My Celtic fate was sealed after Bayern Munich horror show – then Jose Mourinho offered me a shock Chelsea deal

Celtic will have to beat Bayern Munich at the sixth attempt to stand any chance of reaching the Champions League last 16. But they almost broke the hoodoo at the first time of asking in 2003 - only for the German powerhouses to crush Martin O'Neill's men with two late goals.

Brendan Rodgers' class of 2025 head to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night praying for a miracle as they look to overturn last week's 2-1 first-leg playoff deficit. It'll require the performance of a lifetime for the Glasgow giants to somehow overcome Vincent Kompany's superstars on foreign territory, having never beaten the most successful team in Germany.

Celts did come close to a famous result when the two teams first collided inside the old Olympic Stadium in 2003 after Alan Thompson broke the deadlock in a Champions League group stage opener. But Dutchman Roy Makaay - who later became assistant manager at Rangers - shattered the Parkhead side's hearts with a deadly double as Munich came from behind to win 2-1.

Swedish goalkeeper Magnus Hedman was to blame for that gut-wrenching defeat as his blunder handed Makaay his winning goal four minutes from the final whistle. After Thompson stunned the hosts with a second-half diving header at the back post, Makaay struck a leveller with a 73rd-minute long-range volley. And the visitors were left sickened moments from full-time when Hedman failed to gather Makaay's cross that eluded the backline and curled into the far corner of the net - as Celtic's hard work was undone.

Nearly 22 years on from that devastating night, the result still rankles with boss O'Neill who flippantly pinned the blame on Hedman as recently as last week. He recalled: "We played Bayern Munich, we drew at our ground. We were 1-0