Deila’s road to riches
Deila believes that special Parkhead atmosphere can play crucial role in completing mission
RONNY DEILA says the prestige of proving themselves worthy of Champions League status means more to him and his Celtic players than the £20million that comes with qualifying for the group stages. And the Parkhead boss hopes that reaching the promised land of the world’s richest football competition can help establish the Scottish champions as regulars among Europe’s elite. Deila, preparing to take on Azerbaijani side Qarabag in the first leg of their third qualifying- round tie at Celtic Park on Wednesday, said: ‘You don’t get money out of thinking always about money. ‘You have to love the game and you have to love to train, and then the money will come. This is what I say to my
THE Nou Camp, the Santiago Bernabeu, the Allianz Arena … all destinations just waiting to be erased from Ronny Deila’s personal bucket list.
None of them, however, provide the special thrills — raucous, inspiring, electrifying and even unnerving — of the place he now calls home.
‘I dream of a lot of great stadiums in Europe — I haven’t been to so many,’ said the Norwegian with a grin.
‘ You have the English clubs, Spanish teams, Bayern Munich, a lot of really good sides. It would be great to go to these places with Celtic.
‘But it is more fun to be here at Celtic Park than to be at the Nou Camp. Of course, it’s fun to go there — but better to bring Barcelona to our ground.
‘Why? Because here we have something that i s special, the atmosphere — you feel you are part of something bigger.
‘Before I joined the club, I came over for the Barcelona game when Celtic lost 1-0. It was unbelievable. I had never seen anything like it.’
So far, Europe has been a source of limited satisfaction for Deila, with that Champions League debacle right at the start of his reign — a great pub-quiz answer, the team to get knocked out of the same competition twice in a matter of weeks — only partially compensated for by eventual progress to the knockout stages of the Europa League, where I nter Milan delivered defeat wrapped up in nostalgia.
As he prepares his team to take on unknown but far from harmless Azerbaijani opponents Qarabag in the third qualifying round next week, Deila admits he allows himself to fantasise about more glamorous nights against Barca, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
‘Those are the kinds of teams I want to play against,’ he said. ‘I want to do something in Europe, gain some experience and enjoy moments that you will never forget in your life.
‘My dream is to play a big team at Celtic Park, have the possession and really make it a difficult night for the best opponent. Inter Milan was a good experience.
‘We want to have that tempo and intensity in this game (against Qarabag) and also get a result, which is the most important thing.’
No one needs reminding over the stakes in this tie because it isn’t just a £20million reward lying in wait, should Celtic eventually gain a foothold in the group stage.
The real reward lies in proving, at least temporarily, that they belong in such exalted company.
Asked if he thought Celtic were a Champions League team, Deila said: ‘We’ll see. We’ll know soon. I think we have a much better team than last year, so now we face a big test.
‘I think we’ll go through if we play at the level we did against Inter Milan, although we have to be slightly more compact defensively at home. In those two legs, the way we played, that’s enough to beat Qarabag.
‘But of course, we can only say Celtic is a Champions League team i f we get i nto the Champions League.
‘Qarabag are a team who are not so very well known, Azerbaijan is not in the centre of the football world — but this is a good team. They did well last season, so we need to have everything at the top of our game to beat them.
‘There are so many sides around Europe who are in maybe not so good leagues, but they have a rich owner or a good team.
‘Here, we’re talking about a team with Spanish players and two Brazilians. So they have money to invest in the team.
‘It’s not enough just to look at the country they’re coming from. You have to look at what kind of team they are.
‘They had a very hard group in the Europa League last year, with Dnipro, who went to the Final and we know how good Inter Milan were.
‘We have to get to know them quickly. We’ve seen video, we’ve had them watched live, so we’re in good control. We know we’re going to meet a good team and we have to
be at our best to get through to the next stage.
‘Everybody (at Celtic) is looking differently at it. We have an analysis team, John Kennedy is in charge of that, so he is watching more than us, maybe.
‘But then we all sit and discuss things, build up a very concrete match plan by the time we get to Wednesday.
‘We need to be at the level we were against Inter Milan if we’re going to go through. You can see the results they (Qarabag) had last year in the group, with Dnipro, Inter and St Etienne. They also beat Twente.
‘It will be a big test for us. I know we can do it. But I know we need to be on top form to get through.’
This is precisely the kind of game designed to test the nerve of the most hardened coaches.
An entire season rests on the performance of players who can’t possibly have hit their competitive stride yet.
Deila, who will effectively field two different teams in today’s home friendly against French club Rennes, said: ‘You are excited. You know how important these games are.
‘But that’s not something you can deal with in one day. It’s a process that takes a long time.
‘I’m satisfied with what we’ve done so far, I think the development of the team has been good.
‘I feel much more comfortable now, going into this game, than I did at that same stage last year.
‘We really need a lot of people at the Qarabag match to create an atmosphere at Celtic Park.
‘Of course, the crowd make a difference. The atmosphere is so important. You saw that against Inter Milan.’