Celtic have sold out Paradise for the visit of Jablonec in the Europa League Qualifying Rounds.
The Bhoys hold a 4-2 lead, and Celtic have the luxury of a close to capacity home stadium for Thursday night’s important European tie. The prospect even has Petr Rada, Jablonec’s manager, talking of the “hell” his side will get from home supporters.
Although red zones remain in place, meaning it won’t be a full house entirely, the famous Paradise atmosphere will be back in force for Thursday night. Celtic haven’t welcomed a packed crowd for a European tie since February 2020.
It’s been a long time coming. However, at the first opportunity, Celtic supporters have thrown their weight behind the club in vast numbers.
We don’t know about you, but we can’t wait.
Certainly, it feels as if we could be playing anyone at all, and Celtic Park would still have sold out its available seats for Thursday night. The roar of the Paradise crowd, the journey to the stadium, getting through the turnstiles – all clichés of match-day experience, but things we wouldn’t have taken for granted if we knew we’d be locked out for over a year.
With just over a third able to show up against Dundee, it was obvious to anyone watching that the team fed off the energy of the supporters in attendance, and vice versa.
Now, with an important European tie to negotiate, that noise is going to ramped up ten-fold.
Celtic fans show their class as Jablonec head to town for Europa League action
Given the strife at the Celtic over the last year, it’d be understandable if Jablonec in the Europa League didn’t hold that much allure, for many supporters.
There’s still anger at the board and anger at the club. Yet, Celtic supporters have collectively decided that backing the team in our tens of thousands is of the utmost importance. We saw how a Celtic team got on without fans in the bizarre 20-21 season.
It wasn’t pretty.
The club have been at pains to evoke the message of “real fans” in marketing [Celtic FC], and you can understand why. We bring something to the table that our league rivals just cannot, and that’s an unwavering, unrepentant commitment to backing our team.
That’s not to be taken for granted. If the board see this sell-out as an indication of their work, then they’d be missing the point entirely.
There are still issues, frustrations and other emotions. But the primary feeling getting through Parkhead’s gates on Thursday night will be one of utter elation.
We can’t wait. Can you?
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