Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou is hopeful his ‘Big Ange’ nickname is not related to his weight.
Postecoglou has proven a popular manager wherever he has gone in his career, and he is currently enjoying his first season in charge of Spurs.
Despite some reservations among the fanbase over his top-level experience upon his appointment last summer, Tottenham now have a clear playing identity under Postecoglou and are firmly in the hunt for a Champions League spot.
In an interview with i news, the Greek-Australian was asked whether he saw his ‘Big Ange’ nickname as complimentary.
“My wife’s always asking, ‘what if you lose weight?’ I said, ‘I don’t think that’s why they call me big’,” Postecoglou laughed.
When asked if it was more to do with his ‘big personality’, Postecoglou replied: “That’s what I try to say but it didn’t wash with her.
“It’s something that caught on in Scotland [at Celtic]. We got a delivery from someone at the door, I ended up taking the delivery and my wife got a notification that said, ‘received by Big Ange’. It seems to have caught on all over the place.”
Tottenham’s all-out attacking style under Postecoglou has been christened as ‘Angeball’ by supporters and rivals alike, and he insisted this was a moniker that he did enjoy.
“There are probably worse things they could come up with!” Postecoglou said.
“I’m not really sure what it means but it’s kind of stuck. I enjoy the fact that people give the teams that I have an identity and that’s really important to me. The teams I manage play the game a certain way and if that’s the way they want to tag it, that’s fine, but I take it as a complimentary tag.”
