There was a real sense of shock in Poland when Piast Gliwice lifted the Ekstraklasa title this season. The team from the city of Gliwice in central Poland had never been champions before and this was their crowning moment.
Piast beat Legia, who had won five titles in six years, by four points. They sealed the crown and a Champions League place on the final day with a 2-0 win over Jagiellona.
Next season will be their first ever taste of Europe’s premier club competition. Piast have been in the Europa League twice in recent years. They’ve gone out at the second qualifying round on both occasions – beaten by Qarabag in 2014 and Goteborg in 2016.
Their lowly European co-efficient means they’ll be unseeded and therefore potential opponents for Celtic in the very first round.
A familiar face
Piast’s squad is made up mainly of Polish players but there are a couple of men Celtic fans will be familiar with. Defender Tomasz Jodlowiec was part of the Legia side that thumped us 6-1 on aggregate in 2014 while there’s also a player who used to play in Scotland.
Tom Hateley, who played for Motherwell between 2009 and 2013, is one of their key men in an attacking sense. The 29-year-old, who is the son of former Rangers player Mark, takes the majority of the side’s set-pieces.
The side play at the 10,000 Stadion Piast and are undoubtedly the toughest side Celtic could face in the very first round.
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