Fraser Forster is one of the greatest Celtic goalkeepers in living memory for many supporters. The Englishman was a mainstay between the sticks in the five years he spent at the club across two separate spells.
Some of the saves he made left little to the imagination. His performance against Rangers in the 2019 League Cup final single-handedly helped the Hoops on their way to securing a quadruple-treble with his contributions against Barcelona a few years prior being equally as significant.
Versus the Spanish giants on two separate occasions, Forster was out of this world. At the Camp Nou, Neil Lennon’s team were painstakingly undone late on but at Parkhead, they got their rewards in a deserved 2-1 win.
That night and across both games in the 2012/13 Champions League group stages, the now 35-year-old was at the peak of his powers, Spanish media labelling him ‘La Gran Muralla’ – The Great Wall.
His displays will be remembered for lifetimes, and the official X account recognised them, indeed posting a compilation of them both Monday afternoon:
La Gran Muralla 🧱
Fraser Forster vs Barcelona, 2012/13 🎥#UCL pic.twitter.com/jM6e54RYIl
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) January 22, 2024
In years to come, Celtic, and football fans around Europe, will continually recognise Forster’s performances against the Catalonians as some of the best goalkeeping ones in the Champions League’s history.
They just go to show how pivotal having a quality goalkeeper at the peak of their powers can be to a team, also serving to back up the point that the recruitment of a new number one to replace current ‘keeper Joe Hart is carried out wisely.
