‘Celtic Park has the best atmosphere in Europe’ and some of football’s biggest legends, including Lionel Messi, have confirmed Celtic fan’s claims that we create one of the greatest atmospheres in football…
It would come as no shock to any Celtic fan that Celtic Park, a few years ago was named 5th (out of 30 stadiums) best atmosphere in world football by a France Football Poll. Anyone who has attended a match at Celtic Park would absolutely agree with this, some would even claim we deserve better than 5th.
My first Celtic match was a game against St. Johnstone at home. I was around 6 or 7 years old, and I still remember it vividly. I come from a huge family of Celtic fans, so I was very aware of the reputation we had for an incredible atmosphere, and I was bursting with excitement to finally see this for myself.. but actually nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to experience!
I can’t recall much of the game, but I do perfectly remember standing in the stadium and just looking around in complete shock as thousands held up their scarves and sang ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at the top of their voices. A song I had known by heart and had sang repeatedly with my family at home, but I now couldn’t get a single word of it out as I was stood in complete awe at what I was witnessing.
You would expect that initial feeling to fade over time as you got used to it, but I can confirm that to this day when I stand in Celtic Park, I’m still stood in complete awe of the atmosphere that our fans create. I recently went back to Celtic Park for the first time in three years for the Bodø/Glimt game, and that feeling of complete shock hit me all over again.
As I climbed up the stairs to the Jock Stein stand, and slowly saw the green of the stadium multiply with each step up, I felt a buzz of pure excitement to finally be back in what feels like my second home. Although it ended in a 3-1 defeat, I headed for home still feeling that buzz just from being in the stadium.
As a life-long Celtic fan, I’ve always felt my passion when discussing our stadium and our atmosphere might come across as biased, but thankfully some of football’s greatest have confirmed that it’s just facts, no matter what team you support. From a super-fan who has visited over 500 stadiums, to Messi and Ronaldo, the praise our stadium and atmosphere has received over the years proves that it’s not just us Celtic fans who believe it.
Federico Roccio, an Italian super fan, has spent his life visiting different stadiums world-wide. Roccio has visited 25 countries including Spain, Germany, France, and England. But of all the stadiums he has experienced, the one that excited him most of all was Celtic Park. He even admitted that our atmosphere brought him to tears. “I even cried. Despite a heavy 3-0 loss, the fans just kept singing and they invited us to drink with them. It was fantastic”, he said of our atmosphere.
But Federico Roccio is not alone, as even some of the best footballers in the world have backed up his claims. Barcelona’s Xavi is one of the many to credit the atmosphere, he claimed that “walking out into that atmosphere is always intense. I don’t think I have seen anything like the Celtic fans in all the stadiums I have played”.
But Xavi wasn’t the only of the Barcelona squad to credit our atmosphere, he was joined by Gerard Pique who also made the claim that “the atmosphere at Celtic Park is the best in Europe”. Andres Iniesta also backed-up his team mates claim, as he added “the Celtic fans are very special and the club and players can be very proud of them. They are the best I have ever heard”.
It is no secret that there is a long-running debate as to who is football’s goat, Messi or Ronaldo. But there is something else these two have in common, and that is their admiration for the atmosphere at Celtic Park. Messi was left so impacted by the atmosphere at Celtic Park that he bought himself a jersey. Speaking of the atmosphere, Messi says “Celtic Park is a tough place to go to, it is never easy to get a result there. It is the best atmosphere in Europe and we all want to experience that again”.
But, if you’re more of a fan of Portuguese superstar, Ronaldo, not to be confused with our own superstar from Portugal, then fear not, as he also speaks highly of his experiences of a Celtic Atmosphere. Speaking of Celtic Park, Sir Alex Ferguson had some praise for us, and also noted Ronaldo’s appreciation, “Parkhead is THE best I’ve experienced. The players were just talking about that the other day – Vidic and Ronaldo were saying it’s the best atmosphere they had ever played in”.
So, whether you ask a fan or a football legend, their answer will most likely be very similar when it comes to the Celtic Park atmosphere. It turns out we are not being bias after all when we give ourselves high praise for the atmosphere we create, it’s just a fact that Celtic Park has one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, atmosphere in football.
Christie Tierney
I’ve been going to Celtic Park since the 70s, European Nights are worth the accolades but Red Star Belgrade are at leat the equal and certainly their “Delije” are the best fans I’ve witnessed…the irony of irony is Sevco will experience it firsthand next Thursday
Saw my first game against Third Lanark sitting in the old stand and it wasn’t exactly packed out. Messi saying it’s never easy getting a result there has come back to haunt him. Saw any games in South America? Makes Celtic Park seem like a morgue.