On the precipice of creating history as the first Australian coach to secure a J.League title, his success has drawn into sharp focus just how far he has come since he first began coaching over two decades ago.
Since then, Postecoglou has collected multiple titles along the way, broken records, been crowned a continental champion and led his nation to a FIFA World Cup - feats none of his compatriots can say they’ve done.
It’s a resume that is stacked with more triumphs than failures, but that’s not to say it hasn’t been a bumpy ride for the 54-year-old.
The now infamous on-air interview with Craig Foster and subsequent sacking from the Young Socceroos in 2007 have contributed to the man we see before us today and Postecoglou is the first to admit it.
Back in 2017, Channel 9’s Peter FitzSimons asked Ange if he would resign should Australia fail to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and Postecoglou later confessed that these experiences with the media have “absolutely” stuck with him.
“Your life’s experiences mould you and, for sure, I think there was a point at the start of this year where ... I went to do an interview on another station and the first question I was asked was ‘will you resign if you don’t beat the UAE’.
“And I’m kind of just sitting there and gone into a time warp of 10 years ago ... after everything that’s happened,” he told Fox Sports.
When he made the shock decision to resign from the Socceroos after securing qualification for the 2018 World Cup, many were left wondering why and I am sure that question still lingers for some today.
Was it because of his rumoured fractured relationship with Football Federation Australia chiefs? Or had he foreseen the writing on the wall and thought 'better to avoid it' this time?
While we may never know, one thing is for certain: Postecoglou’s advancements in Japan have set a new benchmark for his fellow Australian coaches and never before have we seen such a positive shift in momentum on the sidelines.
The likes of Graham Arnold, Tony Popovic, Steve Corica, Kevin Muscat and Marko Rudan have impressed on the domestic circuit and are continuing to make compelling arguments for why we should be considering promoting Australian coaches at the A-League level before we consider outsiders.
With respect to Popovic in particular, winning the AFC Champions League with Western Sydney Wanderers in 2014 remains one of the greatest achievements in the competition’s history and one we are immensely proud of as a football community.
Since the league’s inception in 2005, just three foreigners have guided teams to championship success: Pierre Littbarski in 2006, Vitezslav Lavicka in 2010 and Guillermo Amor in 2016.
During that period, over 20 foreigners have assumed head-coaching positions, meaning the ratio of success is nowhere near convincing enough.
Just this week, The World Game published a story revealing that Wanderers coach Markus Babbel could become the latest casualty if the club suffer a fourth consecutive defeat away to Wellington Phoenix this weekend.
Liverpool legend Robbie Fowler has also struggled to make an impact at Brisbane Roar worth celebrating, while Marco Kurz appears to have lost both the players and the fans at Melbourne Victory.
Prior to the season commencing, I interviewed Western United coach Marko Rudan, where I asked him if Australian coaches were being given enough opportunities with the pathways available to them.
His answer was a resounding ‘no’ and on the subject of foreign coaches, Rudan rightly called for greater scrutiny around their appointments within the A-League.
“One thing we continue to do is overlook Australian coaches, and this is no disrespect to any of the foreign coaches that are here, but there’s got to be a tougher process as to why they’re coming here because I believe in the Australian coaches. We are good enough.”
On the export front, Joe Montemurro continues to shine in his role as head coach of Arsenal Ladies. At the time of publishing, the Gunners are sitting on top of the Women’s Super League table.
In the Bundesliga, David Zdrilic is thoroughly enjoying his second season with Red Bull Leipzig as the U-19 assistant coach after being promoted from the U-17 side last year.
Golden generation graduate Harry Kewell has plied his trade with the Watford youth team, Crawley Town and Notts County and in a short time has experienced the intense rigours of the European scene but the future remains bright for the young coach.
However, for every burgeoning success story there is also a dark side-effect to overlooking local talent here in Australia.
Just last year, former Socceroo and Adelaide City coach Damian Mori quit after 14 seasons across two spells, believing he is “too old” to earn a role in the A-League at only 49 years of age.
For the record, Mori was the most successful gaffer in South Australian football’s second tier competition and although he was frequently linked with A-League clubs, he was never given the opportunity as a head coach, which begs the question: what was it going to take for him to get a look in?
In recent years, so much of the debate within our highly mercurial football fraternity has been about the quality of footballers we are developing and less so on the types of coaches we are producing.
For decades we have searched externally to try and develop our national blueprint and the very thing that would convey our football identity to the world.
From coveting the English to the Dutch philosophies, somewhere along the way, there has never been a clear attempt to epitomise who we are as a nation through the people we employ and the football that we play.
We have profited from the likes of Guus Hiddink, who injected a great sense of optimism at the time, but have continued to believe that in order for us to progress or achieve success, we must elect foreigners.
Although we have started to witness a slight shift in that mentality, convincing foreign owners in the A-League, particularly a powerhouse like the City Football Group, could be far more challenging.
For now though, Postecoglou and the aforementioned coaches are letting their results do the talking for them and thankfully for us, it’s a language that’s universally recognised.
All the best this weekend Ange.
