I am reviewing and selecting my team of the decade in celebration of Celtic’s Decade of Dominance and will select my XI that I feel have been the club’s best in the last ten years.
I have already selected Fraser Forster as my number one goalkeeper; however, now I need to select my fullbacks. Essentially on the left, it is a straight choice between Kieran Tierney and Emilio Izaguirre; whilst on the right, it can only be Mikael Lustig.
The Swede, who has made 82 appearances for his national team to date, was Celtic’s right back for over 8 years. Having signed on a free transfer from Rosenborg in 2012, Lustig represents some of Peter Lawwell’s best business. Notable mention to Adam Mathews, who was impressive down the right in times of Lustig’s absence but Lustig you’re the one. Lustig left Glasgow in the summer with 16 major honours, an outstanding achievement for an incredible servant of the club.
Not only was Lustig a tidy operator on the park, he got what Celtic was all about and you could see that by the way he behaved on the pitch as well as with his family. When he told his wife they were leaving Glasgow, she claims to have cried for days and despite Lustig appearing to be ‘finished’ in his last season – he still played his part in the Treble Treble. Lustig made 273 appearances for Celtic and scored 21 goals, including one at Pittodrie in May that sealed the League title. His header was the assist for Odsonne Edouard’s winner at Hampden in May, too. A winner and a modern day Celtic great.
Right Back – Mikael Lustig
As I mentioned before, there is only really two candidates for Celtic’s left back of the decade – Izaguirre or Tierney. Izaguirre was signed in 2010 as Neil Lennon began rebuilding from the Tony Mowbray era and the Honduran was signed for 650k. 271 appearances over two spells later, Izzy represented incredible value. In the 2010/11 season, he was a tormentor with his bombing runs and fine crossing, effectively working as a winger at times.
Again, Izaguirre is an incredibly decorated Celtic and his achievements – 7 Leagues, 3 Scottish Cups and 2 League Cups are impressive as well as a clean sweep of POTY awards in 2011; it would have normally been a straightforward decision to include Izzy in the team of the decade; however, it is due to the performance of the man that replaced him at Celtic Park this decision is more difficult.
In 2014, Kieran Tierney replaced Izaguirre to make his debut against Dundee. It was symbolic as the season after that, the previously first pick was demoted in the place of the homegrown 18-year-old. Tierney quickly gained respect for his hard tackling, gut-busting runs and modesty – he wore black boots and still stayed at home with his parents.
Tierney went from strength to strength and Izaguirre became a distant memory for the fans as their favourite made the left back berth his own. Along with his various personal accolades, Tierney was an integral part of the Treble Treble that the club completed over the last 3 seasons and his performances earned him a record £25m move.
Left Back – Kieran Tierney
