Former Spurs star Ossie Ardiles has been waxing lyrical about Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou.
Tottenham Hotspur have undergone a footballing revolution since the arrival of Ange Postecoglou in 2023.
After years of frustrating defensive football, the Aussie has transformed Spurs into a fast-flowing attacking team – similar to Tottenham teams of old.
One former Spurs star who helped mold the so-called ‘Tottenham way’ was the magical and iconic, Ossie Ardiles.
Regarded as a Tottenham legend amongst supporters, Ardiles wowed fans at White Hart Lane for a number of years before returning to the club as a manager.
Ardiles has since reflected on his Spurs spell and heaped praise on current Lilywhites boss Postecoglou.
Ossie Ardiles ‘loved’ his Tottenham spell
In a recent exclusive interview with Football.London, Ardiles talked about the early stages of his Spurs career, opening up about the struggles of adapting to English life.
“I loved it straight away. I was a Player of the Year, but the food and the weather.
“It was a challenge. Yes, it was a challenge for me. I would say football basically was not so much of a challenge, it was immediate. Outside the pitch it was difficult. Yes. I mean the number one thing is the language by far.
“I mean, when an Argentinian player goes to Tottenham, Romero or whoever, they come from Argentina, I say to them the number one thing is the language, the language, the language.”
Ardiles then went on to reveal he used British comedies to aid his learning of English.
“Study and do whatever you can but to learn English as much and as quick as possible because the quicker you learn, you start to enjoy it and so on. Without English you enjoy this much (makes a small gap between his fingers), with English you enjoy everything.
“So, for example, the television. I remember at the beginning. I started to understand the BBC News because it’s very proper. That was the first thing, but, for example, the last thing to understand is the humour.
“Like Fawlty Towers, and now they are completely my favourite. Fawlty Towers, Only Fools and Horses, Blackadder. Absolutely brilliant. That can only happen if you understand the language. If you don’t understand, you won’t understand Fawlty Towers.”
What did Ossie Ardiles say about Ange Postecoglou?
Having managed Spurs himself between 1993/94, Ardiles gave his thoughts on Ange Postecoglou’s start to life as Tottenham boss.
Speaking on the Aussie’s footballing philosophy, the former Spurs man was asked whether he saw any comparisons to the Tottenham team he played in during the late 70s and early 80s
“Certainly, the most important thing I would say is the attitude, the philosophy. The philosophy is always the same. Always thinking about the other goal, not so much in our goal. Yeah, go and attack. Go and put pressure, go,” he said.
“Ange doesn’t speculate at all. They’re not saying ‘no, we are going to put 10 people behind the ball and we’re going to defend and then maybe counter attack because they play that way’. No, no, no.
“He only thinks about his team and go, and and then the other team has to react. That is a kind of total philosophy to be perfectly honest and always has been, and I’m very happy to say it’s my philosophy also.”
Ardiles was then questioned on how important the stylistic change was after years of defensive football.
“100%. Yes, absolutely, and Ange, in fact, as soon as he arrived immediately changed the perception of the club. He made the connection between him, the players and the crowd. Very, very close, Very, very important,” said the Argentine legend.
“Only we had lost a little bit before. We had it when Mauricio Pochettino was there and he created a very good atmosphere the club. You could feel it and we lost it after and Ange was incredibly quick to come back with this kind of atmosphere. So yes, I mean, it was extraordinary what he achieved in such a short period of time.”
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