SHORT of arranging the kidnapping of their opponents on the day of the game and claiming forfeiture of the points through their non-appearance, there seems to be nothing Celtic can do to profit from away matches in the group phase of the Champions League.
The latest reversal in the 1-0 defeat by Villarreal the other night, however, is made even more destructive than usual by its timing. Placed between the depressing scoreless draw at home to Aalborg and the looming double-header with Manchester United
(with the first leg, ominously, at Old Trafford), the abortive trip to Spain leaves little hope of retrieval with only a third of the six-match series in Group E completed.
For the Scottish champions, the limit of the European dream this season already appears to be the parachute into the Uefa Cup that is the reward for taking third place in the section. In truth, it is an objective that should have been obvious from any impartial assessment of their prospects in the immediate aftermath of a draw that put them in the company of such formidable rivals.
Any expectation, or even hope, of Celtic finishing higher than either the reigning European champions or the team who finished runners-up to Real Madrid in the Primera Liga – ten points ahead of Barcelona in third place – would have to be rooted in fantasy of the most quixotic order.
Even a logical correlation of form made Gordon Strachan's team's visit to El Madrigal on Tuesday a virtually insurmountable problem. They had, after all, been comprehensively outplayed by Barca in the first knockout tie last season. In the interim, the most celebrated of the Celtic manager's summer recruits have been Georgios Samaras and Shaun Maloney, at fees, respectively, of £1.2 million and £1 million.
Samaras and Maloney – along with the other newcomers, Glenn Loovens and Marc Crosas – would enlarge Strachan's squad and offer him more options as well as intensifying competition for places, but they could not reasonably be expected to make the transforming impact of a Dimitar Berbatov (£31m) or a Fernando Torres (£28m) at the highest level of the European game.
Celtic in the last couple of years have been declaring financial returns showing record turnover and profits and who, in the current economic climate, could possibly argue with the wisdom of that policy? But stability in the business side of the operation is necessarily achieved at the expense of the football department and Strachan, despite his public stoicism whenever the subject is raised, must privately ache for the kind of funds that are available to those with whom he is expected to compete.
In the circumstances, Celtic delivered a creditable, if ultimately pointless, performance at El Madrigal. Indeed, in terms of pre-match expectations – these included the worry that a terrorising start and an early goal from Villarreal could lead to humiliation – the single-goal defeat, and from a set piece by the exceptional Marcos Senna at that, amounted almost to a moral victory.
Strachan was entitled to his claim that his team had been more comfortable than he had ever seen them in a daunting away match in Europe. But his follow-up comment, that, after 55 minutes, they had been pushed ever further back and failed to retain possession as they had previously, was a tacit admission that only one team deserved to win the match – and they did.
Much of that impressive movement and control from Celtic during a first half in which Samaras squandered a golden opportunity to give them the lead was attributable to the manager's boldness in selection and tactics. Allowing Maloney, Shunsuke Nakamura and Aiden McGeady to roam around forward areas, making themselves difficult to mark when Celtic had the ball, while Scott Brown and Paul Hartley did the labouring in central midfield, was a manoeuvre that seemed to cause Villarreal a certain consternation.
The Spanish side, while enjoying their fair share of possession and attacking surges, were nevertheless quite sloppy in the final third of the pitch. That would change as their confidence grew during the second half and the pressure they exerted on the visitors became more concerted.
Even so, Strachan's feeling that his team had not benefited from the "little break" that is almost invariably essential on such occasions seemed quite justified. The volley from Scott McDonald soon after the little Aussie came on as a substitute, looked for a moment like dipping under the crossbar for an equaliser before landing on the wrong side of the net.
However unfortunate the defeat may have seemed – and the club's supporters would, in the main, believe that they had done enough to merit a point – it was Celtic's 15th defeat in 16 Champions League group matches away from home. In addition, they have now played two in the current campaign and have yet to score a goal. With Manchester United next up, these are hardly encouraging figures.
The full article contains 844 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
