Jindrich Trpisovsky – the boss of Slavia Prague – says he’s glad that his side could face Celtic.
The Czech champions will be the Hoops’ final hurdle of Champions League qualification if they see Cluj off over the next week or so. Slavia have good recent European pedigree after making the quarter-finals of the Europa League last season.
However, they haven’t made the group stage of the Champions League since 2007. Celtic have been there five times since then and are seeded for the tie. Yet Trpisovsky still seems to be fancying his chances.
He told the Daily Record: “If Celtic advance, which we would all want, I would be very satisfied with the draw.
“Of the likely four, although of course each team still has a game to play, I wanted Celtic the most.
“Even though I think Copenhagen would be the chance in sporting terms, I had Celtic in the first place because it is in Scotland and has a great atmosphere.”
Slavia boss isn’t being too disrespectful towards Celtic
The comments of the wonderfully named Slavia manager should be taken with a pinch of salt. They’ve originally come from a Czech source so may have been misinterpreted slightly. Also, he seems to be more happy that Slavia will get to experience Celtic Park’s famous atmosphere than the actual draw.
Let’s not kid ourselves – we were a decent enough draw for Slavia. The Czechs would have been wanting to avoid Ajax at all costs so for them to do so will be seen as a massive boost.
If we do move on to face them then it promises to be a closely fought tie. It’s hard to work out exactly who would be favourites. Yes, they had a terrific run in the Europa League last season. But they’ve also been nowhere near the Champions League for the last four seasons – when we’ve been virtual regulars.
Let’s hope we can revisit the conversation after beating Cluj.
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