Celtic old boy Stanislav Varga has been singing the club’s praises as they get set to take on Slovan Bratislava tomorrow.
Hospodárske noviny cover comments from the 51-year-old today in which he praises Celtic hugely and describes how they can make players ‘tremble’.
Celtic take on Slovan Bratislava at home in their first Champions League game of the new league style system introduced this year.
They will be hoping for a positive start at home against the Slovakian side, particularly with trips to Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta and clashes with RB Leipzig and Club Brugge to come.
Brendan Rodgers side will need to take advantage of their home games as much as possible, which will see them host Slovan Bratislava as well as Leipzig, Brugge, and Young Boys.
Turning Celtic Park into a fortress is nothing new in the Champions League and European Cup, with the famous stadium having hosted some of the biggest sides and sent them packing down the years.
Varga knows all about that after making 110 appearances for Celtic after joining them on a free transfer from Sunderland in February 2003.
12 of those came in the Champions League and saw them beating the likes of Lyon, Anderlecht and Shakhtar Donetsk at home as well as drawing with Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Barcelona.
And he’s warned Slovan Bratislava, another of his former clubs, what they’ll be facing when they make the same trip on Wednesday.
“Playing at Celtic Park in front of 60,000 fans is definitely not easy for any opponent,” he said.
“Even teams like FC Barcelona or Manchester City could not win there. Slovan can also achieve great performances with the support of their fans, but this is doubly true for Celtic.
“Anything can happen in football, but I rather think that it is a disadvantage for Slovan that he starts at Celtic. Even the biggest football clubs in the world often trembled at the result at Celtic’s home stadium.
“Especially in the evening, when a big match is to be played, you can already feel that the atmosphere is special there. Fans give you juice and energy. It is a big help for the player.”
