I have to admit I thought some of the quotes to emerge on social media from the world’s greatest players about Celtic Park were perhaps apocryphal. That concern was laid to rest on Barcelona’s website today as the team boarded a flight from the rainy Catalan capital, Leonel Messi on-board, alas.
Their article, titled, “FC Barcelona players ‘just can’t get enough’ of Celtic Park”, reads like a fantasy piece typed on a green and white keyboard.
“Xavi Hernández once said: “I don’t think I have seen anything like the Celtic fans in all the stadiums I have played at. When you step out at Celtic Park, the atmosphere they create for their team is incredible. It doesn’t matter how many big games you have played in, walking out into that atmosphere is always intense.””
Messi added, “I’ve been fortunate to play in some great stadiums in Europe with Barcelona but none compare to Celtic” he said after the game in 2013. The Argentinian has also been quoted as admitting that “I have a Celtic jersey at home. The games against Celtic were special and I want to remember them.”
Playmaker Iniesta said, “They were amazing, not quiet for a single second! The Celtic fans are very special and the club and players can be very proud of them. They are the best I have ever heard.” While Pique wrote, “no words to describe the atmosphere at Celtic Park”.
The article concludes, “Whatever the outcome on Wednesday night, one thing is for sure. There’s going to be a show, and the Glasgow Celtic (and Barça) will be there.”
This kind of respect has been earned the hard way. The game which kicked it all off, Celtic’s 1-0 win in 2004, wasn’t a pleasant affair. Three men were red carded and Barcelona were bitter about the pitch, their treatment and the luck which fell their way, but when the sublime Ronaldinho was substituted with two minutes remaining the home support gave him a memorable reception.
We lost 1-3 to them the following year in a game which still rankles. After levelling we had them on the rack for a period, but two late moments of slackness allowed Barcelona to take the points.
When Barca returned in the Champions League knock-out rounds in 2008 we absolutely battered them for 45 minutes. Barry Robson had been a Dundee United player a few weeks earlier but scored peach of a header to give Celtic a 2-1 halftime lead. We’d peaked too soon and were caught out by our gung-ho approach.
The 2-1 win on our 125th birthday will live long in the memory. It was probably the most intense occasion Celtic Park had ever experienced. Arguably the greatest team to play the game applied suffocating pressure as they tried to overcome an 18th minute concession. I doubt any team has ever faced such a formidable foe who passed and prodded with such intensity.
Regrets also linger from our 0-1 defeat with 10 men three years ago when a rash moment from Scott Brown was exploited by the writhing Neymar. Charlie Mulgrew’s header from a corner kick came close to handing the 10 men a remarkable point.
We’re not in Barcelona’s league in any literal or metaphorical sense, but tomorrow’s another occasion to earn points the hard way.
297 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- »
Long shot.
looking for spare for the game Sunday.
Great respect shown to the Barca players/Fans every time they come to Celtic park.
HH
So the Barcelona ‘Love in’ enters full swing….
The football they played was great for several years … and still is of course…
That said they are achieving that by blatantly flaunting and disregarding the rules of the governing body and the jurisdiction that the operate in….
Given our support seems committed ( rightly ) to such high standards where governance of the game is concerned in Scotland I am a bit bemused that everyone seems to love Barca despite their apparently manifestly corrupt MO.
BURNLEY78
SPOILSPORT!
:-)
burnley78
bang on.
Burnley 78
You are , of course, quite right but I suspect most of our support like the image of Barca ( and the football they play) rather than the reality. We need our dreams and do not readily accept them being killed off. .
Sevco fans are a prime example.
JJ
Ah, so what your saying Bhoys is that ANAW does ” sarcasism” ?
BMCUWP, hope you got see Sharleen as Elvis live on YouTube, sideburns , white suit and what a pair of lungs she has !
Sharleen, if your reading this please marry me ?
THREATS, I no this is no comfort to JJ at this moment, but usually those that make threats usually are all mouth ?
Maybe he should show these online threats to a COMPETENT lawyer ( I know their few and far between) ?
HH
” No person has the right to rain on your dreams.”
Marian Wright Edelman.
Not sure I agree but I still like Barca!
JJ
You can play well against Barca and get humped, Barca can also play poor ,and still hump you, I’m looking for the middle ground tomorrow , us to be world beaters tomorrow night, and Barca to be pure pish, a draw will be the likely outcome of that happening , IMO. :)
Hamiltontim on 22nd November 2016 1:03 pm
Replied just now.
KTF
Greenpinata on 22nd November 2016 1:06 pm
I’m Frank, not Ernest!
KTF
Some guys on here thought Virgil was only worth 7-8 mil when we were selling him….as Brendan said last week the days of being mugged for top class players is over, VVD would walk into any EPL team
BIG JIMMY, my apologies, it wis THE GREEN MAN.
As for Sharleen, here she is: https://vimeo.com/45442465
KTF
VFR
Ma beerds bigger thasn yoor beerd!
Philbhoy on 22nd November 2016 2:51 pm
VFR
Ma beerds bigger thasn yoor beerd!
__________________________________________
Possibly, but does it look as guid?
KTF
VFR
My daughter says my beard is blonde.
The misses say’s it’s grey.
VFR & Philbhoy
There is room for both of your beards in my hipster clique…
Phil hot
Doing well mate and as it happens wee Marco is at hospital this afternoon . Yon new one in town
Had an op few weeks ago and still giving him grief but he won’t let that or his cerebral palsy stop him
I detest this flipping spellcheck
BLANTYRETIM.
BT. when are you finishing work tomorrow, will you be in the BV before the game.
Hot Smoked@2:31 ….. applies to most football clubs and their fans … we see what we want to see, and ignore what we want to ignore … but I still like Barca! Maybe not as great now as they were a few years ago, but at their best, that midfield was a joy to watch.. and then add Messi. It was a privilege to watch them play. What I think some of the older posters must have felt watching Brazil in 1970… and I liked the Brazil 82 team as well.
Big Jimmy …. lots of competent lawyers …. honest ones, less so. (not really true …. there are lots of good ones… but the system sometimes requires good ones to do things we might not otherwise do, and the bad ones get most of the attention) :)
VFR …. if you haven’t seen it, google the video for In Demand … LBD, driving around Paris (I think) with Alan Rickman …. she has never looked lovelier.
Oldtim
Last appointment 3pm so should be in before 4
I’ll call you later
Hallelujah, at long last the diggers have finally moved in to demolish the old home of Rangers.
Drat, should have gone to spec savers. Seemingly it’s Cove Rangers.
Still , Cove Rangers today, Sevco tomorrow.
HH.
So Barca tomorrow night. How do we line up?
The real difficulty is that no matter who or how we line up, they have the players to hurt us so we need to find a way of making them step back a wee bit while shutting the back door. So is it 3, 4 or 5 at the back?
3 – Lustig, Sviatchenko and Simunovic. This give us an extra man in midfield (Brown, Bitton and Armstrong with Forrest and Sinclair wide and Rogic or Roberts in behind Dembele). This is unlikely, but could provide us with great options for breaking forward. With 2 banks of 3 (Brown sitting slightly behind Armstrong and Bitton to pick up their spare runner into the box) and Forrest & Sinclair covering the flanks we could be able to break forward with players close to each other to play, move and receive the ball quickly and then bring Rogic and Dembele into the game. This relies on the back 3 tracking the movement of Suarez, Naymar and Messi while Forrest and Sinclair need to defend wide and the break at pace when our middle 3 get the ball and bring it forward. As I said, unlikely but would give us, I think, a very mobile formation. Then again, if it doesn’t work we will get picked off easily.
5 – Lustig, Toure, Sviatchenko and Izaguirre with Simunovic sitting spare just behind the back 4 to fill the gaps, picking up the late runner into the box. With Brown and Armstrong sitting in front of the back four this leaves Forrest and Sinclair wide with Dembele as a lone front man. Forrest and Sinclair would need to be sitting off the wide area slightly relying on Lustig and Izaguirre to be the widest players getting up and down the flanks. Toure and Sviatcheko moving either side of Simunovic when we attack would require Brown and Armstrong to protect the middle. It needs a right solid shift from the front 3; Dembele in particular.
4 – Lustig, Simunovic/Toure, Sviatchenko and Izaguirre; Brown and Armstrong sitting behind Rogic/Roberts with Forrest and Sinclair wide and Dembele up front. The most likely scenario but if we play our usual shape we need to work very hard pressing Barcelona when they have the ball and make sure we don’t get picked apart too easily. A lot will depend on how well Rogic links with Brown and Armstrong to bring the ball forward and pull Forrest, Sinclair and Dembele into play. Armstrong can help him out in this by being an extra attacking option and getting in front of him and into the box, but the back 4 will need to very much on song to keep it tight if we lose the ball.
However it’s played, it will be very, very difficult but we have always played well at home against Barcelona. Here’s hoping for another great performance tomorrow night!
KTF
BT
Marco is a fighter!
I always remember him in my prayers.
Give him a hug from me, in a manly way of course!
VFR,
No worries my friend . Apology not required.
See, I told you it was one of they big bad bhoys that said it !
When I do marry Sharleen Spiteri, I will take her name in wedlock , then I’ll be known as ” Big Jimmy Spiteri” sounds rather cool , don’t you think ?
It sounds like I belong in Bugsy Malone’s gang ?
COYBIG
DAVIDOPOLOUS long bushy beards and checked shirts aren’t hip; they are redneck lumberjack fashionista types. Us older gentlemen with
greybeards are rather more urbane.PHILBHOY, mine is “blonde” as well!
MIT, this one? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4-gNN8WRHo
I’m not a Texas fan, I just posted that for BIG JIMMY! Wasted on me I’m afraid but that auld sod might have a heart attack watching this one!
KTF
Big Jimmy
I hate to rain on your parade ….. but I think this conversation was had on CQN before …. and I think someone already called dibs (could even have been me). And we know that it doesn’t get more serious than dibs. So, you may be out of luck.
BIG JIMMY, she was at the Celtic Mass a couple of weeks ago; I’ll admit that she looked quite tidy!
KTF
Barca ?
” They remind me of Bono”
Mark E Smith
VFR
Aye? Like this guy?
VFR .. yer… that id the ome.
(apologies for the dodgy typing … glasses fogged up!)
and, VFR, I recall being cheeky with Jamesgang once …. and commenting that, at 6’3″ and 225 lbs, I wasn’t too worried as I thought I was the biggest guy in Paisley, and then found out he was bigger than me!
So, before I go cutting in on BIG Jimmy, perhaps I should find out exactly how big Big Jimmy really is …. any idea?
:)
this guy
Obvs…
VFR
As a Guardian article last week said, BR prefers 3-4-2-1, as long as the 2 are good enough to play the inside forward role.
I don’t think we have those players at the moment, certainly against teams of this calibre, so I’d go 3-5-1-1, Rogic behind Moussa, with Brown, Armstrong and Bitton behind them, Paddy and Scott wide.
Back 3 I’ll leave to Brendan!
MIT, I’ve never seen Big Jimmy so I’ve no idea. But the bigger they are, the harder they fall. A swift boot in the gonads is just as debilitating at 6′ 3″ as it is at 5′ 7″ I reckon!
DAVIFOPOLOUS – big beard, he’s a hipster. I rest my case!
KTF
Even with two Murray’s from Dunblane…
wee Jamesgang is still number wan !!!
Braw…
Mike in Toronto
I posted to you on the last page of the previous article about your accurately funny q&a spoof.
I can’t be bothered going back to find it, so won’t blame you if you don’t either!
And remember, the bigger they are the harder they fall. ( Just make sure it’s not on top of you!).
VFR
I’ll go for ‘fools’.
I was stood behind Mark E. Smith in a chippie in Edinburgh one night (L’Alba d’Oro since you ask). He bought 20 Benny Hedgehogs and a lighter.
Never mentioned anything about either Bono or Mumford & Dadford…