Micah Richards reacts to Chris Sutton’s Barcelona story about former Celtic hero Bobo Balde

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Celtic have enjoyed a number of great European nights over the last two decades that put the club on the football map.

Just recently, 67 Hail Hail picked out five of the best wins Celtic have had in the Champions League and two of them were against La Liga giants, Barcelona.

The 1-1 draw against the Catalan club in the Nou Camp in 2004 was one as was the famous 2-1 Celtic Park win in 2012.

Both results will go down in Celtic’s history as two of the greatest of all time but the 1-0 UEFA Cup win over Barcelona in 2004 is also up there but for one other very different reason.

Bobo Balde flattens Thiago Motta in Celtic Park tunnel

As well as the result, this game was also remembered for the infamous bust-up in the Celtic Park tunnel between Bobo Balde and Argentinian superstar, Thiago Motta.

An Alan Thompson goal sealed the famous win but the game will also be remembered for the red card dismissals of Balde and Motta which was recounted by former Celtic hero, Chris Sutton.

Sutton told the Football Daily, “Bobo Balde, can you remember him? I played with him at Celtic. I don’t know whether you’d describe this as house-ery though, but he had a habit of just indiscriminately hitting people in the tunnel, sort of, most weeks.

“There was a game where Celtic beat Barcelona and knocked them out of the UEFA Cup one season and Ronaldinho was playing.

“So just before halftime, there’s an aerial joust between them and Motta’s cut Bobo’s lip. And everybody’s thinking the same thing. ‘Oh no, something’s going to happen’.

“So Bobo Balde gets in the tunnel waiting for Motta and then it all kicks off. So Bobo Balde flattens Motta and another couple of Barcelona players.

“The referee calls McNamara and Puyol into the dressing room and the referee says, ‘We’re sending off your number four, Barcelona, that’s Mota for violent conduct and we’re sending off your [Celtic] number 20′.

“Bobo Balde is number six and that was the goalkeeper, Rab Douglas. So Bobo Balde had wiped out three of the Barcelona players in the tunnel at halftime and he didn’t even get sent off. Celtic ended up winning the game 1-0. Phenomenal player.”

Laughing upon hearing the story, Micah Richards replied, “Well, that’s a good story, though!”

Bobo Balde was a warrior for Celtic

Celtic fans of my generation will remember Balde as a no-nonsense defender who took no prisoners in his day.

What he lacked in footballing ability he more than made up for in his warrior-like ability to win the ball and his fearless defensive style.

Fans of my age will remember the fan chant of ‘Bobo’s gonna get ye’ ringing around the Celtic Park stadium as opposition players feared the hulking former Guinea international.

So fearsome was Balde, former Rangers defender Craig Moore admitted that he once ‘ran away’ from the former Celtic hero.

Balde won five Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup but on top of that he also won a place in the Celtic fans’ hearts as one of the best defenders ever to play for the club.