16 months.
523 days.
12552 hours.
That was how long ago it was since Celtic Park was last bustling with people.
Much has happened since then – mostly for the bad in terms of on the pitch behaviour – but a new exciting period is on the horizon in East Glasgow, with Ange Postecoglou and Kyogo Furuhashi especially giving Hoops fans renewed belief that the title can be regained.
The last time Celtic played in front of a capacity crowd was the 5-0 drubbing of St Mirren on 7th March 2020. To put into context how long ago that was, David Turnbull was still a young Motherwell player, Vasilias Barkas was unheard of, Neil Lennon (unknowingly to him) still had just under a year left as Celtic manager and of course, the Hoops’ were cruising to the title.
And finally, after so much anguish and compliance, we can stop the count – because today it has been confirmed that Celtic fans will finally meet again in a full house at Paradise this Thursday.
It seems almost like a pipe dream to imagine what Celtic Park will look like with 60,000 adoring fans inside. Yes, the feeling of being allowed back in against West Ham, Preston, Midtjylland and Dundee was good, but nothing quite replicates the feeling of a full house.
Celtic vs FK Jablonec sold out after today’s general sale. pic.twitter.com/0i0MruOGPd
— John McGinley (@jhnmcgnly) August 10, 2021
The Bhoys’ go into the lead with one foot in the next round given they cruised to a 4-2 win in Czech Republic last week, with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar awaiting the winners. And with attacking talents Kyogo Furuhashi and Ryan Christie firing on all cylinders, it should be Celtic making the play-off round.
Here’s the update from the club confirming that the game tomorrow night is a sell-out…
🏟👏 Thanks to your phenomenal support, #CELFKJ tickets have sold out!
We can’t wait to welcome you back under the Paradise lights 🤩#UEL | #COYBIG 🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) August 11, 2021
