Ange Postecoglou has stated that Celtic are happy to take on anyone in the UEFA Champions League after finally reaching the promised land of European football.
The Hoops will be in the group stages of Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since 2017 this year. Indeed, it comes to due Scotland’s rise in the coefficient rankings with Celtic winning the Premiership and gaining a golden ticket for next season.
It opens up the prospect of a host of potential glamour ties. The likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Liverpool could be heading to Parkhead just to name a few.
But when asked about who he would want to come up against in the competition, Ange delivered the response Celtic supporters will have wanted to hear.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Ange said: “Have I had a look at the list of clubs in the Champions League? Yeah. Who do you fancy … you fancy all of them because you know it’s going to be a tough gig whoever you get.
“But it’s where you want to be – it’s where the clubs want to be and where I want to be. I want us to go into that competition and make an impact. Champions League nights are special at Celtic Park and I can’t wait for them.”
Celtic looking ahead to the glitz and glamour of UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League just gets more and more difficult every time you see the pots for the new season.
No longer is it a case that the most difficult teams are in pot 1. Nowadays, you can have European heavyweights in pot 2 whilst some can even slip into pot 3. It’s an extremely difficult competition to make your mark in, and Celtic will need to be prepared for whatever comes their way.
After all, we could be drawn with the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Napoli, or Shakhtar Donetsk from pot 3 just to name a few. There are still a host more teams still to qualify for the competition too. It’s going to be tough to make an impact but evidently, that’s what Ange is planning to do.
It remains to be seen what kind of splash Celtic make in the UCL. But it’s worth remembering that just being there was the important thing this season. Only via consistently making the group stages will we become more competitive over the years.
That’s the long-term goal for this football club. If we want to be competing and beating the best in Europe once again, we need a period of consistency in Europe’s top competition. Yes, that will come with some doings along the way, but it’s the price we’ll have to pay as we adapt to the tournament.
Hopefully, we’re able to show our best side in the UCL once again. Ange won’t really accept anything less.
In other news, Eintracht Frankfurt star’s huge admiration for Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
