Celtic’s Croatian full-back, Josip Juranovic has heaped praise on our captain Callum McGregor, describing him as a ‘true leader’. Juranovic arrived from Legia Warsaw this summer and has hardly played in his own position due to the renaissance of Tony Ralston – who incidentally has just signed a new contract keeping him at the club until 2025.
The £2.5 million signing was effusive in his praise of McGregor, insisting that he is up there with the like of international teammates, Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic. Speaking to Daily Record, Josip said: “I love playing for Celtic, but when you represent your country at this level of football it is really amazing. It also gives me the opportunity to play with the best midfield ever.
“We have Luka Modric, but I can also play with Ivan Perisic who has had an amazing career. We also have Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovacic who has won Champions Leagues. It’s amazing. What have I learned from them? Everything, how to be calm on the ball, how we attack, how we defend. With Luka in your team you are 10 times better.”
On McGregor being cut from the same cloth, he added: “Of course, because Callum has been with the club for maybe 20 years. He is a true leader, a true captain, and when he speaks we all listen. He went out of his way to welcome me to the club when I arrived, texting me a message. Every person here is a great footballer and they are good people.”
When the two came up against each other in the summer at Euro 2020, Juranovic won the bragging rights as Croatia beat Scotland 2-1 to advance to the knockout phase of the tournament. The full-back taunted his captain playfully about the game at the Euros, insisting it was all in good humour. He said: “I did show Callum a picture from the game against Scotland where I was protecting the ball and he was behind me trying to get it. But I had it between my legs so he couldn’t get it. He found that quite funny.”
Juranovic also says the bonds are being developed within the squad, after he himself was pictured with goalkeeper Joe Hart last week. He added: “For me it’s better to be a good person and than to be a football player because we are at a game only for 90 minutes or 120 minutes. After that you must be a good person. Here we are like a family and that is the most important thing. You can see at PSG for example, they have very good players but they are not like a family and they don’t win all their games. Here you can see every minute that we are supporting each other, that we have one another’s backs.”
One of the main gripes of last season was the apparent lack of responsibility and team spirit to work for one another. This season looks to be a complete culture change within the squad, with Callum coordinating the harmony inside the squad. Celtic will need that team spirit tomorrow in Hungary, when they take on Ferencvaros in the away leg of their double-header.
Paul Gillespie
