BROWN READY TO GO HUNTING
Celtic captain looking to add another memorable Russia trip to collection
FACE-TO-FACE with the Great Bear, Celtic tend to take a leaf out of the survivalist’s manual: Stand your ground and makes lots of noise.
Tonight will conclude a fourth assignment against Russian opposition in little over a decade for the Parkhead club. On each previous occasion, they have lived to tell the tale.
Back in 2007, Artur Boruc’s penalty save against Spartak Moscow sent Gordon Strachan’s men into the Champions League and Tommy Burns into orbit.
Two years later, the hapless Tony Mowbray managed to overturn a home loss to eliminate Dinamo Moscow.
If Neil Lennon’s greatest moment on the road was the Georgios Samarasinspired win over Spartak in 2012, victory over the Muscovites in Glasgow to clinch a last-16 Champions League place was arguably the crowning moment of his tenure.
‘The last time we played a Russian team — against Spartak — it was one of the best,’ recalled skipper Scott Brown. ‘Winning on penalties before that and Tommy jumping on top of us in the celebrations was something special. That was an emotional one, getting us in to the Champions League.
‘If we get through against Zenit, it will be right up there with that night. If we can get to the last 16 this year, it would be fantastic for the club. It would be a big achievement because you see some of the teams that are in this competition at this stage.’
Quite what it is about Celtic, Russian opponents and scenes of unbridled joy, no one is quite sure.
Normally cool, calm and collected, even Brendan Rodgers found it all a bit too much last week, wheeling away in celebration when Callum McGregor finished off a sumptuous move in style to give Celtic a 1-0 advantage.
‘You could see how much it means to the manager,’ added Brown.
‘It showed he loves the club and he believes in us. We played well on the day and everything felt right for us.
‘It was one of those nights. No one could believe it when he scored.
‘It was such a class goal. We kept the ball and were composed as we passed it around and the finish was fantastic.’
Unfancied in the tie before a ball was kicked, Celtic were fully entitled to a few moments of supreme satisfaction last week.
No one present was under any illusions, though. In front of a vast, expectant home crowd, Zenit might well be a different animal.
‘I do expect to see a difference in Zenit, especially at home,’ said Brown. ‘I think they’ll come and put us under a bit more pressure.
‘We kind of dominated the first 15-20 minutes with the ball, especially at the back.
‘We looked like a proper team, we kept our shape and our style, the way we wanted to play. Our pitch isn’t great at the moment, so coming here to play on a fantastic pitch will help us.’
Still to emerge from their winter break, Zenit’s concern with lingering rustiness is almost obsessive.
What’s beyond dispute, in Brown’s view, is the pedigree at their disposal.
‘Technically, Zenit were very good,’ he reflected. ‘All of their players were comfortable on the ball, always looking to bring it out from the back.
‘It’s pretty much Roberto Mancini’s way. He likes to do the same thing as we do, but he’s been doing it for years with other teams. But their fitness levels, being away in Italy over the last week, will probably be better.’
With the roof closed at the Krestovsky Stadium tonight, the atmosphere will be hostile and electric. Yet for the players who played in — and survived — an extraordinary night in southern Israel last year, everything is relative.
‘Be’er Sheva was unbelievable,’ said Brown. ‘It was horrid. The heat was intense and, of course, we went two-nil down. It was also going through our minds we’d given away a penalty and big Craigy (Gordon) had saved it.
‘We were constantly defending and kicking the ball long. Everything that we’re not now. But we managed to dig deep and luck was on our side.’
Celtic punctuated a stop-start to the second half of the season with a near perfect display in the first leg.
Brown feels any drop in standards is likely to only have one outcome.
‘I think it definitely will take a better performance for us to go through,’ he said. ‘We had a couple of more chances to put the ball in the net a bit earlier. If we get similar chances tomorrow, then I think we’ll have to take them.
‘Zenit are a top-quality team. It’s all about what we do, though. We’ve got to be brave, we’ve got to try and play our own brand of football.’
There would be no understating the scale of the achievement if Celtic were to qualify.
To put it in context, not since eliminating Barcelona from the 2003-04 UEFA Cup have they won a post-Christmas tie away in Europe.
‘It is very difficult,’ cautioned Brown. ‘But we’ve won knockout ties getting into the Champions League and those are the big ones for us at the start of a season.
‘Particularly when we’re not 100-percent fit and we’re playing catch up to other teams who are also generally halfway through their seasons.
‘Now the tide has turned. It’s Zenit’s off season and we’re a bit fitter. So it’s probably going to help us that bit more.’