Former Celtic favourite Mikael Lustig has been reminiscing about one of the most infamous acts during his time at the club – when he celebrated a Hoops goal by stealing a policeman’s hat.
The moment – during our 5-0 derby win over Rangers in 2018 – was lapped up by vast swathes of the Celtic support. It was one of the key reasons why we fell in love with Lustig during his seven years in Scotland.
And it appears the Swede is also pretty keen on the moment as he recently took to Instagram to share a similar image of Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero wearing a police hat during his younger days.
Policeman stunt aside, Lustig is a big miss at Celtic
Celtic Park is certainly a little bit quieter without the 32-year-old’s presence. Lustig was clearly a much diminished player in his final days for the club and we have arguably strengthened in his position since he left.
Hatem Abd Elhamed is probably a better option while Moritz Bauer and Jeremie Frimpong have also been brought in to fight for the right-back role.
However, despite that new competition you can’t help but feel that we missed a trick not keeping Lustig around. He would have made an ideal back-up for Elhamed and could still have played 15-20 matches this season. Keeping him would have meant there was no need to sign Bauer – who looks a similar level player to Lustig.
More so than on the pitch, his effect in the changing room can’t be underestimated. Lustig had been there and done it for the club and would have been a good presence to keep around.
However, it wasn’t to be and the defender is now enjoying life with a Gent team who are third in the Belgian top-flight. They’re also going strong in second place in their Europa League group. Perhaps we will meet Lustig again soon.
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