Reunion: Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou with Greek captain Andreas Samaris in Sydney on Friday. Credit:Steven Siewert Immediately after the pre-match press conference for the Socceroos' friendly against Greece, the poignancy of the fixture for Postecoglou became clear when for thirty seconds he stood embracing Greek midfielder Andreas Samaris. A high-end hotel on Sydney Harbour is a far cry from the the Mediterranean city of Patras where the two were last together during more humbling times in their football careers. Postecoglou was taking a nine-month sabbatical from Australian football following a poor stint as Young Socceroos coach, opting to take charge of third division club Panachaiki. For Samaris, the lower leagues in Greece presented his chance at making it as a professional footballer. In 2008, international football remained long dreams for the two who were more focused on getting their respective careers on-track.

Samaris was 17 and had less than a handful of appearances in the first team when Postecoglou answered the call of Greek-Australian business owner Con Makris in an appointment that raised eyebrows. "At first I was a bit confused. An Australian coaching one team in the third league of Greece? It's not that usual," Samaris said. It didn't take long for that to change as Postecoglou embarked on his trademark youthful, attack-led revolution. However, unlike his distinct separation between coach and players at the Socceroos, the Greek sun brought out a warmer approach to squad management. "He was really warm with the players. He was winning with his character like a person, he was talking to us like he was our friend but when we were on the field he was our coach," Samaris said. "As a coach, he took one team that was in seventh or eighth place and week-by-week working really hard with the team, he made our team really strong.

"He really united us and like this we were first place. After, when he left for some reasons that only the president knows, we were all sad." It was under Postecoglou where Samaris established himself as a first team player before later sealing moves to Olympiacos and Benfica, where he now plays. It wasn't just the nurturing of his raw talents that Samaris credits Postecoglou with helping, but also in hardening the mentality required for international football. The third division of Greece didn't allow for the beautiful game to flourish with long balls and crunching tackles too frequent an occurrence. Instead, constant exposure to first team football and the faith from Postecoglou taught Samaris something perhaps more important than an inch-perfect pass.

"He gave me my first long run of games so that gave me confidence and I started to understand how is professional football in that moment," Samaris said. "That long run of games he gave me was the key to continue and be where I am now." It was that faith in his players that made Postecoglou sorely missed when he could not attend the Panachaiki class of 2008 at a recent reunion. He was coaching the national team and as his former pupils watched Australia lift the Asian Cup. "If you asked me eight years before, I couldn't believe we would be here right now. Me being in the national team and he being the best coach in Asia," Samaris said. "I don't know, I'm really, really proud of him, we were watching him as a coach having this evolution that he has. I'm really proud telling people that he was once my coach."

The meeting on Friday was almost fatherly. The smile of satisfaction on Postecoglou as he talked about Samaris earlier in the week was there for all to see. When the two finally met worlds apart and levels beyond where they once were, his true sentimental value of this game became clear. "It's a wonderful thing, the football world," Postecoglou said.