Celtic and Feyenoord are two teams with plenty of history.
Not least because they are two of the three clubs that Henrik Larsson made more than 100 appearances for.
Larsson’s legendary status at Celtic Park is almost untouchable in the modern era, and he is remembered fondly at De Kuip too.
Another legendary figure at both clubs is Wim Jansen – and if it wasn’t for him, then there would have been no King of Kings in Glasgow.
A majority of Larsson’s Celtic goals came under Martin O’Neill after the turn of the century, though – he has been discussing his bosses ahead of the meeting between his two former clubs.
Henrik Larsson on Martin O’Neill and Wim Jansen ahead of Feyenoord vs Celtic
Jansen only spent one year at the Hoops, but in stopping Rangers from winning ten in a row, he made it quite a significant one.
Josef Venglos and John Barnes came and went before O’Neill really kickstarted what has been a century of dominance so far.
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Speaking to De Telegraaf, ahead of the game, Larsson compared the two managers during his time at Celtic Park.
He said: “Look, Wim brought me to Celtic when he was manager there. That year we won the championship, and that was fantastic.
“But with O’Neill, I won the most trophies (six major trophies in total, including three league titles, ed.). I wore the Celtic shirt for seven years, four of which were with O’Neill at the helm.
“I had the best time of my career with him, and that’s why I still have so many fond memories of him.
“He’s a wonderful person. He’s a great guy, and we get along really well. But honestly, I didn’t have the same relationship with him when I was a player.
“O’Neill is an incredibly demanding coach, and if you don’t do what he asks of you, he’s tough…
“Now, so many years later, I can look back much more clearly on what he demanded and where he came from with the things he wanted from you.
“O’Neill really likes direct football, and I like that too. You can play great positional play, but you have to go to goal. He’s created a good mix of that. Besides that, he’s one of the best when it comes to motivating his players.”
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Previous clashes between Feyenoord and Celtic
The 1970 European Cup Final is a night of regret in a glorious period for the Hoops, as Jock Stein’s Lions fell to Feyenoord despite being fancied as favourites.
Jansen was in the Feyenoord side that won that night in Milan, as Tommy Gemmell managed the small silver lining of becoming one of few defenders to score in multiple European finals.
The sides’ only other competitive meetings were in 2023, when Brendan Rodgers’ side were shown two red cards in their initial defeat in Holland in the Champions League group stage.
In the return game at Parkhead, Luis Palma and Gustaf Lagerbielke were the goalscorers as the Hoops defeated Arne Slot’s side – this game was a dead rubber, though.
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