The hilarious behind the scenes moment from Celtic Christmas Advert

By Euan Davidson

November 24, 2021

Yesterday’s Celtic Christmas Advert had plenty of funny moments. Whether it was Gavin Strachan and his laptop, Jota as George Michael or Joe Hart and his shampoo, there was a lot to enjoy.

Now, Celtic have released the behind-the-scenes moments, and they’re just as good, if not better. In particular, there’s a moment when Celtic FC Women star Jacynta Galabadaarachchi is about to launch into a quote, without realising she’s being filmed. Or how about David Turnbull being told how to play football with brussels sprouts?

The best, though, and we mean the best, is when Nir Bitton guides Liel Abada through his first Celtic Christmas Advert.

At 2.54 here [Celtic FC YouTube], a smiley Bitton says straight to the camera:

“My son wants to say something to you, so…”

He absolutely dwarves the diminutive Abada, who then goes on to wish the Celtic support a Merry Christmas. He seems entirely oblivious to what Bitton has just said. In their Christmas gear, too. It’s just precious stuff.

He smiles and offers two thumbs up, saying “Well done”.

Bitton, something a veteran of the Celtic Christmas Advert, just plays the moment to excellent comic effect. It’s impossible to be entirely serious while wearing tinsel, after all.

It also hints at the close bond between the Israeli internationals. Moving so far from home can be extremely difficult; for Abada, knowing that he’d have a teammate with same culture and background would surely have eased the transition to life in Scotland.

A teammate, or indeed, a Dad.

Celtic Christmas Advert still giving value well after release

As we discussed over on our YouTube channel yesterday with Jackie McNamara, the ad hit all the right notes. Eddi Reader’s version of Auld Lang Syne soundtracked it perfectly. Ange even played his part like a veteran of the screen. Nobody looked directly at the lens. A success all round.

But what it does, and what today’s behind the scenes coverage did, is increase the feel-good factor around Celtic at the moment.

Ange Postecoglou and Fran Alonso have built teams of great personalities. There are stars, certainly, but everyone is getting in on the act, having fun and entertaining the supporters.

We hate talking about last season. Really, we do. But what was abundantly clear, owing to the pandemic as much as anything else, was that the squad wasn’t really together. There were factions, it wasn’t a united front, and there was pretty obvious discontent with the manager.

Now, it looks different. And yes, it’s for advertising purposes, you can’t really fake the camaraderie that pops from the screen. Whether it’s Nir Bitton claiming he’s Liel Abada’s Dad, or just the players mucking about in front of the camera.

Inevitably, too much importance will be placed on the Celtic Christmas Advert. Perhaps it already has.

But the club is in a good place, in most respects, right now. If Celtic were on terrible form and this advert came out, it’s unlikely it would’ve been received half as well.

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