The Ostersunds FK dream just keeps rolling on. The Swedish come-from-nowhere team are through to the knockout stages of the Europa League. How long before their English manager, Graham Potter, becomes a sought-after manager in England?
Oh the Europa League. Now that it's about to move on to the round of 32, the big teams that were embarrassed to be in the competition ( eg.Arsenal, Milan) will now start caring because they see a European win and Champions League qualification and the small teams who were ecstatic to have made it into Europe (eg Ostersunds) will now be thinking, " Damn it, the likes of Arsenal and Milan will now not use their "B" teams anymore." And the crazy irony of the Europa League, year after year, will carry on. "It's a waste of time but, oops, we made it through the group stages."
Did anybody notice that the coach of Australia, Ange Postecoglou, resigned a week after he led them to World Cup qualification? Apparently the players loved him, especially the ones he "discovered" and gave a chance to, despite all the criticism from seemingly every person with a knowledge of football in Australia. He was so distraught at having to make the decision that he didn't tell the players before announcing it a press conference.
Postecoglou: "To lead them at the 2014 World Cup, to win the Asian Cup in 2015 and now to have qualified for the World Cup next year. I said we would do it and we have done it. All this, however, has taken a toll on me both personally and professionally. I have invested all I can knowing how important a period it was for Australian football. It is with a heavy heart that I must now end the journey."
Tim Cahill (the evergreen Socceroos captain and hero): "His leadership and beliefs are infectious and I'm proud that I had the chance to share his journey with him and witness his love for our country. This for me sets Ange apart as someone that stayed strong to his values of changing the game in Australia."
Replacement needed, fairly quickly. From success with an underdog club team to success with an underdog national team? Is Graham Potter on the list?
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