For a man who once negated Zinedine Zidane in a UEFA Champions League final and set up a goal for the fabled Karl-Heinz Riedle, Paul Lambert’s enthusiasm for European adventure has never waned.
“It’s exciting, these Champions League nights…I still love watching them. The music, the atmosphere, it’s special.” said the former Celtic captain.
And while Lambert, who is currently out of management after leaving Blackburn Rovers at the end of last season, will look forward to watching Celtic go up against Borussia Monchengladbach tomorrow night, he believes that Brendan Rodgers’ side will need to be prepared to sweat as much blood and tears as they did against Manchester City last month.
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The Bundesliga side are, realistically, vying with Celtic for that third spot in Group C with this double header effectively going some way to decide just who will be playing European football after Christmas.
The danger is that the glamorous names of Manchester City and Barcelona somehow diminish the magnitude of the task that faces Brendan Rodgers’ side tomorrow night, but Lambert has insisted that Celtic will need to work for everything they get against Borussia Monchengladbach.
“They are no mugs,” said Lambert. “Andre Schubert, their manager, is a guy I know because I done some of my coaching badges with him and he is a coach that I have a lot of respect for.
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“He played in the lower leagues when I was in Germany and he got his break taking charge of Borussia’s second string team a few years ago before getting the main job.
“He took them to fourth in the Bundesliga last year, a league which is hugely competitive. They haven’t had the best of starts to the league this season so far but I wouldn’t have any doubt that this will be a really tough night for Celtic.”
Lambert won the Champions League during his time with Borussia Dortmund in Germany, the apogee of a career that also reaped four Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups and four League Cups. Along the way he amassed 40 Scotland caps and led Celtic to a European Cup final.
Having spent time in Germany at the highest level he is well versed in the differences between the two leagues and, in the last decade, the chasm between the Scottish league and the Bundesliga has further widened.
Borussia, though, have not quite managed to replicate the form of last season and while Lambert doesn’t expect them to be swayed in any way by the atmosphere that a vibrant Celtic Park can produce, he does believe that Celtic need to be at their best to get the victory that would put them in a relatively commanding position before the return leg in Germany.
“They are a good team and they have a strong work ethic,” he said. “Listen, the atmosphere at Celtic Park on nights like this is second to none and it gives you a tremendous energy but these are players who will also feed off that.
“They are used to the big crowds at Munich and Dortmund and most big players relish performing in a stadium that is full and noisy. The German fans are always behind their team so they’ll enjoy all that – but the Celtic players certainly gave the fans something to sing about against Manchester City so hopefully we’ll see the same kind of night.”
Lambert was part of Martin O’Neill’s Celtic squad who took the club into the elite environment of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in a season in which the Parkhead side played Juventus, Porto and Rosenborg.
And that pulsating night against the Italians in Glasgow is one that still jumps to mind when the iconic European nights are discussed.
“They do stay with you, those games,” said Lambert. One of my best ever memories is that 4-3 game against Juventus. We didn’t go through but what a game of football it was. It was remarkable. There were some astonishing goals and performances that night.
“Another bittersweet memory for me wasn’t in the Champions League but in the Europa League against an excellent Valencia side. We drew with them over the course of the two legs but they beat us 5-4 on penalties.
“I do think you tend to go through your playing career almost in a rush. I don’t know that you really get the chance to stand back and think about those times until you stop and you appreciate just what was achieved.
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“I feel privileged to have been part of that Celtic side because we were a really good team, with a really good manager. We did a lot of things that I would still say I was really proud of and representing the club in the Champions League is one of them.
“Even actually winning the competition, I don’t think you realise how special it is until you stop. I am still asked about it all the time, I am still asked about it if I am ever back in Germany and it is when you realise that there are so few people from Scotland to achieve that, it really does make it very special.
“These nights are to be savoured. It is where you really can come to the fore as a football player.”
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