Former Celtic hero takes up behind-the-scenes role following retirement

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Former Celtic defender Emilio Izaguirre has taken up his first role in football, with boyhood club Motagua after his recent retirement.

Around three months ago, the 36-year-old announced he would be bringing his playing days, which spanned across almost two decades, to an end.

Izaguirre spent his career with clubs such as Motagua and Marathon back in his homeland Honduras, as well as a short spell in Saudi Arabia at Al-Fayha.

However, arguably the most memorable time of his career was spent in Glasgow at Celtic, across two spells between 2010-2019.

After signing under Neil Lennon, the talented left-back became a mainstay at Parkhead, and his performances even attracted interest from English Premier League giants such as Manchester United.

However, a serious injury hindered the Honduran international’s progress, and he remained at Celtic Park until 2017, where he was replaced by up-and-coming star Kieran Tierney.

But that isn’t where Izaguirre’s story at Celtic came to an end. The defender made a surprise comeback during Brendan Rodgers tenure as boss, becoming the backup option to Tierney.

After another year at Parkhead, the left-back decided to head back to his home country, where he spent the rest of his playing days, before retiring in 2022.

And it hasn’t taken long for Izaguirre to make his next move in football, as he took up his first behind-the-scenes role, becoming Sporting Director at his boyhood club, Motagua.

Izaguirre takes up first post-retirement role at boyhood club.

For some players, they take some time away from the sport following the immediate aftermath of their retirement. However, that was clearly not for Emilio Izaguirre.

The ex-Celtic man has taken his first jump into a boardroom role at a club he knows very well, having come through at an early age with Motagua before also spending the latter years of his career there.

It is always great to see former Hoops players doing well for themselves, even after they have retired and brought an end to their playing days.

Whilst many take the step into management, it is interesting to see the left-back take a different jump and go into the important sporting director role.

We wish Izaguirre all the very best of luck on his new venture back in Honduras!

In other news, Celtic’s Scottish contingent handed potential international fixture clash.