Bemused by a tendency to pit one against another, Arnold believes pride and belief in the ability of home-grown mentors to punch through glass ceilings should be the over-riding takeaway from Postecoglou’s J1 League title win with Yokohama F. Marinos.

“It’s fantastic. It’s great. I’m so proud of him ... we are good mates and have been texting each other over the last six weeks,” said Arnold.

“But one thing I don’t understand is why people have to compare me to Ange, or Ange to Tony Popovic, or Popovic to Kevin Muscat?

“Why do we do that? I don’t compare myself to Ange and vice versa. We’re basically just both winners.

“The reality is we have been producing a growing number of top coaches and what Ange has achieved is an incredible feat in Australian sport and something we can all celebrate.

“As a mate, I’m so pleased for him and I’ve got no doubt he’ll now be aiming to progress into Europe. That’s a logical next step for him.”

Five years back, Arnold’s own experience in Japan didn’t pan out quite as well.

He was undermined from within, and sensing a brick wall ahead, requested a release from his Vegalta Sendai contract after just eight games in charge.

He went on to dominate the A-League with Sydney FC and currently has Australia coasting on the first phase of their qualification path to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

At 56, to Ange’s 55, he’s one of the elder statesmen now, and takes satisfaction in those following in his slipstream.

“I believe we have a good mix of young coaches coming through - the likes of Steve Corica, Popovic, John Aloisi, Muscat, Mark Rudan and Ufuk Talay ... all these guys are still in their forties,” he said.

“Do we respect Australian coaches enough? I am not so sure.

“They’ve all got qualities and ambition. Good footballers make good coaches.

“You have to remember only three overseas coaches have won a championship in 16 years of the A-League. So maybe we’re not that bad after all.

Arnold maintains that working within salary cap constraints is another huge hurdle to overcome.

“I sat with Jose Mourinho when Sydney FC played Chelsea and he turned to me and said ‘how the hell do you work with a salary cap’,” Arnold recalled.

“Robbie Fowler is already on record as saying it’s a massive impediment and my conversation with Jose ended with him saying he simply couldn’t do that.

“In Europe you can buy players who are often the finished product.

“In Australia you have to develop players - it’s not just about managing them.”

The latest to land a top overseas job is Peter Cklamovski, Postecoglou’s assistant at Yokohama, who has been recruited by fellow J.League side Shimizu S-Pulse.

Whilst Europe remains the holy grail for the cream of Australian coaches, even exalted figures such as Postecoglou and Arnold would be faced with qualifying for a UEFA certificate because AFC badges carry no currency there.

And Arnold’s next step beyond 2022?

“I don’t know yet,” he said. “I’ve given 38 years of my life to Australian football and sometimes the longer you are there people get sick of you ... and vice versa.

“So who knows. Just enjoy life. That’s the most important thing.”