Ronny Deila has revealed that John Barnes was his favourite footballer when he was a kid!
Barnes took his game to a new level when he joined Liverpool in 1987 starring in a side that also included Peter Beardsley, Ray Houghton, John Aldridge and Ronnie Whelan.
Deila however only had eyes for the England international who went on to have a disastrous short spell in charge of Celtic alongside Kenny Dalglish.
Asked to cast his mind back to his younger days by Celtic TV to name his favourite player the current hoops boss said: “John Barnes, he was the best player with Liverpool at that time. He was a fantastic player and I was a big Liverpool supporter at the time. Barnes was the star of the team.”
Asked about the club’s that he followed Deila added: “I had a team in each country, there was Liverpool, in Italy it was Juventus, in Spain it was Real Madrid.
“I also had some feelings for lower clubs, Southampton was good but Liverpool was the big one.”
Deila also revealed how he was impressed by Brede Hangeland who he played with at Viking Stavanger with Roy Hogson and that the best players he ever played against were Clarence Seedorf, Patrick Kluivert and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
While Deila looks forward to Thursday’s Europa League tie with Inter Milan and a possible treble his playing idol lasted less than a season in charge of Celtic.
A Scottish Cup 3-1 home defeat from Inverness Caley Thistle brought his Celtic reign to a halt with a further spell in charge of Tranmere Rovers a decade later equally as fruitless.
