Leicester take on Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League tonight, and the match should be of interest to Celtic and the supporters.
Brendan Rodgers’ outfit are tied at 0-0 after the Round of 32 first leg going into tonight’s home encounter, where they face Jindřich Trpišovský and his travelling Slavia side.
Regular readers of 67 Hail Hail may recognise Trpišovský’s name.
As Celtic’s form dwindled and it became clear Neil Lennon wouldn’t be in charge of the Bhoys for much longer, he was a name we touted as a potential, or at least worthy, successor.
Tonight’s match against an English Premier League team and former Celtic manager could just serve as the perfect audition.
The 2019 Czech coach of the year has won the league title in his homeland two years in succession and has transformed Slavia into a capable outfit on the European scene.
Led by the 44-year-old, Slavia reached the quarter-final of the Europa League in 2019, where they lost out to Chelsea. They picked up impressive scalps over Sevilla, Genk, Bordeaux and FC Zenit along the way.
The next year, he guided them to the group stages of the Champions League, knocking out Cluj, who had beaten us in the previous round. As you can imagine, they struggled in a pool containing Inter, Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona, but did earn draws away in Italy and Spain.
The clean sheet at Camp Nou was the first kept in the Champions League groups by an away side in seven years.
This season, as stated, they’ve again reached the knockout rounds of the Europa League following stand-out wins over Bayer Leverkusen, Hapoel Be’er Sheva and Nice.
They’re also on track to secure a superb third title in a row on the domestic front.
Dubbed the ‘Czech Klopp’ by outlets such as Reuters, there’s no doubt Trpišovský’s stock continues to rise and it surely won’t be too long before he seeks a bigger challenge elsewhere.
A jump from Slavia to Celtic may appear to be a sideways step, but the Bhoys job is far more high profile and the progress he can make here is great, especially with our resources.
What’s more, he’s an admirer of Celtic, telling his club’s official website in 2019 he had been hoping to draw the Bhoys in Champions League qualifying because of Scotland and the atmosphere.
So, sit down, pour yourself a glass and have a gander at tonight’s Leicester vs Slavia Prague fixture. You might just be impressed enough to hop on the Trpišovský hype train.
Perhaps Celtic will be too?
In other news, the rising La Liga manager Celtic must consider for the manager position.
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