ARNE ENGELS is determined there will be no old pal’s act when he faces his former Club Brugge chum Lois Openda in the Champions League at Parkhead tonight.
Celtic’s £11million man and the RB Leipzig striker were both in the Belgian side’s youth academy together before going their separate ways and they are currently international colleagues.
Engels is eager to get started under the lights in the east end of Glasgow this evening in a must-win encounter for both clubs.
Reflecting on his friendship with Openda, the 21-year-old Hoops playmaker said: “In Bruges, we studied in the same boarding school, so it was really nice to see him back in the national team and now play against him.
HEAD-SCRATCHER…Arne Engels ponders a question at the media conference. Image courtesy Celtic TV.
“He’s a striker, so every striker is a danger. But he’s a really good player, so, of course, we need to watch out for him. But every player in RB Leipzig is really good, otherwise they don’t play there, so it’s not only him.
“I know some players at RB, of course, some Belgian guys. And also Antonio Nusa, I played with him at Club Brugge. It’s always nice to see some former team-mates or national team-mates, so I cannot wait.”
Camaraderie is obviously important to Engels who has settled in well at Parkhead since his record move from German club Augsburg on deadline day.
The energetic midfielder, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “It’s a really nice group. Everybody is nice to each other and speaks to each other, so it’s not that they are like groups or something, it’s just a real team.
“I had a really warm welcome when I came here and it feels really familiar here.
“I think it’s been amazing. It was always a dream for me to play in the Champions League and also to come to Celtic.
£11MILLION MAN ON A MISSION…Arne Engels has Champions League ambitions.
“It was also a big part to come here and to play on the biggest stage, so I think it’s going really well and I think I will improve still – and I will.”
Tonight’s opponents have lost their three previous games in the new-look set-up in Europe’s elite competition, but Engels and everyone at the Hoops realise they have all been by the odd goal to quality sides such as Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Liverpool.
The Belgian added: “Everybody knows how good they are and you see it also in the Bundesliga that they are on top of the league – so we will not underestimate them at all.
“Everybody knows the size of the club of RB Leipzig and everybody knows that we need to be on top of our game to win.
“If you come here and play in Celtic Park, it’s going to be never a really nice game [for the opposition]. So, they will think that they need to win it, but we also think that, if we play at home, we need to win every game here.
“It’s the biggest stage that you can play, so everybody is prepared. ”
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v RB Leipzig at Parkhead this evening – only in your champion CQN.
