COURSE OF TRUE GLOVE NEVER RUNS SMOOTH
Jose’s former assistant Morais says Celtic must keep faith with AEK No.1 Barkas
JOSE MORAIS believes top-class keeper Vasilis Barkas can still repay his £5million fee to Celtic.
But Jose Mourinho’s former assistant is adamant the Greek fall guy can only come good if the Parkhead management give him the confidence and opportunity to finally prove his worth in the right environment.
Barkas has endured a rocky first campaign in Glasgow. While Scott Bain currently holds the top slot and young Conor Hazard this week signed a new two-year contract, the 26-year-old import is stuck way out in the cold.
He hasn’t played since the 2-2 draw with Livingston in January and has made just six appearances since October, having lost the trust of former gaffer Neil Lennon.
At this stage, his chances of ever redeeming the situation at Celtic appear slim.
Yet Morais says anyone entering a new league needs at least a year to settle and that Barkas can still come good given the chance.
The Portuguese, who was Mourinho’s right-hand man at Inter Milan and Real Madrid before resuming his own managerial career, gave Barkas his chance at AEK Athens during his short stay in Greece.
Morais said: “He deserves to play for a big club. He has the quality to compete with the best goalkeepers in Europe.
“He is a goalkeeper with courage, with concentration. He has everything to become an important player, wherever he is in Europe.
“It was not a surprise for me when he moved to Celtic.
“He was a goalkeeper with very good potential. This was one of the main reasons I decided to make him my No.1 because he started to play for me.
“When I arrived at AEK, Vasilis wasn’t the first choice. In training, I saw he was a quick goalkeeper with quick reactions. I believed he had fantastic qualities.
“He continued to develop and naturally became the main goalkeeper at the club.
“In the goalkeepers’ world, he has the talent of a great one.
“I am very happy he developed and moved to Celtic. Hopefully he will have better opportunities.”
Barkas entered the club at a tricky time. With Covid meaning a life outside of the game was not normal, he has also had to try to integrate in strange circumstances.
He faced regular changes to the defence in front of him, with a host of different nationalities adding to the issues he needed to overcome. And Morais reckons that lack of initial understanding and building of a rapport with his backline may well have had a huge influence on the situation.
He said: “Sometimes the quality of communication is important to adapt in a different country. The position of goalkeeper is one where the interaction with all the players is not in the same way.
“I believe one of the points is communication between the players on the pitch. Then there is the level of confidence according to the way he feels about the group.
“I remember that at AEK he was not, in terms of personality, probably an extrovert. But he has a team personality, he can accept criticism and react. One year is the minimum to adapt to a different group and be accepted.
“He has the potential and character to fight for his place and use the opportunity that can come. He is a good age for a goalkeeper. He is still young with good maturity.
“I am not with him now and don’t know exactly his situation – but he is a talented goalkeeper.
“That is the reason he went to Celtic. He is in a different country. In Scotland, it is a little bit different for him. It’s different from Greece or Portugal.
“Probably we are warmer in our reaction, so he needed time to adapt and feel the positive atmosphere of the group to make him feel more welcome.
“These are very important aspects to succeed. When you go abroad, you need to have big
capacities to adapt to the group. I believe if the opportunity comes for him, he will be able to succeed because he has great potential.
“They paid that much because of his recognised quality. Normally Celtic are a club that have good scouting.
“I believe they are aware of his quality and probably things that did not go in the direction that they wanted.”
Barkas is now being linked with a move out of Celtic Park in the summer to get his career back on track.
But, speaking to Inside Futbol, Morais added: “To go on loan or stay at the club is not the question. Now it is a question of confidence. Depending on where he is going, he could go on loan to have a good season and then be back again to continue his career.
“If they want to give him another chance, he has the quality to play there.
“I do not know if it is what he wants because a goalkeeper likes to play.
“If he plays, then he gains confidence. “Not to play is probably not the best for him. He is only 26 and is a goalkeeper to play, not to be a reserve.”
He has the potential and character to fight for his place and use opportunity JOSE MORAIS ON FUTURE OF CELTS KEEPER BARKAS