Celtic cult-hero Emilio Izaguirre is mightily impressed with the impact that his fellow countryman Luis Palma has made at his old club and the only other Honduran to play for Celtic reckons that given half a chance Palma can cause Atletico Madrid a few surprises in the Champions League tomorrow evening.
“I hope that Luis Palma scores another goal and that Celtic win the match,’ the former Celtic fas favourite stated, as reported by Mundo Deportivo. “Football is all about moments. Celtic can take advantage of set pieces because they have very tall players. I believe they can win. I think Celtic will certainly be able to compete.
“I thought Celtic were unfortunate only to get a draw in the first match after leading twice. It was a very difficult game for Atletico and I felt it was a very even match,” Emilio added.
“Celtic play at a very high level. In football, anything can happen. In 2012, we were beating Barcelona in the Nou Camp thanks to a goal from Georgios Samaras. Andres Iniesta equalised and then Jordi Alba won it for them in injury time. But we were very close to beating them and that’s my point about Celtic at Atletico. In football, you never know what will happen,” Izaguirre said.
And the former Celtic left-back who the hearts of the Celtic support and had a few brilliant songs given to him by the support, reckons his fellow countryman is the real deal.
“Luis Palma is an excellent player who can score goals and play in three different positions, either as a wide midfielder on either wing or through the middle. He is technically very good. There are very few players that I have known who have this ability.
“I knew about his potential for years. He was with me in the Honduras National Team in 2019. He was just starting out, I think he was 18 years old when they called him up. He is a great player. When he was in Vida, we wanted to bring him to Motagua, but he went to Aris in Thessaloniki in Greece instead. And after that, he signed for Celtic.”
And Emilio revealed his own role in Celtic’s interest in Luis Palma after his spoke to Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson about the winger.
“I was playing a legends match between Celtic and Liverpool in March. I met Michael (Nicholson, Celtic CEO) and recommended Palma and other players like Elis or Lozano.
“I spoke well about Luis, I told him that they would look at him and that he was a player who could be very useful for the club. He is a young, 22-year-old (now 23) player, who can have a great season and then sell him.”
“He is a very technical player, he is different. He has a good punch, he has a goal and he can play in up to three positions.
“Technically very good. He can make a difference on set pieces or long-range shots. There are few players like him who have the framework well drawn in their heads. Having players like that who are capable of scoring goals from 35 meters makes a difference.”
Matt Corr’s new book Majic, Stan and the King of Japan is out now and Neil Lennon, the Celtic captain that season, has written the foreword for us.
You can get a signed copy of the hardback version direct from Celtic Star Books by clicking on the image below. It’s also available an an e-book via Amazon Kindle and please note that all colour photographs that appear in the beautifully presented printed hardback book are also available in the Kindle version of Majic, Stan and the King of Japan…
