CELTIC, as it does with many of its former players, has certainly left its mark on Moi Elyounoussi. The winger, who spent two years at the club, was back in Glasgow on international duty with Norway at the weekend, and he waxed lyrical about his former side and his time living in the city.
One man who left a huge impression on the 29-year-old was fellow winger James Forrest, who – if we are using the kind adjective – is even more experienced than he is. His only surprise was that the now 32-year-old wasn’t in the Scotland squad at the weekend alongside some of his other former teammates.
But Forrest’s longevity and the fact he can still make a valuable contribution to Celtic is an inspiration to Elyounoussi, who hasn’t ruled out returning one day to be one of the elder statesmen in their squad himself.
“It’s amazing he’s 32 now – I wish I had those genes!” Elyounoussi said.
“What a lad. He’s such a good guy, he’s very humble and it’s great to see he’s still going strong. I hope they will have a successful season ahead.
“I heard he’s scored in 15 seasons in a row. That is incredible and I don’t know if I will achieve that.
“I have children and he doesn’t have any yet – so that’s a big minus for me! I have two under four, so I have grey hair now.
“He’s such a top professional I am not surprised he is continuing to do it. The only surprise is when people tell me his age – because he still looks so young!
“I still follow Celtic and it’s great to see them doing so well. I hope they have another successful season ahead.”
Elyounoussi enjoyed a successful spell at Celtic on a personal level, even though it was blighted somewhat by Covid-19 restrictions and a poor second season for the team overall, and his only real regret is that he didn’t get the full experience of playing on front of the Celtic support for a longer spell.
“I was only at the club for two years, but I still felt like a long time because I enjoyed it,” he said.
“I only had six months with fans and the rest was without. That was something I really missed, and it was something I was looking forward to, as that is why I stayed longer.
“But I have good memories on and off the pitch. They are good lads.
“I said to my wife it would be nice to come back and go to a game, see where we lived and just remember the good times.
“As soon as we landed it felt like being back in the old days – especially with the rain as well. I thought, ‘Glasgow hasn’t changed too much!’
“We also stayed in the same hotel we did with Celtic, so there was a lot of good memories coming back.
“I still stay in touch with some of the boys. There are a few still there from my time, like Callum (McGregor), Jamesie and Greg (Taylor). I talked to them after the game, and I still watch Celtic games. Even some fans are still in touch with me and that is nice.
“It was great to see such nice lads. Obviously, we shared many great memories together.”
The return to Glasgow was a little bittersweet for Elyounoussi in terms of his fortunes for the national side too, with his late goal claiming a draw for his nation, but the point ultimately counting for nothing with the Scots already home and hosed in the group.
Scotland’s stunning smash and grab win in Oslo had seen to that, but given his links to the team and to the country, Elyounoussi says he will be an honorary member of the Tartan Army come next summer.
“Did we spoil the party? I think the party was going on anyway!” he said.
“It’s always nice to be at Hampden Park again, I have nice memories of there and of course it’s always nice to score.
“It was meant to be the big final for us, but it didn’t work out that way. For us, it was about going out and showing we should have been in the Euros.
“We were obviously missing some big players but we have enough quality to score goals.
“It was a good performance. Overall, Scotland deserved to go through. They beat Spain here, so we knew it was a tough challenge and the atmosphere was really good. It was a good away game for us.
“The defeat to Scotland in Oslo was the turning point for us – probably for Scotland as well.
“We shouldn’t be conceded two goals in three minutes. It’s history now so we have to ahead to the challenges in front of us and try to get better as a team.
“They totally deserve to be there. Myself and Kris Ajer knew there would be a good atmosphere and we told the boys before the game.
“You heard it with the national anthem and through the game. I just wish Scotland all the best.
“I am going to cheer for them because I know so many of the players, with Stuart Armstrong and Ryan Christie as well.
“They deserve to be there.”
