With several stories ahead of Valencia’s Europa League clash against Celtic this week, the Spanish media continues to give special coverage to the match.
Las Provincias brings a good interview with former Valencia striker Mista, who faced the Scottish Premiership side in the UEFA Cup back in 2001.
After a 1-0 win at Mestalla, Valencia lost by the same score at Celtic Park, but still managed to get qualification in the penalty shootout.
Mista was asked about the memories he has from these matches, and claims that the atmosphere made by Scottish fans is what made the second game so special.
“Many years have passed since then but what we do remember, I imagine that all of us who played, was the level of involvement of the fans,” Mista told Las Provincias. “The Celtic fanbase is very hot. It’s a stadium that also resounds a lot and there’s loud shouting. There were moments when we couldn’t even listen to ourselves, in that field the referee isn’t heard. It’s going to be a great atmosphere.”
Asked if this is the kind of match he liked to play, Mista agrees, regardless of the fans being supporting the opposite side: “Of course. Logically, the fans have a great positive effect on their players, they give you the encouragement that sometimes you need, it encourages you and pushes you to keep going, but it is these kind of matches that you want to play because of the circumstances that surround you.”
Brendan Rodgers will be hoping the current crop of Valencia are more intimidated by the Celtic atmosphere.
