THIS time last year, Matt O’Riley had just helped MK Dons to a 1-1 draw with Cheltenham Town in an English third-tier clash in front of just over 4,000 fans in the 7,000 capacity Whaddon Road Stadium.
Tonight, the classy 21-year-old midfielder will perform in front of 60,000 frenzied supporters at a sell-out Parkhead against holders Real Madrid in the opening Champions League Group F game.
How times have changed for Ange Postecoglou’s bargain £1.5million recruit in the January sales.
STEPPING UP IN CLASS…Matt O’Riley displays his ball control as he takes charge of midfield operations.
Such has been the upsurge in O’Riley’s fortunes he has been brought into Denmark’s Under-21 international set-up and has the opportunity of competing against the greatest in the game during the World Cup Finals in Qatar in November and December.
The London-born playmaker – whose mother is Danish – is about to kick his first ball in Europe’s most prestigious competition and it’s a baptism of fire when he goes toe to toe with the likes of genuine superstars Luke Modric and Toni Kroos.
O’Riley said: “Real Madrid is arguably the biggest club in the world, so for someone like myself who has dreamt of playing in a competition of this stature, it’s a dream come true.
“I know Celtic fans wanted this for years and now we have it, hopefully, we can put on a good show for them.
“For me, I don’t mind who we would go up against first, just going up against the best players in the world is a privilege and we will just go out and there and see what we can do.
PRIZE GUYS…Matt O’Riley celebrates with Liel Abada after one of the Israeli’s three goals in the 9-0 romp over Dundee United at Tannadice.
“I think all these years of academy football and now in the first team is preparation for nights like this.
“I understand the game is big externally, but on the pitch, you don’t think of that ,so I feel prepared and so does everyone else.”
O’Riley, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “It takes bravery regardless of who you play against, there will always be slight scares sometimes because we take risks and against this type of opposition we have to be at our best.
“We don’t change the way we play regardless of the opposition. We may tweak slight things like the amount we press, but, in general, it will be the same.
“The aim is to win the game and to impose our football on it.
“We won’t just go in and try and get a result, we want to impose our game and, hopefully, that gets us success, but we won’t finish that 90 minutes without playing the way we want to play.”
EURO STAR…Matt O’Riley is prepared to perform on the biggest stage.
O’Riley added: “If you don’t believe you can win what’s the point? We go into every game believing we can win regardless of the opposition or magnitude of the game.
“I’ve spoken to a few of the staff and they said the atmosphere will be electric, but it’s like that every week.
“Being a night game makes it more special, so it will be bouncing.”
From English League One at Cheltenham to Champions League at Celtic Park? It’s the stuff of dreams.
Let’s hope O’Riley is still on Cloud Nine around 10pm this evening.
*DON’T miss the unbeatable match report from Celtic v Real Madrid this evening – only in your champion CQN.
