The Rebuilding of a Back Four

By: JT | January 11th, 2008

As has been well documented in the British press, Celtic need some serious upgrades in their defense. Prior to Bobo Balde’s recent recall to first team action, Celtic hadn’t kept a clean sheet since October. Goals were coming from miscommunications, egregious mental errors, and poor play on the flanks. With Balde in the fold, the Bhoys earned clean sheets back-to-back and looked far more composed overall.

It appears that Balde, who is currently with his Guinea teammates preparing for the African Cup of Nations, was merely being placed in the shop window. Since the window opened, a deal with English Premiership strugglers Bolton Wanderers has appeared a certainty. Now Sunderland are prepared to match any deal that Bolton strike with Celtic, so Balde will be on his way for £1m plus. The wise negotiator would say that Celtic should be playing the two suitors against each other to get the best deal, and I’m sure they will.

There are now three central defenders rumored to be heading to the green side of Glasgow before the window closes, with two having great international resumes.

First is Hertha Berlin’s Croatian international Josip Simunic. The Australian born Simunic has been a fixture in both Hertha and Croatia’s First XI since 2000, with almost 60 international caps to his name.

A tough, uncompromising dude with the right attributes for the Scottish game, Simunic is unfortunately best known for being the guy that Graham Poll awarded three yellow cards to during the 2006 World Cup before finally sending him off (left).

Another Bundesliga giant who the papers say is pondering a move north is Bayern Munich’s Daniel Van Buyten.

I remember seeing Van Buyten when he was with Manchester City and thinking, “Great hair. Terrible footballer.” The next time I see him, he’s playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, scoring not one but two great goals against eventual champion Milan in the Champions League knockout stages!

It seems that the Belgian stalwart’s career has hopped back on the roller coaster as he’s been frozen out in Munich. His agent, who first brought the possible move to the public’s attention, says DVB would prefer to stay in Germany, but has to examine all options since he hasn’t been playing regularly.

Hull City’s Michael Turner is the third central defender in the frame. Turner’s form for the Tigers this term has been superb, and Celtic have been eyeing him for a while, as have a number of English clubs. He’s another tall, tough man in the middle who’s game would suit Scotland just fine. For their part, Hull says Turner will only depart for “very big money“.

Coelho’s stay in Glasgow was short and unceremonious. The arrival of German international right-back Andreas Hinkel always made the signing of Coelho unlikely. Though if the Brazilian was worth keeping around, I’m sure Celtic would have found a way to make it happen considering their injury history at the position.

Coelho’s club Corninthians are blaming Celtic for the move’s collapse, but it appears that their man just wasn’t good enough to make the grade.

NEXT FIXTURE

Tomorrow Celtic will take the pitch for the first time in 2008 when they welcome First Division side Stirling Albion to Celtic Park as the Bhoys begin the defense of their Scottish Cup title. The Beanos are sitting at the foot of their table, having collected only 13 points from 20 matches.

Shunsuke Nakamura will make his return from a long injury spell, and new signing Andreas Hinkel will make his debut at right back. That will push the venerable Gary Caldwell back into the middle, hopefully providing some stability heading into a month that will see the Celts attempt to regain their spot at the top of the SPL standings.

Anything short of a clean sheet will be a disappointment, and a rested Celtic squad should waltz in this match inspired by Naka’s return. Two goals from Scott McDonald, one from Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, and a wondrous free-kick from Naka wrap up a comprehensive 4-0 victory.