As Celtic gear up for another Europa League clash on Thursday, Kieran Tierney looks back on his European debut, over ten years on.
The Hoops hero will be hoping to create more fond memories for the club he’s grown up supporting. Since his return in the summer, a lot has happened.
Martin O’Neill came in to steady the ship after Brendan Rodgers’ departure, with the 73-year-old overseeing a landmark win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam, their first in the Netherlands in over 24 years.
Tierney started that night and played 70 minutes. His fitness has come into question, but the 28-year-old has shown he can still deliver, for both club and country.
Rewind just over a decade and the fresh-faced Celtic academy graduate was thrown in the deep end, at home to Fenerbahce in the Europa League. He had barely even played domestically before being called upon by Ronny Deila.
Tierney recalls that night fondly. He said (RecordSport):
“I can still remember driving home in my Ford Fiesta thinking, ‘I’ve just played against Robin van Persie!’ I think I had just turned 18 – it’s amazing to think that’s ten years ago now.
“The game finished 2-2 and that was my first introduction to European football at Celtic. I think it was only my fifth game for the team.
“Izaguire for sent off against Ajax in the previous game a week or two before and Ronny just put me in for the Fenerbahce game. For the Ajax game before, I wasn’t even in the squad.
“But that was me, driving home in my little Fiesta after the game thinking ‘I’ve just played against Van Persie!’ I didn’t get his jersey or anything like that. I have never been one for swapping shirts.I kept my own one from that night.”
“It’s the kind of moment you never forget as a footballer, living the dream of supporters who are watching on.”
He continued:
“I’ll always remember it. The atmosphere was just amazing and I was thinking ‘this is it.’
“It was a massive step up. You have your debut then your first start. My first Celtic Park start was on Flag day on the opening day of that season.
“Then that European debut must have been around a month later. I think I did alright in the game.
People probably said I played better than I did because I was still a young boy. But I relished the challenge and enjoyed it.”
James Forrest started alongside Tierney that night, with Callum McGregor an unused sub, with all having a high chance of featuring against Bologna this Thursday.
O’Neill knows to rely on the experienced heads in the squad when needed, which is what’s likely to happen in Italy.
For all the off-the-pitch noise at the club at the moment, these players know another European win on the road would only galvanise them for the fight ahead.
They likely need at least a point to keep their playoff hopes alive, with a home game against Utrecht to come on January 29.
Despite Bologna’s poor run of form, Celtic fans know not to get carried away. We’ve become accustomed to European disappointment over the years, but this could be another landmark result that shows they’re not down and out yet.
