Ange Postecoglou said he had a knack for winning silverware in his second season, and he proved that he was right as he led Tottenham to victory in the Europa League final.
Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao on Wednesday to salvage a torrid campaign that saw them slump to 17th in the Premier League table.
However, Wednesday’s San Mames showpiece extended Postecoglou’s record of winning a trophy in his second season with almost every team he has managed.
The Australian had eight second-season trophies to his name, spanning from his very first managerial role at South Melbourne to a domestic treble in his final season at Celtic two years ago.
He proved that he was the perfect man to put an end to Spurs’ 17-year trophy drought, adding a ninth piece of second-season silverware to his own collection.
The 59-year-old had said back in August that he “always” won trophies in his second seasons.
“Usually in my second season I win things,” Postecoglou said. “That’s the whole idea. The first year is about establishing principles and creating a foundation. Hopefully, the second year is going on to win things.”
In September, he doubled down on those assertions, remarking: “I’ll correct myself – I don’t usually win things, I always win things in my second year. Nothing’s changed.
“I’ve said it now. I don’t say things unless I believe them.”
Before his Basque country triumph, Postecoglou had won the Australian A-League and the Oceania Champions League back in 1999 with South Melbourne.
With Brisbane Roar, he lifted the A-League and Championship titles in his second term, before winning the Asian Cup in his second season in charge of the Australian national side.
He won the J-League title with Yokohama F. Marinos in his second year in Japan, before he secured the domestic treble - the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup - in his second season at Celtic.
‘Second season syndrome’ is something that many head coaches have suffered over the years, and despite his successes at his previous employers, Postecoglou had felt the full extent of it in his second term at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Spurs won just 11 games out of 37 in the top flight this season, losing 21.
However, Postecoglou had the chance to turn a wretched campaign into somewhat of a success, and he duly did so at San Mames.
Their most recent appearance in a European final had been back in 2019, when they were defeated 2-0 by Liverpool in Madrid.
Before that, they won the UEFA Cup in 1984 under Keith Burkinshaw, beating Anderlecht on penalties.
