Ange Postecoglou HAS lost to Man Utd before as forgotten match comes to light before Tottenham’s Europa League final

MANY thought Ange Postecoglou was undefeated against Manchester United going into the Europa League final.

But a forgotten game has since come to light hours before his Tottenham side take on Red Devils in Bilbao.

G99TG3 Soccer - FIFA Club World Championships - Group B - Manchester United v South Melbourne. Ange Postecoglou, South Melbourne coach
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It turns out Ange Postecoglou HAS lost to Man Utd before as forgotten match comes to light
Michael Curcija of South Melbourne (R) and Raimond Van Der Gouw of Manchester United (L) vie for the ball 11 January 2000 at Maracana Stadium in  Rio de Janeiro during their World Clb Championship match.   (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)   AFP PHOTO/Vanderlei ALMEIDA (Photo by VANDERLEI ALMEIDA / AFP) (Photo by VANDERLEI ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)
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Postecoglou lost 2-0 to Sir Alex Ferguson's outfit just over 25 years ago

Indeed, since joining Tottenham in the summer of 2023, Ange has remained unbeaten against Man Utd.

In fact, the Aussie has overseen FOUR wins in five matches, with the other being a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in January 2024.

And much of the pre-match final talk has centred around the fact that Ange has three straight wins over them this season alone.

But it turns out the Spurs manager, 59, has previously suffered defeat to the football powerhouse that is Man Utd.

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A then 34-year-old Postecoglou lost 2-0 to Sir Alex Ferguson's outfit just over 25 years ago, in his first managerial job.

His semi-final professional side South Melbourne lost at the Maracana at the Fifa Club World Championship in 2000.

This was a Red Devils side that had just won a famous treble and notably withdrew from the FA Cup to compete at the tournament instead.

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A brace from Quinton Fortune after just 20 minutes decided the match. But this time, Ange isn't necessarily the underdog.

Postecoglou will be hoping to turn the tables as he looks to face off against Ruben Amorim's sorry outfit on Wednesday.

Ange Postecoglou fumes after being labelled a 'clown' and refuses to answer question during press conference
RJO21D:SPORT-SOCCER-CLUB:RIO DE JANEIRO,BRAZIL,11JAN00 - Manchester United's Quinton Fortune celebrates scoring against South Melbourne with teammate Andt Cole (L) January 11. Manchester United have drawn one and lost one game in their three game World Club Championship group. (BRAZIL OUT) dc/Photo by Dan Chung REUTERS
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South Melbourne lost 2-0 at the Fifa Club World Championship in 2000

Both teams have endured their worst Premier League seasons in recent memory, suffering 39 league defeats between them.

Postecoglou opened up about his first run-in with United before Spurs travelled to little-out Tamworth in the FA Cup this season.

He said: "We ended up playing Man United and we were a semi-pro team, playing against the great Manchester United.

“Qualifying for that tournament probably destroyed our domestic season because from the moment we qualified our players just didn’t want to risk getting injured and were just not interested in our league season.

“We had a disaster that season, they just didn’t want to miss out on playing.

“Some of my players, who were semi-pro but good footballers, probably played the games of their lives that day.”

But the former Rangers manager fumed on Tuesday and hit back at a report calling him "a clown".

He will have the chance to win Spurs' first trophy in 17 years on Wednesday night.

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