Celtic-Barçelona: Glory Awaits

By: JT | February 20th, 2008

The day has finally arrived. Since Celtic drew Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16 back in December, the Hoops faithful have eagerly awaited the first leg at Celtic Park. Now its here.

Let me say this first before I get into the specifics of the match. If Celtic don’t go balls out for the full ninety minutes on attack, and pick and choose their opportunities, I don’t want to hear complaints.

Barca will possess the ball for long periods of time and Celtic have to respect their ability. They can’t expect to be in the face of players like Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto’o and Ronaldinho and think they won’t see the back of them in an instant. There is a talent differential on the pitch folks, make no mistake about it.

That gap can be overcome by intelligent tactics, and taking chances when they present themselves. Now you won’t see the oval ball stuff that the Huns pulled out when they played Barca, but expect a physical contest. If Celtic just let Barca play their game for the sake of spectacle, that would be pretty stupid. The objective is to win and entertain, not just to entertain.

You can only throw so many fastballs down the middle of the plate to Ryan Howard before he takes one deep, know what I’m saying?

Its anyone’s guess as to how Barca will line up today. I feel pretty confident in saying that Carles Puyol, Gabriel Milito, and Eric Abidal will be three of the back four, with Victor Valdes in net. The other central defender could be Lilian Thuram or Rafa Marquez. Either is fine with me, because I think Thuram can be beaten for pace, and I’ve seen Marquez make plenty of mistakes in important matches.

The front six could be a crazy mix. Frank Rijkaard hasn’t had his four world-class attack-minded players available at the same time for almost the whole season. Does he go 4-4-2, 4-3-2-1, or 4-3-3?

On the road, I’m thinking 4-3-2-1, the old Christmas tree. Its tried and true modern Barca. Deco, Xavi, and Yaya Toure in the midfield. Messi for sure on one wing, with Ronaldinho/Henry on the other, and Henry/Eto’o as the lone striker. Dos Santos will be held in reserve until the second half.

Word on the street is that Johan Neeskens, who will be the man in the dugout tonite for Barca because Rijkaard is suspended, pushed hard for Eto’o’s inclusion over startlet Bojan Krkic. He got his wish, so I’d say Eto’o gets the nod.

Keep in mind, Messi and Toure will be suspended for the second leg if booked.

For Celtic, the selection dilemma is this: Paul Caddis vs. Paul Hartley vs. Barry Robson. Evander Sno could be added to that equation, but seeing him from the start is unlikely, because he just hasn’t played all that much lately.

Celtic’s new right-back, Andreas Hinkel is cup-tied, and midfield regular Scott Brown is suspended. WGS could go with the 19 year old right-back Caddis, who impressed in his only start for Celtic earlier this month. That would probably see Hartley partner Massimo Donati in the heart of midfield. Will he risk the inexperience of Caddis against, Messi, Henry, et al?

Or The Ginger One could go with Hartley at right-back, with Robson and Donati in the center of the park. Hartley has played well there before, but new Bhoy Robson has never played in match close to the magnitude of this one. He’s 29, and I think he’d be able to handle the occasion better than the youthful Caddis, but then there is no “holding” midfielder as WGS frequently uses in Europe. If there must be a holding midfielder, you’ll see Sno or Donati will be forced into the role.

Considering all these possibilities, I see WGS taking the risk and going with Caddis, the natural fullback. Gary Caldwell and captain Stephen McManus will be the center halves, and Lee Naylor will be on the left. World class keeper Artur Boruc will keep them in line.

On the midfield flanks, it’ll be the in form duo of Aiden McGeady and Shunsuke Nakamura. Hartley and Donati will man the middle.

Up front, Scott McDonald will get the call. It wouldn’t blow my mind to see Georgios Samaras partner the little Aussie, because he offers the type of movement that could be critical on the counter attack, vice the more sedentary Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink. Samaras hasn’t done enough to warrant a starting role just yet though, so we’ll see Big Jan for at least 60 or 65 minutes.

As always, the X factor at Celtic Park is the crowd. They’ll be pumped and ready to inspire their Bhoys for the full ninety, plus extra time of course.

The first twenty minutes is crucial for both teams, as Celtic will do their best to capitalize on the emotion in the stadium. Few clubs are as equipped as Barca to handle to situation, so it’ll take something special to get Celtic on the board.

Conversely, if Barca draw first blood, the air can’t be sucked out of the stadium. More than likely, it’ll be scoreless going into the break.

Its hard to imagine Barca won’t nick an away goal, unless their attacking talent just hasn’t had enough time to gel. That doesn’t prevent a moment of brilliance from occurring though, and my bet is that it’ll be Messi.

The late show at Celtic Park will add another act to its storied European history, as McDonald nudges the equalizer in a mirror image of his late goal to beat Milan, without the goalkeeper collapse.

1-1 and Celtic are in decent shape as the tie heads back to Camp Nou.

Enjoy it folks. Its not quite David vs Goliath, but its pretty damn close. Beware the underdog when cornered.