Two late goals from AC Milan sent Celtic home with an unjustifiable defeat last night, in the San Siro.
Milan took the lead after only seven minutes, but Celtic played out of their skin and deservedly equalised with fifteen minutes remaining, through a Stan Varga header. But Celtic threw the point away in the dying minutes of the game. Once again, we have nothing to show for our mammoth effort away from home in the Champions League.
I arrived in Milan Bergamo airport, on the day trip package, at around 11.30am local time. After being transferred by coach to the city centre, we had a wander but failed to find any genuine meeting point for Celtic fans.
My friend and I found a small café, where we had a couple of beers, at the luxury of 2,50 Euros a pint. Wondering “where could everyone be,” our attention was turned to the television in the top corner of the bar area. MTV’s TRL Italy was showing live from the Cathedral Square, where cameras showed a mass of Celtic supporters. We drank up quickly and headed to find the action.
We were given directions to the square, but a “follow that noise” strategy worked alright. Walking through the Milan streets, the locals looked bemused as to what all these green and white jerseys were! It was an invasion.
En route to the square, Celtic fans with Supermarket carrier bags became the Milan Off Sales Information Agents. About a five minute walk from the square, a Supermarket was almost sold out of beer, and it was only 1.00 in the afternoon!
We found a spot in the square and laid the Come On The Hoops banner out with the rest. We had many Bhoys praising the flag, so thanks again to the folk who donated to it for making it happen. No thanks though, to the ignorance of some who felt it all right to walk over ours and many others’ flags, when an extra second or two would have enabled you to walk around it.
The beers were sparked and the usual drill applied. Sit down, have a drink, sing and wait for Jane Lewis to appear with the Scotland Today cameraman! The sun was shining down and the beer was flowing but there are far too many idiots who seem to appear on these away trips, too many wannabe hardmen. The day was not to be spoilt by these clowns, though.
We had a wander around the square and had a look in the Cathedral, which looked fantastic. We planned to head to the Charlie and the Bhoys concert, near the stadium, but time got the better of us. Scotsport’s Sarah O was spotted singing along with The Bhoys, as she tried to get some interviews for Radio Clyde.
At around 5pm, hunger stroked and we headed for the nearest McDonalds, when I had a change of heart. We walked around the corner and sat down at a smart, traditional Italian restaurant. Now, trying to read a menu in complete Italian is difficult. But after a few bottles of beer in the sun, you can imagine the trouble we had trying to order a meal! Luckily, the waiter spoke fluent English and a portion of spaghetti bolognaise each and a pizza to share was ordered. Pretty good it was, too.
A quick phone home to the missus was followed by another beer or two in the square, before we headed to catch the Metro to the game. The singing was unbelievable on the Metro, and we even had a few Italians joining in the chorus of Hail Hail. Honest!
It was a fair walk from the station to the ground, where the leftover beers were handed out to thirsty Bhoys on the way, and a good singsong was had by all. Plenty of spare tickets were flying around, and we couldn’t see many folk looking.
From outside, the San Siro is impressive. We queued up and had a laugh with the St Pauli Bhoys and Ghirls who turned up to cheer on The Celts again. And if we thought the stadium looked big from outside, when we got in we were blown away. There is no other word to describe it than massive. It was a joy to be there, and we found a bit to stand (seat numbers did not apply), and laid out the banner. Kick off was getting closer and the Celtic End was getting busier. Apart from Seville, I have never seen so many Hoops in the Celtic support. Fantastic.
And so to the game. During the Huddle, I was going through mixed feelings. Realistically, I was thinking we have no chance. But inside, I was thinking this is Celtic we are here to see. We had to expect the unexpected, and of course, The Bhoys could do it.
Chris Sutton and Didier Agathe started the game. Joos Valgaeren joined Bobo Balde and Stan Varga in the defence, and Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson and Stan Petrov made up the rest of the midfield, with Sutton hanging back from the front two. John Hartson and Henri Camara started up-front, which meant a place on the bench for Juninho.
From the beginning of the game, Milan came attacking. After only four minutes, Celtic were let off the hook when Joos Valgaeren performed his usual circus tricks in defence, Kaka’s shot was turned round for a corner by young David Marshall.
Milan were playing some nice stuff, while Celtic resorted to the helpless boot up the park. Milan scored on seven minutes, when a great move left Didier Agathe behind and Shevchenko scored from outside the area. The noise inside the ground when the ball hit the net almost blew me away, but the main thing now was that Celtic could not put the heads down.
Celtic could only conjure up half chances in a bid for an equaliser, but were going for it, nevertheless. Stan Varga came reasonably close with a header, before Henri Camara found himself scuffing a good chance.
Bobo Balde cleared a Shevchenko shot from the goalmouth, but he and David Marshall seemed to forget exactly where they were on the stroke of half time. Both looked uncomfortable on the ball, passing it to each other a couple of times each, before Balde was caught out in possession. Once again, Marshall made a fantastic save, this time from Kaka’s shot.
Celtic weren’t exactly playing great and looked very vulnerable. But Martin O’Neill done what he does best, and inspired The Celts at half time. Celtic came out looking like a totally different side. It was to be a game of two completely different halves.
Celtic’s passing was much better, as was our movement. We looked for more confident on the ball and more importantly, were creating more chances. Henri Camara forced two saves from the Milan goalkeeper.
As Celtic attacked, Alan Thompson found himself in a good position, but his hamstring pulled. He was replaced by Juninho, on the hour mark, and will be out for five or six weeks. This is very disappointing as Thompson always performs well on the European stage.
The talk behind the goal was that it was only a matter of time before we equalised. After a couple of corners, we realised that AC Milan were there for the taking. With fifteen minutes to go, the goal came. Stan Petrov flighted a wonderful corner, which was met by Stan Varga – who powered home a header to make the scoreline 1-1. Cue bedlam in the Celtic End, as we realised we were outplaying Milan in their own back yard.
The singing from The Bhoys was superb, and the team were matching the fans’ performance on the pitch. We knew that all we had to do was hold on, but the fans were going for more. At this point, I asked myself would I take a point? A realistic answer was no, we had to go for the win. We had Milan rattled and they did not know what to do. Celtic were all over them and surely could have won the game.
John Hartson was replaced by Momo Sylla with five minutes to go. At the game, Hartson looked lazy and incompetent, but after watching the game again on video, I realise he put in a fantastic shift. Hindsight suggests that Paul Lambert or even Ulrik Laursen would have been a better choice to hold out for the point. Momo Sylla was never going to make a difference against AC Milan when going for a goal.
I simply fail to see what Martin O’Neill sees in Momo Sylla. The guy has no football ability whatsoever and is a complete liability. Every time he appears he gives away foul after foul, and fails to make any impact on the game. Everything he does has a lucky edge to it and I believe he does not try enough. Fair enough, he played well against Falkirk last week. Send him to the first division then.
Sylla was at fault for Milan’s second goal. When the Italian fans were beginning to leave the ground, and completely against the run of play, a ball was played down the right hand side to Shevchenko. Sylla was marking him but let him get goal side. Stan Varga was guilty of diving in, and this combination let Shevchenko continue his run down the wing. If you see the goal on television again, watch Sylla as he half-heartedly attempts to chase the Milan forward. Shevchenko crossed the ball and Inzaghi was there to toe-poke the ball home. With only one minute of the ninety remaining, the goal was an absolute sickener.
And things got worse. We realised there was no way back and the third goal didn’t really matter, but it came from a free-kick, which Varga gave away on the edge of the box. Pirlo was the scorer, but the shot took a wicked deflection off of Neil Lennon in the wall.
As the final whistle went we were taunted by the Milan fans above us. Several plastic bottles were thrown down, which the Italian police – in full riot gear – done nothing about.
As I sat there after the game, I felt more disappointment than I have ever felt before. Yes, it was worse than Seville, Munich, Turin and Lyon, where individual mistakes once again cost us the game. But when I look back, I feel proud to be a Celtic supporter today. My team played AC Milan off the park in their own ground, and if it wasn’t for a lapse in concentration, we would have come away with at least a draw.
We were bussed back to Bergamo airport, where a one-hour delay followed. Nothing unusual there, then. Arrived home at about 4.30am and took a wee day off today to recover. Watched the highlights with a mixture of anger, frustration and pride, and we now must pick ourselves up for the trip to the Ukraine. Third place is now our priority; let’s win this UEFA Cup!
Hail Hail!
Celtic:
Marshall – 9
Varga – 8
Balde – 9
Valgaeren – 8
Lennon – 9
Agathe – 9
Sutton – 9
Petrov – 7
Thompson – 8 (Juninho - 7)
Camara – 8
Hartson – 8 (Sylla - 0)
Come On The Hoops Man Of The Match: Bobo Balde
Come On The Hoops Moment To Remember: Stan Varga’s goal, and the realisation that we were ripping AC Milan apart in the San Siro.
Come On The Hoops Moment To Forget: Guess.