GREEKS FACING A SOUND CHECK
We know Athens will be noisy and hostile but wait till they hear Celtic Park, says Ajer By BRIAN MARJORIBANKS
APOWDERKEG atmosphere is assured when Celtic head to Greece for the second leg of their Champions League third-round qualifier with AEK Athens next week.
Last season, it could be said that PAOK Salonika’s shooting cost them a chance of winning the Superleague when their club president Ivan Savvidis charged on to the pitch with a gun to protest against an 89th-minute ‘goal’ for his side being disallowed against AEK.
Athens’ first title in 24 years was duly confirmed after a probe into the firearms controversy that ended with PAOK docked points.
A league scarred by explosive behaviour by fans, before what is known as The Derby of the Eternal
Enemies in 2015, Olympiakos striker Alfred Finnbogason’s tracksuit trousers were set alight as flares and firecrackers from Panathinaikos fans turned the Apostolos Nikolaidis ground into a fiery hellscape.
Warning that Greek football was ‘on the edge of the cliff,’ FIFA cautioned that the country’s clubs would be excluded from international competition if they failed to clean up their act.
Yet, while Celtic defender Kris Ajer fully expects hostile scenes in Athens next week, the Norwegian warned AEK that few stadiums on the planet compare to Celtic Park on a Champions League night.
‘I didn’t know about the gun incident, but I have to say that when you play at Celtic Park, you are used to a fantastic atmosphere — one of the best in the world,’ said the Norway international.
‘The Celtic Park atmosphere is unbelievable and it is like that every time you play there. On Saturday when we unfurled the league flag against Livingston, it was fantastic, unbelievable.
‘We are used to it and, hopefully, we can get a good result in front of our fans. Any time you play the first leg of a European tie at home, it’s important to get a good result.’
Jozo Simunovic was suspended for both second-round ties against Rosenborg, while Dedryck Boyata was on an extended break after helping Belgium finish third at the World Cup.
That meant Brendan Rodgers’ side negotiating the Champions League qualifying highwire with 20-year-old Ajer partnering 23-year-old Jack Hendry at the back.
Boyata is now back in training, but Wednesday against AEK is likely to be too early for his inclusion in the starting line-up.
And despite what many would view as a fortuitous draw in the final qualifying round, with Celtic facing either Swedish side Malmo or Hungarian outfit MOL Vidi, Ajer does not expect the level of competition to drop in the play-off round if they make it past AEK. Indeed, he warned that Celtic cannot afford to look any further than tomorrow night’s tricky-looking first-leg tie.
‘When you play these Champions League qualifiers, there will always be difficult games. It is tough every single year,’ he said.
‘We have played against some really good teams so far this season. The first game against Alashkert was really difficult out there. They made it tough for us.
‘Rosenborg are a great team, too. AEK are also a fantastic team who won their league in Greece last year, so it will not be easy.
‘It is really tough, but it’s the Champions League and you play the best teams in the world.
‘And when you meet so many great teams, you have to focus only on the next one. It comes on Wednesday against AEK Athens and, right now, that is all we are thinking about. We have to take it one game at a time.
‘When you play for Celtic, the target every year is always to get into the Champions League.’
Just 12 months ago, Ajer was thrown into the deep end for his Champions League debut against Rosenborg.
In the last round against the same Norwegian team, the big defender was making his eighth European appearance for the Scottish champions.
He is now feeling the benefit of his growing game-time on the continent and he and the club will leave no stone unturned in the preparations for facing AEK.
‘I feel as though I am more experienced with every match,’ said Ajer. ‘I feel more confident having played so many games now for Celtic.
‘It makes me believe in myself, but also I know the club a lot more. I know how we are supposed to be playing and that makes it easier.
‘Playing for Celtic is a real dream come true and I look forward to every game because they come so quickly. ‘At this club, we take it one game at a time. That is really important. We had to be 100-per-cent focused on the Livingston game at the weekend. ‘But this week will be spent looking at Athens. I’ll be studying all of their offensive players. I will hear all about their strengths and weaknesses. That is always really important in my preparation.’ Ajer comes across as fairly unflappable for a young man of just 20. He admits listening to Norwegian music — including 80s pop band A-HA — before matches helps get him in the requisite chilled frame of mind for a big match.
‘In the beginning, I got a bit nervous before games — but with all the help I get from the staff and the gaffer, I feel calm,’ he said. ‘It’s important to get a good balance, to understand that these are big games that you are playing in but not to get too nervous.
‘So I am quite calm in the dressing room beforehand.
‘I always listen to the same Norwegian music before I go out. That’s something I always do. What is it like? You would not understand a word of it. It’s not classical music, just really calm music. A-HA? A-HA is brilliant!’