Moravcik fondly recalls best of years and worst of years
(12 Mar 2009, The Herald)
There will be a Celtic reunion of sorts in the Czech Republic on Sunday, but the coming together will not occur with the Co-operative Insurance Cup final against Rangers in mind.
Some 1200 miles from Glasgow, Lubomir Moravcik will be stationed inside a television studio in Prague, adding his insightful analysis to pictures beamed in from Aston Villa’s Barclays Premier League match with Tottenham Hotspur. The Celtic connection and memories of the League Cup, though, will not be far away.
Moravcik will speak warmly about Martin O’Neill, the manager who many felt got the best out of the Slovak during his four years in Glasgow and with whom he celebrated a League Cup success in 2001.
He will recall playing alongside Stiliyan Petrov, now with O’Neill at Villa as they push for a Champions League place next season, his team-mate when Celtic triumphed in the tournament in 2000 and who only missed out on repeating the feat a year later due to a broken leg.
Celtic’s 2-0 win over Aberdeen in March 2000, the goals scored by Vidar Riseth and Tommy Johnson, was a rare bright spot that season.
The infamous Scottish Cup exit to Inverness had brought a swift end to John Barnes’ reign at Parkhead, while Dick Advocaat’s Rangers would canter to the SPL title by 21 points. The CIS Insurance Cup success was seized on by fans in the hope it may signal a bright new era, albeit with the team under the temporary charge of Kenny Dalglish.
For Moravcik it carried extra significance. The talented Slovak was in the autumn of a wandering career by the time Dr Jozef Venglos brought him to Celtic Park in November 1998, after years of relatively unrewarded service with FC Nitra, St Etienne, Bastia, and MSV Duisburg. Victory over Aberdeen belatedly earned Moravcik his first senior medal at the age of 34. Little wonder, then, that the moment remains embedded in the his mind.
“I don’t remember much about the match itself but I know we beat Aberdeen 2-0 and it was my very first medal,” he told The Herald. “It was a very special moment for me to get my first trophy and celebrate in front of all our supporters. It had been a difficult season for us.
“John Barnes had been sacked and Kenny Dalglish had not long taken over as manager. We knew Rangers were going to win the league so we wanted to get something from a bad season. I had scored in the semi-final so I felt I had played my part. The final was not a very exciting game but we won.”
If that success was a consolation prize, the defence of the trophy the following season would become part of something much greater and more significant. Celtic, reinvigorated under O’Neill, were a far different prospect to the side that had been shorn of all confidence under Barnes and Dalglish. The 2001 CIS Cup semi-final against Rangers, though, proved to be something of a mixed bag for Moravcik.
Celtic powered through to the final with a 3-1 win but Moravcik was sent off in the final few minutes, along with Michael Mols and Claudio Reyna of Rangers. He lets out a small chuckle as he recalls that evening at Hampden.
“I was a bad boy that night,” he added. “I had not been on long as a substitute when I got involved in something right at the end of the game. I remember there was a bad tackle and all of a sudden everyone was pushing and fighting. I can’t remember how but I was in the middle of it all like Zorro. I was sent off which was a shame because we had just had a great victory. Luckily, I was able to play in the final.”
If the semi-final had been frantic, then the final against Kilmarnock was an anti-climax. Not for the first time, the day belonged to Henrik Larsson, who bagged the match ball in a 3-0 saunter.
While the previous success was simply a case of salvaging an otherwise disastrous season, lifting the trophy in 2001 set the platform for an impressive clean sweep.
“The league cup is nice to win in its own right,” Moravcik added. “But when you win it then it gives you extra confidence. We did not say anything at the time but maybe we started to think there was a chance we could win the treble.”
Moravcik continues to follow Celtic’s fortunes from afar. He was surprised, if not shocked, to hear about his old team’s Scottish Cup exit to St Mirren last weekend, and relatively unimpressed with the goalless draw served up in the last Old Firm meeting.
“The last game against Rangers was not easy to watch,” he said. “I hope it will be a better match on Sunday. I have to commentate on the Aston Villa game but I will have one ear ready for any news from Glasgow.”
By GRAEME MACPHERSON
Celtic’s Dr Venglos defends his signing of 33-year-old Slovakian midfielder Moravcik will have to fight for team place
The Herald
Ian Paul
Thursday 29 October 1998
CELTIC’S new man from Slovakia, Lubomir Moravcik, will not be guaranteed a place in the team managed by the other Slav at Parkhead, Dr Jo Venglos, even if the two have an association that stretches back more than 11 years.
Dr Venglos made that clear yesterday as he conducted a rather bizarre press conference in which he answered his own questions as manager, and interpreted both questions and answers for the player who speaks virtually no English.
”We will have to see if he will play this Saturday,” said Venglos, ”but he knows that there is a lot of competition for places in the team. He is here because he will strengthen the squad, but I am very confident that he will be a success in Glasgow.”
The head coach must know the strengths and weaknesses of his new #370,000 acquisition as well as any player he has managed, considering that it was he who gave him his first cap for Czechoslovakia 11 years ago.
”He has played on the right side of midfield and on the left, has vast experience internationally and I am sure he will work well with the top players at this club.” said the team leader.
Moravcik left German club Duisburg because he had a row with the coach who refused to play him in the position he wanted, but he expressed his delight at coming to a team that ”everyone in Europe knows of . . . the first British club to win the European Cup . . .”
His track record of 74 caps for Czechoslovakia/Slovakia and a career with clubs like St Etienne and Bastia point to a class act, but at 33, the question Celtic fans will want answered is: Does he retain that ability?
Venglos has no doubts. ”It is not age that matters, but quality and performance on the field. We shall see that when he plays for Celtic. I believe in his qualities, but he will get no special favours from me because of our association.
”Like other players who come here with little English he will learn quickly.”
Venglos refused to discuss any names of other possible new signings but did acknowledge, as did chairman Fergus McCann, that others were being sought.
”I have every faith in the players we have here, but we had so many injuries that we do need to strengthen the squad.”
McCann also cited Celtic’s wearisome and unhelpful policy (from their own fans’ viewpoint as well as the media) of not talking about transfers until they are settled, even though everybody and his aunt is aware they are trying to sign Croatia Zagreb striker Marko Viduka.
He did insist that ”substantial” funds were available for further investments, and added that the signing of Moravcik was unusually short-term (20 months) for the club, but he was a man the coach felt could prove important.
”Dr Jo has also identified areas in defence and attack that need strengthened, however, and we are actively pursuing those targets and, hopefully, will be able to report success soon.
The coach has been a great influence at the club and clearly is a man with a great football knowledge.
Of course I am a supporter and get frustrated like the rest of our fans when things don’t go as well as I want, but we are very pleased with Dr Jozef. I am sure he will prove a big asset to this club.”
Asked if he had a response to some fans’ complaint that they have paid #14m into the club for season tickets, but have seen only #2m net spent with a quarter of the season gone, he replied: ” Well, I would like to think that a large majority of our fans are not so simplistic as to believe that season ticket money equals transfer money.
”It doesn’t work quite that way. Season ticket money at the present time doesn’t even equal our wage bill. The important thing is that we are unique in this respect: we are run on a profitable line, able to generate income to invest in new players.
”It may not be an overnight quick-fix policy, but none the less I think it is a good foundation and is very much respected by a lot of our competitors.
”If you were taking the issue of season ticket money it is interesting to say that the average season ticket price brings in #10 per seat per game.
”In return for that it is up to us to bring in the very best quality of player, million pound high salary players, a high quality stadium and I think a lot of supporters realise we are delivering that as best as we can. I think most take a balanced view of that.
”We invested all of our profits last year and we’ll continue that way. We have demands in all directions but there are substantial sums available for investment in players.
”We have a five-year rolling plan and although I will be leaving next year it that will go on so that we can afford the best.”
Meanwhile, UEFA last night confirmed they have cut FC Zurich’s capacity to 17,000 for Tuesday’s UEFA Cup return tie with Celtic.
Zurich’s Letzigrund holds 23,500, but the the figure has been reduced by 6500 on safety grounds.
More than 15,000 tickets, 1500 of which were allocated to Celtic, have already been sold for the tie and the rest are expected to be sold before Zurich’s Swiss league game against St Gallen tonight.
Coach Raimondo Ponte, however, has confirmed that mid-fielder Robert Huber, who was injured against Neuchatel Xamax last weekend, will be fit for the return.
Interview
http://www.celticfc.net/news/8463
When did you first hear that Celtic were interested in signing you?
It was in 1998, about the end of October, when we played against Portugal in a qualifying game, and Dr Jo came to watch the game. After the match I saw them and they said they were interested in signing me. After that, things moved very quickly and the next week I signed for Celtic.
Were you aware of how your signing was received in some quarters?
Not really because everything had gone very quickly. Being 33 wasn’t a problem for me. I felt very fit and confident because now in football, that age is not too old. It depends on your personal feeling. When you feel good you train well and I never really had any bad injuries. In my head I was still young for football.
On November 21, 1998, you made your derby debut. What was it like to score those first two goals against Rangers?
Before this game we didn’t expect a big result against Rangers because they were dominating in the league. I was a little bit scared about what would happen in the game because it was my first derby although I was very motivated for the game. But I was a bit scared – about the result, not about my game because you can play well but if it’s not a good result, it wouldn’t be good for me, but it all went well for me, I scored two goals and everything changed for me after that.
Why do you think the Celtic fans took you to their hearts so quickly?
I think because I’m a straightforward, simple guy. I was taught to keep my feet on the ground and be nice to the people around you, be modest. And I don’t think I ever changed. Maybe others would say differently but in my head I never changed. I’m still the same guy from Nitra, a small town, small village, and this is from my education
What do you remember about the 6-2 victory over Rangers in Martin O’Neill’s first season?
I remember Henrik’s goal when he chipped the ball over the Rangers goalkeeper. It was at this time when we started dominating in the Scottish league. It wasn’t a surprise like my first game when we won 5-1, because we were playing well, we were top of the league and it was also a perfect game during my time at Celtic and I’ll remember that game for the rest of my life.
You scored another two goals against Rangers at the end of that season, at Ibrox, and your celebrations then were a bit different from 1998. Was it because you really knew and understood what the derby match was all about by then?
I knew this game was one of the most famous games in the world and in the media, even in France, they’d be talking about it. And this game (Ibrox 2001) was special for me because it was almost my last chance to confirm my quality, especially away from home at Ibrox. This time we had a very confident team and we played very well, and we showed everyone that we were a stronger team than Rangers. I didn’t expect to play in that game and I was very surprised when Martin O’Neill read out my name before the game. And I said to myself that it might be my last chance to play well at Ibrox and to score two goals – I was very happy. When you score once in this derby game, people might say, maybe he was lucky. If you score twice, then people can see it’s not luck and you can see in my face that I was very happy. By then I knew that I didn’t have much time left at Celtic so I was pleased to have a good game that day.
Who were the other team-mates who impressed you during your time at Celtic?
We had a really good team. Paul Lambert was a really important guy, in the dressing room and on the pitch. Neil Lennon came and he became a very important part of the team. Chris Sutton up front was great – also, John Hartson, who was a good guy and good player. Alan Thompson, who had a fantastic left foot. Jackie McNamara. Also, Tommy Boyd when I first came to Celtic who was a very important person in the club, and also my French friends – Didier Agathe and Stephane Mahe, who helped me very much – and during my time at Celtic, Stiliyan Petrov was also a really nice guy and a very good player.
What were your feelings when you played at Celtic Park for the last time?
I was prepared for that. I had said at the beginning of the season that it would be my last season. Unfortunately, we didn’t win that game – it was a 1-1 draw with Rangers – but if you finish at a club where people love you, you always feel sad when you have to leave, but at the same time I was satisfied with my performances at Celtic. Now, years after leaving Celtic I realise I was a bit unlucky, because I joined when I was 33 and I should have come when I was younger and played more for Celtic, a few more seasons and some more important games. But I couldn’t have come earlier because nobody knew me in this part of Europe. Altogether, I was very satisfied and very happy to have played for Celtic.
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EXCLUSIVE: Larsson on Lubo
Posted byCallum McFadden11th Aug 2020
Posted inUncategorized
Henrik Larsson spoke exclusively to Callum McFadden about his career in depth including the importance of stopping Rangers’ bid for a 10-in-a-row, his international career at Sweden, the highs and lows of his time at Parkhead, winning the Champions League at Barcelona, playing for Manchester United, and his managerial career.
https://cfbfootball.com/2020/08/11/exclusive-larsson-on-lubo/
FULL INTERVIEW HERE – https://anchor.fm/footballcfb/episodes/CFB-EXCLUSIVE-Henrik-Larsson-ehhdsq
In a Football CFB EXCLUSIVE, Celtic legend Henrik Larsson was asked about to describe just how good the Slovakian was.
Remember, Henrik has played with the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Messi, Ronaldo, Scholes and Rooney. Therefore, Larsson’s statement that Moravčík is “definitely one of the best players I’ve ever played with” shows just how special Moravcik was.
When asked if he knew who Moravčík was when he arrived at Celtic, Larsson said: “I didn’t know anything about him to be honest, but it only takes one practice to see just…wow, he has something. Still, to this day, I don’t know if he’s left-footed or right-footed! That’s crazy! I’ve never seen a player hitting the ball as sweetly with both feet.
“The vision he had to see the game, see runs was just fantastic. He’s most definitely one of the best players I’ve ever played with. Also, he’s a great guy. I bump into him every now and then and it’s always a pleasure to speak with him.”
Celtic legend Lubo Moravcik: Dr Jozef Venglos was right,
Parkhead move made me fall in love with football again Lubomir Moravcik has paid a heartfelt tribute to his mentor, Dr Jozef Venglos, who re-ignited his love for football by taking him to Celtic. By David Oliver Wednesday, 27th January 2021, 10:41 am Updated 22 hours ago https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtic-legend-lubo-moravcik-dr-jozef-venglos-was-right-parkhead-move-made-me-fall-love-football-again-3114246 The 84-year-old died on Tuesday, and fan favourite Moravcik added his comments to the growing number of tributes to the manager, who picked up the Slovakian for a bargain £300,000 and brought him to Scotland. It proved a shrewd signing, both for the club and for the player with Moravcik revealing the coach’s influencial role in his life – and how Celtic kept him involved in the game. Celtic: Get the latest team news, match previews and reports Moravcik said: “My condolences go out to Dr Jo’s family and their loved ones. I am deeply saddened by the news as I have known him for almost 35 years. It has left me heartbroken. I sat and watched footage of us together during our days in football and the many happy moments we shared.” Moravcik (centre) alongside Fergus McCann and Dr Venglos after signing for Celtic in 1998 (Picture: SNS) Moravcik (centre) alongside Fergus McCann and Dr Venglos after signing for Celtic in 1998 (Picture: SNS)
After first meeting during World Cup qualifiers for Italia 90, Venglos and Moravick combined to take Czechoslovakia to the tournament and teamed up again in 1998 at Celtic Park, when the maverick midfielder’s career had stalled. But that first encounter was the turning point in Morvacik’s career when he shared “one of the most important conversations of my life, something that changed me as a footballer and as a person” with his mentor. “He explained to me what I needed to do to become a better footballer, what I needed to do to bring more maturity and consistency into my game,” Moravcik said. “He reminded me of the sacrifices I was going to have to make to get to the very top. He knew I was capable of so much more and didn’t want to see my talent go to waste. “It was a turning point in my life. That open and honest guidance from Dr Jo was exactly what I needed at that time.” Moravcik kicked on to St Etienne, Bastia and then Duisburg in Germany but, with football going flat Venglos returned to re-ignite his love for the game and team up again at Celtic. It proved a successful move. “To be honest, I was thinking about giving up football at that stage,” Moravcik revealed. “I was not happy in Germany. I was 33 and didn’t think I had much of a future in the game.
“But Dr Jo was the manager of Celtic and asked me if I wanted to join him and play for a massive football club. He trusted my ability and told me it would be perfect for my career and make me fall in love with football again. He assured me it would be a successful move. Well, he was right.
“Celtic was exactly what I needed. I enjoyed many happy times at the football club and even now, 23 years on, I still have a fantastic relationship with the club and the supporters.
“I have been extremely fortunate to have Dr Jo in my life. He was a great person, a great teacher and a great mentor. He was well mannered and humble. He enriched my life in many, many ways.
“I also got to know his wife, Eva, and she is a lovely woman. They are all such lovely people. “I will miss him very much as will the game of football.”