Opinion: Celtic great of the 2000s deserves impending Hoops honour

It was announced late last week that as part of the club’s pre-season schedule, Celtic will be travelling to Poland to take part in a tribute match to one of the Hoops’ best players of the last 20 years, Artur Boruc.

The Hoops will take on the goalkeeper’s current side Legia Warsaw on the 20th of July, in a game which will celebrate the career of the shot stopper.

It is fitting that the goalkeeper has chosen Legia and Celtic as the two clubs involved in the game, as he has enjoyed great success at those clubs, and he fully deserves the honour that Celtic are paying the player by taking part in the game, as Boruc was a truly great Hoops goalkeeper.

Celtic have actually been fortunate to have some very good goalkeepers at the club in recent years, Fraser Forster in particular deserves a mention for his performances for the Hoops. But Boruc was in a class of his own in the late 2000s, as he helped the Bhoys achieve great success at home and in Europe.

It was probably in Europe where he really stood out, making famous penalty saves against Spartak Moscow and Manchester United, which helped the Hoops achieve some great European results.

It was a while ago now but Boruc’s performances for the Hoops truly were great, and Celtic wouldn’t have reached the last 16 of the Champions League twice in a row if not for the goalkeeper.

Would Boruc get into the current Celtic side? That is an interesting question, as he would pose a challenge to Joe Hart, who has also been an excellent goalkeeper for the Hoops. 

He might not like how the Hoops play out from the back at times, but it can be argued that the current Celtic defence is better than any that Boruc played in front of. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Carl Starfelt in front of Boruc