Outrageous results, and a 4-5 win is an outrageous result, could be seen as reason for encouragement by future opponents, but Barcelona played the majority of the game against Deportivo with 10 men, scored an own goal, conceded from a penalty and their keeper made a mistake for another, yet they still scored five goals and won the game.
That is formidable form.
On Tuesday evening Celtic face one of the greatest teams in history but there is reason for confidence. We have been to the Camp Nou three times in the last decade, a 0-0 draw in 2004 was enough to eliminate the Catalans from Europe. Later in 2004 we recorded our only away point in the Champions League, prior to beating Spartak Moscow in the last game, and we lost there to a single goal four years later.
Each Barcelona side was vastly more talented but they found each Celtic team a handful.
Any team which takes a point or more from Barca this season will have to man the barricades for long stretches of each game, will have to show enormous concentration and discipline, and take whatever luck is going. If Celtic do this, they will have one inherent advantage over the home team on Tuesday.
There will be changes in the starting 11 for both teams but a cursory look at yesterday’s starting line ups is educational. Eight out of Barca’s 10 outfield players were under six foot, six of them (Jordi Alba, Iniesta, Mascherano, Messi, Montoya and Villa) three or four inches below. Celtic’s smallest player, Gary Hooper, is only two inches below.
Seven Celts were six foot or higher. Ambrose, Wilson and Mulgrew are all 6’3”, taller than anyone in the Barca team, while non-starters, Lustig and Samaras, are 6’3” and 6’4” respectively. Celtic’s outfield players were, on average, more than three inches taller than their Barcelona counterparts.
Even the Barcelona keeper, Valdes, at 6’0”, is a bit on the short side, seven inches below Fraser Forster.
Height doesn’t make you a better player, or collectively, a better team, but it does instil an enormous advantage at set pieces. Celtic must defend when necessary but any free kick inside the Barcelona half is an opportunity to drop a ball onto an elevated Celtic head inside the box.
Play to your strengths, Celtic. Keep strategy simple, and your probability of taking something on Tuesday will increase significantly. You have everything to play for.
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Halfwit who attacked Sheff Wed GK gets 4 months jail,should have went to an Edinburgh Court …..
Hamiltontim:
They have their reasons. Do you know they are up in arms because the Jacobites are -globally – more ‘romantic’ than the Covenanters and their are more Jacobite memorials?
BREAKING Lance Armstrong stripped of TdF titles.
BigJoecannybeleveITall
After the Aston Villa embarrassment, more back pedalling from Green.
http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/2458-green-clarifies-death-threat-comments
Gordon J I was thinking of putting on the youngsters and new players on the 60 minute mark…. Don’t think we’ll take anyone off though…
hope you dont mind, wee plug for my mate who has written and self published his first novel.. no mean feat so deserves some support!!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Only-Genuine-Jones-ebook/dp/B009R2BBN2/ref=zg_bs_362881031_2
Chucky is a class act
Lance Armstrong banned for life,stripped of 7 Tour de France titles.
Afternoon CQN.
Damn I was hoping Messi’s burd would go into labour tomorrow afternoon …and give birth on the 7th November. Let’s hope little Thiago has a good set of lungs and keeps Lionel up all night!
A couple of years ago our local radio station was looking for people to contribute shows, so I thought I’d give it a shot. Not wanting to do a Howard Beale I thought it safer to do a mix instead thus preventing my rants going out on air. I submitted a mix which was deemed too risky. After I did a swear count on a Mark Thomas segment (36 fecks in ten minutes) I conceeded they had a point.
Anyway came across Mixcloud, which is a site where anyone from Superstar DJ’s to bedroom boffins can upload their mixes, and stumbled across Mr Starry Plough doing some wonderful jazzy stuff. As many CQNers post music clips, we thought it would be an idea to try and get some to be a bit more inventive and post mixes themselves, so we set up a CQM page.
http://www.mixcloud.com/groups/cqm/
The software is available to download free from Mixcloud, and is easy to use, even for a bampot like me, so if I can use it, anyone can! Even if you don’t want to post a mix, you should check out the site as there are some stunning DJ’s on there.
HH
fingersntoescrossedfortomorrowcsc
!!Bada Bing!!
12:08 on
22 October, 2012
Now there’s a precedent for you!
Aye, Charles, that’s right.
Rangers fans are the best in the world and hardly ever try to kill people. Hardly ever. FACT.
WGS pre Barca tips at Nou Camp
“Go to nearest church and pray” :-)
ps BSR can you post your mix on the CQM page.
Rangers fans hold the world record for trying to kill people.
Sevco fans are trying to break that record.
It might be an idea to replace the stars with five gravestones on their shirts.
In football titles should be reassigned as well as stripped due to the substantial economic losses to immediate competitors.
I’m reading a biography of the great Eddy Merckx.
Ole Eddy’s sportin’ philosophy was to pulverise the opposition into submission.
Maks sense tae me, and it maks sense tae Mo.
new article posted.
kitalba
11:22 on 22 October, 2012
GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL FAMINE MEMORIAL……….
”we hope that the memorial will serve not only as a reminder of the migration caused by the famine -and the welcome shown to those who settled in Scotland as a result ”
Welcome?
“Wheresoever knives and razors are used, wheresoever sneak thefts and petty pilfering are easy and safe, wheresoever dirty acts of sexual baseness are committed, there you will find the Irishman in Scotland with all but a monopoly.”
Now I’m not one who normally gets irate at the msm for their blatant bias in favour of sevco and deid rangers prior to that, but…. I was looking at the newsnow Celtic site and saw a heading SPL vote for change, from the stv site. So I opened the link and the photo that greets me is on of fat Sally celebrating a goal at snake mountain. Fair enough I said, however, after looking at the article and the smaller links included I was a little shocked and slightly peeved that there was no article at all referring to the photo! No point to it at all.
Who were Dick Byrne’s peers on the ole rock n roll flute,is there any apart from Ian Anderson?