THE question was posed by more than one on Twitter even before the Celtic players had got into their showers after Wednesday night’s game.
“So are we now in an age when a scrappy draw against Astana is a good result for Celtic?”
Let’s consider this.
As this is the year 2016 when the country’s richest club hasn’t reached the Champions League proper for two years, when the second richest has not been in European competition for four years because they opted to go, erm, on a journey, that no other team seems able to progress beyond July (losing to a Maltese side, really Hearts) and the national team have been non-entities for almost 20 years, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
Those who believe that praise is not due to today’s Celtic team who returned from Kazakhstan with a positive result having played okay at times, with the ubiquitous dodgy moment, just isn’t living in the real world.
This is where our game is at. Things could get better. We might see, as happened in 2008, three of our teams, Rangers, Celtic and Aberdeen, involved in European competition after Christmas, but that’s not going to happen this season. Or most likely for a few more to come.
Too many Scottish football fans are afflicted with a sort of colonialism. They believe we are still a great footballing nation and the sun doesn’t set without our permission. When in actual fact Scotland has been overtaken by countries we used to disregard. It seems some of us still, wrongly, do.
Nobody is suggesting Celtic’s draw against Astana is up there with the night they beat Leeds United at Hampden to reach the European Cup Final; however, it was a good result which would become a great one if Brendan Rodgers’s team get through next week and then make the group stages.
A feat which seemed ridiculous only a few weeks ago.
Hearts should be beating a Maltese team but Celtic have no right to get anything from a team unheralded but unbeaten in European competition at home for two years. Astana drew with Atletico Madrid last season – in the group stage - who in May were a penalty kick away from winning the Champions League.
They are no mugs and Celtic in recent seasons have been undone by more than one team at such a level.
It would, of course, be better for Scottish football if Celtic’s result was perceived as standard. The champions going to such a place and not losing was the least they should expect.
Again, it is worth reminding everyone that it has been a few years since any of our clubs have been that strong. Indeed, even in the better days, would a 1-1 draw on a plastic pitch, in a genuinely intimidating stadium several time zones away, be viewed as anything other than at least encouraging?
Aberdeen once defeated Real Madrid in a European final. Beating Maribor back then would hardly have raised an eyebrow and yet if they can get past the Slovenians in their Europa League qualifier over the next seven days it would should be greeted as a terrific outcome.
There is enough negativity around already without any small achievement being looked down upon.
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