NO match against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu could ever fail to stir the senses; the Spanish club are among the biggest, best-supported and most successful in the global game and their iconic stadium is one of its great cathedrals.
Jennifer Lopez on Oscars night is nowhere near as glamorous as a date with Los Blancos at their world-renowned Chamartin home.
Yet, it is undeniable that a certain lustre has been taken off Celtic’s encounter with the Champions League holders here this evening.
The visitors will have nothing to play for but pride when they take to the field after being held to a 1-1 draw by Shakhtar Donetsk at Parkhead last week. That disappointing result ended their hopes of finishing third in Group F and qualifying for the Europa League preliminary knockout round.
It is unfortunate that only the second competitive meeting between Celtic and Real – they played in the quarter-finals of the old European Cup back in 1980 when the 14-time champions ran out narrow 3-2 aggregate winners – is a dead rubber.
Yet, the supporters who have flocked to the city in their thousands regardless have been enjoying themselves and their manager and players are certainly still energised by what remains a mouthwatering fixture.
Ange Postecoglou was coached by the Hungary and Real great Ferenc Puskas for three years when he played for South Melbourne as a young man. He cites The Galloping Major as one of the major influences on his football career. So this game is certainly significant for him personally.
Yet, Postecoglou, whose charges have performed impressively in all five of their group games to date and are unlucky not to have the chance to progress, feels it will be vitally important for his team’s development. He is eager for them to relish every minute of the experience.
“Of course the players are going to be excited by it,” he said. “You think of where some of them were in their careers, even 12 months ago, and where they are now.
“They probably dreamt as kids of playing in a stadium like this against Real Madrid. And I want them to feel that way. You’ve got to be excited because you don’t know if you’ll be here again.
“But ultimately when you’re out there on the pitch - as I keep saying - what you want to do is make sure that 90 minutes doesn’t pass you by because you’re fearing consequences or just trying to survive. Go out there, believe in yourself and believe in our football. And let’s see where that gets you.
“If you fall on short then you fall short. But you’ve taken in the whole experience. You haven’t walked off the pitch and thought ‘jeez, I reckon I could have done a bit more’ or ‘I wasn’t brave enough’. That’s what I don’t want us to be, you know?
“I want the players to enjoy it, I want them to be excited. Our fans will be excited and I want them to get the fullness of the experience as well.”
Postecoglou, who will be without Cameron Carter-Vickers because of the knee injury his stand-in skipper picked up against Livingston on Sunday, admitted that playing defending champions Real, who are keen to win and top the group, in the Bernabeu will be the most challenging test his charges have faced. He wants to see them meet it head on.
“Matt O’Riley was playing at MK Dons 12 months ago, you know,” he said. “Reo Hatate was in Japan. It’s not like this group of players have been in Europe or the Europa League for the past three or four years. They haven’t had hardening European football.
“Their test has been this year, that’s it. We’ve thrown them in. So this is another massive test for all those boys. But so far they haven’t let me down, you know. I know we have come short and we’re disappointed with results, but they have gone out there and done exactly what I have asked of them.
“They have been brave and haven’t feared anybody. They have been really determined to make an impact at this level. Tomorrow will be another test of that.”
Postecoglou is appreciative of the numbers of Celtic fans who have made the journey to Madrid. He is eager for his side to repay them for their backing by producing a display which suggests that far more is to come from them at the very highest level in Europe in the future. He is sure that there is.
“I think that’s important,” he said. “I think the one thing we can do. If we are not giving our supporters the results or the euphoria of winning games then we can at least give them hope. You want to build on that. You don’t want it to be just endless hope without the results.
“I think our supporters will be disappointed that we couldn’t get more out of this group. We have had opportunities to do so. But, at the same time, I think they can see what we are trying to do and what we are trying to build and they can see the road ahead.
“If we can continue in this manner then instead of hitting the post the ball will go in and we will get them behind us and games will go our way.”
Postecoglou added: “I don’t think it’s a season-on-season thing, but I firmly believe if we qualify next year and play like we did this year there will be a couple of games when the results go our way. No-one can tell me we couldn’t have been on four or five points with the way the games have gone in this campaign.
“So if we are in it every year and playing at that sort of level I think there will come a year or years where those results will go our way and we will be making more of an impact.
“But that will only happen if we are in it every year. You can’t go every three, four or five years, jump up to this level and expect to make an impact, not at a club of our size anyway.”
