Celtic might have missed the bus to qualify for the Champions League but playing in Europa League gives them a more realistic chance to progress further in the tournament. The Hoops had previously qualified for the Champions League under Brendan Rodgers but they failed to make it out of their group. Now in the Europa League, the talk has been that the Hoops can have a special run in the competition as they did in 2003 where they managed to reach the final of the UEFA Cup. However, Rodgers has downplayed such talks and stated that the final is a long way away.
He was quoted as saying,”I see lots of stories and reports about us getting to the final. That’s a long way away. You only have to look at the teams and the calibre of clubs and financial resources in this competition. However, it’s the group stage and we have earned the right to be there. Now we have to fight to show we can come out of the group stage.”
Celtic are placed in the group with Rosenborg, RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg. The Bhoys will open their campaign against Norwegian outfit Rosenborg and Rodgers’ side have knocked them out twice in the last two seasons of the Champions League qualifiers, so one can expect the Hoops to be confident of that encounter.
However, Rodgers is definitely right in downplaying their chances as there are some really good contenders in the Europa League and not to forget, eight of the third-placed Champions League side will also join the Europa League later.
Clubs like Sevilla, Chelsea, Arsenal, AC Milan, Villareal, Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen are touted to go the furthest in the tournament and realistically it would be really tough for the Hoops to even reach the last eight of the European competition.
We believe, the team shouldn’t be pressurised with such unrealistic ambitions and the fans need to realise a lot has changed in football since 2003. Rodgers rightly pointed that and said,”I just think in terms of where it was for Celtic then(2003) is totally different to where it’s at now, Celtic were taking players out of the top end of the Premier League. So that tells you where they were as a club in terms of finance and that sort of ambition really.”
”Now we are not any less ambitious but, of course, the football economics have changed totally. It’s a different team, a different era that we are in but we are no less ambitious and we look forward to working with the players we have here to gain hopefully another run of great experiences in Europe this season.”- he added further.
Getting out of the group should be considered as a success for the Hoops and everything from there on should be treated as a bonus. Financial powers of certain teams have definitely changed the scenario since 2003 and until and unless the Hoops play out of their skins, we don’t seem them going anywhere close to the finals.
