BACK in 1967, when Celtic ruled Europe, Boca Juniors took a liking to one of Jock Stein’s pivotal performers.
The South American superpower were prepared to lavish a landslide of Argentine pesos on the Parkhead club’s gifted midfielder, the possessor of sublime talents.
The Boca scouts had become more than a tad excited by the player during the ill-fated Intercontinental Cup confrontations against their fellow-countrymen, Racing Club Buenos Aires, a gang of thugs maquerading as a football team.
Celtic won 1-0 at Hampden in the first game, lost 2-1 in the Argentina capital and went down 1-0 in third and deciding match in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was a roughhouse encounter later labelled ‘The Second Battle of The River Plate’ and anyone who witnessed this snarling, brutal, bad-tempered affair would be disinclined to argue with that damning summation.
Amid the brawling and growling, one Scottish artiste stood out for the watching contingent from Boca.
Bobby Murdoch was the centre of the impressed contingent and, before Celtic got safely out of South America, the Buenos Aires-based team had got in touch with the club’s hierarchy.
ICON IN ACTION…Bobby Murdoch playing for his beloved Celtic.
Basically, the conversation went along the lines of: ‘Name your price for Bobby Murdoch.’
Sir Robert Kelly and Co were saved the bother of doing their sums.
‘Naw, I’m no’ interested. I’m no’ leaving Celtic,’ stated the wanted man. And that was the end of the matter.
Wouldn’t it be great if history repeated itself today, dear reader?
Matt O’Riley has taken over the role of Murdoch all those years ago. He is the subject of envious glances from home and abroad and it must be hoped that the euro has finally dropped with Atalanta, an unnecessary and consistent source of irritation in recent times, and they won’t come back with another lowball offer.
Five inadequate bids later, it looks as though they have their man in Udinese’s Lazar Samardzic, who has arrived in a loan deal which could materialise into a permanent £21.3million move.
There are still eleven days to go in this transfer window and the clock is ticking.
To his eternal credit, O’Riley has created no waves in a situation where others might be spitting dummies into orbit and throwing toys out of the pram with an alarming verve and gusto.
I was informed more than a month ago that the player was perfectly happy at Celtic and enjoying life in Scotland.
ON THE BALL…Matt O’Riley plays another pass in Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Hibs at Easter Road.
That being the case, is there even the iota of a chance the skilled performer might bring an end to the will-he-or-won’t-he circus and declare he will remain at the champions for at least another year?
O’Riley is 23 years of age and probably has more than a decade of mixing with the best of them as his career develops, as it must assuredly will.
There is one gigantic – and fairly obvious – difference between Murdoch in 1967 and O’Riley in 2024.
My old mate was born in Rutherglen; the current-day player made his debut on the planet in the London Borough of Hounslow.
Can’t imagine too many Celtic-minded folk reside in that corner of the UK.
However, would it be too much to ask Matt O’Riley to put us out of our misery and break cover to inform everyone that he is dedicating the next year of his career to the champions?
We will get our answer soon enough.
ALEX GORDON
‘HE WILL BE HERE – AS SIMPLE AS THAT,’ RODGERS IN O’RILEY UPDATE
