Hyundai A League clubs are not alone in getting excited when they discover a South American talent available to them.

My neighbourhood is abuzz at the moment with the arrival of a low key but simply sumptuous Argentine barbecue restaurant.

After hearing about it I was on their front doorstep quicker than Bersat Berisha arriving at the back post to slot a late winner.

As I walked in the front door my eyes scanned the room looking for a piece of religious iconography that I knew would be certain to take pride of place in any self respecting Argentine eatery.

It wasn’t a statue of the Madonna or a Crucifix though its spiritual significance was no loss potent.

I didn’t have to look hard.

Just inside the door on the right hand side, it sat on the wall taking pride of place as a greeting and blessing to all the hungry souls who arrived in search of sustenance.

It was a framed photo of Diego Maradona and thatgoal. La Mano De Dios. The Hand of God.

Sport has no greater cult of personality than that of Maradona.

Football loves a personality cult. Clubs and countries build their self affirming mythologies around the real and imagined genius of players and coaches who brought glory – and some time heroic failure – to life.

Liverpool have Shankley. Celtic, Jock Stein. For The Dutch it is Cryuff and the beautiful but ultimately flawed 1974 and 1978 World Cup expeditions. The list could go on and on.

Until now the A League hasn’t succumbed to the Cult of Personality.
Or has it?

Certainly last weeks’ concerted effort to rewrite the history of Brisbane Roar’s back-to-back title successes indicated that those in the Queensland capital felt that it had.

Their clumsy and ham-fisted campaign to reclaim the Roar’s title success from its architect, Ange Postecoglou ,was a reaction to what was seen as the Cult Of Ange – Master Coach.

There’s no doubt that the narrative about the title triumph had been built around the Postecoglou revolution at Suncorp stadium.

The wonderfully ludicrous “Roarcelona” tag spoke of a new brand of football in Australia, built by a different kind of coach asking his players to work harder, be smarter and demand more of themselves than they ever thought possible.

Whilst he remained in orange, it was a mythology that worked for the Roar.

When he packed his bags and headed south it needed rewriting. And so it was. Sadly, it seems the result is some serious bruising for both the former coach and the team he turned into a machine.

If anything, the Cult Of Ange meant there really was nowhere else for him but Melbourne Victory, a club that from day one decided that it is in its DNA to be built upon big personalities that reflect its own sense of self as a “Big Club”.

Kevin Muscat, Harry Kewell and now Ange Postecoglou. For varying reasons and with mixed fortunes, the names don’t get any bigger in Australian football.

What will be fascinating is to see whether the club and the coach, seeing in each other a sense of shared destiny, are able to endure through what will be challenging times.

This Victory squad look incapable of winning the title. Postecoglou was left with a train wreck after the revolving door in the coaches office last season. Only now is he discovering the depth of inadequacy he is dealing with.

Has the mythology about Ange Postecoglou’s ability to radically reshape and reinvent a once aimless and clueless Brisbane Roar into a force of nature bought the coach enough credit with the fans and his employers?

Or does it work to fuel the impatience of restless fans hungry for success and a management desperate for results that reinforce the image of their club as biggest and best.

As Maradona could attest, the Cult of Personality can be the cruellest kind of gilded cage.

Ange Postecoglou is about to find out just what life is like inside it.

The views in this article are those of the author, and do not represent those of Football Federation Australia or the Hyundai A-League.

 
The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not reflect those of Football Federation Australia.
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Comments (7)
 
As far as I am concerned, Ange Postecoglu is already an Australian Football Legend. He won two titles at the Roar and revolutionised the way Australian football is played. He won two titles at South Melbourne FC and took them to the World Club Championships where they played superbly and gave some major teams a real scare. He coached the Australian U-20 team and won Footballer Of The Year as a player. Welcome to Melbourne Victory Ange, the club has been waiting for you for six years. I still can't work out how the board chose Merrick ahead of you at the start! The team is ready to start performing and I don't think it will be too long before Victory is at the top of the table. A couple of quality signings are required, a key central defender and a centre forward to work with Archie. Flores needs to be used as an attacking mid-fielder rather than an out and out striker. The first two weeks suggest that the players have yet to master Ange's system but there were moments where the play showed real potential. Not sure how Ange has selected Thomas ahead of Velaphi? I'm not at training but logic says Tando should be the number one keeper. We have an incredibly interesting year ahead of us in the A-League and if the Victory can really start turning on the form, it will be amazing.
TopCatJim  |  
18 Oct 2012 08:14 PM
 
 
Firstly, I want to echo the comments by the first poster (RoaryTheLion - cool name). Many of the comments by the Roar players were taken out of context. I would expect Ange would know how the media works and that they would try to create controversy where there was none. There were was no offence intended and Broich made that clear later in the week. Secondly, the suggestion that the Roar were trying to rewrite history last week is more than a little disingenuous. What was made plain (and was acknowledged by Ange) was that the success of the last two years was based on the contribution of many people, with Ange the key person as Head Coach. Thirdly, I think that Ange tarnished his reputation a little with his unsporting post-match handshake with Rado as well as his unnecesary comments about what he did at the Roar. He worked with his assistant for over two seasons and Rado deserved much better than that. Ange's need to talk up his accomplishments also makes him appear insecure. I'm certain he's not secure and clearly he has nothing to feel insecure about, but Ange should simply let his outstanding record speak for itself. Finally, the banners at the ground (one which said 'Without us you are nothing' or words to that effect) were meant to be tongue in cheek. They were supposed to be funny. I thought it was hilarious, not because it was true (it wasn't) but because it was so ridiculously far from the truth. Most sensible-minded Roar supporters will always be grateful for what Ange did for the club and the structures he helped put in place to hopefully maintain the long-term success and footballing philosophy of the club.
fairdes  |  
18 Oct 2012 04:47 PM
 
 
I saw leach's comments on offsiders on sunday morning and unfortunately he must have just read the headlines also on broichs comments and berisha. there were plenty of links available for people to hear broich's interview of which one minute or less was on ange and he wanted to support rado vidisic saying he contributed a lot to their success, along with ken stead but ange was always the mastermind. in this article leach says they are rewriting history in a ham fisted way. berisha said he wanted to win and send ange home a loser. that sound so controversial doesn't it - he always talks like that. listen to what he said before the grand final about how much he wanted to win. rado did contribute to the roar's success in the last two years. ange was in charge and cheifly responsible. as i recall he was unemployed before coming to the roar and melbourne certainly didn't want him. but ange's carry on has taken him down a peg or three for many fans as did his sudden departure after the grand final parade. he will always be remembered for what he achieved here. but he isn't perfect as he showed this week. and if he believed headlines rather than listening to the entire interview then he won' last long at victory. leach also said ange inherited this team. that's a poor excuse. he got rid of a lot of players including herndandez. he was back in melbourne on april 24 and coached them for a friendly against olympiakos in mid may. while victory can improve he has had a lot of time to get them in better shape than what they are showing at the moment. victory could be the breaking of ange.
roary the lion  |  
17 Oct 2012 02:08 PM
 
 
From both my perspective and nearly every other victory fan I've spoken to, there seems to be a real willingness to give Ange time. Most of us realise that it will take a while, perhaps the whole year. We understand that we are light on in defence, and that we don't have many players capable of playing out from the back (millsy and troare excepted). The boys will no doubt progress over the course of the year, but either way, it is going to be great to watch us try and play, and see how far we can go. Maybe a few new signings at the back and next year a tilt at the toilet seat! MVTID!
jaydiggy86  |  
17 Oct 2012 01:26 PM
 
 
What Ange did when he came to the ROAR was to clear the decks of all he didn't want, has he had the chance to truly do that at VICTORY? When he did, ROAR fans (I am one) were nervous and excited, but wow, was he right?! I hope for your sake VICTORY fans, that he gets to do it his way.
hifromtomorrow  |  
17 Oct 2012 01:08 PM
 
 
No matter what, for us Victory fans it will be another interesting ride this year. A prevailing early view is that we'd prefer to watch us play crap under Ange than last year's crap under Mehmet and Jim. We're wondering whether the mini clear-out at season's end was sufficient; there looks to be a little too much of the same-old, same-old that won't mash into Ange's system.
Phil H  |  
17 Oct 2012 10:33 AM
 
 
It's refreshing to read an article by a true journalist. One which doesn't contain the word misogyny.
@LeftOfLeftField  |  
17 Oct 2012 10:18 AM
 

Francis Leach

A radio broadcaster of huge experience, Francis Leach is currently host of ABC Grandstand, a football fanatic and a left-sided midfielder.