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Ange Postecoglou and Guus Hiddink visit Socceroos before Wembley match with England
Former Socceroos Head Coaches Ange Postecoglou and Guus Hiddink visited camp in London to address the players ahead of the friendly clash with England at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 5:45am (AEDT).
Postecoglou’s visit marked his first official reunion with the Socceroos since his tenure ended in 2017 while Hiddink returned to the fold after joining Graham Arnold’s staff for the Socceroos Centenary Series against New Zealand in Brisbane and Auckland in September 2022.
Ange Postecoglou inspires Socceroos before Wembley match with England
Postecoglou’s visit marked his first official reunion with the Socceroos since his tenure ended in 2017.
Postecoglou spent four years in charge of the Socceroos, achieving plenty like winning an unprecedented AFC Asian Cup on home soil and guiding the nation to two World Cup qualifications.
Since then, the former Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory coach has enjoyed a historic rise through the world football pyramid.
After trophy-laden stints with Yokohama F. Marinos and Celtic Football Club, he became the first Australian to manage in the Premier League, where his Tottenham side are top of the table after eight games.
Postecoglou was invited by Graham Arnold to address the players at their team lunch as they prepare to play at the iconic Wembley Stadium against England on Saturday morning.
“(It’s) the impact you can have for future generations,” Postecoglou said to the squad.
“You play at a stadium like that, make an impact – it’s not just for you. There’s going to be a little boy or a little girl who are going to look at that and say ‘one day that’s going to be me’.
“It wasn’t that long ago I was here (as Socceroos coach). Now I’m in the Premier League and everybody loves me, but trust me I haven’t changed one bit.
“But because I was an Australian, because you’re Australian, sometimes you’ve got to work that little bit harder. Nothing wrong with that.”
Only Maty Ryan, Jackson Irvine, Aziz Behich, Milos Degenek and Massimo Luongo remain from the Postecoglou era but the other players would now be well aware of how influential his game-day addresses could be.
Postecoglou said he was delighted to have been invited into the camp to catch up with some familiar faces.
“I had a free afternoon and they said to come over for lunch, so it was good to catch up with everyone,” he said.
