Celtic favourite Ľubomír Moravčík has opened up on his time at the club, that huge goal against Rangers and smoking cigarettes in Glasgow cafes.
The 59-year-old has been speaking to Sportweb as Celtic gear up to take on Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Moravčík remains a big fan favourite at Celtic Park after joining them in a €350,000 deal from MSV Duisburg in October 1998.
He spent the next four years at the club establishing himself as a star, managing 30 goals and 14 assists in 117 games before departing for JED Utd Ichihara in July 2022.
The midfielder was 33 years old at that point but showed no signs of his career coming to an end in Scotland, regularly being referred to as a ‘deal of the century’ by Celtic fans.
And it seems he loves Celtic as much as they love him, admitting that he would go back if he was ever given the opportunity.
“Celtic was the icing on the cake, because I really didn’t expect to play in such a big club at the end of my career,” he said.
“European cups, especially the Champions League, were an added bonus. I had a lot of fun there. I was lucky that Mr. Jozef Vengloš was there. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have gotten there, because no one in Scotland would have ever figured out that there was a Ľubo Moravčík. Only he knew me.
“In the end, it was good business for both sides, I got a chance that I no longer hoped for and since I was successful, I also helped Mr. Vengloš.”
One of Moravčík’s favourite teams to play against during his time at Celtic was Rangers, something which only helped to enamour him to the club’s fanbase further.
He managed 10 appearances against them in the Scottish Premiership, winning five, drawing two and losing three while bagging four goals in those games.
His biggest moment against Rangers undoubtedly came in a 5-1 win, his first appearance against them at Celtic Park that saw him bagging a double.
That set the tone for what was to come, and he admits they were goals that changed the public perception of him.
“These are things that cannot be predicted, but it was the outcome of what was happening around me at the time,” he added.
“In the local newspapers, they portrayed me as the child of Mr. Vengloš, they wrote about me that even an adolescent has more value than me. Just nonsense, most of which I only learned over time.
“Certainly, everyone was surprised. I’ll tell the truth, I don’t remember much about that match – with the exception of the goals – it’s more about the first duel with Dundee, where we won 6:0, I entertained the audience with feints and crosses.
“I had total freedom, but this was Rangers, no joke. However, I won over people and from then on, I was Mr. Footballer for them.”
That public perception meant Moravčík was quickly a firm fan favourite, albeit in the Celtic half of Glasgow compared to Rangers.
Unlike some players who’ve experienced the hostile atmosphere, though, he was more than happy to stroll around the city in the daytime or at night.
That meant he would often be found sitting somewhere, enjoying a cigarette in a café, although only when the time was right.
“I am a very accessible person, I have never hidden from anyone,” he concluded.
“I used to move in the centre of Glasgow every day, my children went to school there, and when my training ended at one o’clock, I didn’t go home but ended up in one of the cafes. I ate lunch, did crossword puzzles, and lit a cigarette here and there.
“People regularly met me, greeted me, said hello, signed an autograph, took a photo, I never had a problem with that. I smoked only occasionally, more out of passion. It goes well with a crossword somewhere on the terrace. Sometimes we wandered around at night and we didn’t regret it either. Of course, there had to be a good time for it, never before a game.”
