For years, the Celtic faithful have pined for a figure who doesn’t just navigate the Glasgow derby but actively feeds off its hostility.
Since the departure of Scott Brown, that specific brand of psychological warfare has been in short supply at Parkhead.
However, in the white-hot intensity of Celtic’s Scottish Cup triumph against Rangers, Julian Araujo proved he is the spiritual successor to that mantle.
The Mexican international didn’t just back up his confident pre-match talk with a tenacious defensive display; he engaged in the dark arts of the derby that turned the Ibrox crowd – and their players – into a frantic mess.
Who was your Celtic man of the match against Rangers?
Julian Araujo backs up pre-match talk as Celtic beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup
By combining elite athleticism with a confrontational edge, Araujo has filled a void that has been missing at Celtic, winding up the opposition at all costs.
He isn’t just a right-back; he is Celtic’s new provocateur-in-chief, a player who understands what it’s like to represent Glasgow’s greatest club.
During Celtic’s 2-2 draw at Rangers last week, he was winding up the Rangers players after the full-time whistle, so much so that Martin O’Neill had to get involved and separate all involved.
And this is what Araujo said after that match: “Kind of a waste of my time, to be honest. I don’t really care what they say or what they have to do, to be honest.”
And then during the second meeting, Araujo was, once again, dishing out a few verbals to Nico Raskin following a few tasty challenges.
Just like Brown did for many, many years, Celtic’s loan signing didn’t just talk the talk off the field of play; he backed it up with a strong display on the pitch and then sent the Rangers fans into meltdown post-match.
Neil Lennon and Alan Hutton love Araujo’s antics
Watching from the sidelines, Neil Lennon – a man who knows a thing or two about derby verbals – was clearly enamoured with what he saw from Araujo.
But the Celtic legend isn’t the only one, even Alan Hutton, who was beside Lennon in the commentary box for Premier Sports’ coverage of the Scottish Cup quarter-final, loved what he saw from the ‘all personality’ fullback.
Lennon: “I really like Araujo. I think he is really strong. All personality. He is giving plenty of verbals (to Raskin), standing up to it. Good on you, son. I love to see that. All fair is fair in love and war.”
Hutton: “You have to play with emotion and times. Show your personality.”
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