Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt contested one of the most memorable finals in the history of European football. And it was in Glasgow as Hampden Park played host to a 10-goal thriller with Los Blancos running out 7-3 winners to win the fifth of their 14 European crowns.
Yet the Spanish and German clubs have followed very different paths since that classic encounter 62 years ago. And that’s why, when the Champions League draw takes place on Thursday teatime, they could represent the best and worst scenarios for Celtic if either face a return to Glasgow in this season’s competition.
Hoops skipper Callum McGregor fancies a crack at the holders and Spanish giants for a bit of glamour. And it’s always the dilemma players and fans face when it comes to the draw. The glitzy rivals but a more difficult chance of progressing or skip the stardust and, on paper at least, go for a more realistic chance of reaching the knockout stage?
Ahead of Friday’s draw in Istanbul, Record Sport has taken a look at the pots and had a shot at picking out what would be the best and worst case scenarios for Ange Postecoglou and his men when the draw takes place in Istanbul.
Pot 1 - Real Madrid, Eintracht Frankfurt, Manchester City, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, PSG, Porto, Ajax
Pot 2 - Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, RB Leipzig, Tottenham
Pot 3 - Borussia Dortmund, RB Salzburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Sporting Lisbon, Bayer Leverkusen
Pot 3 or 4 - Marseille, Qarabag/Viktoria Plzen, Bodo Glimt/Dinamo Zagreb, Maccabi Haifa/Red Star Belgrade, Copenhagen/Trabzonspor, PSV Eindhoven/Rangers, Dynamo Kiev/Benfica
Pot 4 - Celtic, Club Brugge
Nightmare draw
Real Madrid, Liverpool, Inter Milan
The prospect of having last season’s two finalists in your section says it all about just how daunting this would be. Okay, on the evidence of their display against Manchester United on Monday night and their sluggish start to the Premier League season then Liverpool might not be the fearsome force they have been under Jurgen Klopp. But you wouldn’t expect that to continue and the Reds will only get better. And Real Madrid? Well, it’s Real Madrid in a competition where they are the masters. Throw in I Nerazzurri and it would be a trip to another iconic stadium (Celtic played there in 2015) but Simone Inzaghi’s men have made a perfect start to Serie A and and would make up a quite daunting trio of group rivals.
Dream draw
Eintracht Frankfurt, Sevilla, Sporting Lisbon
There was a feeling the Germans were there for the taking in the Europa League Final and Rangers pushed them all the way to penalty kicks. The reward for the Bundesliga outfit was not only a place in the Champions League but top seeding and left the Ibrox side thinking what could have been. But they are undoubtedly the weakest of the eight teams in pot one and were thrashed 6-1 by Bayern Munich and sit 15th in the Bundesliga. Sevilla sit 12th and another return – they played Real Betis in the Europa League last season – to the city where Celtic reached the UEFA Cup Final would bring back memories of 2003. Sporting Lisbon won their first title in 19 years two seasons ago but were runners-up to Porto last year and aren’t the force they once were.
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