Recent Celtic Champions League opponent Vladimir Weiss is on the verge of retirement just a fortnight after suffering a bruising defeat in Glasgow.
The former Rangers winger was captain of the Slovan Bratislava team that lost 5-1 to Celtic on matchday one of the tournament and was booed heavily by 60,000 Bhoys supporters.
His side were again badly beaten by Manchester City on matchday two, losing 4-0 at home.
Weiss’ father and manager, Vladimir Weiss Sr, has now shared that it was likely his last game in professional football. An announcement will come soon.
Vladimir Weiss set to quit football after Celtic drubbing
Weiss Sr said [The Scotsman]: “Vladimir will make his own announcement in the next few days. But yes, I believe that was his last game. I’m his father and manager and it’s hard for me. Everything begins and ends at some point. It will also happen to me too.”
Weiss Jr has been an outspoken rival to Celtic over the years. After he left Rangers, he spent some time trying to wind up Celtic supporters on social media.
His return to Celtic Park – booed off the pitch and dismantled on it – wasn’t the best way to bring his career towards a close, although there was some final symmetry given that his very last match was against his first senior club – Man City.
What Weiss said about his Celtic Park experience
Weiss spoke at Celtic Park after his recent appearance and tried to brush off the reception he received from supporters. However, he did walk back some of his previous ‘silly’ comments and praised the quality of Brendan Rodgers’ Bhoys.
He said: “(Being booed) was okay, I don’t take these things personally, it’s okay. It’s nice they remember me after such a long time. Obviously the result is not what we wanted. We were expecting a really difficult game, which it was, but I think I had a good chance at 1-0, maybe if I take that the game would go differently, but unfortunately it didn’t.
“They showed the quality they have. They played so fast, and we just weren’t good enough in in some moments. Obviously we watched some videos of them; I think it’s a totally different team from what I remember. They play fast, modern football and, yeah, it was too much for us tonight.
“I loved my time at Rangers, I was only here for a year but I was very young and I know I made some silly comments about Celtic in the past. I’m a totally different person now but it was fun when I played here. I hoped for a better result tonight, but it didn’t come. That’s football.”
Weiss also had playing spells for Bolton, Pescara and Olympiacos. Internationally he earned 77 caps with his country, Slovakia.
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