When a team gets to play Celtic in any form of European competition, the local media always have a number of previews surrounding the club and its mythical status.
The upcoming clash with Rennes in the Europa League is no different, and the French press have been going around talking to a number of current and former players to get a better idea about Glasgow, Celtic and (sometimes) their rivalry with Rangers.
Wednesday saw local newspaper Le Télégramme track down Queen’s Park playmaker Joffrey Lidouren to ask him about what it’s like to live in such a divided city, and Thursday has L’Équipe talking to former French footballers who have spent time at Celtic to understand what it means to play for such a club.
As well as Marc-Antoine Fortuné or even Didier Agathe, it’s left-back Stéphane Mahé who had the most to say after his four year stay at Parkhead.
The defender transferred from Rennes, the very same club Celtic will face on Thursday evening, in 1997, and he encapsulated the impact playing for such a club has on a player by quoting famous French comedy Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis (Welcome to the Sticks).
While you may have worked it out yourself, the idea here is that Glasgow might not give the best first impression, but when it’s time to go, it’s won you over so much that there’s nowhere else you’d rather be.
He explained: “I’d just come off a complicated season with Rennes, and I didn’t have any offer in France… When I was offered Celtic, I asked myself a few questions. I knew nothing about Scottish football. But once I was there, I discovered the love of the fans and the grandness of the club”.
Mahé is now seen as something of a trendsetter, paving the way a dozen or so other Frenchmen to have careers at Celtic, with the latest bunch being Odsonne Édouard, Olivier Ntcham and most recently Christopher Jullien.
Now we’ll have to see if that French connection can help the Scottish Premiership champions overcome a Rennes side who currently sit second in Ligue 1, having already beaten Paris Saint-Germain once this season.
