Shakhtar Donetsk manager Igor Jovicevic claims Celtic Park was incredible and intense during his side’s 1-1 draw against the Hoops on Tuesday night.
Jovicevic told RecordSport: “Our young team did not give up in the incredible atmosphere at Celtic which was the most intense I have ever felt as a manager. It was the same noise as when I made my debut for Real Madrid, I played a friendly match against Benfica in front of 120,000 people,”
But this isn’t another article about how opponents love Celtic Park and Celtic fans. Quite the opposite.
As this team grows together, we want to see these managers come out of Celtic Park not knowing what hit them. I don’t know about anybody else, but these nice words can ring hollow.
Well it’s great to earn kudos for our support, I’d much rather opposition teams leave with their tails between their legs with a chip on their shoulder than telling us how much of an atmosphere we create.
The likes of Maldini, Messi, Alex Ferguson and Del Piero all have had nice things to say about the support, but only after they’ve walked out of Celtic Park with a big fat ‘L’.
Europe is a different animal from even ten years ago. Twenty years ago when Martin O’Neill was in charge, Celtic Park was a fortress. It was crazy! You’d draw some of the best clubs in World football and you’d be thinking, right, we’re due at least seven points from our home games, maybe even nine. It was the away days that cost us. O’Neill’s side was desperately unlucky never to make the final 16 of the Champions League. Finishing on 9 points one season and still not qualifying.
But fortress Parkhead was something else. It was a place people feared rather than looked forward to coming. It was a place the best football had to offer came and found it difficult to play their football.
We’ve lost that, and it’s time to get it back. Ange spoke about having a Champions League support, but not a Champions league side at the moment. The gaffer is spot on, and he’s determined to bring the team up to the level of the support. Ange believes the more exposure to the Champions League the better we’ll be. Fingers crossed we’re back in the mix next season after a group stage campaign where we’ve fell short in key areas.
