Postecoglou delivers on second-season promise as Tottenham lifts Europa League trophy

Ange Postecoglou has lived up to the early-season promise he made.

“I always win things in my second year. Nothing has changed," the Tottenham manager said in September after back-to-back defeats in the Premier League.

That narrative has followed him all season yet eight months later, Postecoglou delivered on his word by leading Tottenham to the Europa League title with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao on Wednesday.

“It wasn’t me boasting. It was a declaration ... If we fell short, I was ready to cop it," Postecoglou told TNT.

His stint at Spurs has been “the toughest couple of years” of his career, he said.

“I knew it going into it," Postecoglou told CBS Sports. “This football club has had world-class managers, a lot better-credentialed than I am, and haven't been able to get there, so I knew I had a massive challenge in front of me.”

Here's a run-down of those second-season trophies won by Postecoglou across his career:

In his first job as a head coach, Postecoglou won Australia's top-flight title — the National Soccer League — in his second season with South Melbourne and again the following year.

Postecoglou achieved the same feat at Brisbane Roar, winning the league title — by now it was called the A-League — in his second season and retaining it the following year.

During the second year of Postecoglou's four-year stint with the Socceroos, Australia hosted the Asian Cup in early 2015 and reached the final against South Korea. The Australians conceded an equalizer in stoppage time — coincidentally scored by current Tottenham captain Son Heung-min — but clinched a 2-1 win after extra time. It was Australia's first Asian Cup title.

In his first big job outside Australia, Postecoglou lost the Japanese Cup final in his first season with Yokohama F. Marinos but made up for it by winning the top-flight league title by six points the following year. It was the club's fourth Japanese league championship.

At Celtic, Postecoglou was in charge of the biggest team in Scotland — albeit one which had relinquished its league title the previous year. Under the Australian, Celtic regained the Scottish Premiership title by four points in his first season and retained it — by seven points — in his second season. Postecoglou then left for Tottenham.

Postecoglou has been coach at three other clubs in his managerial career, but never got to the end of a second full season with any of them. He was at Greek lower-league team Panachaiki (2008) for less than a year, with Australian team Whittlesea Zebras for just three months in 2009 and at Melbourne Victory for 18 months — but left at the start of his second full season to take over the Socceroos.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou lifts the Europa League trophy following the team's victory over Manchester United at the Estadio de San Mames, Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou applauds fans at the end of the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou celebrates after the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou celebrates with Tottenham's Pedro Porro after the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou celebrates after winning the Europa League final soccer match against Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou and Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim during the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou speaks with Son Heung-min during the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou celebrates after the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mamés Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou follows the game during the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou during the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Tottenham's head coach Ange Postecoglou applauds ahead of the Europa League final soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium in Bilbao, Spain, Wednesday, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado discussed her country's future with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, even though he has dismissed her credibility to take over after an audacious U.S. military raid captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Trump has raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela and signaled his willingness to work with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s No. 2. Along with others in the deposed leader’s inner circle, Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was set to deliver her first state of the union speech Thursday.

In endorsing Rodríguez so far, Trump has sidelined Machado, who has long been a face of resistance in Venezuela. She also had sought to cultivate relationships with Trump and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio among the American right wing in a gamble to ally herself with the U.S. government.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to the lunchtime meeting with Machado and called her “a remarkable and brave voice” for the people of Venezuela. But Leavitt also said Trump's opinion of Machado had not changed, calling it "a realistic assessment."

Trump has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt went on to say that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.

Leavitt said Machado sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. Machado previously offered to share with Trump the Nobel Peace Prize she won last year, an honor he has coveted.

“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado," the press secretary said, other than to have a ”frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”

Machado spent about two and a half hours at the White House but left without answering questions on whether she'd offered to give her Nobel prize to Trump, saying only “gracias."

After her White House stop, Machado plans to have a meeting at the Senate. Her Washington visit began after U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says had ties to Venezuela.

It is part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after U.S. forces seized Maduro and his wife at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.

Leavitt said Venezuela's interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and that Rodríguez's government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.

Rodríguez has adopted a less strident position toward Trump then she did immediately after Maduro's ouster, suggesting that she can make the Republican administration's “America First” policies toward the Western Hemisphere, work for Venezuela — at least for now.

Trump said Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.

“We had a call, a long call. We discussed a lot of things,” Trump said during an Oval Office bill signing. “And I think we’re getting along very well with Venezuela.”

Even before indicating the willingness to work with Venezuela's interim government, Trump was quick to snub Machado. Just hours after Maduro's capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.”

Machado has steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize. She has since thanked Trump, though her offer to share the honor with him was rejected by the Nobel Institute.

Machado’s whereabouts have been largely unknown since she went into hiding early last year after being briefly detained in Caracas. She briefly reappeared in Oslo, Norway, in December after her daughter received the Nobel Peace Prize on her behalf.

The industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate began challenging the ruling party in 2004, when the nongovernmental organization she co-founded, Súmate, promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The initiative failed, and Machado and other Súmate executives were charged with conspiracy.

A year later, she drew the anger of Chávez and his allies again for traveling to Washington to meet President George W. Bush. A photo showing her shaking hands with Bush in the Oval Office lives in the collective memory. Chávez considered Bush an adversary.

Almost two decades later, she marshaled millions of Venezuelans to reject Chávez’s successor, Maduro, for another term in the 2024 election. But ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared him the winner despite ample credible evidence to the contrary. Ensuing anti-government protests ended in a brutal crackdown by state security forces.

Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela, and Janetsky from Mexico City. AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gestures to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado smiles on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado waves to supporters on Pennsylvania Avenue as she leaves the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - U.S. President George Bush, right, meets with Maria Corina Machado, executive director of Sumate, a non-governmental organization that defends Venezuelan citizens' political rights, in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington, May 31, 2005. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)

FILE - Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures to supporters during a protest against President Nicolas Maduro the day before his inauguration for a third term, in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, file)