Ange Postecoglou sent Evangelos Marinakis message after Tottenham exit - 'What I want to say'

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has heaped praise on former Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs dismissed the Australian in June before replacing him with ex-Brentford head coach Thomas Frank. The 59-year-old departed after a disappointing domestic campaign in 2024/25, which saw Tottenham finish 17th in the Premier League table.

Despite the poor league performance, Postecoglou guided Tottenham to their first major trophy in 17 years, clinching the Europa League with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in May. The win in Bilbao secured a spot in next season's Champions League and provided a much-needed £100 million financial injection.

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And Postecoglou has since been acknowledged with an award in Greece for his achivements in football which includes spells in Australia, Japan, Scotland and England. The Aussie was born in Greece's capital, Athens to Greek parents.

“Thank you very much, it is an honour to be here today," he said on Wednesday night via Greek news site Neos Kosmos. "I left Greece when I was five years old, but when we left, my parents, my father, passed on the love he had for football to me.

"I grew up with the names Mavros, Papaioannou, Delikaris. I had not seen them, but I knew them as if I had seen them, because my father spoke to me.

"I had this dream since I was little, as a player I did not succeed, but as a coach I tried to make my father proud for the sacrifices he made for me and my sister and every day I think about the sacrifices he made.

"My father is not with me today, but he sees me and is proud of what I have built, I have my wife by my side, and we continue. I want to make you proud, Greece and Australia. It is a great honour to be here.”

Forest and Olympiacos owner Marinakis praised Postecoglou for his success so far while speaking at the ceremony which included the draw for the 2025/26 Greek Super League season.

“What I want to say about Ange is that he has spoken about Greece many times, he is proud to be Greek and in the great success he had with Tottenham by winning the Europa League, he spoke about Greece," the Greek businessman said.

"A man who not only does not hide his origin but is also proud of it. What he achieved, he did with a team that has not won any titles, it has had a very difficult time in recent years. In this huge success that the whole world saw, he promoted Greece.

"We must thank him especially for this and we wish him well, although we are sure that he will do well as he has the ability. Wherever he goes, the successes will come.”