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When Celtic beat Barcelona

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Fourteen years ago tonight Celtic were celebrating one of their most famous victories: Barcelona 0-1 Celtic.

On the night it was a 0-0 draw in the Camp Nou but Alan Thompson’s goal a fortnight earlier took Celtic into the last eight of the UEFA Cup.

As ever with Celtic the scoreline barely tells the story- less than a year after the UEFA Cup Final in Seville Celtic pulled off a clean sheet at one of the greatest football areanas without Bobo Balde, Joos Valgaeren and Bobo Balde.

David Marshall and John Kennedy stepped into the side, barely batted and eye lid and simply adopted a ‘Thou Shalt Not Pass’ approach to the match.

As ever Martin O’Neill had put together a tactical master-plan but carrying those instructions out is a difficult task in the Camp Nou.

Celtic’s defence started in attack where Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson chased down everything, the midfield played as a unit while the back four protected Marshall magnificently.

As the clock ticked down the 10,000 Celtic fans scattered across every area of the stadium began to sense something special was brewing.

Unfortunately further down the coast a club called Villarreal were lying in wait to end Celtic’s hopes of a return to the UEFA Cup Final but nothing will ever dilute the memories from knocking Barcelona out of the UEFA Cup.

DAVID MARSHALL

Made his debut in December against Partick Thistle in the League Cup but his second half appearance against Barca was rather more high profile.

He seemed to be the coolest man in the Nou Camp, from the early moment in which he took the ball off Ranaldhino’s toes he looked in complete control.

Although it never worked out for him at Celtic he has gone on to have a great career at Norwich, Cardiff City and Hull.

He had an outstanding season in the EPL with Cardiff but strangely Hull was the best offer that came his way after Cardiff were relegated.

DIDIER AGATHE

Had an incredible career that is well worthy of a book on it’s own, sadly it ended almost as quickly as it took off.

Despite his natural attacking instincts he was adaptable enough to play as a right-back where his pace could be used for recovery.

The best days of his career were under Martin O’Neill, when Gordon Strachan took over his days were numbered with a brief stop at Aston Villa and a trial at Nottingham Forest winding down his playing days.

JOHN KENNEDY

Without doubt the greatest 90 minutes of his career.

He was forced to be extremely patient waiting behind John Mjallby, Joos Valgaeren and Bobo Balde as Martin O’Neill built a team around three towering defenders.

His moment came in Barcelona, like Marshall he rose brilliantly to the occasion showing the nerve as well as the ability to succeed.

A week later Romanian striker Vio Ganea virtually ended his career with a brutal assault 15 minutes into his Scotland debut, these days he is a vital part of Brendan Rodgers’ back-room team.

STAN VARGA

Was a strange signing in January 2003 and had to wait until the final day of that season to make his debut away to Kilmarnock as Dunfermline relaxed at Ibrox.

With injuries taking their toll on Johan Mjallby and Joos Valgaeren he featured strongly in the 2003/04 season and went on to make over 100 appearances.

Roy Keane resigned him for Sunderland, he now works as a football agent based in Slovakia.

JACKIE MCNAMARA

Switched over to left-back during this season and picked up the captaincy with Paul Lambert winding down his career.

His departure in 2005 was something of a mystery as a bizarre stand off took place during the handover between Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan.

He looked to be a rising star in management at Partick Thistle then Dundee United but it went downhill at Tannadice and he is now the chief executive of York City.

STEPHEN PEARSON

Joined Celtic in January 2004 and made an immediate impact in a team that had looked very settled.

He was in great form in the Camp Nou covering his ground in a disciplined manner.

After leaving Celtic he became a hero at Derby County with a play off winning goal that took them into the EPL, Pearson has twice returned to Motherwell in-between spells in India.

NEIL LENNON

Barcelona was to become a recurring feature in his career.

The Irishman barely set foot in the Barcelona half but provided perfect cover to the untried Varga-Kennedy defensive partnership.

Eight years later he almost coached Celtic to a 1-1 Champions League draw in the Camp Nou. The current Hibs boss did have his moment in November 2012 when he led Celtic to a famous win on route to a 10 point Champions League haul.

STAN PETROV

Grafted like he’d never done before to snuff out space for Barca as Celtic followed Martin O’Neill’s blueprint to the letter.

Petrov was a fantastic Celtic signing, the saving grace of the John Barnes era went on to win SPL championships under Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan before a £6m move to Aston Villa.

His bravery off the park saw him survive leukaemia that struck at the height of his playing career.

ALAN THOMPSON

It’s often forgot that it was Thompson that scored the first leg goal with most of the attention firmly on David Marshall and John Kennedy.

Thompson got what it meant to be a Celtic player and showed the desire to go into the toughest fixtures expecting to win.

European matches and derby games brought out the best in him, he had a spell as assistant manager to Neil Lennon then a few stints working as assistant to Lee Clark.

HENRIK LARSSON

He passed the audition!

A few months after helping Celtic to defeat Barca he was back in the Nou Camp signing for Barca.

He loved the challenge of playing for Celtic in Europe and was the one member of Martin O’Neill’s squad that was comfortable in any company, he went on to help Barca win the 2006 Champions League final.

CHRIS SUTTON

Loved a scrap, loved a challenge and they didn’t come much tougher than holding on to a 1-0 lead away to Barcelona.

His Celtic career last only a few months after Martin O’Neill left with an eye injury bringing his playing career to a halt.

These days he is one of the most popular and forceful pundits in the game, he is never shy to voice his views.

LIAM MILLER (MCNAMARA 52)

Wasn’t the most popular after signing a pre contract agreement with Manchester City but was trusted by O’Neill to come on away to Barcelona and excelled with his short passing game.

It never worked out for him at Old Trafford but he went on to impress at Leeds, Sunderland and Hibs.

Tragically he was struck down by caner dying in February while still playing at a lower level in the United States.

MOMO SYLLA (SUTTON 81)

Never really became a regular but was someone that O’Neill could turn to now and then to drop into the side and do a somewhat unconventional job.

His Celtic career amounted to less than 50 starting appearances but covered a highly significant and successful time at the club.

After O’Neill left he moved on to Leicester before returning to Kilmarnock where he left after disciplinary issues.

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