Massimo Donati scored a winner for Bari to beat Juventus in Serie A with 60,000 fans watching. But it still didn’t top the moment he grabbed a golden goal for Celtic against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
The truth is, the Italian will probably never experience that adrenaline rush again. When the ball hit the back of the net and an explosion of noise went off inside Parkhead, Donati’s senses were scrambled. But now, 15 years on, the goal and emotion of what it meant remains strikingly vivid.
In November 2007, Gordon Strachan ’s Hoops side had to beat the Ukrainians at home to put one foot in the Champions League last 16. They went behind early but equalised through Jiri Jarosik before half-time. With the game deadlocked and seconds left to play, Celtic were all but out of the competition. That’s when Donati stepped up to score a goal that’s now part of club folklore.
