THERE are only so many moods Georgios Samaras is prepared to adopt.
Most of the time he is laid-back to the point that it seems tempting to hold a mirror at his mouth to check he is still breathing. Last month, the Greek admitted to a surprising change of temperament when he described how angry he had been that Celtic had risked going out of the Champions League to Shakhter Karagandy. But fear? No, that would be taking things too far. Samaras is not easily susceptible to fear, not even when he's about to enter a stage as grand and imposing as San Siro.
A lack of trepidation is predictable from someone who has scored in six of Celtic's last nine European away games, helping to transform their record on the road, but what was more encouraging for their fans yesterday was Samaras's belief that the squad as a whole shared his lack of apprehension. Celtic could lose tonight's Group H opener against AC Milan, of course they could, but if the forward is to be believed it certainly will not be because any of Neil Lennon's players are paralysed by anxiety.
"We don't want to lose, that's for sure," Samaras said. "We've not come to Italy to lose. Last year we didn't go to Barcelona to lose [they did, ultimately, to a last-minute goal]. We want to go into these games to really enjoy them, express ourselves and try to win. If we can't do that we'll try not to lose. But we definitely don't come here with the mentality that we're playing against a big club we must fear. We don't come here with fear. We don't have the mentality as a club or as a team to be losers."
Samaras had revealed another side to himself by openly discussing how angry he was with Celtic's play-off round, first leg defeat to Karagandy in Kazakhstan, and it seemed to motivate him for a fine display in the second leg, one in which he scored one of the team's three unanswered goals. "I'm calm now," he said yesterday, smiling. "Look at me, I'm not angry any more. After the first game against Karagandy I felt differently because it was impossible for me to accept going out to that team.
"Now I'm more relaxed. We are playing AC Milan, a great team in a great stadium, and I don't feel angry any more, that's for sure. I just feel really happy with myself, my team-mates and the club that we achieved our target, our target of getting back to the group stage. I have played over 200 games for Celtic and that's the one and only time I've been angry. But maybe the gaffer will do something before this game to make me angry, I don't know."
Dropping him doubtless ruffle his feathers, but omitting a fit Samaras is inconceivable given his value to Lennon in Europe. In away games, especially, his elusive, direct running and aerial ability have been worth their weight in gold. He scored away to HJK Helsinki, Helsingborgs, Spartak Moscow, Barcelona and Benfica in last season's run to the final 16, and he also did so away to Cliftonville in this season's qualifiers.
Only against Juventus, Elfsborg and Karagandy has he gone away from home without scoring in nine Champions League fixtures. Having already scored at Camp Nou, no wonder the San Siro draws nothing from him but a characteristic shrug.
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