Barry Maguire qualifies for Eire

 Young Utrecht midfielder Barry Maguire believes that the pressures on Celtic in their upcoming Europa League tie will be much greater than on his own team Utrecht, since failure to qualify for Europe this season would leave Celtic on the Eve of Destruction. Utrecht are not expected to qualify so the pressure on them will be much less, which Maguire believes could give the men in red and white an advantage. Maguire, a promising young player, should be of particular interest to Celtic supporters given his links with the Republic of Ireland. Although he regards himself as Dutch and proud of it, through his Irish father Maguire is eligible to play for Eire. In January 2009 he was selected for the Eire Under 21 squad but withdrew the day before the game saying he still hoped to play for Holland one day. Maybe the tricolours on show at Celtic Park might help him reconsider his allegiances.

The second level of joke allusion in the title and opening paragraph of this article will almost certainly be lost on most of the GGW readers, who probably weren’t even born in 1965 when “Eve of Destruction” became the most political ever number one hit song, with its heartfelt worries about the consequences of war and nuclear weapons on the future of the human race. If you don’t know the song, either get your rocker grandfather to play it for you or google ‘Barry McGuire Eve of Destruction’ and listen to it. Then remember that failure to qualify for Europe though a disaster is not really the end of the world.

FC Utrecht underachievers hampwered by debt

Utrecht are the great underachievers of Dutch football. They come from the fourth largest Dutch city but have never remotely equalled the big three, Ajax Amsterdam, Feyenoord Rotterdam and PSV Eindhoven, who have all won the European Cup/Champions League as well as many Dutch titles and Cups. Utrecht have won the Dutch League only once, in 1958, as DOS Utrecht before the 1970 amalgamation produced one single Utrecht club, FC Utrecht. They have won the Dutch Cup three times, most recently in 2003 and 2004. But that team was ripped apart by debts of over 40 million euros and Utrecht have never recovered financially or on the park. When you consider the paralysing effect of a £30million debt on Rangers, then it is no surprise Utrecht have struggled to overcome their level of debt. It has been left to smaller clubs like AZ from Alkmaar and Twente from Enscede to provide the opposition to the Big 3, the “best of the rest” that Utrecht feels is their birthright. Like Rangers Utrecht are not really in a position to sign players and other than two young Australians unlikely to face Celtic, the side has not been strengthened for the prospect of European football. Indeed the squad has been weakened from last season with the loss of several experienced squad members.

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Braga deserved to go through

Last night provided further proof that money and tradition are not everything in football and that hard work, discipline and good organisation can still bring rewards.

 Braga are a good, well-organised team who play to a defined pattern and work hard to implement the instructions of their top class coach, Paciencia. But they have no top class players, they lack creative inspiration other than Alan in midfield,  and they have no class goalscorers upfront. They are unlikely to progress to the Group Stages whichever of Ajax, Sevilla, Spurs, Werder Bremen or Zenith they draw in the playoff round. They are less good a team than they were last season and they are unlikely to finish in the top 3 in the Portuguese League.

Yet this team played Celtic off the park over 180 minutes. A Celtic team with a stronger player pool and reinforced by better quality and much more expensive signings. The explanation for this  lies with organisation. Paciencia is a very good coach. For over a year now he has trained his players thoroughly in the pattern he wants them to play, and every player knows their role and what the coach and their teammates expect of them. They are solid in defence with two strong centre backs well protected by two holding midfielders. Their new left back, known as Elderson now despite playing in the World Cup twice as a substitute under his Nigerian name, emphasised by comparison how Celtic still have not solved their left back problem.

Alan the classiest act on the park

 Alan in midfield has genuine class and when required can push up as a third forward. Upfront they are pedestrian although Paulo Cesar took his goal well and can also function in midfield. So they can fluidly change quickly from 4:4:2 to 4:3:3 or 4:5:1 depending on circumstances and the coach’s command. As  a team this group of players is stronger than the sum of their parts which is not a statement anyone would make about the current Celtic squad.

It remains to be seen whether Lennon has the tactical nous and sophistication to create systems and patterns for his players that will enable such a statement to become true for them. Unfortunately he does not really need to do so to triumph in Scotland given the paucity of opposition. Strong motivational skills would probably suffice in that context. But if Celtic are ever going to become a feared name in Europe again he will need to make them a far better organised team, with their own distinctive patterns of play. If he wants a leader on the park he could do worse than consider a previous GGW suggestion and rescue Hugo Viana from what looks like a year’s well paid exile with Valencia’s reserves. It would be ironically appropriate if he could provide for Celtic the kind of midfield leadership and inspiration that took Braga to their current heights.

Celtic are guaranteed a seeded place in Friday’s Europa League draw which means they should avoid all the class teams there including Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa, Juventus, Porto, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and PSV Eindhoven. The full picture will not become clear until after tonights third round qualifying ties are completed but most of the non-seeded teams should not cause even the current Celtic team too much trouble. GGW would suggest that 4 to avoid in Friday’s draw are Borussia Dortmund, Montpellier, old foes Rapid Vienna and the PAOK Salonica team that almost eliminated Ajax. Also  arrange of competent Eastern European teams.

GGW will provide  a full profile of whatever opponent does come out of Friday’s draw

Braga 3-0 up but not definitely through

Greengreenworld made a classic mathematician’s error in its last post “Celtic to get Braga-ing rights”. It concentrated on a thorough examination of one side of an equation while making only a sloppy assumption about the other side. Even after last Wednesday’s performance against Celtic which resulted in that 3-0 win, GGW sticks with its conclusion that Braga are not as good a team as they were last season. GGW is confident they will not finish in the Top 3 of the Portuguese League this coming season and would happily take bets on that topic from any Celtic supporter who feels otherwise. Braga are a decent, well-organised team who play to a defined pattern and work hard to implement the instructions of their top class coach. But they have no top class players, they lack creative inspiration and they have no natural goalscorers upfront. If they qualify for the Playoff Round of the Champions League none of the seeded teams will fear being drawn against them. In assuming Celtic should prevail against them, GGW made certain assumptions. One was that the Celtic of this new season would be a better team than the Celtic of last season. GGW assumed that this improvement in one side coupled with the deterioration in the other, would tip the balance of what last season would have been a tie that Braga might have been expected to win, into a situation where Celtic would be seen a s the more likely to prevail. Part of this expectation was based on the assumption that Celtic’s close season recruitment was of a significantly better quality than Braga’s. Cha Du-Ri , Efrain Juarez, Joe Ledley and Daryl Murphy have much more class and international experience than Leandro Salino, Rodrigo Lima, Elderson and Helder Barbosa. Indeed Elderson, a Nigerian, is the only one with any international experience. Another assumption made was that Celtic’s quality of pre-match friendly games was against sufficiently better opposition than Braga’s had been. Teams like Manchester United and Sporting Lisbon and two match fit MLS sides Philidelphia and Seattle were all better than Athletic Bilbao the only serious opposition faced by Braga. But the most important assumptions were that new manager Lennon would have worked out that he had the better side and send his team out mentally and physically prepared and organised to prove their superiority, and that they would work harder than the Portuguese to get the kind of result their superiority warranted. (continue reading…)

The resemblance to Arsenal is deliberate - but ends with the strip

Braga do not have a playing squad brimming with international class talent. There was not a single current internationalist in the squad for the Presentation Game against Athletic Bilbao that was their main preparation game for the tie against Celtic now fixed for Wednesday 28^th July in their AXA Stadium.

In building their squad Braga have relied on the close links between Brazil and Portugal and no less than 15 of the squad likely to face Celtic were born in Brazil. But none of them are good enough ever to have played for the country of their birth.

 There is no doubt that last season, 2009-2010 Braga were a team that played football that was both effective and attractive. But that team has been dismantled. International class goalkeeper Eduardo has been sold to Genoa. The two classy attacking full backs, Joao Pereira and Evaldo have both been sold to Sporting Lisbon. Most importantly the midfielder behind their most constructive plays, Hugo Viana has left, recalled by Valencia. Valencia do not want him but neither Braga nor even Sporting Lisbon who expressed a strong interest, can afford to buy him. His spell in the United Kingdom with Newcastle United was not a total success but Viana is that rare creature a creative midfield player capable of bursts of genius and Neil Lennon could do worse than consider him as a more constructive and harder working option than McGeady or Nakamura. To add to Braga’s midfield loss, Viana’s water carrier from last season, Mossoro, is seriously injured and will not play against Celtic. So 5 of last season’s team have gone, including their 3 international class players. And the good news from Celtic’s point of view is that not only do the individual replacements not have the same class, the effect of the loss on the team’s cohesion and understanding has been considerable. (continue reading…)

Braga SC the best available opponents

Well the wish expressed by GGW in its post “Celtic’s Champions League opponents – Definitely the last word” of 31st May 2010 came true. Celtic have been drawn against Sporting Braga and in the correct order too, with first leg in Braga on 27/28th July and the second leg at Celtic Park on 3^rd/  4thAugust.

The good news is that Braga will not be as good or strong  a team as they were last season, during which they gave Benfica a good run for their money taking the contest for the  Portuguese League right down to the last day. Braga impressed with an attractive version of attacking football.

However, since then Braga have lost their international class goalkeeper, Eduardo to Genoa. They have also lost both their first choice full backs, Joao Pereira and Evaldo to Sporting Lisbon. The creative engine of their midfield Hugo Viana was only on loan last season from Valencia while his future has not yet been definitively settled it looks unlikely that he will be returning to Braga.

Helder Barbosa not as signing to terrify Celtic

 Braga have replaced the lost players with a whole swathe of signings but this splurge should not cause Celtic any great concern. None of the new intake are of the top class, none of them are international stars like Cha Du Ri or Juarez or even Ledley or Murphy. The best known and most experienced of their signings, goalkeeper Quim from Benfica, has been seriously injured in pre-season training and will definitely not be fit to face Celtic. Of the rest, some are capable defenders like Leo Fortunato from Cruzeiro, George Lucas from Santos and Eduardo from Botafogo, others pedestrian forwards like Lima and Helder Barbosa who between them did not even score 10 goals last season. They have also signed youngsters like the Senegalese forward Ladj Keita and the Nigerian defender Ehiejile and from Villarreal reserves young Spanish forward Jose Collado.

As well as Quim they also have lost midfielder Mossoro through injury for the Celtic ties. With Mossoro injured and Viana gone, their midfield looks much less incisive than last season and the only new recruit, Leandro Salino is unlikely to effectively replace either missing link.

 Braga or likely to play a fluid 4:4:2 formation. The key men Lennon’s scouts should watch out for are Brazilian midfielders Alan and Vandinho who will be given more leadership responsibility in Viana’s absence. Main striker Ze Meyong flopped at Levante and while happier back in Portugal he should not cause an organised Celtic defence many problems. It will be difficult to determine exactly what players Braga will select to face Celtic until after their traditional pre-season presentation game on Wednesday 21^st July against Athletic Bilbao. GGW will report following that game on the likely Braga line-up for the game on the 27^th in Braga.

Braga will be a new face on the Braga bench too. The latest recruit Fernando Couto should be familiar to most Celtic fans as a rugged and slightly mad centre back who won league titles  in 3 different countries with Porto, Lazio and Barcelona in a long and successful international career.

Fernando Couto and Lennon have much in common. Couto has no previous managerial experience but his knowledge and experience of European football is greater than Lennon’s. Both men had a long and successful international careers. Both men were seen as falling slightly short of the very top class due to deficiencies in technique and temperament. But both men were widely admired as warriors and as winners. Couto won more than Lennon, winning championship medals in three different countries Portugal, Spain and Italy.

Couto represented Braga at Friday’s UEFA draw and made the right polite noises about what difficult opponents Celtic represented. But he was careful to point out also that Braga would be difficult opponents for Celtic. While there is likely to be some dramatic eyeballing between Couto and Lennon, the two games will not be a tactical contest between them rather one of wills. Braga have a coach, Domingos Pacienca, who masterminded their successes and attractive football last season. He is still in charge of the team selection and tactics. It will surely be a source of wry amusement to Lawwell, Reid, Desmond and others  that Fernando Couto has been appointed to the kind of role the Celtic Directors had in mind for Stuart Baxter, that of Football Director.  The next two weeks should be an interesting opportunity to see how much benefit such a role brings to Braga and whether Celtic and Lennon will suffer for it not being replicated on their side.

Braga Stadium. Spectacular but more Broadwood than Celtic Park

 Those Celtic fans who are planning to travel to Braga should enjoy the stadium. It was dynamited out of a hillside rock quarry in time for the 2004 Euro Championships and is a spectacular sight but it has more in common with open-ended Broadwood than enclosed Celtic Park.

GGW will provide a more detailed report on Braga’s likely formation and tactical approach after Wednesday. However even at this point, while Braga will be no mugs, and should not be taken likely, Celtic must be seen as the favourite’s to progress from this tie. Such a victory would guarantee them participation in the Group Stages of at least the Europa League even if they were to subsequently lose in the final Championds League Play-off Round.