Ben Foster has revealed that the atmosphere on his Champions League debut against Celtic left him terrified.
The 40-year-old started for Manchester United on his continental bow not too far from home in a 1-1 draw almost 15 years ago, and that 2008 experience was daunting. He since established himself as a Premier League-quality stopper and after retiring last summer following a foray into media and podcasting, Foster recently returned at National League promotion pushers Wrexham.
But memories of his Celtic introduction still linger with him, as the keeper recalls on Yours Mine Anyway what former Hibs goalkeeper Graham Stack told him: "That was some atmosphere there. There are two atmospheres that have genuinely scared me. Parkhead is one. Graham Stack tells this brilliant story from when he played for Hibs, and he said they would play against Celtic, and there was one game in particular they were winning 1-0. They were just about to take it into the 90th minute and he knew they were going to lose.
"Because the Celtic fans, they suck the ball into the goal, they are so loud and scary, and he could see all his teammates s******g themselves. They ended up losing 2-1 and the fans are what made them win, it was a force of nature. So, Celtic is one and the other is Besiktas."
Foster also had kind words for current Celtic number one Joe Hart. The pair were in the England camp together at Brazil's World Cup in 2014 and says.
The Wrexham veteran added: "We are talking Joe Hart in his pomp here, and for me he is the best goalie I have seen up close. He is a genuine cat, springing everywhere, throwing weights around.
"Seeing him in his pomp was just a sight to behold. He was incredible, and he is a wicked lad, Joe is absolutely top and you can't begrudge him anything."
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