Ange Postecoglou: 'Australian football is going backwards' | Oliver Trenchard

The former Socceroos coach talks about the players he left, their chances at the World Cup and a bleak future for game in Australia

Few would have predicted the man who guided Australia’s national football team to a fourth consecutive World Cup would come to play no part at the upcoming tournament in Russia. Yet when the first whistle goes in Kazan next weekend, it will be Bert van Marwijk, and not Ange Postecoglou, who will be impressing his brand of the beautiful game on the nation.

During his 11-and-half-year stint with Australian national teams, Postecoglou’s unwavering belief in his own football philosophy was not universally popular. Criticism came, left him frustrated and eventually led to a split with Football Federation Australia, just one week after the Socceroos finally secured their place in Russia. Speaking to Guardian Australia on the eve of the tournament, it is clear the source of that frustration still rankles.

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