Back in 2022, Celtic shocked the world by
winning the Champions League; their first European Cup triumph since the
Lisbon Lions lifted the trophy in 1967. The match is remembered for a
lot of reasons, not least the night that
Ivica Strok came of age. If, for some reason, you're reading this and you're not sure who Ivica Strok is then I suggest reading his
biography before progressing.
The
2022 Champions League final pitted underdogs Celtic against the
continuing might of Chelsea, still freespending and full of
internationally recognised superstars, Portuguese manager Vitor Pereira
had continued the trophy winning tradition of former manager Diego
Simeone. Indeed, Chelsea had the much more comfortable road to the final
at Old Trafford with comfortable wins against Barcelona, Roma and
Bayern Munich in the knockout rounds. Meanwhile, Celtic secured narrow
wins against Lille, Juventus and Arsenal.
A
match between two British sides was sure to whet the appetite of many
football fans across the land, but add in the prospect of it taking
place on British soil almost exactly half way between London and Glasgow
then hype about the match went into overload. BT Sport, who maintained
their exclusive coverage of the Champions League, embarked on an
advertising campaign that built the anticipation surrounding the fixture
even further. If people weren't excited about the showpiece final
already, they would be once BT finished their promotion.
Despite
the best efforts of BT and the fact that Celtic had won the Europa
League just twelve months earlier, Chelsea were still very much the
favourites for the final. Some people suggested that fans of the west
London side might have even become complacent ahead of the match in
Manchester.
That
didn't matter to the Celtic players though, they were focussed on the
match ahead and aiming to bring the European Cup back to Glasgow for the
first time in 55 years. Nobody was more excited at the prospect of
winning the Champions League, and more importantly putting one over
Chelsea, than former Blues defender Nathaniel Chalobah. The England
international was now Celtic captain, having taken the armband from Alex
Pearce in the summer of 2021, and his defensive capability combined
with the attacking prowess of Croatian striker Ivica Strok was the key
to Celtic coming away from Old Trafford with their pride in tact.
And
while the Celtic players were readying themselves in their hotel ahead
of the final, the Bhoys' supporters were making their voices heard
across Manchester. If Chelsea fans were already expecting their side to
be lifting the trophy that evening, the Celtic support were just happy
to have made the final and were bringing the famous Parkhead atmosphere
to the north-west of England.
While
the green half of Glasgow was enjoying their moment in the spotlight,
the blue half of Scotland's most famous footballing city were firmly
nailing their colours to the mast by cementing their 'Blues Brothers'
alliance with Chelsea. Rangers fans were being encouraged to show their
loyalty to the London club, and therefore underlining their dislike of
their neighbours, through traditional means.
So
with kick-off approaching, Twitter avatars changed, and the players
getting their final instructions ahead of the match, all that was left
was for pundits to make their predictions for the fixture. Chelsea, not
just in the eyes of the neutrals but also in the odds of the bookmakers,
were heavy favourites. Just about everybody, other than 50% of Glasgow,
were not just expecting a Chelsea win but expecting a comprehensive
Chelsea victory.
Punters,
pundits and fans were immediately forced to reconsider their pre-match
predictions as Celtic burst out the blocks and peppered the Chelsea
goal. Chelsea, seeming to be almost as complacent as their fans had
been, were shellshocked. Celtic's slick attacking play, sharp passing
and all-round team ethic wasn't the kind of play that underdogs usually
adopted. Then in the 31st minute of the match, Celtic built from the
back firstly with goalkeeper Raymond Dekker, then through Chalobah, then
Liam Bridcutt and onto the head of Strok via Jose Ribeiro's cross.
Strok outjumped and outmuscled Danish defender Andreas Christensen and
the ball was beyond Thibaut Courtois. Fans immediately found mentions of
Ivica Strok from throughout the years, ones that had aged well and ones
that hadn't.
Celtic continued to attack Chelsea but
couldn't find a second goal before half-time, but Chelsea were blunt as
an attacking force and the Bhoys went into the break holding their one
goal lead. The Scottish side were 45 minutes away from a historic and
unexpected European Cup win, all they needed to do was keep three time
Ballon d'Or winner Eden Hazard, and two time Ballon d'Or runner-up Erik
Lamela, at bay.
And that's exactly what they did until the hour
mark when Celtic fullback Zarko Koprivica pushed Lamela following a
corner and Chelsea were awarded a penalty. It was Raymond Dekker against
Eden Hazard, a 6'10 Dutch giant against a nimble Belgian winger. A man
that had been voted the best player in the world three times by his
peers had a chance to bring Chelsea level, and it was something that he
was more than capable of doing.
Hazard stepped up and hit
the ball firm with his left foot, only for Dekker to use all of his
near seven foot frame to get down and save. This really was turning into
Celtic's night.
The
first person to the ball following the Dutch goalkeeper's stop was
Celtic's captain, and Nathaniel Chalobah launched the ball into the
Chelsea half towards Jose Ribeiro. The Portuguese winger was joined
two-on-one against Thibaut Courtois with Ivica Strok and the Croatian
looked best placed to double the score. However, Ribeiro ignored the
cries of his teammate and took the ball on alone before placing it under
the on-rushing Chelsea goalkeeper. Celtic had taken a two goal lead,
but Strok wasn't happy with Ribeiro. Ivica Strok, Celtic's main striker
and tallisman, refused to celebrate with the Portuguese player and would
not speak a word to him for the remainder of Ribeiro's Celtic career.
With
half an hour left to play, Chelsea threw everything at Celtic but were
unable to find a way through despite having ten shots on the Celtic goal
in the final 30 minutes. The final whistle went and Celtic had done it,
they'd upset the odds and beaten the superstars of Chelsea.
For
the first time in over half a century, Celtic were champions of Europe.
They had reached the final and they hadn't just avoided embarrassing
themselves but they had succeeded in embarrassing one of the most famous
clubs in the world. They had forced all those who had doubted them to
reconsider their opinions of Celtic, and of Scottish football.
If
Celtic had managed to avoid leaving themselved red-faced, the same
could not be said for Chelsea. More specifically, the same could not be
said for Chelsea's fans who had come into the fixture at Old Trafford
assuming that their club's name would be engraved on the trophy come the
final whistle. Eden Hazard, whose penalty would have drawn the club
level, bore the brunt of the Blues' fans anger.
The night
didn't belong to Chelsea, but instead marked the beginning of a new era
for Celtic. Commanding in their own league for so long, Celtic would
now embark on establishing themselves as equals among Europe's biggest
and best clubs. It is no coincidence that what would become the most
dominant era in the club's history coincided with the career of one man
in particular.
And the rest, as they say, is history. Or the future. One of the two.
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