Rodgers: Celtic have ‘obligation’ to topple Euro giants every season
BARCELONA, Manchester United, AC Milan and Juventus have all been vanquished at Celtic Park on supercharged European nights which have become treasured memories for Celtic fans over the last two decades.
According to Brendan Rodgers, however, the sporadic toppling of giants in the east end of Glasgow is not satisfactory for a club of Celtic’s ambition, despite resources which are severely constricted in comparison to Europe’s big hitters.
As he prepared for this evening’s visit of Bayern Munich, in the second instalment of their Champions League Group B double-header, the Bundesliga side having won the opener 3-0 at the Allianz Arena two weeks ago, Rodgers expressed his desire to assemble a sequence of high- profile victories as proof that Celtic can move to the next level of European competitiveness.
“You have an obligation when you are a big team and a big club – and that’s how Celtic play,” Rodgers (above) said.
“Over many years here there have been some good results but in the main, it’s been really difficult for Celtic at this level, so if you are going to suffer, at least try and do it in the way you want to do it.
“Rather than wait on the game, go and create something in it, knowing it will benefit you. If you can have the confidence to play, then there is a greater chance of getting results consistently over a longer term.
“I don’t need it. I think we all want it. We would love to have that, but I have an inherent belief and hopefully we have seen in 17 months what that can do for us as a club and as a team. At this level, of course, it is remarkably difficult to do that, but we must keep working towards it. That is the next step.
“It’s not just a case of flicking on a switch. This year, these boys
have beaten the Norwegian champions and the Belgian champions.
“Now they are in against the world elite and there is a speed and technique to the game which is at a different level to what they are used to.
“Sometimes, that just hits you. They are just not operating at that level all the time. Not many are. If you go from the English Premier League to the Champions League, it’s another step up again.
“It’s my job to convince them they can go in and play how we play. It’s not naive. It’s what we believe in. Eventually, we will get the rewards for that.”
Rodgers has bridled at criticisms of his game-plan in Munich – hence the ‘naive’ reference in the previous quote – but, even if he were temperamentally inclined to caution, circumstance invites Celtic to be adventurous this evening.
Thomas Muller and Franck Ribery are injured and Bayern have not only also left Robert Lewandowski behind, they presented Rodgers with a motivational gift when their chief executive, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said that the Polish striker had been kept at home because this fixture means less to the club than Saturday’s trip in the Bundesliga to Borussia Dortmund.
“Of course, it gives you that bit of hope,” said Rodgers. “OK, they replace one with a £60million loan player in (James) Rodriguez, who is a big talent, and someone else will come in, like (Arturo) Vidal, but they are both exceptional players. The best teams are all about the collective, so this is a big test for us.”
Even allowing for the absence of Lewandowski and Muller, victory over Bayern would be a substantial feat. If Rodgers can achieve the marquee evening which has eluded him so far, the feeling of well-being will extend for months, perhaps even years, as in the case of Neil Lennon’s triumph against the odds when Barcelona were overthrown in 2012.
Still, the Celtic manager again insisted upon a more enduring temporal vision, when he said: “You have to do more than that, surely. It is brilliant for the supporters but you can’t become complacent enough to think that it does you for two or three years.
“No chance. You want to validate your work, get a result, then it is brilliant for everyone – but you can never think that is it.” (© Daily Telegraph, London) Celtic v Bayern Munich, Live, eir Sport 2/BT Sport, 7.45