The Asian Cup-winning boss can sometimes come across as spiky, certain of his own analysis and confident that his approach is the only one that should be followed.

That singlemindedness and his dedication to soccer is, however, his greatest virtue. His commitment to excellence and the game that has shaped his life is what underpins his character.

That self-belief helped him rise from a challenging background as an immigrant child who did not speak English to the heights of Australian sport.

It helped him to great coaching success – four premierships, two with South Melbourne in the NSL and two with Brisbane Roar in the A-League – and gave him the confidence to believe he could lead Australia to a famous Asian Cup triumph in January 2015 in Sydney.

It sustained him through difficult times as he struggled to find a role and fit into Australian society in the 1970s.

That was an era when southern Europeans were routinely described as wogs and dagos, derided for the way they spoke and the food they ate, and for their commitment to soccer, that strange, un-Australian game they played.

To understand Postecoglou's fierce commitment to growing and developing the Australian game you have to know his history.

To realise why he is so demanding and why he passionately believes that Australia should not just dare to dream about winning a World Cup but actually do something serious about it, you have to know how for him the game has become not just a way of life, but life itself.

As he makes clear in his latest book – Changing The Game – Postecoglou is prepared to think the unthinkable, say the unsayable and dream of achieving what others would regard as impossible to advance Australian soccer.

He was born in Athens in 1965 and his family came to Prahran in Melbourne when he was five, and had to adapt to a foreign land where they didn't know the language or customs and had few friends.

Always a perfectionist, Postecoglou has always been prepared to march to the beat of his own drum. Even as a 12-year-old he was a coach in waiting, establishing a soccer team at his Prahran school, selecting the players, putting them through their drills and winning the state championship.

From an early age the Socceroos boss realised that his time as a player was a passing phase and that coaching would be a lifetime commitment.

His book outlines how his ideas progressed and developed, how he absorbed influences from the best in the world and tried to refine them to suit his own circumstances and the players he had at his disposal.

He led that Brisbane side to two titles and on to an unbeaten run of 36 games – the longest for any club in any code of Australian football.

But he was happy enough to change his approach when needed, never more so than when taking over the Socceroos.

Australia, Postecoglou believes, should play a style that reflects a national character: tough, committed, aggressive, creative and never accepting the inevitability of defeat.

It was that belief which sustained him in the lead-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when he turned over many of the established names who had dominated the Socceroos' team sheet for years, ended what he describes as a culture of entitlement and put his faith in several younger, untried players.

Australia did not win a game in Brazil, but they left with plenty of admirers after terrific performances against Chile and the Netherlands, which cemented in Postecoglou's mind his conviction that he was pursuing the right agenda. He got his reward seven months later when Mile Jedinak lifted the Asian Cup after beating South Korea in the final.

Postecoglou

has strong views on the way the A-League was established, the importance of understanding history and the role of the "traditional clubs" who produced the players that drove the game onto the international stage in the 1970s, '80s and '90s, and paved the way for the "golden generation" who made such an impact at the World Cup of 2006.

He canvasses league expansion, more teams, a longer season, increased professionalism, more career opportunities for players and coaches, and above all clarity of vision and then boldness to take decisive action.

He is particularly scathing of the failure of the political and business establishment (with a handful of notable exceptions) to utilise soccer's popularity throughout the world, especially in Asia, and use the game as a conduit to diplomacy and trade negotiations.

Postecoglou cites the efforts of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull leading an enormous trade mission to China accompanied by leading businessmen and cabinet ministers earlier this year.

Turnbull handed over a Port Adelaide jumper to help boost an AFL announcement that it planned to stage a match between Port and Gold Coast in China, a picture that made the Socceroos boss cringe at a missed opportunity for soccer.

"Neither the PM nor anyone in his office noticed that President Xi Jinping is a football fan [who plans] to invest billions of dollars, host the World Cup, build the Chinese professional league and open 22,000 football specific high schools ... with whom would President Xi have preferred a photo, Timmy Cahill or Gary Ablett jr?"

In his view soccer has missed far too many opportunities. If he gets his way and he can continue Changing The Game, it won't miss many more.