Matt O'Riley could have tried to walk the fairways alongside Rory McIlroy. The Celtic star may have attempted to follow Andy Murray onto the courts. But, instead, O’Riley chose the enjoyment of his football. And that move has now given him a chance of joining the world’s elite in his chosen field having already mixed with the cream of Europe at club level in the Champions League.
O’Riley is making a huge name for himself on the pitches. The gifted playmaker has been on the Champions League stage with his club. Now he’ll get another opportunity to stake a claim for Denmark’s World Cup 2022 squad when he turns out for their Under-21s against Croatia on Tuesday.
O’Riley’s had sport in his blood since he was a kid. As a schoolboy, he had talent not just in football, but also for golf and tennis. The Parkhead star reckons that, if he’d stuck at it, he might have made it. O’Riley smiled: “Could have? Would have? But I think whichever one I pursued, I could have done it. If you believe in something, you can do it regardless.
“When I was about seven or eight, I played all three sports at quite a good level. I was playing tennis tournaments, golf tournaments and football ones, locally. So it could have been a very different route. I thought I was half decent at all of them and I chose football because I enjoyed it most at the time. It has worked out pretty well so far.
“I say I’m sporty, but I’m not good at everything. To be honest, at school, I wasn’t very good at having to make stuff, or anything to do with art, I’m not very good at that. But anything that involves a ball, I think I’m pretty good at. I enjoyed all three of them at the time because I just enjoyed playing sport. I still watch all three.
“Football most, then golf because I’m quite into it and then I’ll watch the big tennis games. I do follow golf a lot and enjoy watching it. I don’t play much now. The best round I shot was four or five over. That’s when I played regularly, like during the summer a year ago.”
O’Riley has shown his hand at the club with the sticks having won a pairs event at the end of last season with partner Scott Bain. Such bonding off the park helps bring togetherness on it, but the midfielder explains it’s not just sporting activity that gets the boys chatting.
The wide range of cultures within Ange Postecoglou’s dressing room makes for a variety of discussion points. O’Riley explained: “Just in general around the training ground, everyone is speaking to each other. If you go to breakfast, you’ll see someone sitting with someone one day and the next day it is completely different which is cool rather than sitting with certain people every single day, that gets a bit cliquey. It’s not like that for us.
“I was speaking to Joe (Hart) about it. We were talking about how we have such a large mix of characters. It’s quite unique and it brings a sense of togetherness because we are all so different, yet so alike in a sense as we’re here doing the same things with the same goals as a team.
“It was the first thing I noticed when I came, just how welcoming everyone was. The manager has brought that culture as well with the players he has signed. Most people are just good human beings, first and foremost. The manager speaks about that a lot. That you have to be good people first and foremost. If you are not a good person, you are going to bring some sort of negativity of toxicity to the changing room, which isn’t going to help anyone.
“Obviously, we are all good at football, but on top of that, if you are a better person, that just makes it so much easier to enjoy yourself. Right now, with the group we have, there is not one single bad egg, which is quite unique.”
O’Riley, like the rest of the squad, has his own role within the unit off the park as well as on it and his friendly nature shines through. While skipper Callum McGregor and senior figures such as Hart are the ones who have most knowledge and guidance to impart on their colleagues, there appears room for everyone to have their say at a time of their choosing.
O’Riley said: “I’m not quiet, I’m not the loudest. I’m quite level headed around the place. I’ll speak when I need to speak if I need to say something in the changing room. I try to lead by the way I play, essentially. I try to take responsibility like taking the ball in a difficult situation, I’m happy to do that.
“We have great leaders who are quite vocal. Cal, for example. Joe has an abundance of experience. These guys have massive voices, so although it’s not wrong, I don’t think it is necessarily right for me to be the main guy there when you have the likes of Cal. I’m happy with my role in the team. I just try to be as nice to as many people as I possibly can. So if someone is not having a good time, I try to make them feel better. I feel that’s my role.”
Matt O’Riley spoke at JD Sports promoting their Celtic range which is also available at www.jdsports.co.uk/sport/football/club/celtic/
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