Celtic put Diego Laxalt up for the media conference to preview tomorrow’s match against AC Milan.
It seemed a fairly logical choice although going through the questions on Zoom then having them translated and answered back in in Glaswegian accent is a little unnerving.
The answers are unlikely to create too many headlines, Celtic opted to put two and a half minutes up on You Tube but it did contain one memorable question which Laxalt and his translator managed to avoid laughing at.
50 seconds
QUESTION: You mentioned when you first joined Celtic that you’d heard of the Old Firm derby. Was it what you’d expected and what was your take on the atmosphere and what the game was like?
LAXALT: Obviously everybody that I met when I got here told me what to expect, what it was going to be like and how important it was going to be for everybody that is here and the fans, I understood all that. But again, I’m just looking forward and we’ve got the chance to put things right against a really good team tomorrow.
Games played behind closed doors all tend to have a fairly similar atmosphere, playing Hamilton at home, St Mirren away or an Old Firm derby with no one watching is much of a muchness.
The shouts from the dug out and among team-mates is much the same regardless of who is playing.
It seems that someone invited into the Zoom conference hadn’t really thought out the change of script, even a Glasgow Derby behind closed doors is flat.
Laxalt didn’t get to experience fans arriving for the build up or walking out in front of 60,000 expectant supporters.