Ange Postecoglou and Celtic need to break cycle of European failure

We are three weeks shy of the anniversary of a famous Celtic triumph. On 7 November 2012, Barcelona – Messi, Iniesta, Xavi et al – were vanquished 2-1 in Glasgow’s east end. Celtic were marching towards the last 16 of the Champions League with Miku, a loanee striker from Getafe, plus a centre-back pairing of Efe Ambrose and Kelvin Wilson. It was a special occasion that turned heads across Europe.

The intervening years have witnessed a cycle Ange Postecoglou must try to break. Including for the good of his own career. There has been the odd high point – successive Europa League wins over Lazio in 2019, for example – but Celtic’s dominance in Scotland has been tempered by also-ran status in Europe. Knockout defeats have come against AEK Athens, Ferencvaros, Malmo, Cluj, Maribor and Bodø/Glimt.

It would be unfair to place troubles of the past at Postecoglou’s door. His own record in European competition reads: played 17, won six, drawn two and lost nine. Celtic have scored 28 times in Europe on his watch while conceding 34. While the strength of Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen is a contextual factor, so, too, is the weakness of Jabonlec, who Celtic beat 7-2 on aggregate last season.

Postecoglou is due huge credit for re-establishing Celtic as the strongest force in Scotland but the ambitions of manager or club cannot end there. This is a business that recently reported operating expenses of £91.7m against revenue of £88.2m. Celtic can hardly plead poverty. Wild celebration greeted a stoppage-time winner at St Johnstone on Saturday; notched by a player bought for roughly the entire first-team wage budget of the opposition.

Celtic have suffered before through over-emphasis on Scotland rather than the kind of football world