Celtic Champions League Highlights 2007/08

Gordon Strachan Celtic Champions League Highlights 2007/08 Season

Well Celtic are the only Scottish team to have made it through to the Champions League group stages, this is the 2nd year in a row Gordon Strachan’s men have made it to the lucrative stages of the Champions League, Which is quite impressive considering the first time they did it was only last year. However the Bhoys face a daunting challenge as they face off aginst the mighty Barcelona with the first leg to be played at Celtic Park they will be looking to get a favourable result and ride their luck at the Nou Camp.

So lets take a look at how Celtic got to this stage and see all the highlights from Celtic’s champions league campaign.

Robbie Keane

Name: Robbie Keane
Age: 27
Current Club: Tottenham Hotspur
All Previous Clubs: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, International, Leeds United
# Goals Last Season: 22
Position Played: Striker
Nationality: Irish
International Caps: 78

Description: He began playing professional football in 1997 for Wolverhampton Wanderers. Even though he could’ve picked Liverpool, he decided that he had a greater chance of breaking into the first team at the First Division Side. In 2 seasons he impressed everyone here scoring 24 goals in 73 matches and in 1999 he moved to Coventry City where he became one of the most wanted strikers in England after scoring 12 goals in 34 games for Coventry. One year later, he signed with Internationale, but due to a change of coaches he couldn’t make it to the first team and came back in England to play for Leeds. Here, he wasn’t in the best shape and he only managed to score 10 goals in 36 matches. From 2002 he signed with Tottenham Hotspurs where he managed to play until today 182 games and scored 76 goals. At international level, Robbie Keane is a key player for Ireland and it’s almost always in the starting line-up. He has played until today 78 games and managed to score 32 goals for Ireland.

Dimitar Berbatov

Name: Dimitar Berbatov
Age: 27
Current Club: Tottenham Hotspur
All Previous Clubs: CSKA Sofia, Bayer Leverkusen
# Goals Last Season: 23
Position Played: Striker
Nationality: Bulgarian
International Caps: 61

Description: Born in Bulgaria, he started professional football in 1999, when he was 18, at CSKA Sofia. In his first year he managed to score 14 goals in 27 matches and helped his team to win Bulgarian National Cup. Good performances from young Berbatov came in the following years too, and in 2001, after a run of 9 goals in 11 matches, he convinced Bayer Leverkusen to sign him. He played with Leverkusen teaming with Ballack and they’ve reached the UEFA Champions League Finals, but they’ve lost it with 2-1. Berbatov scored in that campaign a really important goal against Liverpool in the quarter finals. He played at Leverkusen until 2006 and he managed to score 68 goals in 152 official matches. In May 2006 Berbatov got the opportunity to move in England and he signed with Tottenham Hotspur for a transfer free of £10.9 million. In the first months it was hard for him to adapt but nowadays he’s giving all he’s got on the field and scoring a lot of important goals for Tottenham. At international level, he played 61 matches for Bulgaria and scored 39 goals. He was also declared Bulgarian football player of the year for 4 years.

Wayne Rooney

Name: Wayne Rooney
Age: 22
Current Club: Manchester United
All Previous Clubs: Everton
# Goals Last Season: 23
Position Played: Second Striker
Nationality: British
International Caps: 40

Description: He started playing football as a youth for Everton in 2000 and 2 years later he signed his first professional contract with Everton. From his early debut in the Premier League, Rooney was seen as one of the most exciting prospects of the modern game. In 2003 he was selected for the first time in the England national team at the tender age of 17 and 111 days and he was also selected in England’s team for Euro 2004. There, he put in a lot of highly regarded performances and multiple clubs were fighting for his signature. After Euro 2004 was over, Everton said that he won’t be let go for less than £50 million but Rooney eventually signed with Manchester United for a £31 million transfer fee. At the beginning he was a second striker behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy but since big Ruud left, Rooney has become the main striker and has scored a lot of goals for Manchester United including some very memorable strikes. He played an important role when Manchester United won the Premier League last season and has received numerous awards in his professional footballer career.

Carlos Tevez

Carlos Tevez Name: Carlos Tévez
Age: 23
Current Club: Manchester United
All Previous Clubs: Boca Juniors, Corinthians, West Ham United
# Goals Last Season: 7
Position Played: Striker
Nationality: Argentine
International Caps: 35

Description: He joined Boca Juniors at the age of 16 and 1 year later, in 2001, he played his first professional match against Talleres de Cordoba. He remained at the club until 2004 and in this time Boca has won a lot of trophies and Tevez was one of the players that helped them win the copa libertadores and the intercontinental cup in 2003. In December 2004 he moved to Corinthians for a record $20 million transfer fee that was the biggest transfer ever in South American football. Here he became captain and lead the team to win the 2005 Brazilian league. Same year, after Brazilian league ended he got a big offer he couldn’t refuse from West Ham United and he decided to move there. Here he lasted only for one season because a lot of major clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal or Internationale were interested in getting his services. Manchester United was the one that offered the most, about £20 million and since he’s here, he is a regular first team player for United. At international level, he’s a starting player for Argentine and he managed to score 7 goals in 35 matches.

Ryan Giggs

Name: Ryan Giggs
Age: 34
Current Club: Manchester United
All Previous Clubs: Manchester City, Manchester United (both youth)
# Goals Last Season: 3
Position Played: left/right winger, second striker
Nationality: Welsh
International Caps: 64

Description: Ryan Giggs is one of the oldest players from Manchester United and has already become a legend for the club and for British and welsh football. As a youth, he played for both major clubs from Manchester and in 1991 he turned professional and signed a deal with Manchester United. From then, Giggs has been a regular player in Manchester’s First team and even though some will think he is old, he surely proves everyone that is still very skilful and he could do great things on the field. He is wearing the same number “11” on his t-shirt from 1993 and currently he is vice-captain at Manchester United. He’s helped Manchester win 9 times the English Premier League, 4 times the FA cup, the tremble in 1999 and a lot more trophies. Also, he’s received several individual honours and awards and he became the most decorated player in English Football, overtaking Liverpool legend, Phil Neal. He’s the top all time scorer from the Premier league that doesn’t play as a striker and he also scored the fastest goal for Manchester United (15 seconds – 1995 vs. Southampton). He played 64 games for Wales but he retired in 2007 and we also awarded with Order of British Empire (OBE) for his performances.