Back in the 80s I had a soft spot for Porto. Their 2-1 1987 European Cup final win over Bayern Munich, coming from behind in the last 15 minutes and scoring with a back-heel, against a vastly better resourced opponent, was something Celtic fans could relate to.
A decade later I followed Porto’s tribulations as they tried to recapture those heights in the Champions League with a new team. They remained an engaging team but when it came to the big clubs there was always one who would wipe the floor with them. Manchester United scored four without reply in the 1997 quarter finals. The following season Real Madrid hit six over two games without conceding as Porto exited at the group stage.
It was a group stage exit the next season, before Bayern Munich took them in the 2000 quarter final. Then what looked like a significant reversal as they failed to qualify for Europe’s top tournament, settling for Uefa Cup football instead in season 2000-01. They eliminated Celtic from the group stage in 2001-02 but were taken home and away by Real Madrid in the last sixteen.
All this time they were fine-tuning player development and recruitment strategy; buying marginally better players and selling for ever-increasing money. Real Madrid may have wiped the floor with them but Porto’s business model was fine-tuned by 2002. Real won their last European trophy that season but the gap with Porto was closed in an instant.
Celtic are less than two years into their current strategy and we’re miles ahead of where we should be. It will be extremely difficult to match this season’s on-field achievements next season, but the stage you exit the Champions League is only one yardstick available. It took Porto years of slow and meandering progress to learn what it took to reach the highest level. This is our task.
On Friday 1 March the Lisbon Lions will be at the Kerrydale Suite providing commentary and answering questions on their magnificent European Cup final win in 1967. This has never happened in 46 years since that game, to say it is a unique opportunity fails to tell the whole story.
The event is part of our 125 4 125 campaign – central to reinvigorating the charitable spirit which is part of the club we love. It will be a family occasions, tickets are available at £10 for adults and £5 for children. The night has been organised by several fans working in conjunction with the people at Celtic Charity, so please do your best to support this great occasion. Individual tickets or tables are available, details here.
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BMCUW
Late Junction is amazing, the problem is, it starts too late :)
When I listened to it, it was on from 10:05 now it doesn’t start for another hour and a quarter.
Great shame, I didn’t have a TV for two years and listened to Late Junction between 10 and half past, good times.
DontPatmadug-Thanks,bookmarked it.The website always clicks on FM.
Good evening CQN – aint life great being a Bhoy, even
on valentines day.
Just back from “Doing the Huddle in the Dunns River Falls”
Hail Hail
PS – for the gamblers amongst you – next Pope “Mauro Piacenza” – from a couple of Cowie Bhoys in the Vatican ! !, and his name not even on the list posted earlier.
13 in a row 2012-2013
Ode to Sevco
Can I compare thee to a summers day,
Naw – coz you are a steaming pile of cheating sh!t
With due deference to the bard…
Kenny Shiels kicks an advertising hoarding and gets sent to the stand. Terry Butcher, in a rage, has to be restrained from approaching a supporter after the game. What was his punishment? Anyone know?
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
:) On this day you are permitted to let your heart rule your head. Now let yourself play out a game plan….. early goal, one just after half time and a last gasp goal ala Spartak? :)
Now where did I leave my Enrique Iglesias greatest hits CD?
sTICks
On this fair valentines day, I feel a pickup line verse would best be employed to convey the love Charles Green has for the rangers support, club legends and investors alike. Metaphorically speaking.
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I’ve got a knife,
now get in the van.
pggtips2
18:48 on
14 February, 2013
Nice to see Kelvin Wilson put his metaphorical arm around his teammate with his comments in the NorthBrit and also his views on Juve’s defending.
As a weekly watcher of Football Italia, that type of defending is normal, what I liked about Tuesday’s especially was that Lichtsteiner had obviously been briefed by his boss to sacrifice himself with a red so long as Celtic get a clear chance to score.
As much as it hurt during the game you have to admire the team ethic that you’re prepared to miss out on a possible quarter final tie just to assist the team in the 1st leg in the 4th round. Not sure such selflessness happens at all in British football at any level.
That sort of cynicism and professionalism is what you come up against when you play the Italians, it used to be spitting and punching in the ribs, it probably still happens but the TV cameras are in HD now so that’s a far rarer occurrence.
Job done by Juventus, sadly…
—
Sorry totally disagree and above is romantic claptrap for valentines day.
They cheated. Nothing big or to be admired of that.
Take a red?? Collusion between Rubentus and the officials that’s what it was.
Now where have we heard that before?
Hail! Hail!
!!Bada Bing!!
Had the same problem as yourself.
Ye weren’t missing anything, lot of guff.
estorilbhoy
Agreed.
When I heard the same admiration coming from the esteemed BRT&H, I posted this reply to his blog:-
“I cannot agree. There is much to admire about the Italian game but let’s not admire its dark underbelly or we will be rehabilitating Racing Club next.
If we follow that direction, with admiration and aspiration to imitate, then football becomes a game of simulation too. There is nothing more morally acceptable about a forward diving under no contact than there is over a defender impeding someone illegally. The level of blocking and wrestling displayed by Juve last night WAS out of the ordinary, even for Italians.
I watched some of the Juve group games. I saw AC perform too without any practices as blatant as last night. I am as competitive as they come but there are some standards to which I will not stoop.
There is nothing “big boy” about this. More “small man” really, especially if the ref feels they are too big to police fairly, a problem that undermines society elsewhere in Italy from Berlusconi to the Camorra and ‘Ndrangheta”
As a direct descendant of one of those for whom Celtic was created, I find the occasional attempt by some of the Irish on here to rewrite our history appalling . We are a Scottish Club (that’s why we were named Celtic and not Hibernian) with a strong Irish influence. Br Walfrid saw us a bridge between the Scots and Irish and I will forever honour that. WE ARE INCLUSIVE, first last and always, black, white, brown and every shade in between. We are Catholic, Protestant, Muslim. Buddhist and any other or no religion. We are CELTIC.
PCS,
Bang on.
Hail! Hail!
Dontpatmadug-it was mate,i thought with Cosgrove on it might have been decent.HH
Tonight is valentines night….that means only 1 thing….wife taken to bed with a packet of paracetamol and a note to me to keep the raspberry buds quiet.
It’s her birthday next week, any revenge tips greatly appreciated.
Have I broke the blog
Fholks,
Extract From ESPN blog, apologies if already posted.
Feb 13
11:26
AM GMT
Proud of the Bhoys
Posted by Andrew Muirhead
There are mixed emotions among Celtic supporters after the 3-0 defeat to Juventus. The defending at times was poor, the attacking threat was superb, but the final third was poor. Juventus were unimpressive at the back and were ripe for the taking, but in attack they were clinical.
The UEFA stats show that Celtic more than matched their Serie A opponents in every aspect of the game and had significantly more chances on goal, but as always the statistic that matters the most is goals scored and Juventus won that battle.
The atmosphere was electric as ever at Celtic Park on a European night and before the game the Green Brigade unfurled a banner that read ‘London Calling’ in homage to The Clash’s famous album cover, with the guitarist about to beat the Juventus badge with the guitar. Sadly for those fans in the ground, it would have been more appropriate if the banner had featured referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco as the guitarist, beating the Celtic badge. His performance was nothing short of abysmal.
Officiating
As a football fan of over 30 years, I have witnessed some horrific refereeing but Mallenco’s was second to none. We also witnessed the continued ineptitude of the additional assistants standing on each goal line, who are supposed to be on the lookout for incidents in the penalty area, but proved utterly ineffective. Juventus’ defenders consistently grappled, hauled and pulled at Celtic players in the box, in full view of the referee and his additional assistants, yet players from both sides were yellow carded.
Maybe UEFA should re-educate their officials from tonight’s game on FIFA Law 12 – related to fouls and misconduct. The law stipulates: “A penalty kick is awarded if the offence [holding an opponent] is committed by a player inside his own penalty area, irrespective of the position of the ball, provided it is in play’.
And if you’re not satisfied with that, here’s a word from legendary ref Pierluigi Collina last year: “The presence of an extra official is a very important deterrent for holding and pulling. We’ve had this problem for many seasons, we had to remind the referees to be very careful at pulling and pushing.”
Gary Hooper, Scott Brown and Juve’s Simone Padoin and Stephan Lichtsteiner, were all carded for grappling inside the box. Brown and Hooper were the victims of the Juventus duo’s over-zealous physical contact, but the referee was more than happy to even up the score in terms of bookings and then blatantly missed or ignored the grappling which continued after the bookings.
Was it failing eyesight? Was he overawed by Pirlo’s handsome looks? Was he blinded by the dazzling attacking play from Celtic? Or were they just honest mistakes? Whichever is true, the referee certainly denied Celtic two penalties at crucial stages of the first-leg tie. The first came when Hooper was manhandled by Lichsteiner minutes before the interval, at a time that would have given Celtic a massive boost and Juve something to think about in the second half. The second stonewall came when Brown was manhandled a minute before Claudio Marchisio made it 2-0. If both penalties had been awarded and dispatched then at that stage it could have been 2-1 to Celtic and I’d be writing a very different piece.
Raspberry-A bunch of triffids?
I saw Phil suggesting on Twitter earlier that the LNS verdict was pretty much imminent? Anyone any idea how soon the verdict is likely to be?
Although we all know they are as guilty as sin & this belief was bolstered in the FTT report by the accountant, I dont expect there to be any formal punishment for Sevco. I hope I am wrong though?
Rasp,
What you give to the ghirl who has everything…….. Penicillin :))
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcqlOq1cjjc
Another band from Mali worth listening to.
Parkheadcumsalford @19:32 I totally agree.
Now that we are debt free I do not see the board going back there ever again.
Football at this level is as much about confidence as anything else. The players football skills and athleticism are already established its the psyche of winning consistently that requires development.
The Henrik Larsson who arrived at Celtic was not the player who left. The transformation took seven years and the player himself recognises and acknowledges that fact. Perhaps those quoted as heading for the door should examine his thoughts on all of it?
Unless any of our players sign for the top 5 EPL sides they are unlikely to participate in the CL again.
I think Hooper is at the top of his game now and we can move him on for optimal returns. Waynyama would do well to stay another 2-3 seasons or he could easily go the way of one Liam Miller.
The CL format is currently like being served the same food every day………..its boring for the most part and an ever greater section of the football watching public are tired of it IMHO. The same five countries are producing the last 8 finalists year after year. If the same model is continuously run then eventually there will be no one left of any meaningful significance for those 8 teams to play remaining, resulting in lower attendances, falling revenues and eventually the lights go out.
The EPL is not the answer. Turkeys do not vote for Christmas and not even the top 5 down there want Celtic every week for it means eventually that there is less in the trough for one of them. We will not be going there.
Celtic v Wigan et al on a wet Wednesday night?
EUFA need to reorganise the competition along the lines of the American NFL where you have geographical leagues, moving onto play offs and eventually the Superbowl final. This would allow the incorporation of the “Atlantic League” concept, sustain the European nights longer into the football season and generate more income from an enlarged market place.
These problems were created by EUFA an EUFA must solve them.
Are you listening Platini…….?
pcs
Totally agree!
HH!!
IS IT TONITE or tomorrow night the guy is going to be on mastermind answering questions on the his chosen subject “CELTIC” ????????????
Mastermind is on tomorrow
ESPN announce another 5 live Sevco games,i don’t think we are on for the rest of the season.Bin it bhoys. Makes sense tae me.
Bada
It makes me want to sign up so i could cancel
I was Multi-tasking last night. Listening to SSB while flicking between regional news to see what if anything was mentioned of AT’s scathing report on JT (more fool me….shoulda known better).
Just as I was about to give up as S Dougal was pontificating on how fly Juve defenders were in avoiding any penalty decisions by ceasing their shenanigans before the ball was in play on SSB….simultaneously the telly was showing Hoops being battered and Skoosh wrestled as the ball sailed passed and eventually out of play!
Imagine my further surprise when not one of the panel on radio or the reporters on telly pointed out the error of his statements!
Back to the bhoycott of this hogwash for this Bhoy.
PS. Have I somehow missed the second stage of scandal due out today or has it been postponed?
!!Bada Bing!!
Advised Mrs Tally several weeks ago to bin ESPN for that very reason – she was happy to do so.
Save money – I would not be back in Scotland ’til nearer the end of the season – and she does not particularly like football anyway.
Absolute joke!
HH!!
SFTB
Sorry you will find no hint of admiration in my post for the activity of the Italians– and I have replied in full you your post.
What I did say was that I would not complain– there is no point in me complaining.
What I clarified is that we ( our players ) have to be cleverer and more forceful in how they dealt with the situation and the referee— the ability to do that only comes with experience and a certain type of personality.
I refer you to Sutton and Larsson who in the face of the same tactics were not to be messed about and who were far stronger in getting their message across to the referee.
corkcelt
I always look out for your posts so please stick with it.
I had a really tough time on here a few years back when discussing the decision of the board to sully the Hoops with a symbol of oppression, coercion and state sponsored murder. There were a lot on here who showed their true colours (and they weren’t green and white).
TAL
Hail Hail
The BBC Scotland evening news segment on the Zombies one year on from admin day was fantastic.
It only lacked two tihngs – one, the word ‘moonbeams’ and two the hard FACT that they’re currently hemorrhaging circa 10 grand a week. FACT, lurking Zombies. Happy Admin Day! No.2 coming!
On 15th/16th of March 100 cyclist will set off from 5 locations in the UK & Ireland for Belfast to raise funds that will go towards helping Wee Oscar Knox (check out the wee man himself – http://youtu.be/oVyxi7ypT4Y) fund the Immunotherapy treatment he so desperately requires. We will be leaving from:
Celtic Park – 32 Cyclists
Leeds – 7 Cyclists
Duleek – 25 Cyclists
Roscommon – 10 Cyclists
Dublin – 26 Cyclist
We will be supported by 16 support team members over the 2 days also.
Our team is made up of CQN’ers, KDS’ers, friends and family members and non Celtic supporters.
You can support our cyclists and support team by making a donation to this event by clicking here (remember to leave your blog name for us to thank you):
Wee Oscar 4 Life Cycle’s To Belfast March 2013
or by texting BELF88 to 70070 followed by amount (between £1 to £10) you wish to donate:
eg.
To: 70070
BELF88
£10
We would like to thank Burns Interior Design, Morrisons Facilities Services – FM Division, Gardiner & Theobald Surveyors, ProAir Conditioning, Firewater, DAMM Environmental, Access, AJ Print, Oracle, Project Pipework & Piling, Business Continuity Services and Sublime Designs for their sponsorship of the WeeOscar4Life cycle’s to Belfast. If your company would like to sponsor this event please drop an email to weeoscar4life@gmail.com
Big Wee Oscar Thumbs up to following TIMternet bampots
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leftclicktic
Mhark67
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Stephen with a ‘ph’
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@stevenceltic81
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for donations to WeeOscarLife Cycle’s to Belfast St Patricks weekend March 2013 and helping take total to £1773.09 of £2K target.
PLEASE REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR GIFT AID
WeeOscar4Life Team
Celtic deserve to get cheated at every turn. They ask for it.
HH
I know it is not quite a whole mastermind, but there was a question about the Bhoys on Brain of Britain this week. Repeated Saturday night : http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qhqp2
Paperwork done yet?
Those Sevconians really have no shame.
This time last year was like The festive period.Was on a weeks holiday and every awakening was like Christmas morning
My whole life I despised their evil , poisonous practices of Sectarianism,bigotry and false supremacy. Their vile support the scourge of the land , feared everywhere for their violence .
It was as if a dark cloud were lifted , the air smelled sweet again !!
Oh happy days indeed!
corkcelt,
ignore the scumbag that is anal stools
the copulation simulation who in the face od all the evidence still blames the Liverpool support for the Hillsborough disaster