Sixteen years ago today Celtic set off on a great adventure that is now central to the club- the Champions League.
A week after the horror of the Twin Towers had postponed the home match with Rosenborg 8,000 fans travelled to Turin to back Martin O’Neill’s treble winners against Juventus.
Security had been tight at the airports and in the city but there was still a great atmosphere around as the fans lapped up the return to the big time after a comprehensive win over Ajax in the qualifiers.
ON THIS DAY 2001: Celtic at Juventus #COYBIG #Celticfc pic.twitter.com/1zFNxc5xuR
— FootballAwaydays (@Awaydays23) September 18, 2017
A double from David Trezeguet gave Juventus a comfortable lead by the 55th minute but Celtic battled back with a goal from Stan Petrov followed by a Henrik Larsson equaliser in the 85th minute.
With Edgar Davids sent off Celtic looked capable of grabbing a winner but in the closing minutes Nicola Amoruso dived for a penalty that he converted.
Martin O’Neill was sent to the stand by German referee Hellmut Krut for his reaction and didn’t hold back in his criticism of the referee after the match.
That game summed up Celtic’s first ever Champions League campaign with the hoops picking up nine points from three home wins but finishing behind Juve and Porto to drop into the UEFA Cup where they lost on penalties to Valencia.
