Celtic’s Europa League group stage draw on Friday saw the Hoops end up in a bit of a glamour group. Neil Lennon’s side will face Sparta Prague, AC Milan and Lille in the group stages.
One aspect of the draw which is intriguing is that when the Hoops play Milan, the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic will make his return to Celtic Park after 19 long years.
Last played at Celtic Park in 2001
Ibrahimovic last played at Celtic Park all the way back in 2001. He was part of the Ajax side which defeated the Hoops 1-0 in the Champions League play-off round. Thankfully Celtic won 3-2 on aggregate. The Swedish striker didn’t even start the game, he didn’t come on until the second-half.
That one-off appearance didn’t stop the forward from being impressed by the atmosphere generated at Celtic Park.
“A beautiful condition”
“No player would ever want to leave playing in that stadium for those fans. It’s a beautiful condition to play in. I have played in the biggest games in world football. But I have never experienced an atmosphere like I did at Celtic Park” Ibrahimovic said, as quoted by the Scottish Sun, all the way back in 2013.
Now, should he recover from the virus he currently has, the forward will make his long-awaited return to Celtic Park. But sadly instead of experiencing an incredible atmosphere, he is set to be met with empty stands.
Yes, whilst the pandemic still rages, Celtic Park is set to be empty for the Celtic-Milan game. Instead of hearing the crowd driving the Hoops on, the only noise will be from the coaches, and the players on the pitch.
The only slight chance for there to be a crowd is if Celtic get permission from the local authority to allow fans in, in conjunction with UEFA’s announcement that up to 30% of the stadium can be filled for group stage games.
However, at the moment you would have to say the chances of Celtic Park being 30% full is slim. What a pity for Ibrahimovic that he won’t be able to experience a repeat of that famous Celtic Park atmosphere 19 years on.
In other news, Celtic face a possible Europa League reunion with Timothy Weah of Lille.
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