ALEX Valle has informed Brendan Rodgers he is ready to make his Celtic debut against Rangers on Sunday and stated that paying in ‘mini-El Clásico’ matches with Barcelona has prepared him for the world-famous fixture.
Spanish left-back Valle joined the Scottish champions on a season-long loan earlier this week and has only taken part in a couple of training sessions with his new team mates at Lennoxtown.
Rodgers will probably prefer Greg Taylor to his new recruit in the William Hill Premiership encounter with Philippe Clement’s team at a packed Parkhead this Sunday.
However, the 20-year-old defender has admitted he would like to be involved in the derby game and feels he will be able to cope with the pressure having played against Real Madrid at age-group level in the past.
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“I feel ready,” he said. I played in the mini-Clásico. For us as youngsters, it was like the real El Clásico. We lived it as a really amazing experience.
“If it was a final of a tournament in Spain, there was still maybe only a few thousand or a few hundred who were there. But for us, it was like a 90,000 stadium. For us it was like that.
“I'm from Barcelona my whole life and I grew up a supporter. I know the tension of the derby game. I am looking forward to experiencing it here. I think football can wake up these feelings.
“I think that playing here with such a stadium and with its fans is something you can never get used to it. I know players who are older than me, who have told me that you will never get used to it. It's always impressive to come to a stadium and see 60,000 people shouting.
“When you enter the pitch and you hear it all, it's impressive. But then when the match starts, it's like a normal match. It's like in every team, it's not up to me. It's the manager's decision. But, yeah, I'll be obviously ready.”
The young man who was named in the Team of the Tournament after representing Spain the European Under-19 Championship in Malta last year, admitted the chance to play in UEFA’s premier club competition was a major attraction in joining Celtic.
He watched the draw for the new league phase at Parkhead yesterday and feels the Glasgow club – who will play Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb and Aston Villa away and RB Leipzig, Club Brugge, Young Boys and Slovan Bratislava at home – have a good chance of reaching the knockout rounds.
“It was a special match because it was my first time in the Champions League, being in the squad,” he said. “That's something that happens in football. You're on the bench and you're waiting.
“The fastest thing that comes to mind when I think of the Champions is the comeback against PSG (Barcelona came won 6-1 in the Nou Camp in the second leg of the last 16 tie in 2017 to win 6-5 on aggregate).
“That game was amazing. I wasn’t in the stadium that night, I had college the next day. But I remember the day and it was amazing.”
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Valle added: “Coming back to a Champions League experience with a club like Celtic is fantastic. I am really looking forward to the games. When I was coming over, some of the staff at Celtic sent me some videos about the atmosphere on the Champions League nights. It was really impressive. So, yeah, this weekend will be amazing as well.
“The Champions League game was against Viktoria Plzen away from home. I was close to playing, so now it would will be great for me to finally experience this competition.
“It’s a good draw for us. Every team will be difficult because you know you are playing against the best in the Champions League, but we have a chance and we will fight for it.
“I have one friend in Dinamo Zagreb, Jan Oliveras. He is another left-back but a good friend. He has moved on loan the same as me this summer. As you can imagine, I have many other friends who have been in the Barca academy.”
Valle impressed reporters with how he conducted himself at his first press conference and he is hopeful the fact that he speaks good English will enable him to integrate into the Celtic squad quickly.
“I can see it's really helpful,” he said. “My parents have taught me really well. I've been travelling since I was a kid. I have been on holiday to Ireland and England to learn English, although I’d never been to Scotland.
“We went to small towns in Ireland. I went to do some tourism to Galway. The manager speaks a bit of Spanish - but my English I think is better!”
