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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Robert Hynes

Ange Postecoglou on Irish immigrants and Celtic as he explains how it resonates with him

Ange Postecoglou has opened up on how Celtic being formed to feed poor Irish immigrants resonates strongly with his own life story.

The Hoops boss emigrated to Australia from his native Greece with his family when he was a child as they travelled Down Under on a journey that took 30 days to get there by boat.

Speaking to Australian sports channel Stan Sport, Postecoglou said: "I found a real sort of affinity with the club, and obviously we all know the club really well. I think we maybe surprise people over here at the beginning.

"We seem like we’re a million miles away and almost as I said a couple of times on another planet. You know we’ve always been aware about the great clubs around the world and Celtic’s one of them.

"And their whole background and why the actual club was formed, to feed poor Irish immigrants, there was a purpose behind this club that stayed with it right to this day.

"For me that resonates obviously strongly being an immigrant in our own country. And South Melbourne, Hellas, Melbourne Croatia, Sydney Croatia, all these clubs were set up the same way. They weren’t set up solely to be football clubs, they were set up to help people adjust to life in their new land."

The Celtic manager also praised one of the show's hosts, Craig Foster, for his work with refugees.

Postecoglou was relatively unknown on this side of the world when he arrived in Glasgow, but he has won Celtic fans over with his attacking style of football and no-nonsense approach.

Supporters liked what they heard from the 56-year-old's most recent interview.

One said: "Ange relating his own experiences with immigrant-founded footballing clubs in Australia with what he is now involved with at Celtic.

"Match made in heaven, indeed."

Another commented: "It is unbelievable that not only is this guy becoming one of the best coaches we have had in years, but also a coach we could never have imagined would not only understand our past but also buy into it 100%."

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