BROWN CAN PUT BITE ON FRENCH
WITH a CV encompassing Lyon, Roma and the French national team — and former would-be suitors including Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Arsenal — Clement Grenier’s danger to Celtic on Thursday ought to be visible from outer space.
Had he not suffered some wretched misfortune with injury throughout his 28 years, there is every chance the Rennes attacking midfielder would have attained superstar status in the game pretty much wherever he fancied it.
When he came through Lyon’s academy, the widespread belief was that the kid from the small town of Annonay in southern France was every bit as talented as their talismanic Brazilian Juninho Pernambucano. Some even felt he was comparable to Kaka.
That those levels were never quite reached in 2018, Julien Stephan’s side claimed their first Coupe de France since 1971 last season. They finished tenth in Ligue 1 but already look good to significantly improve upon that this term. They are currently second behind PSG having already defeated the perennial title favourites.
As stern an examination as Grenier and his team-mates look set to provide when Celtic’s Christopher Jullien returns to Roazhon Park on Thursday, the ex-Toulouse defender remains relatively unperturbed.
With star striker M’Baye Niang an injury doubt, the onus will be on Grenier to pull the strings. But, in Scott Brown, Jullien feels his side have just the man to ensure that doesn’t happen.
‘The most important individual for them is Grenier,’ Jullien offered. ‘He was famous when he was young.
‘He is the midfielder who controls everything for them. He switches the play and has a great delivery from free-kicks.
‘Talented young players around him listen to everything he says. He is a big part of their success.
‘They (Grenier and Brown) are totally different and that’s why I’m happy going into this tie. I know Grenier and, if he has someone like Broony breathing down his neck, he won’t be the same.
‘If you press him in an aggressive way, he’s not happy. If he doesn’t have the time and space to dictate the tempo and he has someone on him, then he’s not so effective.
‘He’s still good but he’s not the same — and I’m sure our management will have noticed that.’
Jullien, meanwhile, is adamant Celtic can improve upon their Europa League run of last year — and reach the latter stages of the tournament.
Under Brendan Rodgers, the Scottish champions emerged from a section containing Red Bull Salzburg, RB Leipzig and Rosenborg only to lose out in the last 32 to Valencia.
This year’s task in Group E looks equally taxing, with Neil Lennon’s side facing Lazio and Cluj, as well as Thursday’s opponents Rennes.
With the likes of Sevilla and Roma joining Arsenal and Manchester United in the group stage and eight Champions League sides set to parachute in at the turn of the year, Jullien stopped short of claiming Celtic can actually lift the trophy in Gdansk on May 27.
But the French defender feels Celtic certainly have the required quality to ensure their interest in the tournament extends well into the New Year.
‘Yes, I believe we can, absolutely,’ said the £7million defender.
‘Since I arrived here, I have seen that all the players constantly have trophies on their minds. They want to win at everything, even in training. This is important for our team.
‘That gives us hope and we will see what happens. We will take it all game by game and see what it is, but if you were to go into the locker room right now and ask each of them what their goal was, they would tell you it is to bring that trophy home. And I’m just following them.
‘I think the same way as them. Everything I do is geared to winning and I hope we can go on and do something special in this competition.
‘We don’t know what will happen. It’s game by game and we’ll see. In our heads, we think of trophies. This is the way we should think.’ Lennon’s men face a tough opener, with Rennes sitting second in Ligue 1 behind PSG after having won their first three league games then drawing one and losing one. Italian Cup holders Lazio currently sit ninth in Serie A, while Cluj, who eliminated Celtic from the Champions League only to be knocked out by Slavia Prague, are top of the Romanian league ahead of an October 3 rematch in Glasgow. Stressing the need to hit the ground running in Brittany, Jullien added: ‘We have to be ready for that game because it will set the tone for us in Europe. ‘When you see the draw, every group has good teams, so it’s going to be tough and a big challenge for us.’ Boasting a blend of home-spun talents as well as high-profile additions
like Grenier and players from Sweden, Brazil and Senegal, Rennes are very much seen as a team on the rise.
Last year, they eliminated Astana and Jablonec to finish second behind Dynamo Kiev in their Europa League group, then impressively took care of Real Betis before being narrowly beaten by Arsenal in the last 16.
That they fully expect to at least emulate that run this season comes as no surprise to Jullien.
‘It’s not going to be as intense (an atmosphere) as it was at Ibrox, but it will be good,’ said Jullien as he reflected on his first Old Firm derby experience.
‘They had gone without European football for seven years until they won the French Cup last season.
‘Rennes have made a good start to the season and have even beaten PSG, which surprised a few. They have a lot of very good young players, which is one of the things they are famous for.
‘They have an excellent striker in Niang and some good midfield players. In fact, they are a good team. It would be a mistake for us to go there thinking otherwise. They aren’t a team you can take lightly and think everything will be okay.’