A week later, he made the announcement yesterday that he wouldn’t be taking the Australian team to next year’s World Cup in Russia despite guiding the Socceroos through a grueling, 22-game qualifying campaign that concluded with back-to-back, winner-takes-all playoff series.
“It’s been the toughest decision. It’s not the ending I envisaged,” said Postecoglou, who replaced German coach Holger Osieck in 2013 and guided Australia at the 2014 World Cup. “I’ll always have a sense of unfinished business, but that would probably have been the case whenever I left.
“It’s just an instinct — I think it’s the right time for me, for the team and for the organization.”
Australia narrowly missed out on direct entry for Russia, finishing out of the automatic spots only on goal difference in Asian qualifying.
Speculation about Postecoglou’s future increased after a newspaper report in the wake of Australia’s Asian playoff win over Syria suggested he would not take the team to Russia regardless of what happened in the intercontinental playoff against Honduras.
Postecoglou refused to comment on the reports then, and appeared to be increasingly aggravated by the continued focus on his position while the team was preparing for crucial matches in Honduras and in Sydney.
Yesterday, he called a news conference with Football Federation Australia chief executive David Gallop to announce his decision to stand down.
“It has been a privilege for me to coach my country’s national team, to lead them at the 2014 World Cup, to win the Asian Cup in 2015 and now to have qualified for the World Cup next year,” the 52-year-old said. “All this, however, has taken a toll on me both personally and professionally.”
National team coaches are due to attend a meeting in Moscow next week before next Friday’s World Cup draw, but it’s unlikely Australia will appoint a permanent replacement before then. Australia joins Serbia and Saudi Arabia as countries going to the World Cup without the coach who got them there.
“We will not rush this process. The Socceroos will not play again until March next year” Gallop said. “With a guaranteed place in the World Cup, I am sure we will attract a strong field of candidates.”
Graham Arnold, coach of A-League champion Sydney FC, and Tony Popovic, who led Western Sydney Wanderers to the 2014 AFC Champions League title before taking over at Turkish club Karabukspor this year, are local coaches tipped to replace him.
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