Norwegian defender Sonde Solholm Johansen has admitted that playing against Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side at Celtic Park represented a boyhood dream come true for him.
The centre-back returned to his native Norway in the January transfer window after a two-year spell at Motherwell and has been speaking to TV 2 about his time in Scotland in an interview this week.
He joined the Scottish side from Mjøndalen in August 2021 and went on to make 47 appearances for the club before his departure.
That naturally saw him playing against the best that Scotland has to offer, including Celtic, who he faced on three separate occasions during his time with Motherwell.
Unfortunately none of those resulted in a win as Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out winners in all three meetings, winning 4-0, 2-1 and 2-1 again in the games that Solholm was a part of.
Only one of those fixtures was at Celtic Park in January last year, with the Hoops running out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate.
Naturally Solholm wishes things had been different but he admits the chance to play at one of the more famous stadiums in Europe against Celtic was one he will never forget.
“It was a boyhood dream that came true,” he told TV 2.
“When you go out there in front of 60,000 fans, you feel incredibly privileged. That a big fool from Asker will get to experience it cannot be taken for granted.
“I am extremely humbled by what I have experienced. That was exactly the feeling I sat with in the dressing room after being thrashed by Celtic at Celtic Park. You really get to experience European football.”
