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EPPING Soccer Stadium is a world away from Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium in every sense but this is where Ange Postecoglou took the first modest steps in relaunching a stumbling career.
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Deemed damaged goods and having failed in a series of A-League job interviews, Postecoglou accepted a job with the bottom club in the Victorian Premier League.
He may have changed the culture at Whittlesea Stallions but he couldn't stop their descent as they finished bottom and were relegated to the state's second tier.
His damaged reputation stemmed from another disappointing showing with an Australian youth team that led to an infamous slanging match with SBS analyst Craig Foster.
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But Postecoglou used every opportunity during his seven-year spell with the Joeys and Young Socceroos to educate himself by travelling to Arsenal, France's famed Clairefontaine academy and Argentina's national headquarters.
Putting it into practice with a decreasing standard of Australian youth players was more challenging but only with the benefit of hindsight have people appreciated Postecoglou's challenge.
Postecoglou yesterday described this period as his "PhD in coaching", but those close to him say it was always in his DNA.
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SOUTH MELBOURNE SCHOOLING
Postecoglou, age five, migrated to Australia from Greece with his parents and elder sister and it wasn't long before he joined South Melbourne's youth ranks.
It was the start of a 25-year association with the club which he captained while representing the Socceroos on four occasions and eventually coached to two NSL titles.
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Ironically it was in Brazil that Postecoglou got his first taste of international soccer when he led South Melbourne to the FIFA Club World Championships against Manchester United in 2000, which preceded his stint with Australia's national youth teams.
Mike Petersen has known Postecoglou since their junior days and developed a close friendship during their days as South Melbourne and Socceroos teammates.
Many would regard Postecoglou as an associate but Petersen is one of the few who can genuinely regard him as a friend - current Victory football manager Paul Trimboli is another - and he said that is because he has dedicated his life to the round-ball.
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"It was clear from a young age he had leadership qualities, he was captain of South Melbourne from 21," Petersen said.
"A knee injury ended his career prematurely at 28 so he turned straight to coaching. I believe he still would've been a coach but certain motivations came into play when he had to retire, so maybe felt there was unfinished business.
"He was always a student of the game and I'm delighted for him because football is his life and Australian football will benefit immensely."
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SMARTER THAN THE AVERAGE PLAYER
While many of his teammates lapped up the fame that came with playing in the national league, Postecoglou was never a regular on the disco circuit.
A sports nut who followed Carlton and loved cricket from a young age, Postecoglou juggled an impressive domestic soccer career with university and part-time work and sold pension funds in his early 20s
"He was never one to go out, he was grooming himself for this at 20," Petersen said.
"We were going out to nightclubs and letting off a bit of steam, but he never did. He would go to the movies or go for dinner but he was always good company.
"He was always quiet and unassuming but he has a wicked sense of humour when he wants to involve himself and he comes out with some classic one liners."
Brisbane Roar and Victory players can attest to Postecoglou's ruthless streak and this is not something he's developed recently.
Having taken the South Melbourne job age 31 after a brief stint with state league club Western Suburbs, one of his first big calls was to tell Petersen his career was over.
"He tapped me on the shoulder and retired me. It was an emotional time because I thought I still had something to offer and we were mates," he said.
"But he was candid, honest and I appreciated that. It showed he took the job seriously and made decisions in the best interests of the club."
SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
Postecoglou's career may have taken a different path had he got the Socceroos job in 1999 when he was one of four candidates interviewed - Frank Farina got it.
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Friday: Melbourne Victory v Brisbane, Fox Sports 1 HD, 7.30pm(EDT)
Saturday: Central Coast v Adelaide, 5.30pm; Sydney v Western Sydney, 7.30pm, FS1HD
Sunday: Wellington v Newcastle, 3pm, Perth v Melbourne Heart, 5pm, FS1HD
Kick Off on Friday night, 6.30, with special guest Michael Cockerill.
Shootout on Sunday night, 7pm, with Craig Moore and Tony Popovic.
Sunday: El Clasico, Barcelona v Real Madrid, 2.55am, FS2HD
Monday: Atletico Madrid v Real Betis, 6.55am, FS3HD
Saturday night: Crystal Palace v Arsenal, 10.30pm, FS1HD
Manchester United v Stoke, 12.50am, FS1 HD
Viewers' Choice: Norwich v Cardiff; Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa v Everton.
Southampton v Fulham, 3.30am, FS1HD
Sunday night/Monday morning: Sunderland v Newcastle, 12.30am, FS1HD
Chelsea v Manchester City, 2.50am, FS1HD
Tottenham v Hull, 2.50am, FS2HD
Swansea v West Ham United, 2.50am, FS3HD
"At the age of 35 I was praying they didn't give it to me because it was such an enormous task," Postecoglou said.
"I ended up getting the Young Socceroos job and what that did help me to do was, I was there with Frank Farina in the early days and I just saw how tough it was for him and you learn from that.
"You learn about how to deal with things at that level and that with the limited amount of time you have got it's really important that you use it very effectively and the best way to do that is to make sure you have your own people with you, like-minded people."
Another great learning experience came in the unfashionable Greek third division, a career he was forced to pursue when he couldn't get a job in Australia.
He joined Panachaiki in 2008 and was on the verge of securing promotion before quitting due to boardroom politics.
"I was seen as an Aussie and Australian football wasn't greatly respected there at the time. It was a great experience and it gave me my confidence in coaching, we got battered a bit and it makes you question yourself a bit," Postecoglou said.
"Then we turned it around, the passion was amazing. When we won we'd be chair-lifted out of the ground, lose and we were escorted out. The coaches cop so much criticism there that it taught me to be not too sensitive.
"It gave me my confidence again and we did really well, we were second. I thought if it worked here, it gave me the confidence to go home and do it there."
Unable to land a job when he returned to Australia he was thrown a lifeline by Fox Sports and, impressed by his punditry, he became a regular.
His insight and intellect didn't go unnoticed and 10 years after missing out on the Socceroos job to Farina, he replaced him at Brisbane Roar after he was sacked following a drink driving offence.
Despite his three-year struggle to land a job in Australia, experience had taught him something - his non-negotiable was that he had to have final say on football department matters.
Roar accepted but Craig Moore, immensely popular with the players and a Socceroo at the time, delivered the board an Ange or me ultimatum after seeing teammates Charlie Miller and Liam Reddy offloaded.
The board backed Postecoglou and Moore was gone, with Danny Tiatto soon departing, offering several parting shots in the process.
"It wasn't part of the plan to get rid of senior players, but learning from my Australian youth team, if I didn't do things my way I'd fail," Postecoglou said.
The rest is history and he replicated the revamp at Melbourne Victory but 18 months in the making, the national team has come calling and he faces a similar challenge.
"I believe that Ange's finest hour is yet to be written and Australian football should be excited," Petersen said.
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