Admittedly, Ange Postecoglou was not the most successful manager in the history of Tottenham Hotspur, and, in fact, his 17th placed finish was, at that time, the worst in the club's tenure in the top flight. However, as the year has passed, Spurs supporters have looked back even more fondly on the manager who brought them their first European title in 41 years.
But beyond the title, Postecoglou will always be beloved by Spurs fans for his candor and attitude. He never said die, and he always kept Spurs fighting. His goal was to never back down from a challenge and to play brave football the club could be proud of. At times, it led to Spurs shooting themselves in the foot, but it was far preferable than watching what Thomas Frank reduced Spurs to - and he also made them even less successful in the table.
Roberto De Zerbi has now come in to right the ship. On a big salary and with a weight of expectations after making a name for himself around European football, De Zerbi also comes into Tottenham with a lot of skeptics. That is not only because he did not actually win any big silverware, but it is also because of concerns about his character.
Roberto De Zerbi admires Ange Postecoglou
At his first press conference before a Tottenham Hotspur match, the former Marseille, Brighton, Sassuolo, and Shakhtar Donetsk manager did his best to get the Spurs fans excited ,and one remark that will curry favor were his kind words on Ange Postecoglou.
De Zerbi said, as captured by Alasdair Gold of Football.London, "I want to keep the ball. I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou because in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play."
That is music to the years of many Tottenham fans. While Spurs supporters do not want to see an exact replica of the Ange Postecoglou days because of how easy they became for Premier League managers, especially the good ones, to dissect, that is not going to be the case with Roberto De Zerbi.
But what they do want to see is a return to the philosophy that should be synonymous with Spurs, which is a focus on playing beautiful football and really going for it, scoring goals and being brave instead of sitting down and taking losses like cowards. De Zerbi's admiration for Big Ange will match up well with the diehard Spurs faithful.