Hurting Celtic debriefed over a beer as Brendan Rodgers saw something in stars' eyes during Dortmund to Munich journey
The team that drinks together wins together.
It used to be the club across the city who clung to that mantra. But Brendan Rodgers can also see the value in letting his Celtic squad kick back with a cold one too. Of course, he didn’t want them overdoing it — but the proud Parkhead gaffer saw nothing wrong with allowing his players a chance to unwind with a beer back at base after Tuesday’s Champions League thriller with Bayern Munich.
The 3-2 aggregate loss was a defeat that would have left a bitter taste in the Hoops’ mouths as Alphonso Davies’ stoppage-time strike sent the Germans through. But as Rodgers gathered his men back at their hotel for a post-match debrief, he raised a glass and assured them they can savour the fact they have regained for Celtic the respect of their European rivals with a show of bravery in Bavaria.
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“I said the players after the game that you can hold your head up so proud because of the level the opponent,” he said while reflecting on his side’s run to the play-off round. What you look for in this game is respect and you'll come off the pitch and those guys will respect you for what you did over the couple of games. These are guys who will be challenging for maybe the Champions League itself.
“So the disappointment was there naturally because of the nature of how the game ended. But I said to the players, for us to be sat here, feeling like this, it really shows how far you've come.
“I looked in their eyes after the Dortmund game and that was a real tough one. So it just showed you the mentality and the resilience and the grit that this team have. They overcame that, recovered from the setback and then pushed on and we went back to the hotel, we had a beer and then got back to training the next day.
"Was that chance to sit and have a beer together important? Well, they very rarely get the chance to do that. Don’t worry, it wasn't a typical Scottish night out! It was a nice relaxed beer and a wine and then we trained the next day, stayed overnight, getting ready for Hibs.
“It's very important that you can just reflect a little bit and relax and think about the moments within the game and the performance, but very quickly you have to move on.”
Celtic certainly didn’t dwell on their disastrous night in Dortmund. Having crumbled in front of the yellow wall, the Parkhead players huddled together as they set about reinforcing a continental campaign that was only ended in the cruelest of fashions.
“The sun doesn't shine every day for you, so it's always how you react and how you recover from the setback,” added Rodgers. “It was a bruising night for us against Dortmund, but I think I said at the time it was a bit of a freak result because the nature of every shot they had went in and everything went for them. And we've proven that over 10 games that was a freak result, but you still at that time have to come back from it.
“The players did that and they rallied around. It wasn't a nice evening to experience, but I know through my experience in life and football that it'll be a great measure for us. The next game we came back, we won, we got there in the end and then we were able to grow from that.”
It’s taken Rodgers four attempts over two spells to escape the league phase and reach the Champions League knock-out stages. But he’s already made it clear his aim is for this to become a regular occurrence rather than a fleeting adventure.
To do that, his side must finish the job they’ve started this season. They head to Easter Road Saturday lunchtime looking to build on a 13-point Premiership lead.
Rodgers said: “Without being arrogant, I always feel I can do that [lead Celtic to success in Europe]. I think I've done that in my career, I've won big games.
“When I was here the first time, the reality is maybe our squad wasn't built for that. Domestically we were very good and it was a challenge then for us going into European football.
“I only need to look at when I was here the last time against Bayern. You'll always have critics, there'll be something else. You do something else and someone will say something else.
“That's the way life is and the way the game is. For me, I'm not really too bothered about what people think or would say. My focus is very clear on helping this club progress at that level and have credibility in Europe.
“That's what I wanted to achieve and I think we've done that this season. Now we've got to hopefully sustain that over the coming seasons. I think we've set the standard for the next steps going forward. Our game tomorrow is the first step on that journey to get back there.
“It was a wonderful campaign and I'm really proud of the players and how they performed and how they got over many aspects within the campaign of adversity. The quality of our football, the resilience, the grit, everything you have to show at that level. But it's gone now, so we get ready for our next game.
