By Marianna Alepidis
In Melbourne’s iconic Hosier Lane, an equally iconic football legend has made an appearance on its walls.
Tottenham Hotspur FC manager, Ange Postecoglou’s legacy has been turned into artwork by Dean Drossos and the team behind Yitonia (formerly Greek Youth Generator).
The young Greek Australian artist has his own connection to Postecoglou, more personal than physical.
“Ange has come from very similar beginnings and places that our parents and grandparents have come from, and accomplished these incredible feats. It’s also a connection to my dad,” Drossos told The Greek Herald.
“When I was a kid, I used to go to a lot of South Melbourne games, and I still do. My dad was heavily involved in the club back in the 90s. From memory, he was in the committee and he also set up the merchandise. And throughout my childhood, I would constantly get told about the history of the club. Dad remembers all these stories of Ange playing on the field, the training sessions, and he would always tell me these stories while we were at the games.”
Aptly named ANGE TOWN, the six larger-than-life depictions and poster take you through Postecoglou’s history, from his humble beginnings in his hometown of Melbourne at South Melbourne (Hellas) FC, all the way through to the English Premier League.
“Something I wanted to do was celebrate his accomplishments throughout time. In the ANGE TOWN design it goes from the back left starting from South Melbourne, and it travels along until you get to the middle where it brings us to the present day. Ange really encompasses this quote I love, ‘anyone from anywhere can do anything.’ He’s a true example of that,” Drossos said.
At a glance you see a proud Postecoglou across the timeline of his career, but the details tell the deeper story of triumph.
“Across the bottom of the poster where his feet are, you can see some of the trophies he’s won. South Melbourne has one of the NSL league trophies, there’s the shield from his win with Yokohama, the title for Australia with the AFC Cup back in 2015,” Drossos explained.
“Across the floor we’ve included a little hidden feature. Ange had a 54 undefeated win streak at home; 50 wins and 4 draws. That record is displayed at his feet, almost like he’s walking over it.”
As the artwork went up curious onlookers stopped to take photos and engage with the organising team, opening the door for the passionate young football fan to share Postecoglou’s story.
“A lot of people were really receptive to it. They really enjoyed the story behind it. A tour group had come by and the tour guide asked me if I could explain who Ange is and so I basically gave an impromptu lecture on Ange Postecoglou, in his hometown, which was amazing… I’m just proud that people are noticing what he’s accomplished,” Drossos said.
The ANGE TOWN artwork was in the works for a couple of months before being realised in Melbourne’s CBD. Drossos had reached out to the team behind Greek community group Yitonia, Peter Giasoumi and Dean Kotsianis, who helped bolster the project.
In September 2023, Yitonia unveiled their Footscray’s Hidden Hellenism mural, adorning Yewers Street in Footscray. A range of the suburb’s local Greek Australian heroes are depicted on the walls, intertwined with traditional Greek cultural elements.
Drossos was able to take some stylistic inspiration from the mural and fuse it into the tapestry of his ode to Postecoglou.
“I was able to lead the project with the backing of Dean and Peter. They gave me the wall to bounce off and say, ‘let’s try this’ and were able to put the funding behind it. A quote that really resonated with me during this process that I’ve been using to describe Yitonia is ‘it gives power to the local dreamer.’ They gave me the time, the space, the advice and the opportunity to actually create this mural of sorts,” Drossos said.
Drossos has his eye on expanding on their project honouring Greek Australian legends, but for now, the young artist and Yitonia team hope to rouse Melbourne’s “once fervent passion for football” and help the community truly appreciate the tenacity and hard work that has gone into the legend that is Ange Postecoglou.
