He’s become a divisive figure in Australian sport, and while the hair is a little greyer and the beard a little longer, his mannerisms retain perfectly intact: He owes no explanations, he’s just here to play his football.

“After finishing with the national team there was no set plan,” Postecoglou began. “I was willing to be patient, but this happened pretty quickly.

“It’s a difficult one to explain – plenty of people have wanted one silver bullet as an answer. It’s just me,” he repeated.

“I felt like in four years I got the team to where I wanted them to be. After assessing the possibilities of what (Yokohama) can achieve, it was really appealing.

“The smarter move would have been to have the next step planned, but I took a leap of faith.”

Ange embraces Mile Jedinak after qualifying for the 2018 World Cup

Calculated risks are the Postecoglou ethos. Leaving the Australian football landscape in acrimonious circumstances – just before the assumed pinnacle of his footballing journey – left a sour taste for fans and media alike.

But there is a sense that Postecoglou is in the right place at Yokohama. It’s a club that, due to its association with the City Football Group, is part of bigger, better things. Japanese football prides itself on its hard-work, technical excellence, and the Joga Bonito principles it wholeheartedly adopted from the Brazilians.

“I’ve travelled through Japan and played against Japanese players, and in terms of how we want to play our football, there are some really exciting possibilities there,” Postecoglou said.