CFR Cluj midfielder Mario Camora has stated his belief that his side deserve more respect if they beat Celtic
The midfield ace is likely to feature against Celtic in tomorrow night’s Champions League third qualifying round first-leg. It’s the first meeting between the two sides in competitive action. For that reason alone, it’s going to be interesting to see how the two clubs fare against each other.
During their qualifying campaign, Cluj have managed to knock out both Astana and Maccabi Tel-Aviv. It’s a fine start to their Champions League campaign, but Celtic offer a step up from both teams.
That seems to have been acknowledged in Romania. But, speaking in Ziua de Cluj, Camora believes his side will deserve greater respect levels than they’ve been shown.
“It is important to trust each other. If we eliminate Celtic, I think we’ll deserve more respect than we have received so far. We all want to play against such teams, but it’ll be a very difficult job.
“We analyse our opponents, try to know as much about them as possible. We have respect for them, but we are not afraid of them. It is hard for me to say that (Celtic) have problems – they are a good team.
“It would be good to get the win without conceding a goal. We’ll give it our all. We’re playing against a high-quality team, and hopefully it will be the same as Astana and Maccabi Tel-Aviv.”
Difficult to know who Mario Camora is aiming his comments to
It’s clear he feels Cluj deserve more respect heading into this tie than they are getting. The only question is who he’s actually aiming this towards.
One thing’s for sure – it most certainly can’t be Celtic or Scotland. The majority of the opinions amongst the Celtic support have been that this will be a tough tie. Sure, we have a confidence that we’ll overcome the Romanians, but it’ll be the same the other way around too.
If anyone has a right to feel disrespected, it’s us. Already in the build-up to the tie, we’ve had the likes of Cluj legend Ionut Rada call us “not very good” (Scottish Sun). Former Rangers defender Dorin Goian also called us long-ball merchants (Daily Record).
Both of those opinions aren’t exactly informed. They clearly haven’t watched the Hoops under Neil Lennon this season, and therefore there’s been plenty of disrespect thrown our way too.
It’s all certainly setting up for a highly-intriguing contest tomorrow night in Romania. Celtic have the momentum on their side after winning all five competitive matches this season.
But there’s been no lack of respect for Cluj heading into the contest. We all know they’ve had some fine European results over the years. Celtic fans, however, are right to feel confident heading into the qualifier.
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