MIKAEL LUSTIG has been gone from the club since June – his longest time away from Glasgow for eight years. The player cam in an unknown free agent and he left as a hero – his last meaningful contribution to the team coming in the last 15 minutes of the cup final when his clearance header/assist put Odsonne Edouard through one on one with the Hearts goalkeeper to put Celtic ahead.
The player and club couldn’t come to terms on a new deal and Lustig ended his Celtic career on the highest of on-field highs with a treble treble.
Now playing for Gent – the defender paints an intense picture of Glasgow and how the pressure of winning was always there. So much so, if he lost he would try and steer clear of restaurants and bars in and around Glasgow.
“There are extreme differences. Celtic is an extremely large club and means a lot to the people in Glasgow. Life in Gent is different. It is clear that many people care but it is not straightforward that people know who I am when I go into town.” Lustig told Fotbollskanalen
“So in that way there’s a difference. It is pretty nice. I have lived under that pressure for eight years. I liked it at certain times, but it’s nice not to feel that if we lose then I can’t go out and check out a restaurant for a few weeks.
“That particular feeling can be quite nice.”
There’s a theme with ex-Celts who go elsewhere and realise the pressure isn’t so intense as it is in Glasgow. Many outside the Glasgow bubble don’t get it but inside it can get heated.
In the latter stages of his career, it’s probably a great move for Lustig to be out of the environment.
Spare a thought for Scott Brown – although he does live out in Edinburgh.
