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Trivia
- This match had been arranged after the early departure from the UEFA Cup and had already been rearranged once from 5th October due to the number of players on both sides on international duty.
- Bobby Robson was managing Barcelona at the time and one of his first moves had been to sign Ronaldo to the club. Robson had been linked to the managerial position at Celtic upon the sacking of Liam Brady but it never came to pass, Robson choosing to stay with Porto. A certain Jose Mourinho was also at Barcelona with Sir Bobby having moved with him from Porto. Robson would take Barcelona to win the Spanish Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the European Cup Winners Cup this season whilst being voted the European Manager of the Year.
- Six of Barca’s top stars failed to show – Ronaldo (thigh injury), Hristo Stoichkov (thigh injury), Luis Figo, Victor Baia, Gheorghe Popescu and Giovanni were all absent. McCann threatened to sue Barcelona and the Spanish TV company that were paying Barcelona to play, for bringing an understrength squad.
- Barcelona flew into Glasgow on the same day of the match, trained, played, got paid and left immediately after the match without over-nighting in Glasgow.
- Of the Barcelona team on the night, Ivan de la Pena would come back to Celtic as a trialist in September 2003, Prosinecki would leave Barcelona in January ’97 (and later come to haunt Celtic in the Champions League qualifier against Croatia Zagreb in August 1998), Albert Ferrer would join Chelsea, Amor would spend 2002/03 with Livingston, Laurent Blanc arguably is achieving as much as a manager with Bordeaux as he did as a player with Inter Milan and Manchester Utd, Garcia is Luis Garcia of Liverpool and currently Atletico Madrid and Albert Celades currently plays for New York Red Bulls. Goalkeeper Carles Busquets' son Sergio would become a Barcelona star midfielder and feature in Spain's 2010 World Cup win.
- Jorge Amaral who had been on trial at Celtic for over three weeks and had missed a Reserve game due to injury the previous week, finally got to play a game, coming on as a second half substitute.
- On the same night Celtic lost 1-0 to Rangers in a Reserve Laegue match at Ibrox in front of a crowd of 5 089. The Rangers team was Snelders, Nicolson, Wilson, Milligan, Shields, Boyack (Dair 56), B. Ferguson, McInnes, Steven, Bo Andersen, I. Ferguson. Subs Jutta and McShane. The Celtic team was Marshall, Boyle, Morrison, Mackay, MacDonald, Kelly, McBride, Gray, Vaugh (McGuiness 71), Queen, Dow (Fitzpatrick 82). The rangers scorer was I. Ferguson.
Review
A certain sense of kowtowing to the masters pervaded this game but it was a chance to see some of the stars in action – however the big guns chose to stay at home. There was a real sense of Barcelona just going through the motions but even so they were a class above.
Teams
Celtic:
Kerr, Boyd, McKinlay, McNamara, Stubbs, Grant, Di Canio (Hay 46), Donnelly (Wieghorst 70), O'Neil, Thom (Amaral 52), Cadete (McLaughlin 72)
Barcelona:
Busquests, Ferrer, Fernandez, De La Pena, Blanc (Couto 46), Oscar (Pizzi 62), Prosinecki, Amor, Nadal, Garcia (Lopez 86), Celades (Cuellar 83).
Non Used Subs: Arnau, Perez.
Scorer: Oscar (19)
Referee: J McCluskey (Stewarton).
Attendance: 26,623
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Articles
Celtic succumb to superior side
The Scotsman 27/11/1996
Celtic 0 – 1 Barcelona (Oscar, 19)
THERE was, for Celtic, a kind of masochism attached to getting involved with Barcelona, even though last night's challenge match in Glasgow was non-combative. Their image as robust challengers to Rangers for the Premier Division title was stained after being moved around the pitch by a side who played well within themselves.
Barcelona dominated players who were made to look less intimidating than they seem to the majority of their peers in a domestic context.
The Spanish are obliged, under the terms of a deal with a television company in their native country, to play an agreed number of live games against European opposition each season.
Celtic were also engaged in a commercial enterprise but the numbers did not stack up. Only some impressive goalkeeping by Stewart Kerr prevented a bigger defeat in front of the Parkhead ground's lowest attendance for a first-team game since it was reopened in August 1995.
Polite applause and a sterile atmosphere betrayed the unmistakable signs of the friendly without feeling. Celtic Park was denied the fervour which has been apparent at every meaningful game played inside the stadium this season where fixtures against such as Dunfermline have attracted crowds of more than 50,000.
Despite the absence of six key players, Barcelona dutifully went through their contractual paces and took the lead with a goal of undeniable quality after 19 minutes. Ivan De La Pena, an under-21 internationalist, began the move with a clever ball played inside Jackie McNamara. Roger Garcia took up the pass on the left wing and instinctively knew that Oscar would be in front of goal when he centred the ball. Kerr was left helpless by the close-range shot.
Although Jorge Cadete had an 'equaliser' disallowed, Celtic's efforts were laborious by comparison. Paolo Di Canio found Peter Grant on the six-yard line, but the finish drifted past the right-hand post.
In the second half, Celtic introduced Chris Hay, a young reserve, and Jorge Amaral, the Portuguese midfield player who has recently aroused immense interest. Earlier this month, the promise of an appearance by Amaral drew thousands to a reserve game, but injury prevented him playing. His arrival last night met with a tumultuous reception but he failed to change the course of the game.
It was Fernando Couto who came closest to bringing the match a second goal when he headed narrowly wide of Kerr's right-hand post.
- Manager Interview
Tommy Burns:
"I'm grateful to Bobby for not coming here.
"I wouldn't have had these wages for the last two-and-a-half years!
"He's one of the most successful British managers ever and one of the few who've done it abroad.
"His record with Feyenoord, Porto, Sporting Lisbon and now with Barcelona speaks for itself. He's held in high esteem throughout the game and I've nothing but respect for him.
"Jorge Cadete, who worked with him at Sporting Lisbon, also speaks highly of him.
"He's a wise old man and I'll be looking to have a chat with him after the game to see if he can pass on a few tips."
"No matter who plays for Bobby Robson's team, they will be quality players," he said. "Barcelona are, for my money, among the top three sides in the world today and the game will not simply be a test of our younger players but a demanding examination of the older ones as well.
"There must be a competitive edge to the match because supporters are paying good money to be entertained and they must first of all be assured of effort and not an exhibition match."