Brendan Rodgers is not averse to a spot of namedropping when the opportunity is right. Only this time, he might well have opened up an almighty can of worms.
If the build-up to Rangers’ fine Europa League win in Malmo last Thursday was dominated by old enmity and unpleasant recollections, Celtic’s upcoming trip to Borussia Dortmund now has the potential to knock it into a cocked hat.
Parkhead boss Rodgers was speaking on Friday about discussions he had with his old captain Scott Brown during the week when the chance came up for the former Scotland midfielder to swap the manager’s job at Ayr United for St Johnstone.
Asked if he feels he might find himself facing Brown in the opposite dugout at a Premiership match in future, despite his old charge’s decision to stay put at Somerset Park for now, Rodgers replied: ‘If I’m still here and want it then we may well do. I’ll come up against Nuri Sahin on Tuesday and I had Nuri at Liverpool as a young player on loan from Real Madrid, so it happens.’
That’s only the start of the story, though, when it comes to the relationship that existed between the Celtic manager and the Borussia Dortmund head coach he will reconvene with amid the yellow thunder of the Westfalenstadion in a couple of days’ time.
Already, in some corners of the internet, Sahin’s remarks about the Brodge when he cut short that loan spell at Anfield after five months in January 2013 to go back to Dortmund for a second spell as a player have started to appear.
Rodgers and Sahin worked together at Liverpool over a decade ago
The Northern Irishman brought Sahin in on loan from Real Madrid but cut the loan short
‘Thank God I have left Brendan Rodgers,’ he famously said in an interview with a Spanish newspaper, complaining he had been used in entirely the wrong position during the whole of his time on Merseyside.
What’s more, it is absolutely sure to be revisited over the next couple of days as the preparations for an enticing, interesting clash in Europe’s premier club tournament gathers steam. And added spice.
Sahin was actually lined up to go to Arsenal from the Bernabeu back in the day as Madrid sought to find a place for him to play more regular football. Then aged 23, he had his heart set on making a go of it at the Emirates.
That’s the moment Rodgers turned on the charm and flicked through the contacts book, as he recalled at the time of Sahin’s signing when detailing conversations held over the move with the then Real head coach Jose Mourinho.
‘All my contacts spoke very highly of him and Jose has been fantastic in talking about his qualities and strengths, but, obviously, he (Sahin) hasn’t played so much there,’ he said. ‘It’s a great opportunity for us to bring in a top technician.
‘The player had his mind set on going to Arsenal and we had to convince him to join us instead. As soon as we realised he might be available, it became our task to change the direction of the deal that was going through and wrestle the momentum away from Arsenal.
‘That was very difficult, because Arsenal are a wonderful club, they can offer Champions League football and they play a style of football suited to his qualities. But we’ve been able to persuade him to come here.
‘He’s a clever guy, he’s done a lot of homework on the club and myself as a manager, and he’s made a decision that this is the best route at this stage of his career.’
He clearly didn’t do enough homework, though. After just 12 games and three goals — and only three full 90-minute appearances in the Europa League — Sahin was offski back to Dortmund via a short stop-off in Madrid with some pretty heavy remarks to make.
‘I did not fail at Liverpool,’ stated Sahin, who would eventually go on to rejoin Dortmund permanently in a 7million euro deal. ‘Brendan Rodgers wanted me to play as a No 10, but I do not play behind the strikers.
Celtic are sitting pretty ahead of their second Champions League matchday after a 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava
‘I talked to him and asked him why he was playing me there. It is not my real position.
‘The coach could not answer me. Still, no regrets. Maybe if I had not gone there, I would not have been able to return to Borussia Dortmund. For that, I am happy. Thank God I have left Brendan Rodgers.’
Even BVB boss Jurgen Klopp, who went on to replace Rodgers at Liverpool following his dismissal in October 2015, got involved in the pile-on.
‘It was the wrong position (for Sahin to play),’ he said. ‘If you are a No 8 or 6 and you have to play as a No 9 or 10, it’s not possible.
‘For some guys, of course, it’s possible, but Nuri’s a brilliant player — not nine-and-a-half and not 10 — and I don’t know why Brendan Rodgers would do this.’
Pound to a penny, he will be asked at some point over the next 48 hours. As will Sahin. And of such interactions, the most diverting little vignettes are made as we all wait for the proper action to get underway on the park.
Just look at how Malmo coach Henrik Rydstrom ended up with egg on his chops in midweek after branding his club’s social media posts poking fun at Rangers’ financial meltdown after they’d won a Champions League qualifier at Ibrox in 2011 as ‘a bit of fun’.
Last year’s runners-up, Dortmund will provide a sterner test for Celtic in the Champions League
Celtic’s impressive 5-1 opening-day win over Slovan Bratislava has put them in a terrific position make the top 24 of the faintly silly new Champions League set-up and into the play-off round.
This visit to Dortmund will not make or break that ambition. Games against Young Boys of Bern and Dinamo Zagreb plus the visits of Club Brugge and RB Leipzig are the matches that matter in this campaign.
However, that’s not to say Rodgers doesn’t have a lot hanging on Tuesday’s match. Yes, his team competed really well at home with the likes of Atletico Madrid and Lazio in this competition last term. Away from home, though, it was a different story.
They shipped six to Atletico and lost two goals without return at both Lazio and Feyenoord. They still ended up bottom of the section.
Rodgers is back here for Europe. Make no bones about it. He admitted as much himself when kicking off his second stint as Celtic boss. Showing he can take a team away to a difficult venue against stronger opposition and keep it organised and hard to beat is important. And Dortmund’s intimidating arena offers the perfect showcase.
Rodgers recognises that there will be tougher tests in story from that first matchday
Celtic aren’t expected to win. Aren’t expected to take a point, even. But Rodgers could do without a towsing, given the problems on the road last season and the fact his first term at Parkhead saw major collapses when meeting the likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Zenit St Petersburg away. Signs of progression are needed rather than the same thin gruel.
Until then, we have to make do with wondering whether the man he is up against will carry an added motivation to settle old scores. We will hear them talk about what they make of each other all these years on. And we’ll wait to see just how warm — or otherwise — their embrace on the touchline before kick-off really is.
Because bad blood and old ghosts are a big part of what football is about. As is making mischief and seeing what really hides behind the platitudes. And long may that continue.
U-turn on sale of alcohol is a bit of fuss about nothing
THE Scottish National Party need something to win back favour following the chaos, carnage and camper vans of late — and putting booze on sale inside football grounds looks like a surefire vote-winner.
Quite how that squares with the government’s nanny-state ninnies putting alcohol up to a ludicrous 65p a unit tomorrow, when this madcap scheme appears to have no positive effect on public health at all, is unclear.
However, SNP MSP George Adam asking for a rethink over pulling pints at the match has been a long time coming.
In truth, the whole debate over selling the old electric soup in grounds is a little mystifying. Lots of stadiums appear to have pubs and bars in them already. At
Football fans have not been allowed alcohol within stadiums for over 40 years, in stark contrast to their rugby counterparts
St Johnstone, for example, us reporters walk through one on the way out of the ground — usually after watching the kind of display that would drive anyone to drink.
And most of the grounds which don’t have their own taps and optics have bars nearby more than happy to let you fill your boots right up to kick-off.
Getting nicely pickled on your day out at the game is no problem whatsoever as it stands. This argument appears to hinge on whether or not you should use the
90 minutes in the middle as sobering-up time or an opportunity to top up the tank.
Considering it is tough enough to stay awake at some SPFL games as it is, treating the punter like an adult and permitting them to keep the merriment going with a judicious tincture — as well as put extra cash into their club’s coffers — feels like a no-brainer.
And not really that much of a jump at all.
Moss gathers little goodwill on his way out
Why couldn’t Jon Moss just have cleared off to his new job and new life in Australia without putting that patronising garbage about his 52 days as VAR manager on the Scottish FA’s website?
The stuff about how he loved his time at Hampden was bad enough, but his assertion that ‘I leave with only fond memories and a wish that I could have stayed for longer’ is insulting.
No one is frogmarching him off to the other side of the world, are they? He could have stayed if he fancied it. But he didn’t. And he has done unnecessary damage to Willie Collum’s time as head of refereeing after such a bright and promising start.
The SFA picked a squib in this guy. Next time, they need to make sure they get someone who is really committed to sticking around instead of sticking rubbish on their website.