The moments that defined Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs story - Europa League glory, wild wins and unwavering belief
Published 06/06/2025 at 20:17 GMT+1
Ange Postecoglou's two-year stint as Tottenham Hotspur's head coach delivered humour, drama and tactical controversy in plentiful supply. As the Australian departs the club, TNT Sports looks at the most notable moments during his tenure - one which saw him set a Premier League record, leave pundits in uproar, but perhaps most importantly, bring silverware to a club desperate for glory.
Highlights: Postecoglou delivers as Spurs beat Man Utd to end trophy drought
Video credit: TNT Sports
Ange Postecoglou has departed the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after two years in the dugout, a spell which has not been short of drama or talking points.
Postecoglou joined the north London club ahead of the 2023/24 campaign with a proven track record of delivering silverware.
His primary goal at Spurs, unsurprisingly, was to end their trophy drought, which dated back 17 years - a League Cup triumph in 2008 under Juande Ramos.
It was an objective he went on to achieve with a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final, sparking pandemonium and several days of celebrations from Spurs supporters.
However, his side's underwhelming Premier League campaign - a 17th-placed finish, which is a record-low for the club - spelt the end of his tenure.
Ultimately, the Australian is going out on a high. TNT Sports takes a look back at all the key moments of the past 24 months.
'I'm just copying Pep, mate' - Postecoglou's quick-witted humour
Onlookers marvelled at a new-look Spurs following a 2-0 victory at Bournemouth in the third Premier League match of Postecoglou's tenure.
The north London side seemed a squad reborn, with a number of standout performances, including from James Maddison, Yves Bissouma and the central defensive pairing of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
TNT Sports football experts Joe Cole and Peter Crouch, though, were enamoured by the forward-thinking exploits of full-backs Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, the former assisted Dejan Kulusevski for their second goal at the Vitality after bursting forward on the left flank.
Asked by Cole about his instructions to his full-backs, Postecoglou provided one of the first glimpses of the quick-witted humour he often showcased throughout his time in charge.
"I'm just copying Pep, mate," he said, in reference to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola's well-known deployment of inverted full-backs.
Cole and Crouch, unsurprisingly, enjoyed that response.
A blistering start
Postecoglou was smashing records left, right and centre during his opening months in charge at the club.
A lightning start to the 2023/24 season saw him pick up the Manager of the Month awards for August and September, guiding the club to 23 points from their opening nine matches of the campaign - ensuring he set a Premier League record for the best start to a managerial tenure.
His high-tempo philosophy delighted the Spurs faithful as they sat at the summit of the Premier League standings, to the extent that even Robbie Williams chimed in with a rendition of his re-worked hit "Angels", dubbed "Ange-ball".
'If we go down to five men, we will have a go'
Throughout his two-year reign in north London, there was a consistent theme among discussions about his tactical approach - was it a lack of flexibility or complete and justified faith?
It all began in one of the Premier League's most entertaining matches in recent seasons, against Chelsea in November 2023. Spurs took an early lead through Kulusevski, but they were reduced to 10 men after Romero was shown a red card on 33 minutes.
Cole Palmer went on to level the game, and it was a fiercely competitive evening until Udogie was also sent off, 10 minutes after the interval.
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Many managers would urge their sides to stick everyone behind the ball from that point onward, try to see out the point with a bloodied, backs-to-the-wall, defensive display. Instead, Postecoglou insisted his side remain with their (extremely) high line - it made for a simply fascinating final 35 minutes.
Asked about his approach after having two players sent off, Postecoglou explained: "It's just who we are. It's who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men, we will [still] have a go."
Quite remarkably, it took Chelsea 20 minutes to finally fashion their opening, Nicolas Jackson scoring his first of a late hat-trick to subject Spurs to an eventual heavy defeat. Though Eric Dier's disallowed goal could have altered the outcome had it stood, shortly after falling 2-1 behind.
Postecoglou's insistence on his footballing philosophy remained a talking point throughout his tenure, notably when his side were ravaged by injuries throughout the 2024/25 season.
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‘He’s become very sensitive’ – Keown questions Postecoglou’s refusal to adapt style
Video credit: TNT Sports
'Are you not entertained?'
No match quite encapsulated Postecoglou's philosophy quite like Spurs' dramatic 4-3 Carabao Cup win against Manchester United in December.
A Dominic Solanke brace either side of Kulusevski's 46th-minute strike saw Postecoglou's side hold a 3-0 lead against United with 36 minutes to play.
What should have been a comfortable evening soon descended into an edgy encounter, as Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo chalked back the deficit, needing just one goal to level the tie.
It was not until two minutes from time when Son Heung-min settled the nerves by establishing a late two-goal cushion, though Jonny Evans still set up a grandstand finish with his goal three minutes into stoppage time.
Postecoglou was asked after the match whether his side should have been more accomplished in seeing the victory out with such a sizeable cushion.
Sporting a wide grin, the Australian quipped: "Are you not entertained?
"I know the studio is probably having a meltdown over my lack of tactics. I really liked how we played tonight, obviously those moments tainted it a bit and that has happened this season before, and it doesn't help our consistency, but the mentality of the boys... I love it."
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Ange Postecoglou, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, reacts during the Carabao Cup Quarter Final match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United
Image credit: Getty Images
Backing referees
Postecoglou was not one to bite his tongue when a contentious call went against his side - particularly when it was VAR-related. His post-match debriefs would often provide entertainment, usually when he speculated about the future of VAR following his side's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea in April.
A near-six minute check which eventually ruled out Pape Matar Sarr's equaliser at Stamford Bridge saw the Spurs boss suggest football may as well take place "with no participants".
"It's going to be refereed by AI soon," Postecoglou told reporters. "We might as well dispense with the players when some genius comes up with a game with no participants at some point. As referees aren't refereeing.
"Whether I think it's a foul or not does not matter. VAR was called in for clear and obvious errors. How long did it take tonight? Six minutes. For a clear and obvious error.
"I don't see how it's benefitting our game. I don't think anyone would have complained tonight if we just went with referees' decisions."
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'It's going to be refereed by AI soon' - Postecoglou reacts to Spurs' loss to Chelsea
Video credit: SNTV
Ear-cupping confusion
Seemingly, many of Postecoglou's most entertaining moments in the Spurs hot-seat occurred during or after matches against London rivals Chelsea.
In the same 1-0 defeat, the Australian's decision to replace Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert with Brennan Johnson and Sarr was greeted with boos, and calls of "you don't know what you're doing" from the away end at Stamford Bridge.
But when Sarr looked to have levelled the game, Postecoglou appeared to cup his ear and wave towards the Spurs fans - only for the midfielder's strike to be ruled out.
After the match, the Spurs boss vehemently denied making such gestures.
"It's incredible how things get interpreted," Postecolgou told a press conference. "We'd just scored. I just wanted to hear them cheer because I mean we've been through a tough time and I thought it was a cracking goal and I wanted them to get really excited because I felt at that point we could potentially go on and win the game. I just felt momentum was on our way.
"It doesn't bother me, it's not the first time they've booed my substitutions or my decisions. That's fine. They're allowed to do that, but we'd just scored a goal, just scored an equaliser. I was just hoping that we could get some excitement.
"People want to read into that, that somehow I'm trying to make a point about something. I said I felt we've been through a tough time, but I just felt there was a bit of a momentum shift there and if they get really behind the lads, I thought we had the momentum to finish on top of them."
Always winning things in his second year
You will be hard-pressed to find any literature recounting Postecoglou's stint at Spurs which fails to mention his iconic "second year" claim.
All the way back in September 2024, after a narrow 1-0 loss to north London rivals Arsenal, which left Spurs with just one victory from their first four matches of the campaign, Postecoglou was asked about his pre-season comments when he said "usually in my second season I win things".
"I'll correct myself - I don't usually win things, I always win things in my second year," he said. "Nothing's changed.
"I've said it now. I don't say things unless I believe them."
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No Filter UEL: Postecoglou keeps promise as Tottenham end 17-year trophy drought in Bilbao
Video credit: TNT Sports
It was a quote which continued to resurface throughout the campaign, first as Spurs' Premier League position began to slip, but then again when Postecoglou's side reached the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League.
His comments, deemed by many to be brash at that moment, ultimately came to fruition when Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 in the Europa League final in Bilbao in May - the club's first European trophy since their UEFA Cup triumph in 1984.
Postecoglou's legacy will forever stand as the manager who ended Spurs' long-standing silverware drought, one which, in turn, also secured their passage to the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League.
'A serial winner my whole career'
When it became clear Spurs would not be challenging at the top end of the Premier League, nor even the top half, attentions soon turned to the Europa League as a potential route to save Postecoglou's second season in charge.
But their run to the Bilbao final was anything but straightforward.
When Spurs took on Swedish side Elfsborg in January, 11 players were sidelined through injury. And these were not bit-part players. To name a few, Guglielmo Vicario, Romero, Djed Spence, Maddison and Johnson were all out, while that match dealt further blows - Van de Ven and Radu Dragusin being subbed off injured.
Postecoglou attempted to surmise his side's injury woes after the match.
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Highlights: Young guns fire Spurs to last 16 & ease pressure on Postecoglou
Video credit: TNT Sports
"Every time I've seen the light at the end of the tunnel, it's usually been an oncoming train," he said.
Still, a 3-0 win on the night, all three scored by Spurs academy graduates generated a real feel-good atmosphere about their run, as it sealed them an automatic spot in the last 16.
Overturning a first-leg deficit to beat Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar and then showing their battling qualities with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Eintracht Frankfurt set Spurs on their way, before they saw off semi-final opponents Bodo/Glimt in resounding style.
All that was left was a date with Premier League counterparts Manchester United, both looking to salvage their disappointing domestic campaigns with European glory. Spurs edged it with a nervy 1-0 win, courtesy of Johnson's scrappy goal.
The manner of the victory became irrelevant as soon as referee Felix Zwayer blew the final whistle, sparking bedlam both in Bilbao and at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where the match was being beamed on huge screens.
"I have been a serial winner my whole career," Postecoglou said. "It's what I have done more than anything else."
'I believed' Spurs could end trophy curse
Postecoglou achieved something his silverware-laden predecessors could not - ending Spurs' trophy curse.
They had certainly come close, finishing as runners-up in the 2016/17 Premier League campaign under Mauricio Pochettino, and falling at the final hurdle with a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the 2019 Champions League final.
Postecoglou was repeatedly reminded of his claims he would bring an end to Spurs' drought throughout the campaign, and after sealing the Europa League trophy in May, he said he always stood by his prediction, while also acknowledging the league campaign had not met his desired standards.
"People misinterpreted it," Postecoglou told TNT Sports. "It wasn't me boasting. It was me just making a declaration. I believed it. At the time I said it, we were still in the Carabao Cup. I just had this thing inside of me.
"I know our league form's been terrible - nowhere near good enough and unacceptable, but us finishing third wasn't going to change this football club.
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‘I believed it inside me’ – Postecoglou on winning trophies in second season quote
Video credit: TNT Sports
"The only thing that was going to change this football club was us winning something.
"When I said that, that was my intent. I'm not afraid to declare it. If I fell short, I was happy to cop it, but I believed it inside me.
"That was my ambition. I wanted to state it. I couldn't expect anyone from the club to say it, because the club has been so close. But I could say that. I was prepared to wear that if it didn't happen.
"The beauty is people kept reminding me of it. The reason they kept reminding me of it was because we still had a chance to do it. I was comfortable with it."
Ultimately, it was Spurs' lowest Premier League finish which sealed Postecoglou's fate, but he exits the north London club with his head held high, boasting a feat many have exited the club without.
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