The opulence of Munich’s Allianz Arena, lit up like some kind of space-age creation, will feel like a distant memory for Celtic when they head out in the more rustic surroundings of the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade this evening.
Seven months after pushing Bayern Munich so close in a Champions League knockout tie, a new journey will begin in the Europa League this evening in the Serbian capital.
The fact that Celtic have dropped down to the second-tier competition after the debacle against Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan continues to be a sore point among supporters.
The protests against the club’s hierarchy show no signs of subsiding any time soon, as evidenced by recent domestic matches against Kilmarnock and Partick Thistle.
A significant wedge has been driven between Brendan Rodgers and other senior figures at the club, one of whom he branded a ‘coward’ a fortnight ago amid claims they were briefing against him in the media.
But all of the off-field aggro and all of the regret about the failure to build on Munich last season needs to be parked. That’s gone.
Celtic came close to Champions League progression last season only to lose out to Bayern
Brendan Rodgers must now ready his side for a tilt at the Europa League starting in Belgrade
Sebastian Tounekti, one of Rodgers’ latest signings, will be expected to deliver on the European stage
That Celtic have regressed from last season is beyond question. Rather than pore over the rights and wrongs of the summer transfer window, the focus must now be on what the club can achieve in Europe this time around.
This is where a lot of Celtic supporters get a bit sniffy about the Europa League. They view it as a consolation prize, a tournament unworthy of their time after failing to reach the Champions League.
There is a sense of snobbery about it all, as if they have some sort of God-given right to be in the Champions League, and that the Europa League is merely an unwelcome distraction.
There are delusions of grandeur about how Celtic are a Champions League calibre team. Countless pundits and ex-players will spout off all kinds of nonsense about how it’s where the club *belongs*.
If history is to be the main parameter, then tonight’s opponents Red Star Belgrade belong in the Champions League just as much as Celtic.
Like Celtic, Red Star won the old European Cup. They were champions back in 1991, shortly before the competition morphed into the Champions League.
Is there an outrage among fans at failing to qualify? Is there a belief that the club should be there every single season?
No. Aspiring to be there, compared to genuinely belonging there and being a force at that level, are two very different things.
The reality is that the Europa League is where Celtic belong. Rangers too, for that matter. The difference is that Rangers fans accepted long ago that the Europa League represents their best chance of success in Europe.
There is no shame in being a Europa League club. Look at some of the clubs who have won the competition over the past 15-20 years or so.
Sevilla, Villarreal, Eintracht Frankfurt, Atalanta, FC Porto; all very well-run football clubs with a clear structure and identity, but none of them would claim to be European superpowers.
None of their supporters turned their noses up at the Europa League. They embraced it and recognised it as an opportunity to put together a meaningful run in Europe.
Since the competition was rebranded as the Europa League back in 2009, Celtic have never progressed any further than the last 32.
Rodgers and his players should have ambitions of going further than that this time around. A run to the quarter-finals at the very least should not be beyond them.
If fans have no immediate interest in the Europa League and are refusing to buy tickets in protest against the board, a deep run into the knockout stages would soon see them come back.
If you were to ask most Celtic supporters what their best memory in Europe has been over the past 25 years or so, most would say the victory over Barcelona and Lionel Messi back in 2012.
But the run to the UEFA Cup Final in Seville in 2003 surely wouldn’t be far behind. Not many supporters were of a mind to turn their nose up at the competition back then.
It’s only over the past 15 years or so that a sense of entitlement has fostered among supporters with regards to feeling they should automatically be in the Champions League every season.
Rodgers, with youngster Johnny Kenny, will be looking to make the knockout stages at least
But, too often, Celtic in the Champions League has been like a boxer trying to move up three weight divisions whilst still finding a way to compete. Pointless.
In the billionaire’s playground that is the Champions League, Celtic have too often turned up to a gunfight whilst holding a butter knife.
Munich last season was the outlier. Celtic have far more chance of actually doing something in the Europa League. That’s not a lack of ambition, it’s just realism.
Tonight in Belgrade they have an opportunity to set the tone for the season ahead and make a positive start to a group campaign which will see them face Braga, Sturm Graz, Midtjylland, Feyenoord, Roma, Bologna and Utrecht.
They will first of all have to confront the notoriously intimidating atmosphere at the Rajko Mitic Stadium and one of the most infamous pre-match walks in European football.
The tunnel is a sight to behold, with its murals and graffiti, and often surrounded by riot police, it is a 240metre walk that tests players’ nerves before a ball is even kicked.
But it is not beyond Rodgers and his players to go there and win. Red Star are capable opponents who have started their season well domestically, but by no means are they unbeatable.
Just a few weeks ago, when Celtic were mired in their own Kairat calamity, Pafos of Cyprus went to Belgrade and beat Red Star 2-1 en route to knocking them out of the Champions League qualifiers.
With new players like Sebastian Tounekti and Kelechi Iheanacho beginning to make an impact, Celtic should travel to Belgrade in a positive frame of mind.
Not only in terms of the match itself, but in terms of what might be possible in Europe over the months ahead.
