YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) - Former Australia coach Ange Postecoglou was introduced as head coach of the J-League’s Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday.
The 52-year-old announced his shock resignation from the Socceroos in November, weeks after guiding Australia through a lengthy qualifying campaign for this year’s World Cup in Russia.
“Our goal is to make Yokohama F Marinos a team everyone else will fear,” Postecoglou said at a team ceremony. “My priority and my ambition is to have Yokohama F Marinos playing football that will make our supporters excited, make them proud and, most importantly, we will bring success.”
Rather than staying to lead the Socceroos in Russia he indicated he intended to return to club coaching. Most recently he guided Brisbane to back-to-back A-League titles in 2011 and 2012.
“Everyone in Australia wants a reason,” Postecoglou said. “I had a fantastic four years as national coach. When you coach your own country it’s the highest honor. In those four years we won the Asian Cup, we qualified for the World Cup and I just felt it was the right time for me to try a new adventure.”
He replaces Frenchman Erick Mombaerts whose contract is not being renewed after Yokohama’s fifth-place finish in 2017. Yokohama President Koichiro Furukawa said Postecoglou was chosen for his “attractive and entertaining style of football” and his commitment to youth development.
Postecoglou will be the first Australian to coach in the J-League since Graham Arnold’s short-lived tenure with Vegalta Sendai in 2014.
“It’s a new culture for me, a new country that I have to adapt to and embrace,” Postecoglou said. “I think for me in my journey as a coach and in life it’s exactly what I want and I’m really looking forward to it.”
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