Bolingoli tips Celtic for a deep Euro run
BOLI BOLINGOLI is convinced he can beat his personal best of a Europa League quarter-final place with Celtic this season.
Neil Lennon’s side kick off their group stage campaign on Thursday with a trip to French Cup winners Rennes.
Italian giants Lazio and Champions League qualifying rivals Cluj also provide the opposition in a tough section. But Bolingoli predicts a deep run in the tournament for the reigning Scottish champions.
He helped his Austrian club Rapid Vienna to advance from Rangers’ group last season before exiting to Inter Milan in the knockout round.
The full-back fared even better as a 19-year-old winger with Club Brugge in 2014/15, scoring two away goals at Besiktas to land a last-eight berth. The Belgians went on to lose to eventual runners-up Dnipro in the quarter-finals.
Having sized up the strengths of Celtic after settling into his new club, the £3million signing believes he can improve on those efforts this year.
Bolingoli said: ‘I have a lot
of experience in the competition and can’t wait to start with Celtic because I believe we can do something in the Europa League — I think we can go very far.
‘When I look back, with Club Brugge and SK Rapid, every club I played with in the Europa League gave me a nice experience.
‘With Rapid last season, we got through the group and played against Inter. We were really happy to get so far.
‘I scored two goals with Club Brugge in the last 16 of the Europa League against Besiktas to get to the last eight, in a great atmosphere in Turkey.
‘That is my best moment in European football because we had a really good season. We were No 1 in the league and playing very well.
‘With Celtic, we can do much better than that. I am looking forward to it starting. It’s going to be a great season for us.
‘I have this feeling because we have so much quality. Celtic is not a club that goes to the Europa League just to be there, to do nothing.
‘Celtic is a big club and we want to represent the name of this football club in the Europa League.
‘The first game is against Rennes, a good team, and we have to be ready. We want to go far and try to win something.’