Even though he had hinted for weeks he was about to walk away, many in the Australian footballing community could not believe Ange Postecoglou would actually do it.

But he actually did. He got the Socceroos to the World Cup, then quit, leaving someone else to take over for the "fun" part.

That's like Noah building the ark for all the animals in the world and deciding at the last minute he doesn't want to jump on himself, and instead watch the floods from a high hill.

Or on a slightly less epic scale, Steve Smith standing down as Australian captain on the eve of a home Ashes series after enduring various humiliations on overseas tours against the likes of Bangladesh.

Enough laboured comparisons; we all agree it was a weird decision.

Especially as Postecoglou's mantra all along has been, 'let's focus on the big picture even if it hurts us in the short term'. Well, the picture doesn't get any bigger than the World Cup, and Postecoglou won't be in the frame.

Even FFA boss David Gallop said he was "disappointed" and "puzzled".

And Ange himself seems to have flip-flopped a fair bit until he reached the conclusion that he had to leave the job.

"Oh, look, [the decision was made] probably straight after the game. And then an hour later, [Gallop] convinced me not to, and then an hour later I changed my mind again.

"And five beers later, I didn't know where I was. Look, I have been fluctuating."

If the 52-year-old's celebrations had stopped at three beers, he may have found the right buzz of euphoric clarity to pledge his immediate future to the Socceroos. But he had a couple more and now we'll never know.

So how did it all unravel for Postecoglou? Why would he decline the chance to coach his national team on the biggest stage after spending years forging it to fit his footballing philosophy?

The long and winding road of qualification

Just by looking at Postecoglou's weary visage, it's not hard to believe pure exhaustion could have been a major factor in him stepping down.

He picked up the pieces before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil to coach the side to three pretty entertaining losses against heavyweights Chile, the Netherlands and Spain. Nobody begrudged him those results as nobody had expected much and at least the team had come out swinging against three of the world's best.

Sorry, this video has expired "I'll be the shield': Postecoglou defends World Cup strategy

But the hard work was yet to come, with Australian eyes already turning longingly to 2018 and Russia. An Australian coach at the helm with clear ideas about the type of attacking football he wanted the side to play — fans and the media were unusually optimistic, and even a bit excited.

The older generation of Socceroos greats, those who had starred at the 2006 World Cup, went off gently into the night (or were given a nudge by the new coach) and Postecoglou set about scouring the globe for Australian players who could replace them.

In his time in charge he made the likes of Mat Ryan, Massimo Luongo, Aaron Mooy and Tom Rogic into Socceroos stalwarts as the team took on a new look. Well, Tim Cahill kept on keeping on, but aside from him it was a new-look team.

Aside from qualification itself, the peak of Postecoglou's tenure came at the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia, which saw the Socceroos claim their first piece of major silverware with a win over South Korea in the final.

Postecoglou indicated he was exhausted after a long qualifying campaign. ( AAP: Tony McDonough )

Everything went right for Postecoglou during that tournament; his tinkering with the starting XI paid off and it seemed the squad developed an extra layer of depth as they set off on the road to Russia.

The 2017 Confederations Cup did nothing to dampen spirits. Australia lost 3-2 to Germany and drew with Cameroon and Chile. They failed to make it out of the group stage but received plenty of praise for their vibrant and fearless play.

In the background, though, a long and arduous qualification process was grinding along.

For two-and-a-half years the Socceroos plugged away in the Asian confederation, struggling to score goals and eventually failing to secure direct passage to Russia.

After conquering the first group stage, Australia laboured through the second phase, drawing four consecutive games between October 2016 and March 2017 to complicate the issue.

A 2-0 loss to Japan in August made the task of direct qualification a tough one, and the Socceroos eventually fell short, meaning the marathon process would be extended to two more home-and-away play-offs.

They scraped past Syria before convincingly seeing off Honduras, but by then Ange's body language indicated he was spent.

Three at the back and Ange's dislike of the media

The extended qualifying campaign may not have necessarily seen the end of Ange as national coach had it not been for an ongoing war — or perceived war — with the country's football media.

It has been well documented that since the his days coaching the Joeys (and that Craig Foster interview), Postecoglou has seen himself as an outsider. He reiterated that after the 3-1 win over Syria after spending weeks butting heads with the media about his future.

Ange Postecoglou holds back the emotion while announcing his resignation as Socceroos head coach. ( AAP: Dan Himbrechts )

It wasn't that the press were asking for his head, it's that they were asking for his plans. He refused to enlighten them. And the issue came to overshadow the final stages of qualification.

Postecoglou's beef with the press flared up during qualifying, with a change of formation the catalyst. For the fourth of Australia's consecutive draws, a 1-1 against Iraq, with the side sitting third on the table, the coach decided it was time to try a new tactic; a three-man backline with extra bodies in midfield.

Things did not click for the side over the next few games and there were numerous calls for the coach to stop experimenting with tactics until we had actually secured qualification. Ange, of course, was defiant.

What was the point of qualifying, he asked, if we are just going to get blown out of the water when we get to the World Cup?

He continued playing three at the back and the Socceroos eventually stumbled over the finish line.

It is not unusual for a country's media to criticise the national coach, but Postecoglou, perhaps due to past history, seemed to take the attacks a lot more personally.

Players not up to his standards?

Postecoglou would vociferously deny it, but is there a chance he was concerned he simply did not have the playing stocks to carry out his vision in Russia?

Postecoglou only has a handful off top-class talent at his disposal. ( AAP: David Moir )

After four years of Ange promoting an attacking, passing brand of football, the Socceroos are still capable of playing in an exasperating and toothless manner.

The gaffer may have decided he had done everything in his power to overhaul the team and banish its reputation as a physically strong but technically limited one, only to find he did not have the personnel to realise his vision.

In four years he has never found an adequate goal-scoring replacement for Cahill.

A handful of players — Mooy, Ryan, Rogic — look like they could hold their own at the very top level, but beyond that the level dips.

After Brazil 2014 and the Confederations Cup, Postecoglou might have decided he was sick of the Socceroos looking good against top-rung opponents but ultimately failing to produce results.

He's simply a selfless devotee of Australian football

"I like the midnight shift. I like the hard stuff. And we're getting to dawn and I don't know, I get agitated. Maybe it's an endless midnight shift that I'm looking for."

So said Ange on Offsiders on the weekend.

He also suggested in his farewell press conference he misses the grind of club football. Perhaps he is simply a coach who loves coaching and doesn't want to have to deal with all the other crap that comes with the Socceroos gig.

He may genuinely believe he has left the team in a better state then when he took over (which he has), and that it is of little consequence whether he is standing on the sidelines in Russia.

If that is the case, the prevailing sense of disappointment in Australian football has even more of a bitter aftertaste, as we all ask ourselves why he couldn't have just finished the job.