Tino
Well-known member
Hi folks - I've posted here an article which I wrote today for The Celtic Star.
Let me know any thoughts, comments, disagreements on this one. Big night for us tomorrow and a wee bit of pressure now on the team to go and get a result.
Cheers, Tino
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It’s rare to find yourself taking confidence from any sort of 3-0 defeat, at any level of football.
Yet that’s exactly where Celtic find themselves this week following an educational night last Tuesday at the hands of Luka Modric and co. at Celtic Park.
Modric is just one of a number of genuine world class talents that Real Madrid can call upon – a team with no less than four nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or – yet Ange Postecoglou’s men legitimately had them on the ropes at various stages during an impressive first half spell, and arguably should have taken the lead on the night after creating several gilt edged chances.
However, the margins of success are fine at this level, and where Abada, Maeda and possibly even McGregor (harsh, I know!) failed to convert for Celtic, Vinicius Jnr, Modric and Hazard did the opposite for Madrid to ensure they left Glasgow with all three points.
Lessons in Defeat
It was either the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius or Mif from The Celtic Exchange (both very wise men) who said,
“I don’t lose. I either win or I learn”
And that’s exactly the mindset Ange Postecoglou will have taken immediately after the loss at the hands of the European champions.
We certainly didn’t win on the night, so what will he and his players have learned?
For me there are three key lessons from this one.
Firstly, if you fail to take your chances against such quality opposition then you will be punished. No question.
Secondly, concentration for 89 minutes isn’t enough at this level. If you switch off for a minute – or even for a second – again, you will be punished.
And the last lesson? This one is the most important for the players, and it’s one that many have evidently already taken on board,
If you follow Ange Postecoglou’s system and footballing philosophy, and fully commit to it with the unerring belief that our manager clearly has in it, then you WILL be successful.
Watershed Moments
Following last season’s double success both Ange Postecoglou and his players have spoken of key moments and games from the campaign that ultimately led to league and cup glory.
The turning points when they really started to believe in what they could achieve as a group.
Yes we can look at a vital 2-1 over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in October, the Kyogo inspired 2-1 League Cup win over Hibernian at Hampden, or that special night when we beat rangers 3-0 at an electric Celtic Park in early February.
However, the men who matter most chose instead to reference defeats rather than victories as where they learned most about themselves as a group.
Jota spoke of our 4-3 defeat at the hands of Real Betis on Matchday 1 of last season’s Europa League campaign as the moment it “just clicked” for him and the players.
Ange himself references Matchday 2 of that same campaign, another defeat, this time at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, who scored four goals at Celtic Park without reply!
I have no doubt that in the weeks and months ahead this current group of players will also view last week’s defeat in the very same manner.
It’s a fascinating mindset from Ange and from Jota, but listen to any of the current squad speaking on media duty – from captain Callum McGregor, to Greg Taylor to Matt O’Riley - and they’ll all reply with that same humility and footballing intelligence.
Celtic are a better team now for the experiences of those defeats in last season’s European campaign, and I firmly believe that we’re also a better team THIS WEEK for our experience at the hands of Real Madrid just seven days ago.
The real test of course is not in the defeat itself, but in how the players respond to it, and with the confidence and belief circulating round Celtic at this moment in time Wednesday’s tie with Shakhtar Donetsk presents the perfect time to show us what they’ve learned.
Last week was learning. This week is winning!
Listen to the latest episode of The Celtic Exchange Weekly now where we discuss those lessons from Real Madrid, the challenge we’ll face from Shakhtar Donetsk and why Ange Postecoglou won’t be going anywhere!
Let me know any thoughts, comments, disagreements on this one. Big night for us tomorrow and a wee bit of pressure now on the team to go and get a result.
Cheers, Tino
--------------------------------------------
It’s rare to find yourself taking confidence from any sort of 3-0 defeat, at any level of football.
Yet that’s exactly where Celtic find themselves this week following an educational night last Tuesday at the hands of Luka Modric and co. at Celtic Park.
Modric is just one of a number of genuine world class talents that Real Madrid can call upon – a team with no less than four nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or – yet Ange Postecoglou’s men legitimately had them on the ropes at various stages during an impressive first half spell, and arguably should have taken the lead on the night after creating several gilt edged chances.
However, the margins of success are fine at this level, and where Abada, Maeda and possibly even McGregor (harsh, I know!) failed to convert for Celtic, Vinicius Jnr, Modric and Hazard did the opposite for Madrid to ensure they left Glasgow with all three points.
Lessons in Defeat
It was either the Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius or Mif from The Celtic Exchange (both very wise men) who said,
“I don’t lose. I either win or I learn”
And that’s exactly the mindset Ange Postecoglou will have taken immediately after the loss at the hands of the European champions.
We certainly didn’t win on the night, so what will he and his players have learned?
For me there are three key lessons from this one.
Firstly, if you fail to take your chances against such quality opposition then you will be punished. No question.
Secondly, concentration for 89 minutes isn’t enough at this level. If you switch off for a minute – or even for a second – again, you will be punished.
And the last lesson? This one is the most important for the players, and it’s one that many have evidently already taken on board,
If you follow Ange Postecoglou’s system and footballing philosophy, and fully commit to it with the unerring belief that our manager clearly has in it, then you WILL be successful.
Watershed Moments
Following last season’s double success both Ange Postecoglou and his players have spoken of key moments and games from the campaign that ultimately led to league and cup glory.
The turning points when they really started to believe in what they could achieve as a group.
Yes we can look at a vital 2-1 over Aberdeen at Pittodrie in October, the Kyogo inspired 2-1 League Cup win over Hibernian at Hampden, or that special night when we beat rangers 3-0 at an electric Celtic Park in early February.
However, the men who matter most chose instead to reference defeats rather than victories as where they learned most about themselves as a group.
Jota spoke of our 4-3 defeat at the hands of Real Betis on Matchday 1 of last season’s Europa League campaign as the moment it “just clicked” for him and the players.
Ange himself references Matchday 2 of that same campaign, another defeat, this time at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen, who scored four goals at Celtic Park without reply!
I have no doubt that in the weeks and months ahead this current group of players will also view last week’s defeat in the very same manner.
It’s a fascinating mindset from Ange and from Jota, but listen to any of the current squad speaking on media duty – from captain Callum McGregor, to Greg Taylor to Matt O’Riley - and they’ll all reply with that same humility and footballing intelligence.
Celtic are a better team now for the experiences of those defeats in last season’s European campaign, and I firmly believe that we’re also a better team THIS WEEK for our experience at the hands of Real Madrid just seven days ago.
The real test of course is not in the defeat itself, but in how the players respond to it, and with the confidence and belief circulating round Celtic at this moment in time Wednesday’s tie with Shakhtar Donetsk presents the perfect time to show us what they’ve learned.
Last week was learning. This week is winning!
Listen to the latest episode of The Celtic Exchange Weekly now where we discuss those lessons from Real Madrid, the challenge we’ll face from Shakhtar Donetsk and why Ange Postecoglou won’t be going anywhere!
