He admits he’s never thought of himself as an underdog but Ange Postecoglou recalls when he had no option but to confront that reality.
Which is why he is treading warily ahead of this evening’s Scottish Cup Final with so-called no-hopers Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The Celtic boss has walked in Billy Dodds’ shoes. He knows what it’s like to be written off before a ball has been kicked and recognises how that scenario can make the underdog snarl and strain at the leash just a little more strenuously.
Postecoglou’s job is to avoid being bitten and remembering how he felt in January 2000 – three weeks before Inverness went ballistic at Parkhead to knock Celtic out of the Scottish and send John Barnes to the dole queue – will, he hopes, keep him out of harm’s way. The first ever World Club Championships, held in football-crazy Rio de Janeiro, and Postecoglou’s South Melbourne part-timers were locking horns with Manchester United and Brazilian kings Vasco da Gama, in arguably the most iconic stadium on the planet – the Maracana. And, the Australian remembers with a smile, a remit to avoid the predicted hammerings that FIFA feared would kill in its infancy the credibility of its fancy, shiny new tournament.
