Centurion Brown is aiming for another night to remember

It was an honour to play against Iniesta and do battle with him

SCOTT BROWN will set a new landmark tonight when he becomes the first Scot to play 100 games in European competition. Fourteen years since his first European game for Hibernian in a 1-1 draw with Vetra Vilnius, Brown admitted to being unaware of his centurian status ahead of tonight’s Champions League qualifier with AEK Athens. ‘You learn something new every day,’ he joked. ‘You wouldn’t have put money on that when I first signed... ‘Seriously, it’s a great honour to become the first Scot to reach 100 games — but for me this is all about getting into the Champions League and being involved in the group stage; that’s when it counts more.’ In the course of 100 European appearances, Brown has sampled both highs and lows. He watched Celtic’s memorable 2-1 win over Barcelona in 2012 from his sick bed after contracting a virus. Yet games against the Catalan aristocrats brought the Parkhead skipper face-to-face with the opponent he admires most. ‘It was an honour to play against Andres Iniesta and, if not get past him, then at least have a good battle with him,’ said Brown. ‘It’s the way he turns and faces you as soon as he receives the ball. ‘I’m not comparing Tom Rogic to him, but he also takes the ball the same way and goes directly at you. ‘When Iniesta was in his prime, he was up there with the best players in the world. But it’s part and parcel of football — people get older and you need to change squads. Luckily for him, he was at Barcelona for 16-17 years. ‘But I came to Celtic to play against the best and that’s why I’m still here. I want to get back into the group phase for the third season in a row. ‘It’s a privilege to come up against the best out there — but I always just see it as games of football that I want to win. Hopefully, more than they do.’ By his own admission he has little tangible to show for his run-ins with the greats. ‘I don’t collect shirts. That doesn’t bother me,’ he said. ‘Some of the lads do but, because I’m up against the guy, I don’t want to run after him when the game is finished because I’ve already been chasing him for 90 minutes.’ Celtic’s Champions League penalty shoot-out qualifying win over Spartak Moscow in August 2007 remains a highlight for Brown. Yet his favourite game remains a group-stage match three months later. ‘I think beating AC Milan 2-1 with a last-minute goal was probably the highlight,’ he added. ‘It was great to see Gary Caldwell having a shot and wee Scott McDonald scoring from the rebound. ‘Then there was the guy running on to the pitch and trying to smash Dida. It was a game with everything.’