CELTIC dozed off in Dortmund and were involved in a colossal Champions League car crash.
At the beginning of October, it wasn’t easy on the eye – or the nervous system – to witness Brendan Rodgers’ side capitulate so alarmingly and dismally to an admittedly strong Bundesliga club.
That bewilderingly awful performance from an overrun and, dare I say it, outclassed Parkhead outfit was made even more stupefying because no-one saw it coming.
Celtic went into the match on the back of nine successive victories and only three days after a fine, free-flowing six-goal triumph over St Johnstone in Perth while all indications were Borussia Dortmund were struggling for any semblance of reasonable form.
So far, so good. And then the game kicked off.
Only those blessed with eternal optimism – and one day hope to find sunken treasure at the bottom of their bath – reckoned there was a way back as Rodgers and his players, united in bowed heads, trekked to the sanctuary of the dressing room trailing 5-1 after being pulverised for the bulk of a traumatic first-half.
SEVEN AND HELL…Kasper Schmeichel in the depths of despair in Dortmund.
It had been an excruciating and wholly unwelcome intrusion upon the hopes and aspirations of everyone associated with Celtic. Thankfully, the hosts settled for seven on an evening when only one visiting player could get close to passmarks and that was keeper Kasper Schmeichel who prevented the contest from descending into total farce.
As wake-up calls go, it was fairly thunderous.
Thankfully, an entire assortment of players reacted to humiliation and embarrassment in a positive manner.
Since that emphatic drubbing, Celtic have gone 14 games without defeat, including two away games in Italy and Croatia in Europe’s elite competition without the loss of a goal.
And, without being condescendingly dismissive of the standard of our opponents, I can’t see that sequence hitting the buffers at Hampden today, can you?
From where I am sitting, Celtic have the superior manager and the better quality of player.
I don’t buy into any of the hooha that is emanating from across the Clyde. Yes, there has been an overall improvement in recent weeks and the draw with Big Ange’s Spurs side was creditable, but let’s not go overboard.
SHOVE OFF…James Tavernier does his best to keep Daizen Maeda in check.
For whatever reason, the London club seemed to function at half-pace and were bossed in the middle of the park by a Belgian pitbull in the shape of Nico Raskin and an equally aggressive Ivorian in Mohamed Diamande.
They’ll snap and snarl today, especially in the early stages, and the onus will be on referee John Beaton to put a swift halt to to any excessive aggression. We can but hope.
There are a few x-factors among the ranks of our rivals and three recruits this summer, Vaclav Cerny, Hamza Igmane and Nedim Bajrami, seem to be creating a stir down Govan way.
I doubt very much if any Celtic player was tormented by a sleepless night at the prospect of coming face to face with Clement’s signings at the national stadium today.
On the other hand, James Tavernier must feel like the condemned man who has just been handed his last cigarette. It’s clear on past evidence, the Ibrox right-back does not thrive when Daizen Maeda is in the vicinity.
They won’t admit it, but the thought of Kyogo Furuhashi dashing hither and yon around the danger area must terrify the hell out of their back lot.
Nicolas Kuhn could put his stamp on this occasion and if the real Reo Hatate turns up, the astute and aware midfielder could also revel on the expansive areas at the stadium. Callum McGregor, of course, has been there, seen it and got the medals to prove it.
As a matter of fact, dear reader, you can tick off the boxes of each Celtic player and, without being unnecessarily disdainful, there is no-one I can see in the opposition’s squad who would be in Brendan’s starting line-up this afternoon.
GLASGOW SMILES BETTER…Kyogo Furuhashi takes the acclaim after scoring Celtic’s second goal in the 3-0 derby triumph at Parkhead in September.
So, there is every reason to be confident, but, despite this being the season to be jolly, I am afraid I have to cast myself in the role of Scrooge for a bah-humbug moment.
Celtic fans of a certain vintage, including your humble scribe, can look back to four consecutive silverware showpieces in the same trophy as the seventies kicked off in another century.
Quite rightly, Jock Stein’s men were favourites as they went into all four – with Rangers, Partick Thistle, Hibs and Dundee providing the opposition – and contrived to lose the lot.
I was at Hampden to watch the quartet from hell. It was like witnessing your worst nightmare unfold on a slow-motion loop.
It’s way too easy to get caught between the crossfire of complacency and the other team merely making up the numbers before the honours are dished out.
Inevitably, that will lead to disaster and I doubt if Brendan will allow any of his performers to veer anywhere near that particular psychological quicksand.
A triumph this afternoon will throw open the gateway to more domestic success as the crusade continues.
Trebles all round, methinks!
ALEX GORDON
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report and best in action images from Celtic v Rangers this afternoon – only in your champion CQN.
