When Celtic And AZ Alkmaar Last Met

Celtic have not faced AZ Alkmaar in competitive action before. However, the two teams did clash in a friendly at Celtic Park back on 28 April 2010. On that occasion the visitors won 2-1, in front of a tiny crowd of 2,000 fans.

Celtic were contractually obliged to fulfil the fixture, which was arranged for season ticket holders who missed out on a home Scottish Cup tie. It had been scheduled to take place a week earlier, but was postponed because of European flight chaos. The Hoops’ then caretaker boss Neil Lennon said: “I’d have preferred it then so I could have watched the Youth Cup Final.” And his comments reflected the mood among the support as some 9,000 Celtic fans preferred to go to Hampden for the Youth Cup game against Rangers!

Lennon made 11 changes from the side that beat Dundee Utd 2-0, a week earlier. Zheng Zhi and Morten Rasmussen missed golden opportunities before Georgios Samaras scored in the 39th minute, firing the ball past Joey Didulica after the keeper had made a great stop from Josh Thompson.

Three minutes before the break Graziano Pele levelled, capitalising on lax marking to crash an effort beyond Lucasz Zaluska. Pele would go on to become an acclaimed name in England, starring for Southampton in the Premier League.

As the game petered out, Jonathas de Jesus tucked away a spot kick after Edson Braafheid handled inside the area.

Lennon remarked: “We were up against very good opposition and hopefully the young players learned from that.”

The team line up was: Zaluska, O’Dea, Thompson, Caddis, McGinn, Braafheid, Zhi, McGowan, Samaras, Yueng, Rasmussen. Subs: Cervi, McCourt, Wilson, Tolmie, George, Ordish, Young. Only Samaras, O’Dea and McCourt went on to have a memorable Celtic career.

About Author

Hailing from an Irish background, I grew up on the English south coast with the good fortune to begin watching Celtic during the Martin O'Neill era. I have written four Celtic books since the age of 19: Our Stories & Our Songs: The Celtic Support, Take Me To Your Paradise: A History Of Celtic-Related Incidents & Events, Walfrid & The Bould Bhoys: Celtic's Founding Fathers, First Season & Early Stars, and The Holy Grounds of Glasgow Celtic: A Guide To Celtic Landmarks & Sites Of Interest. These were previously sold in Waterstones and official Celtic FC stores, and are now available on Amazon.

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