The most public display of affection between the divorced couple of Australian football arrived on Valentine's Day.
"Craig, great respect for what you're doing over there mate, in terms of the last couple of years with the refugees."
With those modest words from Ange Postecoglou to Craig Foster on Stan Sport FC last night, fans could put aside the tension of the past 15 years.
The former Socceroos boss and the former Socceroo famously clashed on SBS television in 2006 when Postecoglou was manager of a Young Socceroos side struggling with form.
Foster called for him to step down, and neither took a backward step in an enthralling 13 minutes of television.
"I'm not attacking you personally," Foster said then.
"OK you're not attacking me personally, that's great I feel much better because you're a really close mate," replied Postecoglou sarcastically.
"We're not on here to be mates," added Foster.
Months later, Postecoglou was out of a job.
In the subsequent years Postecoglou built a reputation as Australia's best coach, delivering success with the Brisbane Roar and the Socceroos, including an Asian Cup title in 2015.
But that on-air dispute between two of Australian football's brightest minds has continued to leave a lasting impact.
To Australian Story in 2015, Postecoglou underlined how much of an effect it had on him.
"I think the one point that kind of set me off was he was asking me to resign," he said.
His wife Georgia echoed her husband.
"For the first time I heard him over the phone really distressed," she said.
"He was pretty upset and worried about how he was portrayed and what it looked like."
That was 2015. As it happened, the interview's legacy had not yet fully played out.
Postecoglou stepped down as coach of the national team in 2017, even though he had secured the Socceroos' place at the 2018 World Cup.
After suffering strong criticism during the qualifying campaign, Postecoglou revealed media pressure had taken its toll — especially after journalist Peter FitzSimons asked him whether he would resign if the team failed to qualify.
“Absolutely [it’s a factor],” Postecoglou told Fox Sports at the time.
"Your life’s experiences mould you and for sure, I think there was a point at the start of this year where ... I went to do an interview on another station and the first question I was asked was, ‘Will you resign if you don’t beat the UAE?'
"And I’m kind of just sitting there and gone into a time warp of 10 years ago ... after everything that’s happened."
Powerful olive branch
Foster and Postecoglou have been in each other's orbit in the period since their televised stoush.
The former Socceroo interviewed the coach again on SBS and praised Postecoglou's work with Brisbane Roar and the Socceroos. But he hasn't backed down over his approach to the 2006 interview, even when given the opportunity.
In 2020, ABC journalist Daniel Garb asked Foster on his podcast whether he would now approach it in a different way.
Foster supported Postecoglou's move to manage in Japan in 2017, describing him as a "top coach" and suggesting the next step for Postecoglou was Europe.
The analysis was prescient. Postecoglou took over Scottish giants Celtic last year and has taken the club to the top of the Scottish Premier League.
Both men now enjoy widespread support in the football community, and beyond.
While Postecoglou has been climbing the managerial ranks, Foster has been making his own impact.
He helped secure the release of Hakeem al-Araibi from Thai custody in 2019.
And he has become a prominent voice arguing for the release of refugees held in detention by the Australian government.
Despite the pair maintaining a professional relationship over the past decade, fans were given little real indication about whether tension between them remained.
As recently as last year, Postecoglou still expressed frustration at the interview, telling the Shim, Spider and So Much Moore podcast he just didn't feel Foster's approach was necessary and saying it made him "unemployable".
In that context, fresh off a 4-0 victory over Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup, Postecoglou sitting in his office in Scotland and volunteering an olive branch to Foster was significant.
Foster replied: "I appreciate that Ange."
Postecoglou went on to explain how comfortable he feels at Celtic, a club originally established in Glasgow with a mission of assisting Irish migrants in Scotland.
By the time he was asked later on in the same show about whether he would consider tweaking tactics, Postecoglou was warm and jovial with his interviewer.
"You've been at me for the last 15 years about this, and god bless you I love you for it."
