Man Utd's only Ange Postecoglou clash led to tournament exit and 'amateur' jibes
Ange Postecoglou's will take charge of a home Premier League match for the first time on Saturday, and his opponents will be a team he took on in his first managerial job some 23 years ago.
Tottenham boss Postecoglou drew his first game in English football, with Emerson Royal's equaliser ensuring the points were shared at Brentford. Next up is another big test, with Manchester United visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the Australian has previous against the Red Devils.
It wasn't with Celtic, who he managed in the Champions League, or with his J1 League winning Yokohama F. Marinos. Rather, it was with South Melbourne, the first club he ever managed.
Postecoglou was a player with South Melbourne before being forced into early retirement. He took over as manager after hanging up his boots, though, and made a near-instant impact with victory in the 1999 Oceania Club Championship ensuring qualification for the following year's Club World Championship and a meeting with reigning European champions Man Utd.
This wasn't just any Man Utd side. It was their treble-winning team, managed by Sir Alex Ferguson and with the likes of David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Roy Keane in their travelling squad for the tournament in Brazil.
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By the time they faced South Melbourne, though, United's fate was no longer in their hands. A draw with Necaxa was followed by a 3-1 defeat to Vasco Da Gama, so they'd need a favour from the Brazilians.
The Australians had lost their first two games, and Postecoglou knew ahead of time that it would be a tall order against Alex Ferguson's team. "It's pretty hard to say how we'll approach the match," he told the BBC, as recounted by manutd.com.
"Obviously we're coming from worlds apart. The standard of our league compared to the standard of competition that Manchester United plays in, the relevant turnovers of clubs in terms of the financial side, we're just in a different world to them, and it's hard to know how you're going to go out there and compete."
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Ange Postecoglou was just 34 when his South Melbourne team faced Man Utd (Getty Images)
23 years on, Postecoglou will face Man Utd with Spurs (Sean Ryan/IPS/REX/Shutterstock)South Melbourne had a few Australian internationals in the team taking to the field at the Maracana. However, Australia then weren't the Australia of now, with the Socceroos having missed out on the previous six World Cups.
United shuffled the deck a bit themselves, with the likes of Mark Wilson and Ronnie Wallwork part of a weakened side. They still had Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Andy Cole up front, though, while Phil Neville started in defence and Beckham came off the bench during the second half.
“There was a bit of sarcasm from the United players when we came in,” South Melbourne's Goran Lozanovski would tell Football Nation Radio in 2019. “Would you believe the current coach Ole [Solskjaer] and Andy Cole were giggling going ‘look at these amateurs’.
“But Roy Keane walks in and really put them in their place, telling them to be respectful. I have the utmost respect for Roy he was a complete gentleman.”
United had won the Intercontinental Cup two months before the FIFA tournament, with Roy Keane scoring the only goal of the game against Palmeiras in Tokyo. They wouldn't have the same luck in Brazil, though, with a 2-0 win against South Melbourne proving too little, too late.
Quinton Fortune scored United's opener, putting them in front after just eight minutes, and the South Africa international added a second before half-time. It ended 2-0, but Necaxa pipped United to second place in the group after only losing 2-1 to Vasco.
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Quinton Fortune scored both of Man Utd's goals (Icon Sport via Getty Images)While United would return to the Club World Cup in 2008, Postecoglou spent a period out of club football after that meeting, coaching Australia's age group teams. Still, he would never forget the impression Ferguson left on him.
"I coached against Sir Alex Ferguson in 2000 in Brazil, we did a press conference together and he gave me 15 minutes of his time," Postecoglou recalled after taking charge at Spurs. "It was gold for me. I was 34 at the time and I was coaching a team from Australia against Manchester Utd in the Club World Cup and spent 15 minutes which was gold."
Some 23 years on, Postecoglou has a chance to show what he has learned since that game. Recent history shows he might well be up against it, though, with Spurs winning none of their last five meetings with United.
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