Camilo Duran Celtic Touchline Moment Fans May Have Missed

Peter Grant picked up on an interesting moment involving Camilo Duran and Mark Fotheringham shortly after the striker scored his first Celtic goal.

Duran made an immediate impact during the pre-season defeat to Sporting CP, pressing the Portuguese side into a mistake before finishing to bring Celtic level.

His celebration was quickly followed by a short conversation with Fotheringham near the touchline.

Grant, who was part of the CelticPlayer commentary team for the match, noticed the exchange and made a light-hearted remark about whether Duran could understand the Celtic coach.

Fotheringham’s strong Dundee accent was clearly the reason behind the joke, particularly with Duran only recently arriving at the club from Qarabağ.

The Colombian is still settling into a new squad, country and football environment, so communication will naturally be an important part of his early weeks at Celtic.

Fotheringham, though, has plenty of experience working outside Scotland and dealing with players from different backgrounds.

He spent a significant part of his playing and coaching career in Germany and can speak both English and German.

That does not necessarily mean the conversation with Duran was straightforward, but Fotheringham is familiar with working in dressing rooms where several languages are spoken.

The moment also showed how quickly the coaching staff were keen to speak with Celtic’s new striker after his goal.

Duran’s finish came from the type of pressing Martin O’Neill has already highlighted as one of his strengths.

He refused to give up on the ball, forced an error inside the Sporting penalty area and took his chance calmly.

O’Neill later compared that side of his game to Daizen Maeda, who has built much of his success at Celtic around his speed and willingness to close down defenders.

Fotheringham may simply have been offering encouragement, passing on a tactical instruction or discussing what Duran should do next.

The conversation was not audible, so there is no way of knowing exactly what was said.

Grant’s comment added some humour to the coverage, but the more important point was Duran’s quick connection with the Celtic coaching staff during his first appearance.

His debut ended in a heavy defeat, but a goal and an immediate tactical exchange on the sidelines offered an early look at how involved he could become in O’Neill’s plans.