CHAMPSEL-EASY
Celts Euro dream can go beyond Christmas after draw gives them Paris, Munich and a real chance to KO Anderlecht in Europa decider
CELTIC have landed the perfect Champions League draw. It really could not be better on all counts.
There is the glitz and glamour of the big clubs and the superstar names while there also remains a real opportunity to get through and be playing in Europe beyond Christmas.
Even the fixtures are in a good sequence. Seriously, what more could anyone want?
Bayern Munich and PSG are now well in the superclub category with their spending and playing staff.
Having Neymar facing Celtic again is wonderful on the back of his huge transfer from Barcelona in the summer.
The Brazilian certainly has previous with my old club.
Neymar was magnificent in the two games last season in the group stage when he ran riot for Barcelona while there is also the added spice of his previous clashes with Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig.
Chuck in Edinson Cavani and the imminent arrival of Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho ahead of the game in Glasgow next month and it’s astounding stuff.
Bayern’s strength and quality speaks for itself. Thomas Muller, Manuel Neuer, James Rodriguez, Arjen Robben. What a team.
No one expects Celtic to get anything out of the four games against these two.
Yet, as they proved against Manchester City last term, anything can happen on one of those special home nights under the lights.
The real bonus is getting Anderlecht. No disrespect to the Belgians but there were teams in pot three who looked far tougher.
After three pots came out, you looked at Group H with Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Spurs and thought, “Oh no.”
Getting the group with Anderlecht as the third seed was a real boost. They are a still a decent name in European football yet they are beatable for Celtic.
In effect, it will be a Europa League play-off when those two meet over 180 minutes and it is one that Brendan Rodgers and his team can win, especially with the final game being at home against the Belgians in December.
Seeing Bayern and Anderlecht coming out of the hat alongside Celtic brought back memories for me, that’s for sure.
I had the pleasure of being involved in Champions League games against both of them, although I can’t say all the recollections are good.
Bayern away in the old Olympic Stadium in 2003 still hurts.
We were 1-0 up in the second half through an Alan Thompson header and I felt we’d win.
You can sometimes tell in games that you play, gauge them. And I really thought we had everything under control.
Then Magnus Hedman entered the equation. No harm to the fella but he absolutely s**t the bed. Threw two appalling goals into the net.
I’ll never forget the rinsing that Martin O’Neill gave him in the dressing room afterwards.
Seriously, it was one of the most severe hairdryers I have ever witnessed. He tore him apart. No wonder. Some of the lads wanted to do the same.
Anderlecht away under Martin
was another bitter one. Honestly, hand on heart, I can say it was one of the worst European performances I was involved with at Celtic.
They had 10 men for most of the game and still beat us. We were dreadful. Even when Stan Varga got a chance about one centimetre from the goal to equalise, we still messed it up.
It was brutal. Perhaps exemplified by the fact we battered them when we got them back to Parkhead. Even I scored. That 3-1 win meant we’d have beaten them 3-2 on aggregate if it had been a two-legged tie. And here’s hoping the same thing will happen because, if it does, Rodgers will get his wish of at least playing in the Europa League after Christmas.
The next few days will be vital in the transfer market because Rodgers needs to make signings if that’s to happen.
Defensive issues simply have to be addressed. If we didn’t know it before Astana, we do now.
Honestly, despite a 5-0 first-leg win there was actually a tiny spell at 4-1 down for Celtic in Kazakhstan when you wondered if they’d go out.
Nir Bitton and Kristoffer Ajer helped through the qualifiers at key times but they can’t be playing in the group stage against the likes of Neymar, Cavani and Robert Lewandowski. That’s just madness.
Rivaldo Coetzee is arriving but if he’s not ready to go straight in,
Even the fixtures are in a good sequence. What more could you want?