Tom Rogic’s Celtic career will eventually see him go down as one of the fans’ most favourite Celts ever.
The Aussie is Celtic’s star man under Brendan Rodgers, terrifying defences across Scotland.
But that wasn’t always the case. There were two to three years where it looked like Rogic was another dud signed by Neil Lennon.
Rogic’s career began in unusual circumstances. He won a reality TV show called The Chance and won a contract at the Nike Football Academy.
Starting out on the fringes
Celtic signed him in January 2013, paying Central Coast Mariners £400,000 for him.
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Rogic was dubbed a ‘project’, a low risk high reward signing Celtic hoped would be a success in the future.
Like those before him, Celtic fans did not hold out much hope that Rogic’s Celtic career would amount to anything serious.
They were in for a pleasant surprise. Lennon handed Rogic his debut away to Inverness. The Aussie starred in midfield, setting up a goal in the Celtic victory.
However Lennon was very loyal to the players that had brought him success at Celtic, so Rogic found it difficult to break into the team consistently.
He made only eight appearances that season, mainly as a fleeting substitute.
The wilderness
Rogic only appeared seven times for Celtic in the 2013/14 season. He was shipped off on loan back to Australia, to Melbourne Victory. It appeared that was the end of Rogic’s Celtic career.
Neil Lennon departed the club that summer and Ronny Deila took over, Rogic played no part in Deila’s maiden year at Celtic.
In the summer of 2015 he played in a few preseason games, showing glimpses of the skill he quite clearly possessed.
He scored his first Celtic goal in a league game away to Partick. He was showing signs that he could be an asset to the team, but it wasn’t consistent enough.
This Celtic fan commented in November 2015 about Rogic’s contribution so far.
Rogic had however, shown he had a knack for popping up with remarkable goals. He scored a screamer away to Ross County, and then bettered that with a superb effort at Hearts.
The midfielder was starting to cement his place in the team, leading to some journalists playfully commenting on his impact.
The best for Rogic however, was yet to come. Celtic weren’t great in the 2015/16 season.
They struggled at times for results and performances under Deila. There were rumblings that Aberdeen could launch a serious title bid.
All those rumblings stopped however, when at 0-0 in injury time away to Kilmarnock, Rogic received the ball.
With Celtic desperately needing a late winner, Rogic struck a thundering left footed drive that nearly burst the net. He had eventually arrived at Celtic.
Proving himself again
When Rodgers replaced Deila in May 2016, a lot of Celtic fans wondered what it meant for players like Rogic.
Celtic clearly had too many midfielders, especially attacking ones. Rogic had definitely shown his capabilities, but under a manager of Rodgers’ reputation, it remained to be seen if he could have an impact.
No one needed to wait long for Rogic to answer the doubts himself.
When Celtic beat Rangers 5-1 in September 2016, Moussa Dembele and his hat-trick took all the acclaim.
One thing that shone out however was the impact of Rogic in the first half.
Becoming the star
He became a Celtic fan favourite by scoring important late goals. He helped preserve Celtic’s unbeaten season when he scored a dramatic winner at Motherwell, a game Celtic trailed 2-0 and then 3-2 in.
The best was yet to come though. With time running out in the season, Rogic scored the winning goal in the Scottish Cup Final.
Celtic’s undefeated invincible treble season was capped off by the man who announced himself as a Celtic hero.
Rogic got even better last season for Celtic, helping them to another domestic treble. He scored in all four of his appearances against Rangers, and took great pleasure in doing so.
Now if you search for Tom Rogic on Twitter, you’ll see nothing but adulation for the Celt.
An essential Celt
In 2018 Rogic signed a new five-year deal to stay at Celtic. It’s probably the best news Celtic fans have had in years, and we’re used to good news by now.
Rogic has shown that it is unwise to ever completely write a footballer off at a club. Only three years ago there were fans discussing if he was good enough.
Now they’ll point blank refuse to discuss a Celtic team without Tom Rogic in it.
Rogic’s Celtic career being over just isn’t worth thinking about.