The parallels are strong. Both were born in Greece and migrated to Australia at a young age. Both are in their 60s, had their Greek surnames anglicised and have thinning hair. Both are strong personalities with confidence, self-belief and have a fair chip on their shoulders.
But while Ange Postecoglou has been cast aside by both Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, now his compatriot, NRL boss and Racing NSW chief executive Peter V'landys, is in London and on the march.
This week, in true V'landys style, the Australian Rugby League Commission chairman has been on the attack, meeting with Rugby Football League (RFL) officials and the owners of Wigan Warriors, Warrington Wolves and Hull FC to restart the hope of a partnership.
The public noises coming out of the talks from the media-savvy V'Landys, rugby league's answer to UFC president Dana White, were positive.
"We now have a road forward," he told reporters.
V'Landys was also equally bullish about the future of rugby league in the UK if change is not forthcoming.
"I can see a train crash if they don't get the broadcast revenue they need to sustain a 14-team competition," he told the BBC.
"It all comes back to the finances, and that's because eventually people will stop wanting to put money in their pockets and sustain losses.
"That's what they're going to be doing in the short term, unless they can increase their revenue from broadcast."
The chance of a breakaway competition from Super League, dubbed "NRL Europe" by some, now appears dead in the water.
However, the power in any possible future partnership does lie in the southern hemisphere, regardless of Super League's reticence.
The NRL is cashed up, ambitious and wants to hold a global round in 2027 where games are played in Las Vegas, Hong Kong, Dubai, France and London.
It sees itself as the most exciting rugby, of any code, competition in the world.
That is its goal: to sell rugby league to the masses before R360 or any other rugby brand can grab a worldwide footprint.
And to do that, the NRL knows it needs a strong foundation in the UK.
But the British game is fractured and riddled with self-interest.
While Nigel Wood and his cohort of supporters hold the reins for now, there is also strong opposition to that power base that wants to align closer with Australia.
"What they've got to do is band together," V'landys told rugbyleague.com.
"They've got to put their self-interest aside. They've got to put what's best for the game [first].
"Because if they just go with self-interest, in the end they'll have nothing as well."
Previously, it was thought the NRL wanted a 33 per cent majority stake in Super League, in a 10-club competition that would include eight English teams and two French teams.
The clubs under most threat, such as Leigh Leopards, Wakefield Trinity and Huddersfield Giants, were opposed to such a concept.
But the NRL has dropped any potential conditions around competition size, makeup or location.
All V'landys wants now is a change in governance so that an independent board is calling the shots in the UK.
Considering the factions and egos that have ruled the roost in Super League for decades, even this may be a step too far.
British rugby league needs more than just an independent commission; it needs new leadership, fresh ideas, and individuals who understand the power of media and marketing.
It needs to break out of a self-defeating cycle of M62 parochialism, delusion and unprofessionalism.
There is no easy fix. It also needs cash, with every Super League club losing money and a dependence on a dwindling TV broadcast contract.
"It's all going to boil down to the finances," one Super League official, who declined to be named, told The i Paper.
"There appears to be an appetite, but let's see the colour of their money.
"My concern is that after the Ashes concludes, we become out of sight, out of mind again. Similar to what happened with Vegas."
V'landys has been adamant publicly that the NRL is not in the UK to force itself on Super League.
If the British game won't change, the NRL will simply walk away and the status quo will be sustained.
"It gets down simply to how much they want to change and what they are willing to give up to progress the game to another level," Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson told The i Paper.
"The NRL is about forward-thinking and backing our game and the quality of our players constantly produce.
"If not, we will move on with the vision we have created. There is never going to be an opportunity like this again."