Celtic take on Braga this Thursday as they seek their first Europa League victory of the season.
The Hoops drew with Red Star Belgrade last time out as Kelechi Iheanacho netted his first goal in Celtic colours since signing as a free agent.
Now, full focus turns to the Portuguese side who have faced Celtic competitively just two times in the past.
Those games came in July 2010 in the first and second legs of a Champions League third round qualifier with Neil Lennon in charge of the Bhoys.
Braga secured a comfortable 3-0 win at the Estádio Municipal de Braga before Celtic won 2-1 at Parkhead the following week, but that wasn’t enough to progress.
So who started in that second leg at Celtic Park for the Hoops and what are all the players concerned doing now? 67 Hail Hail has a look below.
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Celtic starting XI vs Braga in 2010 and where they are now
Łukasz Załuska
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Appearances: 50
Celtic’s former Polish goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska now works as the goalkeeper coach for Wisła Kraków, a team he played for after leaving Glasgow in 2015.
Załuska has been in the position since January 2024. Wisła Kraków are currently top of the Polish second tier after 10 games played.
Efrain Juarez
- Position: Full-back
- Appearances: 20
Efrain Juarez wasn’t a Celtic player for too long, spending just two years at the club. Juarez moved into assistant management in 2020, starting off at New York City FC under Ronny Deila.
Deila then brought him to Standard Liege and Club Brugge before Juarez was handed his first managerial role at Colombian outfit Atletico Nacional.
Now, the Mexican is back in his home country managing Pumas UNAM, more formally known as Club Universidad Nacional. He was appointed boss in March this year.
Jos Hooiveld
- Position: Centre-back
- Appearances: 10
You’d be forgiven if Jos Hooiveld has escaped your memory. The Dutchman only just reached double digits in appearances for Celtic during his only campaign for them.
Now 42, Hooiveld is the founder of Scorelit, an app that helps young footballers receive feedback from professional coaches in a quick and accessible manner.
Hooiveld explained the concept to The Scottish Sun in December 2023: “It’s a pretty easy concept. Players record a match and upload it into our system before picking the coach they want feedback from.
“For example, let’s say Scott Brown is there and you’re a midfielder who wants Scott Brown to watch your match so he can tell you where you can improve.
“They send it to him and I make all sorts of reports for their position and age group before the experienced professional fills out the reports to give feedback on every department of their game.
“They can do that by making video clips and adding texts and graphics to the footage to identify areas for improvement.
“That’s what they get back. Their full performance is analysed and they can then go away and work on the areas that the expert has identified.”
Cha Du-Ri
- Position: Full-back
- Appearances: 43
Cha Du-Ri represented Celtic for two seasons after the South Korean international joined from Freiburg in 2010.
Nowadays, Du-Ri has taken his first steps in management this year by taking on the head coach role at K-League 2 side Hwaseong FC.
Hwaseong are currently 10th out of 14 teams with 31 games played of the calendar season so far.
Charlie Mulgrew
- Position: Centre-back
- Appearances: 207
Most Celtic fans will know exactly what Charlie Mulgrew is up to these days. For those who don’t, Mulgrew retired in 2023 and has gone on to become a Scottish football pundit.
He regularly appears on Premier Sports, The Go Radio Football Show and Open Goal, as well as making appearances for the BBC on Sportscene.
Mulgrew also has a golf YouTube channel where he plays a round with an ex-professional footballer such as Scott Brown, Mikael Lustig and Henrik Larsson.
Glenn Loovens
- Position: Centre-back
- Appearances: 90
Another Dutchman for Celtic at the time, Loovens rejected Rangers to sign for the Hoops in 2008. He then left Glasgow for Zaragoza in 2012.
Currently, according to his LinkedIn profile, Loovens is an agent and scout for The Independent Football Agency.
Scott Brown
- Position: Central midfielder
- Appearances: 619
Scott Brown is a modern Celtic legend and one of the most decorated Hoops stars of all time with 22 major domestic honours won.
Brown is now the manager of Scottish Championship club Ayr United, who are currently 5th in the league after seven games thus far.
Joe Ledley
- Position: Central midfielder
- Appearances: 157
Brown was partnered in midfield against Braga with Welshman Joe Ledley, who Celtic fans bonded with tremendously during his four seasons at Parkhead.
Ledley is now an ambassador for the Welsh FA, and is also listed under a booking/talent roster for guest and speaker appearances.
Georgios Samaras
- Position: Forward
- Appearances: 249
Samaras was quite the enigma at Celtic. A frustrating player, but the Greek forward did have talent and an eye for goal.
He’s quite a busy man these days. Samaras is the CEO of Cosmos Football Agency, while he does some presenting and analysis work on the side for Greek TV station Novasports.
Shaun Maloney
- Position: Winger
- Appearances: 205
Maloney was an exciting winger for Celtic who spent two stints at the club. He struggled with injuries across his career, but the 2010/11 campaign was a highlight for him.
Of course, Maloney is currently a full-time staffer at Celtic as the professional player pathway manager, replacing Darren O’Dea earlier this year.
Gary Hooper
- Position: Striker
- Appearances: 138
Celtic fans will remember Gary Hooper as a fantastic finisher who perhaps doesn’t get the credit he deserves in retrospect.
Hooper is 37 now and is still playing football. He currently represents Maldon & Tiptree in the Isthmian League North Division, the seventh tier of English football.
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