Postecoglou admits Liverpool obsession

Ange Postecoglou has defined why Anfield nonetheless hits him emotionally, with the Australian admitting a lifelong Liverpool obsession that started with Kenny Dalglish and by no means actually left him.

The 60-year-old former Tottenham head coach shared the story whereas talking on Stick with Soccer, by way of The Overlap on YouTube, describing how Liverpool turned the centre of his soccer world as a boy.

“I used to be Liverpool mad, proper? I used to be Liverpool obsessed.”

It’s not the primary time he’s mentioned a love for the Reds however that obsession intensified when Kenny Dalglish arrived on Merseyside in 1977, as a result of Postecoglou mentioned it modified every part about how he watched the sport.

“When Kenny [Dalglish] got here in ’77, it went to a different stage for me.”

Postecoglou additionally spoke about his father’s affect, and the way the Scot’s “magic” turned one thing they bonded over, to the purpose the place it stayed with him lengthy after childhood ended.

Postecoglou’s Anfield promise and the Kenny Dalglish coincidence

Probably the most hanging a part of the story was not likely about techniques or administration, however a few private second Postecoglou carried into his first season managing within the Premier League.

Postecoglou defined that his father died whereas he was working in Japan, that means he by no means noticed the later phases of his profession that finally took him to Celtic after which Tottenham.

When Tottenham performed at Anfield in his first season, Postecoglou mentioned he made a promise to himself, arriving early as a result of he likes strolling out earlier than the stadium fills and the noise correctly begins.

“I promised myself I mentioned, ‘Look, , I’m going to stroll by the tunnel beneath the signal only for my dad simply, [to say] we type of made it’.”

Then got here the surreal half, as a result of Postecoglou mentioned a voice referred to as his identify, and it was Kenny Dalglish.

Postecoglou described immediately feeling like a baby once more, caught between skilled focus and a lifetime of admiration.

“I flip round and it’s Sir Kenny.”

Postecoglou mentioned that second ended with a realisation that also makes him smile, as a result of it was the residing model of a childhood poster coming to life.

“I’ve simply walked by the Anfield tunnel with Kenny Dalglish, the man that I had on my partitions.”

Why Dalglish’s Liverpool legacy nonetheless reaches internationally

There’s a motive this story lands with Liverpool supporters, as a result of Kenny Dalglish’s influence has by no means been restricted to those that grew up regionally.

The Glasgow-born ahead joined us from Celtic for £440,000 on 10 August 1977 and constructed an era-defining document that also feels ridiculous once you lay it out cleanly.

Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool document

Class
Complete

Liverpool league appearances
355

Liverpool league targets
118

Liverpool league assists
115

Liverpool appearances (all competitions)
515

Liverpool targets (all competitions)
172

Liverpool assists (all competitions)
172

Joined Liverpool
10.08.1977 (£440,000 from Celtic)

These numbers assist clarify why an Australian child might turn out to be “Liverpool obsessed” within the first place, as a result of Dalglish blended output with an identification that felt uniquely ours.

Postecoglou’s story additionally hyperlinks neatly with the fashionable rivalry angle, as a result of Mo Salah’s message after Tottenham’s Europa League success confirmed there may be nonetheless respect for giant personalities throughout the sport, even when they aren’t carrying our shirt.

That’s the factor about Liverpool’s historical past, and significantly the Dalglish years, as a result of it continues to form different careers in methods we don’t all the time see.

And when a Premier League supervisor admits Anfield is the one place that made him really feel one thing actual, it reminds us why the stadium nonetheless issues, even in a sport obsessive about what’s subsequent.