Deep in the bowels of The Linc stadium in Philadelphia, Neil Lennon is writing names on a whiteboard.
Sergio Ramos and Sami Khedira kicked it off. But they keep coming. Xabi Alonso, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain. He even jots down the subs who include Iker Casillas, Rafa Varane, Angel di Maria, Alvaro Morata, Mesut Ozil – and Karim Benzema. When he finally gets to the end, almost in unison, the entire Celtic squad burst out LAUGHING.
It’s the summer of 2012 and they’re on a pre-season tour of America. More than 3000 miles away, Old Firm rivals Rangers have drawn 2-2 with Peterhead in their first game in Scotland’s bottom tier. Meanwhile, Lennon’s team are facing Real Madrid ’s Galacticos in a friendly in front of 40,000 fans. It’s the last time the clubs met. And for one former Celtic player in particular, he’ll never forget it. The Hoops lost 2-0, courtesy of goals from Jose Callejon and Benzema.
Considering Lennon’s side started with the likes of Lukasz Zaluska in goal, Thomas Rogne at centre-back and Daryl Murphy up front, they were probably grateful to get off so lightly.
They got out of Philly with their pride intact. But the same couldn’t be said for Dylan McGeouch’s jaw. After 78 minutes of his best performance in a Celtic jersey, he was clattered by Turkish midfielder Nuri Sahin.
What followed is just a haze for McGeouch. The next thing he knew he was waking up in a hospital bed. But he remembers the build-up, where Lennon had to keep Real’s team a secret until shortly before kick-off.
McGeouch told Record Sport : “We thought they would probably play their reserves or youth team. Maybe they’d bring one or two big names off the bench.
“But I remember before it in the changing room, Lenny came in with their team-sheet and started writing the names up. He wouldn’t tell us their team up until that point. So the names start, Ramos, Alonso, Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It was incredible. It was their strongest XI and our boys just started laughing! We expected one or two big hitters – but it was all of them. But I was buzzing. It was a game against Real Madrid.
“And it was one of my best games for Celtic. I’ve always thought I played really well. My attitude was that I had nothing to lose.
“I was up against the best players in the world so I was going to enjoy it. There were 40,000 people in the stadium, it was madness.
“During the warm-up it felt like the full crowd moved to Real Madrid’s half of the pitch just to get pictures. They were screaming for Ronaldo. It was surreal. I spent half of the warm-up stretching because I just wanted to watch what they were doing.”
With 12 minutes to go, McGeouch jumped for a header and BANG. He was knocked unconscious.
When he opened his eyes again, a doctor was cutting his Celtic strip off his body. He said: “I always blame Zaluska for this. The ball went back to him and instead of just putting his laces through it, he side-footed it up in the air.
“It was a big, floaty lob and I thought: ‘F**k, I better go for this one.’ Sahin came through me and won the header. But his shoulder caught the side of my jaw and I was out cold.
“That’s the last thing I remember on the pitch. I woke up to a pair of SCISSORS coming towards me, up the middle of my strip. I was in an American hospital and there were machine everywhere, doing scans.
“I was in a bad way. The doctors weren’t sure if I had suffered brain damage or snapped my neck. I spent the night there and they soon realised that I’d broken my jaw.
“I flew home with Celtic the next day and when we touched down, I went to Ross Hall for an operation to put a plate in. I think it would have cost Celtic a fortune to have the operation in America!”
The injury had an impact on McGeouch’s chances of becoming a first-team regular at Celtic. He wasn’t fit enough to return to action until September 2012 and was a bit-part player for Lennon’s first team.
But surely he would at least have a memento from the day he took on Real Madrid? Especially after being stricken on a stretcher by full-time. Or so you’d think.
The midfielder, who later went on to play for Hibs and Aberdeen, said: “It probably did hinder me a bit at Celtic. You never really know, do you?
“I might have come back from America and kicked on. If I’d got a start and carried on from there, who knows? But I was out for almost eight weeks with no contact. I had to spend my time just running around a pitch.
“When I got back in, it was stop-start for me at Celtic. I got absolutely nothing from the Real Madrid game.
“I didn’t even get my own strip because the doctors had ripped it up. When I got home I thought, ‘Surely the kitman will have got me a strip after what happened to me and with me playing well.’
“But no. I got back and he had nothing for me. I found out from the boys that Ronaldo had come into the changing room afterwards with two shirts.
“Adam Matthews took one of them and apparently wee Joe the kitman got the other. So he got a Ronaldo strip but the only thing I ended up with after playing Real Madrid was a sore face.”
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