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.
“It’s good to see some familiar faces. Jackson (Irvine), Milos (Degenek), Maty (Ryan), Aziz (Behich) … Massimo (Luongo) – it was good to see him back.
“I hadn’t seen those boys since I left Australia (in 2018), so it was great to connect, and good to see some young faces in there.
“I’m looking forward to the game.”
Postecoglou was also joined by the mastermind of Australia’s 2006 World Cup campaign, Guus Hiddink.
He appreciated the chance to spend time with the iconic Dutchman and share some stories with his fellow Socceroos bosses.
“Guus made a major impact in Australian football, so it was good to spend some time with him and with ‘Arnie’. He’s doing a great job with the Socceroos,” Postecoglou said.
“I’m looking forward to the game. Wembley, 90,000 (people) … I’ll definitely be there. I pencilled it in a while back.”
Arnold said Postecoglou and Hiddink were part of the Socceroos “family” that was underpinned by a strong culture.
“It was typical Ange and Guus. They don’t want to be a distraction, but to bring them in … has been great,” Arnold explained.
"Guus wanted to congratulate the boys on what we achieved at the World Cup and Ange talked about what we can do for the Australian game of football and kids' lives. It's great to hear.
"The Socceroos are a family and we brought in the two ex-fathers — and actually I can call Guus the grandfather — for the players who haven't worked under them to see.
"What Ange is doing in the Premier League with Tottenham is inspirational for everyone. To see him again, it's been great."
Guus Hiddink: 'I’m very proud to be here'
After famously coming out of retirement to assist Graham Arnold before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hiddink was invited alongside Ange Postecoglou and congratulated the players for their performances at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
He explained how proud he was to see them achieve their best-ever finish on the world stage.
“You did very well in Qatar. I enjoyed it very much,” Hiddink told the squad.
“I saw tears in his (Arnold) eyes, and this is not easy because he is very tough.
“I loved to work with him in the past and I liked to work with the Australian players and staff.”
Hiddink was in fine form at the age of 76 and Arnold was delighted to bring him back into camp.
The pair have a long history together after Arnold assisted Hiddink during the Socceroos' run to the last-16 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany - which was the country’s best-ever showing until it was superseded 10 months ago by Arnold’s Qatar team.
Hiddink also spoke of how Arnold previously called him to inspire his players on the eve of the last World Cup.
“I have frequent contact with Graham so he invited me to come to London for the game against England,” Hiddink explained.
“I’m very proud to be here with the boys. I had a beautiful lunch with them and I met all the players and staff.
“Some players I knew from the previous adventure, just before the Qatar World Cup where I tried to help a bit in Brisbane, and in New Zealand.
“It went very well in the Qatar World Cup where they were unluckily kicked out by Argentina but now there's a new era and I hope we will see a very competitive team in the Asian Cup as well.”
Saturday morning’s friendly against England will be a special occasion for Arnold's side in what will be Australia's first-ever match at the iconic venue.
Not as if any extra motivation was needed ahead of the squad's debut at Wembley but Arnold was pleased to bring in some old friends to inspire the playing group ahead of another showdown with England.
"It was typical Ange and Guus, they don't want to be a distraction, they just wanted to come in for lunch,” Arnold said.
"Guus wanted to congratulate the boys on what we achieved at the World Cup and Ange talked about what we can do for the Australian game of football and kids' lives. It's great to hear.
"The Socceroos are a family and we brought in the two ex-fathers — and actually I can call Guus the grandfather — for the players who haven't worked under them to see.
"What Ange is doing in the Premier League with Tottenham is inspirational for everyone. To see him again, it's been great."
Delighted to meet up with friends from his ‘Socceroos family’, Hiddink was also pleased to meet Postecoglou for the first time.
"It's been an honour today," Hiddink explained.
"Three Socceroos coaches who work with a lot of fun with the national team."
