‘Fantastic person’: Postecoglou appointed head coach of Nottingham Forest

London: Australian football coach Ange Postecoglou will be given a hero’s welcome by Nottingham Forest on Thursday when he joins the Premier League club at an event to celebrate his arrival as manager.

The club’s owner, Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, hailed the Australian as a “fantastic person” with a proven track record of winning trophies, highlighting the closeness between the owner and coach.

The appointment marks a stunning reversal of fortune in football after Postecoglou was sacked as coach of Tottenham Hotspur in June despite taking the club to victory in the Europa League.

And it comes less than a week after the man who sacked him, Daniel Levy, was removed as executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur in a major shift in direction by the family with ultimate control of the club.

Nottingham Forest confirmed the appointment of Postecoglou on Tuesday and later sent out invitations to a major event at the club on Thursday.

“We are delighted to invite you to the unveiling of Ange Postecogolou as Nottingham Forest Head Coach,” the club said.

Marinakis, who was photographed with Postecoglou in Greece in July, highlighted the Australian’s work in taking Tottenham Hotspur to the top in the Europa League.

“We are bringing a coach to the club who has a proven and consistent record of winning trophies,” he said.

“His experience of coaching teams at the highest level, along with his desire to build something special with us at Forest, makes him a fantastic person to help us on our journey and achieve consistently all our ambitions.”

Postecoglou was a guest of honour at a Greek Super League event in July where Marinakis presented him with an award.

“What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece,” Marinakis said at the event, according to Neos Kosmos, a Greek newspaper in Australia.

“Wherever he goes, the successes will come.”

Postecoglou, who was born in Athens in 1965 and left Greece for Australia with his family when he was five, replied: “I want to make you proud, Greece and Australia. It is a great honour to be here.”

Nottingham Forest gained promotion to the Premier League in 2022 and consider the arrival of Postecoglou as an opportunity to gain ground in the competition. They play Arsenal this Saturday.

The new manager replaces Nuno Espirito Santo after he fell out with Marinakis.

Nuno helped the club secure a spot in a European competition for the first time in 30 years thanks to a seventh-place finish in the league last season. Forest were in the top five for most of the campaign and came close to qualifying for the Champions League.

The club confirmed on Tuesday morning that Nuno had been “relieved of his duties” following “recent circumstances” without elaborating on the differences.

One hour later, the club issued a statement confirming Postecoglou in the job.

Forest begins its Europa League campaign with a trip to Spanish club Real Betis on September 24. Finishing seventh in the Premier League actually secured a place in the third-tier Conference League but Forest was promoted to the Europa League at the expense of Crystal Palace – the FA Cup winner – which was found to have breached UEFA rules on club ownership.

Marinakis, who also owns Greek champion Olympiakos, is known in soccer as a big personality with strong opinions on how his clubs are run. He has turned around the fortunes of Forest, which won back-to-back European Cups almost miraculously, dropped down the leagues after relegation from the top flight in 1999 and returned to the Premier League in 2022.

With AP

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