The name Robert Rachwal may not mean much to Celtic fans at this moment in time, since the 16-year-old is still embedded in the club’s youth teams, he could be one to look out for going forward, both at club and international level, after having also played for arch-rivals Rangers in the past
No longer at the club where Philippe Clement is now in charge, and extremely delighted to be at Celtic Park, the midfielder, who was born in Poland, is a target for the Scottish FA
They want to take advantage of the fact the youngster has been living in the United Kingdom since he was six months old, which is revealed as Rachwal is profiled by Prezglad Sportowy on Monday, who look back at the mix of Rangers and Celtic that are his early years as a footballer.
Rachwal’s family moved to Scotland in 2005, only for his mother to fly back to Poland to give birth to Robert there.
Upon their return, there was no question in mind that Celtic was the family’s team, as he and his father ‘went to Celtic matches together and played in a nearby park in the evenings’, eventually attending the club’s training sessions ‘every Sunday at the club’s centre in Lennoxtown’.
His father told Przeglad Sportowy: “Suddenly an hour later, a Rangers scout appeared on the pitch. He was interested in my son, but as he was not six years old, he was too young to join the academy. That’s when Adams stepped in and tried to convince him to overlook Robert’s age. That’s how it started.”
Rachwal joined Rangers’ Under-8s, with boys two years older than him, and also played for the Scotland Boys Club, where he caught the eye of Celtic.
He then moved there, with his grandfather, Andrzej, telling him: “You have crossed over to the good side.”
Rachwal told the newspaper: “My dream club in Scotland have always been Celtic. Even when playing for Rangers, I supported the Green and Whites from the stadium.”
Since then, the trajectory for the young midfielder has mostly been up, and he signed his first professional contract with Celtic this summer, which is valid until June 2026.
However, he did suffer an anterior crucial ligament rupture on December 8th, which he is now recovering from, with the hope that he can play again in 10-11 months.
