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Trivia
- Dr Jo arrived back just before the game, after picking up his work permit in Slovakia and watching Croatia Zagreb play.
- Jimmy Johnstone, though invited, refused to attend the opening saying, "This is not the Celtic I knew and loved. I wonder what the people who run the place have in mind next to change the club's character." The rest of the Lisbon Lions attended.
- Jock Brown stated that Fergus McCann was as big as Jock Stein in his Celtic View column. Fergus, with due respect, said that he was not fit to lace Stein’s boots.
- The Celtic financials were out with the club making a pre-tax profit of £7.1million. Fergus also said that Dr Jo had a transfer budget of up to £14.5million. The Scotsman alleged that the first of those signings would be one Khodadad Azizi, an Iranian internationalist who was seeking to leave German club FC Koln.
- The two Italian trialists Marco Cortani and Alessandro Sanna were given three year contracts to July 2001.
- The Lisbon Lions parded the European Cup before the match.
Review
Jock Stein’s widow, Jean, was on hand to do the honours at the official opening of the Jock Stein Stand. With it’s completion and opening the club now had the largest club stadium in Britain and would continue to do so until Manchester United completed their corner infils. The stadium stood as a proud tribute to McCann and the investment he made when the club were on the brink of foreclosure in 1994. The only drawback of the day was the Peatdiggers playing when everyone else wanted Charlie and the Bhoys.
Teams
Celtic:
Gould, Boyd , McNamara (McKinlay, 46), Rieper (Annoni, 46), Stubbs , Larsson, Burley , Donnelly, Lambert, Jackson (Brattbakk, 62), Blinker (O'Donnell, 75)
Non used Sub: Kerr
Liverpool:
Friedel; McAteer (Kvarme 80), Carragher, Babb, Staunton (Bjorneby 50); Leonhardsen, Harkness, McManaman (Thompson 75), Berger (Matteo 75); Riedle, Owen.
Non Used Subs: James
Scorer: Leonhardsen (36)
Referee: J Rowbotham (Kirclady)
Attendance: 59,727
Articles
- Match Report (see below)
Pictures
Stats
| Celtic | Liverpool | |
| Bookings | ||
| Fouls | 5 | 12 |
| Shots on Target | 4 | 3 |
| Corners | 5 | 4 |
| Offside | 8 | 0 |
Mersey lesson on how to go on strike
The Scotsman 10/08/1998
Celtic 0
Liverpool 1
SATURDAY was a day of reminders at Parkhead. Not only did we have the Lisbon Lions hirpling on to the pitch, resplendent in bottle-green blazers and blinking into the sunlight at the majesty of the place that once housed their epic achievements, but in Liverpool, and the quality strikers they have forever been able to call upon, we had another jolt.
The events on the pitch were hardly of the engrossing sort, but you could not help but gaze transfixed at Michael Owen, this slight figure whom we have come to know so well.
He did not score on Saturday, and, at times, seemed rather too greedy, but he was still a constant source of danger. Now and again, however, you would allow yourself to be diverted from this one-man show, as Steve McManaman whirled up a wing, or Karlheinz Riedle provided a cunning pass.
And then, with ten minutes to go of a game that was, in truth, going nowhere, you were aware of a disturbance to your right, where the pocket of Liverpool fans were seated among the 59,000 crowd. You turned your head to be confronted by a couple of thousand Merseysiders welcoming their own returning hero – Robbie Fowler was limbering up on the touchline.
Liverpool have always enjoyed a wealth of strikers, but this is almost an embarrassment of riches.
Parkhead may stretch ever higher into the sky, but surely not even those in the uppermost seats could fail to see why Celtic lost on Saturday.
You imagine Jock Stein, gazing down from the heavens as his wife, Jean, opened the new stand that bears his name, was muttering: "Ach, it's no' silly pageants and blessed stands we're needin' …"
Celtic's coach, Dr Jozef Venglos, seemed his usual relaxed self afterwards, though even he must have a few worries before Wednesday night's Champions Cup clash with Croatia Zagreb. That said, he again re-emphasised his trust in his players, in that endearingly loyal way of his: "I believe in the players that are here. I believe in them. Really. It is true."
You wonder whether this faith is not somewhat blind. He talked about hoping Wednesday would be a "nice" evening for the fans, but you fear it might be a night best described by some other, more brutal adjectives, such as those being hurled at Darren Jackson as he offered up one of those calamitous performances he specialises in. He was replaced in the second half by Harald Brattbakk, and this moment encapsulated all of Celtic's problems.
They are trying hard to find some kind of answer to their striking problems within their own camp, but however much they juggle these two players, the goals do not seem to come from either of them.
Even Regi Blinker is being given an extended run out and seems worth his place, but goals are hardly likely to flow from this source.
As if to emphasise Celtic's failings in this department, Paul Lambert – hardly noted for his thrusting runs – was his side's most dangerous player. One probe into the Liverpool box, after a glorious one-two with Simon Donnelly, finished with a shot that curled cruelly wide of the far post.
The ribbons had already been cut, opening the new stand, but this would have been as fine a way as any to Christen the place.
In the end, it was Liverpool who provided the first goal in front of the newly-named structure. A lofted ball from Riedle was latched on to by the onrushing Oyvind Leonhardsen and then lashed into the net. It was a fittingly underwhelming goal to win an underwhelming game, one that was put in the shade by the towering presence of the new stand and the imperious memory of Stein.
Indeed, Alan Stubbs said afterwards that the outcome of the game did not matter, and of course it didn't, but with Wednesday looming, the misfiring of the Celtic forwards surely did. Stubbs said: "This was a day for the fans, for Mrs Stein, a thank-you for such a magnificent stadium. It was significant for these reasons only."
He would say that, for he missed a wonderful chance in the second half, firing into the side-netting with the type of shot he must have learned at a centre-halves' finishing school.
Stubbs also talked about the conditions, which were, he said, "obviously difficult for both sides. There wasn't much air around, the ground is so enclosed now."
The excuses were tripping from his tongue, but you wonder what explanation Brattbakk might come up with for a miss late in the second half, when clean through on goal.
It was one of those moments when you cringed in expectation of what was to come, and, sure enough, the Norwegian rounded Brad Friedel and … well, you know the rest. It is a desperately frustrating exercise watching Brattbakk play, because you know he has talent in bundles.
On Saturday he was sometimes sublime, sometimes dreadful. One moment the ball was getting caught up beneath his feet, the next he was the linchpin in a stylish manoeuvre. He even added a bit of venom to his game with a riotous shot that almost snapped a post. Sometimes it seems only confidence, and a bit of luck, are missing from his game, and, in the spirit of friendliness that enveloped Parkhead on Saturday, you truly hope both will be bestowed upon him soon.
Gerard Houllier, the Liverpool co-manager recently feted by Celtic, was in a fine mood, too, even when asked about his reported turning-down of Fergus McCann's offer. "I knew somebody would ask that question," he said, before adding that he came "very close" to joining the club.
"Personally, I would have liked to have been here, but I made my choice for personal reasons. I taught in Liverpool 30 years ago, and perhaps I was touched by the Red grace."
This "Red grace" was in evidence on Saturday, too. Fowler was never allowed the chance to form a deadly forward partnership with Owen. Celtic's opponents appreciated that Saturday was a day for feel-good vibes, not envy.
PA Sport Match Report at sportinglife.com
- Manager Interview
Dr Jo Venglos post match
“This match was good preparation for us, and although we lost the gae, we are still creating good chances and I still believe in my players.
Gerard Houllier, Liverpool manager, post match
“It was a great honour to win a game when honouring one of my former colleagues, Jock Stein.
“I like Celtic and maybe it would have been nice to come here as boss. I am looking forward to seeing how they do on Wednesday night and I hope that they get into the Champions League. Celtic are a good side, they showed that against us, and I do hope they make it. This magnificent stadium deserves good European nights.”