The Celtic heroics that would surpass Barcelona glory night after Champions League shockwaves reached Canada
Alistair Johnston insists Celtic beating Bayern Munich would be as big a bashing Barcelona.
The Parkhead ace revealed he felt the shockwaves from Neil Lennon’s side's incredible win against Lionel Messi’s and co in 2012 from all the way across the Atlantic when he was a youngster in Canada. And Johnston would love to stun the football world again by getting the better of the Bundesliga big guns in the Champions League play-off clash in Glasgow. The Celtic favourite said: “As a kid growing up in Canada, I remember that match. I wasn’t even a Celtic fan growing up, but I do remember Celtic beating Barcelona at Celtic Park. I remember Victor Wanyama scoring – I knew Tony Watt’s name as a 14-year-old kid! That’s crazy. But it’s what those kinds of nights can do.
“I think that’s something that gives us a little extra oomph in our step. Would it be bigger? I’d leave that to the fans to decide. That Barca team of 2012 was pretty special. That line up will go down as one of the all-time greats.
“I’ve watched a lot of this Bayern team because (Canada teammate) Alfonso Davies is there and they are a really solid squad and a really impressive team. We’re going to have our work cut out but it’s something we are excited about – this is an amazing opportunity.”
Johnston admitted it’s a tough task achieving legend status at Celtic Park because of the long list of greats who have gone before. But Wednesday night’s showdown is a huge chance for the current side to carve out their place in the club’s history.
Johnston said: “When you walk in the door, you walk along the corridors, you see some of the numbers that are up there, some of the photos. Treble-treble winners…all these kinds of things. That was one of the things that stood out the most for me when I first walked in the door.
“We won the Treble and I looked down at the shirts they were giving us and it said the number eight – I thought ‘We’ve done something amazing, but it’s been done SEVEN times before.’ It’s really amazing. Honestly, at this football club it’s really difficult to leave a mark because of what teams in the past have done here.
“European Cup winners, Callum McGregor just hit 500 appearances and some of the trophy hauls that him and James Forrest have, it’s insane, it really is insane. You want to find a way to leave a lasting legacy on the club and that’s not an easy task to do at this club.
“But matches like these, ties like these, give you the opportunity – no matter how difficult it is. We do look at that as an opportunity to be remembered as one of the great teams.”
Johnston is aiming high but he knows Celtic are facing huge odds. He said: “We are definitely underdogs. That comes with the territory, we know that.
“You want to be a part of a night like that one against Barcelona.We have an opportunity. Obviously, you need your cards to fall right, you need to play pretty much a perfect game, but you have an opportunity to do that.
“As slim as the odds might be, there still is a chance. The boys are all really excited we are in this position. It is a great opportunity to go out and shock all the world and see what we can do in the next week or so in these two matches.”
