BHOYS MUST STEAL A MARCH ON GREEKS IN HOME FIXTURE
Atmosphere in Athens will be hostile... but Rodgers hopes to steal march at home first
AFTER a largely uneventful night in Trondheim, Celtic can expect the Champions League qualifying process to heat up against a team crowned domestic champions at the conclusion of a firearms dispute.
If there’s always a whiff of volatility surrounding Greek football, the circumstances surrounding AEK Athens’ first title victory in 24 years were truly incendiary.
Back in March, the Greek league was suspended after a tense fixture at rivals PAOK Salonika descended into dark chaos at the end of the match. Riled after his team was denied a last-minute goal, PAOK president Ivan Savvidis entered the field of play with a gun holstered on his right hip.
PAOK were subsequently docked three points and, after the competition resumed in April, AEK’s points lead was officially declared unassailable when an appeal against the points penalty was rejected.
Back on the rise after a period of financial instability and issues with supporter misconduct, AEK are seeking to participate in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2006 when they knocked out Hearts in the qualifiers.
They have form against Scottish opposition having knocked Rangers out of the tournament following their last title success in 1994 and they also enjoyed a memorable win over Hibernian after a first-round UEFA Cup tie went to extra time at Easter Road in 2001. That Celtic have been drawn to play at home first is a source of reassurance for manager Brendan Rodgers. He knows a date with 60,000 Athenians at the Olympic Stadium could be problematic but knows his team has the capability to kill the tie in Glasgow this Wednesday. ‘Lots of people would say “first leg away and second leg at home” but you can win the tie in the first leg,’ observed Rodgers (left). ‘So it’s very important that wherever we play, home or away, we are really aggressive and get that momentum. ‘Over the last couple of years, we have won a lot of ties in the first leg.’
Rosenborg was the latest case in point but a 3-1 first-leg lead was only established after the concession of an early goal to the Norwegians’ impressive left-back Birger Meling.
After an initial pause, the Parkhead audience regrouped and got behind their team without resorting to the grumbles and groans that prompted Rodgers to plead for patience on one of his first European nights two years ago.
‘What’s also been evident is the supporters’ appreciation of where the team is at,’ says Rodgers. ‘I remember when I first came in against Astana there was a different sort of feel.
‘We went 1-0 behind against Rosenborg but there’s a confidence now that: “Okay we’ve conceded but we have enough here to get something from the game” and that’s because the players have shown that.’
Two years deep into his time at Celtic, Rodgers has proved adept at negotiating the curveballs thrown up during the preliminaries but UEFA’s insistence on an extra round of qualifiers means there is even less margin for error.
Scottish teams have traditionally struggled against Scandinavian sides at this time of year but Celtic looked strong against Rosenborg, even if they dropped off in the second leg.
This week, they should hold an advantage over AEK, who will be playing their first competitive game of the season, the first, also, under new management.
It was Manolo Jimenez who guided the club to the title but the Spaniard walked after failing to negotiate a contract extension and was replaced by Marinos Ouzounidis, previously of Panathinaikos.
‘Rosenborg were well into their season, so fitness-wise that was an advantage, no doubt,’ said Rodgers. ‘It’s certainly not an easy task but you have to find a way and so far we are finding ways. The second, third and fourth-round ties could all be the same level in difficulty, so we’ll prepare for another tough game.’
The AEK squad has a couple of notable
Home or away, it’s important to be aggressive and get momentum
faces, including Ukrainian centre-back Dmytro Chygrynskiy, who made his name at Shakhtar Donetsk and had a season at Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, and Petros Mantalos, a Greek international midfielder.
Rodgers may decide to inject some World Cup quality into his team this week, with Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig available to start after helping Belgium and Sweden go deep in Russia this summer.
Celtic have fielded a patchwork defence in the qualifiers, with Cristian Gamboa joining youngsters Jack Hendry, Kristoffer Ajer and Kieran Tierney in an inexperienced back four for the Rosenborg games.
The manager heaped praise on his centre-backs for the maturity of their defending in Norway but Hendry may well be taken out of the line-up to accommodate Boyata, while a further reshuffle may be required depending on Tierney’s ability to shrug off a knock.
‘There is no doubt Dedryck is a big player for us,’ continued the manager.
‘Both young guys did very well, especially in the latter stages of the game when Rosenborg were starting to put it into the box. They did great. But of course for the next games we are going to be stronger as a squad because the experienced players will come back into it.’
Club-record signing Odsonne Edouard was the star of the home tie against Rosenborg with two goals and, with Moussa Dembele out and Leigh Griffiths feeling his way back to fitness, the young Frenchman will again carry huge attacking responsibility in the first leg.
Rodgers has never managed against Greek opposition but believes his players have the fortitude to cope with whatever awaits them in the second leg — just as he believes AEK will need to be ready for what awaits them at Celtic Park on Wednesday.
‘The east end of Glasgow and 60,000 supporters... Celtic Park is notorious for the noise, the atmosphere and the passion that’s here in Scotland,’ adds Rodgers.
‘These are the atmospheres we love to play in. But the first leg is at home and we will really concentrate on that.’
Rosenborg may have been a tough watch but Rodgers hopes Celtic can afford to be similarly boring in Athens in ten days’ time.