Celtic icon Lubo Moravcik is in a unique position tonight as he looks forward to his former clubs competing against a first-time Champions League competitor from his country of Slovakia.
Slovan Bratislava share a rivalry with his hometown club, Nitra, with whom he spent eight years in total across two separate spells and is now a board member.
Nevertheless, he is arguably most revered in Glasgow, where the 59-year-old gained folklore status for his dazzling goals and flair between 1998 and 2002.
Moravcik has already given Celtic a feel of what to expect from Slovan Bratislava, claiming they will are ‘known for playing attractive football’ under Vladimir Weiss, so expect the visitors to try and go toe-to-toe with Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Now, the former Slovakia international has given an inkling of how he is feeling ahead of their two worlds colliding this evening.
Lubo Moravcik on Celtic vs Slovan Bratislava
Speaking on the Celtic FC Podcast, Moravcik has revealed he will be slightly more inclined towards the green and white corner tonight despite his respect for Slovan Bratislava’s historic qualification.
He said: “Celtic is part of this 36 best teams in Europe, (which is) is absolutely perfect and I’m very glad. What I said on the beginning (was), I want to really see the confrontation between the best Slovakian team and best Scottish team.
“Obviously, it’s very hard to say what is for me that game, because I should tell (people) I’m a Celtic fan first, and Slovan Bratislava is my home team, the best team, but it’s always been a rival because I played for Nitra and Slovan was a big rival for me and for my club.
“For that, I think I should be a fan also of Slovan, but I think I will be the most (more inclined to be a) fan of Celtic.”
Regardless, Moravcik will soak in the occasion like we all will as Celtic take to the field against Slovan Bratislava this evening. European matches come with more prestige than your average fixtures throughout a season, it is only right to lap them up.
Clearly, he holds great respect for the away side, given their achievements in the historical context of Slovakian football. Seeing as they have never made it to this stage before, it is fairly impressive.
However, Celtic will be right up for providing them with a reality check tonight on the pitch. Hopefully, the home side can claim all three points!
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