Alistair Johnston has revealed the details of his first meeting with his new Celtic teammate Josip Juranovic at the World Cup.
When the initial rumours first started about the possibility of the former CF Montreal defender heading to Glasgow, Celtic fans instantly tuned in to watch him in Group F take on Belgium, Croatia and Morocco.
As Canada took on Croatia, it gave Hoops fans the opportunity to see how he performed against current Celt Josip Juranovic who is currently one game away from the World Cup final and has been a standout for his country throughout the tournament.
Soccer Football – FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Group F – Croatia v Canada – Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar – November 27, 2022 Croatia’s Josip Juranovic during the warm up before the match REUTERS/Paul Childs
Johnston has now admitted that after the match which ended 4-1 to the Croats, Juranovic took a bit of time to speak to the 24-year-old away from the post-match celebrations.
Many have already assumed that the Canadian international has been brought to Celtic as Juranovic’s replacement but for the time being he will be providing a challenge for the position although it appears that they have already struck up a good relationship.
“I did actually talk to him a bit after (the game). He just said hello and he was really good about coming out of his way to make sure he found me, even after a big 4-1 win for them,” said Alistair Johnston as quoted by the Daily Record.
REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
“He’s had a great World Cup and was one of the best players on the pitch (against Canada). He has been showing that all World Cup, so let’s hope that Croatia can keep doing what they are doing and potentially lift the World Cup at this point.”
It is always great to hear stories like that as is testament to the culture which Ange Postecoglou has built at Celtic as well as Juranovic’s character as he would be considered to be one of the more senior players in the current squad.
There has been a number of positive stories which have came out of the dressing room similar to this and for the time being it will be fascinating to see both men compete for the starting right-back spot after New Year alongside Anthony Ralston who has been important to the Scottish champions this season.
