New Delhi: 

Nearly two years ago, when Ange Postecoglou defended his decision not to drop his attacking approach, known widely as “Ange-ball” despite a 4-1 loss to Chelsea, with his team Tottenham Hotspur going down to nine men, it drew a mixed response from the fans and media alike. The words were, “It’s just who we are mate – it’s who we are and who we will be for as long as I am here. If we go down to five men, we will have a go.”

What did the coach have to say about his ‘new’ gameplay?

The question that still hovers – did Postecoglou completely abandon his approach for the summit clash? As per the man himself, it’s a “no.” He reasoned that the Europa League requires a different approach to the requirements of the Premier League football. “I’ve always felt that knockout football is different from your league football,” Postecoglou said, as quoted by the BBC.

“When you’re in that situation, it comes down really to good organisation, belief, having a good game plan, and then moments; if you can minimise the moments the opposition have by having a really strong foundation. I always felt comfortable that if we got ahead, we could negate most of what Manchester United were going to throw at us,” said the 59-year-old.

There are still doubts over Postecoglou’s long-term future at Spurs, but he looks determined to remain at the club, and as he put it after the title triumph, “complete the job”. It is quite clear from his response that “Ange-ball” isn’t going anywhere in the near future, despite the flexibility that he showcased in changing his long-standing approach and securing a first European silverware in 41 years for the Lilywhites.

Why a change in the style?

Believe it or not, but Postecoglou gave hints that he was preparing to take a more analytical approach in the team’s fourth fixture against the Red Devils, in their second leg Europa League semi-final itself, which was against Bodo/Glimt. According to a BBC report, Spurs had just 31.6% possession at the home of the Norwegians, and against United, they had the ball for just 27.7% of the game, both the lowest in the games won under Postecoglou. His abandonment of the principles in the Wednesday final can be credited to – him having nothing to lose. How but…?

The club has had a torrid domestic form this year, regardless of the fact that they are Europa League winners and are going to the Champions League next year. They currently face the danger of finishing just one place outside the Premier League relegation zone, having lost 21 of their 37 league games with one more to go. This means that there is some kind of uncertainty over the manager’s future, even after the Europa triumph.

The North London side had already played United three times this season and claimed all of the games, scoring eight goals and conceding just three, which underlined their coach’s unique and aggressive style of play. 

It is evident that none of the two side looked brilliant or excited in what was a dull first half, but the Spurs got their breakthrough when Brennan Johnson bundled in from close range. Soon after that, the game for them was all about defending what they had. In the second half, they only had one touch inside the opposition box and did not have any shots on or off the target.

A few minutes later, Postecoglou’s quest for the silverware made him sacrifice an attacking player for a defensive one when he replaced Johnson with centre-back Kevin Daso. Paul Robinson, ex-Tottenham goalkeeper, called it an awful game and that it was a poor watch. “It was not what we are used to seeing from Ange Postecoglou. It was a gritty, horrible, defensive, determined, rugged performance,” he said.

At times, Tottenham just rode on their luck as they required some big individual performances. Micky van de Ven made an incredible clearance of the goalline from Rasmus Hojlund, while their goalkeeper, Guglielmo Vicario, made a big save from Luke Shaw, later on in the game. Overall, Spurs made just three shots with the aforementioned possession and completed 115 passes in total, all the lowest figures by any team in a major European final since 2009-10.

A few more former Tottenham players, like Gareth Bale, lauded Postecoglou for the changed approach, and ex-Leicester midfielder Robbie Savage said that he has adapted.

While some felt that his stance was a mark of confidence that a team boss should always have, some called it foolish for not being flexible in the principles, as per situation. He continued to stick by those rules nonetheless, but seemed to have abandoned them for the biggest game of his tenure with Spurs and also the club’s recent history.

On Wednesday, when the Lilywhites took on Manchester United in an all-English Europa League final, held at Bilbao’s San Mames, they successfully extracted a 1-0 win, spending almost the entire second half defending, eventually winning their first trophy in 17 years. Now the coach is known for not changing his tactics, so what made him do it?

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Spurs end 17-year trophy drought with 1-0 win over Man United in Europa League final