FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.12.2007 12:30

Another Scottish visitor

www.fcbarcelona.cat

Glasgow Celtic will face Barça in the second round of the Champions League, in the second meeting this season between Rijkaard’s side and a Scottish club.

Glasgow Celtic are always a tough side to play, as their results in the Scottish league show, where they lead the championship on 36 points, two more than Rangers, the ‘auld enemy’ and a side Barça already met in the group stages. Now Barça face the Catholic club, who qualified in second place from their group behind AC Milan.

Physical football

Celtic are renowned for their tough approach to the game. Their midfielder Scott Brown typifies this, having committed 22 fouls in the tournament, more than any other player. But he also considered one of the rising stars in the Scottish game.

And then there is master free kick taker Shunsuke Nakamura. The Japanese player, along with Dutch striker Jan Venegoor of Hesselink and Australian Scott McDonald are other quality members of a strong side.

Previous meetings

Barça and Celtic have already met twice in the last four seasons. In 2004 the Scots put the Catalans out of the UEFA Cup, but a year later Barça got their revenge by putting Celtic out of the Champions League group stages. The first time the sides met was back in the 1964/65 Fairs Cup, with Barça qualifying that time. So Celtic Park, which holds 60,000 fans, is already fairly familiar ground for FC Barcelona.

Celtic were the first team from Scotland, in fact from anywhere in the British isles, to win the European Cup in 1966/67, when they beat Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon. That was the only major continental honour Celtic have ever won.