Ange Postecoglou opens up on playing on pitch covered in TOADS as Tottenham prepare to brave 3G Tamworth turf
Ange Postecoglou opens up on playing on pitch covered in TOADS as Tottenham prepare to brave 3G Tamworth turf
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Sponsored by. ANGE POSTECOGLOU will bid to stop Tottenham’s FA Cup hopes croaking on Tamworth’s plastic 3G pitch on Sunday. But that is nothing compared to the surface the Aussie and his South Melbourne team once played on in Fiji — which was infested with TOADS.
![[Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham Hotspur manager, coaching during a match.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tottenham-hotspur-manager-ange-postecoglou-962457108_df57fe.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
In 1999, Postecoglou’s Aussie side travelled to the Pacific Island for qualifiers ahead of the inaugural Club World Championship and found a ground littered with the amphibian critters. But they showed enough Kermit-ment to reach the finals a year later and faced Treble-winners Manchester United in Brazil.
![[Aerial view of The Lamb Ground, Tamworth Football Club.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2025-tamworth-england-tamworth-due-962413210.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Postefroglou . . . sorry, Postecoglou recalled: “Warming up, there were toads which kept jumping on the pitch. At the time, you’re kind of going, ‘Really?’. “But when you realise what was at stake — a fair bit of money and the opportunity to play at the Maracana against some of the best teams in the world — it was quite extraordinary.”.
That game 26 years ago was the Oceanic final of qualifying against local side Nadi at Prince Charles Park. South Melbourne won 5-1 and went on to play United, Vasco da Gama and Necaxa of Mexico. The gap between Postecoglou’s Melbourne team and United is similar to the 96 divisional spots between Tottenham and National League Tamworth.
United won 2-0 but it was much tighter than had been expected. And the Aussie knows players can pull a ribbit out the hat for the biggest game of their lives. BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS. Postecoglou, 59, added: “We were a semi-pro team playing at the Maracana against the great Manchester United. So there was a fair difference between us.
