Griff’s set-piece prowess comes down to practice and having the
IT’S A long way from the playground to Paradise, but for Leigh Griffiths the simple childhood thrill of kicking a football has never dimmed with the passing of time.
In fact, it’s as real in the present as it ever was in the past.
Griffiths declared: “With free-kicks, I actually never even practised them much as a kid. But what I did love, and still love, is striking the ball.
“Ask any of the boys in the Celtic dressing room and they’ll tell you that no-one loves hitting shots, scoring goals, more than me. Whether it’s in training or in games, I never get bored of it.”
Which is a good thing so far as Celtic are concerned.
Fully fit and itching to go, Griffiths will look to capitalise on any set-piece this evening by repeating the feat he did in Scotland colours at Hampden in June against Astana.
Remarking wryly that he had “ruined” Joe Hart, the England goalkeeper who had gone 646 minutes without conceding a goal for England, with his two free-kicks in June, Griffiths admitted that he will envisage those moments tonight should a similar scenario unfold.
What those goals did for Griffiths was reveal, perhaps more to others than to himself, a suitability for top-flight football.
Last season he underlined that with goals in the Champions League qualifiers and his brace at international level perhaps quelled some of the doubters.
The striker, now, is ready to take to the stage to play a role in what he anticipates being another heady European night at Celtic Park.
The stadium has been exposed to many a night of drama and intrigue and Griffiths would relish the chance to pen further footnotes of his own stay into the history books.
“Shunsuke Nakamura’s freekicks were brilliant and I remember watching them all the time on the highlights programmes,” Griffiths told Fifa.com.
“But the one against Man United in the Champions League always stands out for me. I think that was his best.
“I’ve spoken to Broony (Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown) about him as they played together here and he says that, with the ball at his feet and especially with free-kicks, Nakamura was a magician.”
Griffiths himself has had a few moments of his own to appreciate in Celtic colours. The striker is currently edging towards the elite club of those who have scored 100 goals for the Hoops – he has 11 still to go – and he believes that his game nowow is at its peak.
Two seasons ago the striker netted 40 in one seasonson as he single-handedly dedly helped Celtic towards the title, butt he attributes a greater r maturity and direction on to his play now.
“It’s definitely the best I’ve’ve eve r been,” he said. . “The e season I scored d 40 was s greatg and it felt like everything I hit went in. But n now you look at my all-rou all-round play and it’s improv improved dramatically, parti particularly working underund the manager here. “My game isn isn’t perfect and I’ve got a bit of learning to do, butb I’m really happy w with the way I’m p playing right now now. I also know that I will ke keep improv proving, wor working und under Gordo don Strach chan and the gaffer here here. I’ve had a lot of good managers but Brendan Rodgers has been great and a real eye-opener to all the lads, just in the way he goes about his business on and off the park.”
GRIFFITHS has had problems over the last 12 months with his calf muscles, but he has insisted that he is ready for Astana this evening.
“I think last season I probably wasn’t doing my rehab as long as I should have done,” he said.
“As the gaffer said, they probably tried to rush me back too quickly. But every day I am working behind the scenes with the physio to make sure nothing happens, and my calves are getting stronger each day.”
The Kazakhstan side met Celtic in the third round qualifier a year ago in a game that Celtic squeezed through courtesy of a last-gasp Moussa Dembele spot-kick.
Celtic, to be fair, are a different team from then and Griffiths was relaxed as he prepared for the tie.
Still, though, it could be small margins that make all the difference and if there is a setpiece in a dangerous area, then Griffiths will relive that early summer moment at Hampden all over again.
“Standing over a free-kick tomorrow night, when the ref is lining up their wall, I’ll close my eyes and think about Hampden and last year against Hapoel,” he said. “I’m just hoping I can replicate one of them again.
“Do those experiences give me something? Yeah, especially the Scotland v England game. There was massive expectation on me to get the goals to keep our World Cup dream alive.
“I thought my all-round game that day was good. It could still have been a little bit better but I scored two goals and helped the team get a massive point. I was gutted it wasn’t all three.
“Going into it tomorrow night is a different ball game altogether. Celtic belong in the Champions League and hopefully I am the man to fire them in there.”
The wise money would be on him delivering.