Celtic’s Champions League Challengers – Eddie Murray’s Quick-ish Guide

Celtic’s European Challengers – Eddie Murray’s Quick-ish Review…

Celtic have been handed a relatively kind draw in the newly formatted Champions League. Kind, not easy. It’s worth noting that we’re in a group with three European cup winners, a Champions League finalist from last season, the Europa League holders and two Conference League semi-Finalists!

Here’s a quick rundown on our opponents, although the order and dates of the matches have not, at the time of writing, been announced yet.

RB Leipzig

Home to RB Leipzig. The Red Bull franchisee will be keen to up their ante as they currently sit 4th in the German Bundesliga, although the season has only just begun. Coached by the respected Marco Rose, they will be a challenge to manage. Their key men? No real superstars to talk of, but with Willi Orban, Xavi Simons, Christoph Baumgartner, Yussuf Poulson, Lois Openda and Andre Silva in their ranks, we have some work to do. Key note; theRangers knocked them out of Europe just over a year ago…

Borussia Dortmund

The Yellow Wall of Borussia Dortmund will be the least of Celtic’s problems when we travel to the 81,000 strong, Signal Aduna Park. Coached by the Turk, Nuri Sahin, Dortmund will be formidable opponents. Key men; Yan Couto, Sabastian Haller, Marcel Sabitzer, Serhou Guirassi, and ex-Liverpool gun, Emre Can. A tough gig indeed!

Club Brugge

Club Brugge at Parkhead may sound appetising, but do not underestimate the Belgians. Nicky Hayen may not be a household name, but he’s steered the ‘Club’ to this level in Europe and must be respected. Having reached the UEFA Conference League semi-finals last year, they have a pedigree. Key men; Simon Mignolet, Hans Vanaken, Michal Skoras, and an up and coming defender named Dedryck Boyata. You may have heard of him! Club Brugge will bring a blue Bear as their mascot, that must give us cause for optimism!

Atalanta

Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio will be one of my favourite matches due to the style of play the Italians adopt.
Their history speaks for itself, and will be every bit as dangerous as Dortmund. The wily, Gian Piero Gasperini will have Rui Patricio, Juan Cuadrado, Mario Pasalic, Ademola Lookman, Ederson, Sead Kolasinac and Davide Zappacosta to entertain us. They also have Real Madrid and Arsenal in their group; hopefully they’ll keep their big performances for those studs…

Young Boys of Berne

Players of BSC Young Boys pose for a team photograph during the UEFA Champions League match between RB Leipzig and BSC Young Boys at Red Bull Arena on December 13, 2023 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Maryam Majd/Getty Images)

At home to Young Boys of Berne, Switzerland, there is hope. Patrick Rahmen will bring efficiency and discipline to this match, but that may not be enough. With no recent conquests to boast of, and no names to strike fear into our hearts, we should still be wary of the Boys from the Wankdorf Stadium. They beat super-rich Galatasaray recently…Two names did crop up, ex-Celt, Saidy Janko and ex-Ger, Cedric Itten. Both flopped in Glasgow. Enjoy this one folks!

Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb may be a tasty away fixture. Despite their relatively low capacity Stadio Maksimir only boasting 25,000, their fans are ultra-passionate and will give us the fear. Sergej Jakirovic will play his strongest eleven against Celtic and have Arijan Ademi, Raul Torrente, Bruno Petkovic, Martin Baturina and Samy Mmaee. Zagreb, with a plethora of internationals in their side, will be fast and strong, and Celtic will do well to match them. I think we can.

Slovan Bratislava

A home game against Champions league debutants, Slovan Bratislava should be interesting. It’s a match the fans will relish with the hope of points on the board. The Slovaks accounted for Midtjylland to get here, so they’ll still be for the watching. Coach, Vladimir Weiss both played for, and coached Slovakia in World Cups, so he should be respected. The names which matter will be Guram Kashia, another Vladimir Weiss (this time a winger), Elvis Issak, David Strelec and Juraj Kucka. Not names to whet the appetite, but they’ll be up for it.

Aston Villa

And finally…a short-ish journey to a little known team called Aston Villa. Nothing to see here! The Battle of Britain-of course it will be – will see the Bhoys go to war against Unai Emery’s finest, and this should be, along with Dortmund and Atalanta, the tie of the tournament for us against another club with their name on the Big Cup.
Pick a player; Diego Carlos, Tyrone Mings, Ross Barkley, Ollie Watkins, Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Leon Bailey, Leander Dendoncker, and…John McGinn. Never heard of ‘em. Brendan will have his Bhoys well up for this one and no wonder. What a plum to pull out!

Enjoy every second. These are great days to be a Celt. Hail Hail!

COYBIG

Eddie Murray