MARTIN O’NEILL will be hoping his current charges can replicate the success of his 2002-03 Celtic team when they face Stuttgart in the first leg of the Europa League knockout phase play-off tonight.
Under O’Neill, Celtic reached the final of the competition — then the UEFA Cup — back in 2003, where they lost 3-2 to Porto after extra time in Seville.
They knocked out tonight’s opponents 5-4 on aggregate in the fourth round that season, as well as claiming the scalps of Blackburn and Liverpool en route to the final.
Celtic ultimately ended that season empty-handed but it is fair to say the squad then — including forwards Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson — was much stronger than the current side.
As such, O’Neill joked in his pre-match press conference that he didn’t even know where this season’s final was being held and that such a scenario is far from his mind.
However, given how Celtic have performed in Europe under O’Neill — despite, as he says, being written off after a 3-1 loss at Midtjylland — he suggested the club have earned their place in the play-offs and deserve to believe they can progress.
‘Let’s go for it’
“Stuttgart are flying at this moment, they’re fourth in the Bundesliga, they’re in a Champions League position,” said O’Neill.
“I’ve had a look at them and obviously they’re very strong, physical and have got a lot of good players playing for them.
“They’ll be difficult games for us, but while we’re there, let’s go for it.”
He added: “I don’t want us to be fearful of the games, you’ve got to go in with some confidence.
“If we didn’t get a lift from fighting back [from 2-0 down to beat Kilmarnock 3-2] on Sunday then nothing would give you a lift. That was great.
Celtic sealed their play-off spot with a 4-2 win over Utrecht in their final league phase match (Image: Ian MacNicol / Getty Images)“I’m accepting the fact that it’s a European night and a side flying in the Bundesliga but I think you should just leave that aside and let us do as much as we can for ourselves rather than considering what the opposition might do to you.”
Celtic had four points from their first three Europa League games under Brendan Rodgers this season and sat in 21st place before O’Neill took the reins.
However, after losing to league leaders Midtjylland, O’Neill masterminded an impressive 3-1 win at Feyenoord — Celtic’s first away win in Europe for four years — to keep them in the knockout phase play-off places.
Wilfried Nancy’s ill-fated spell included a tame 3-0 home defeat to Roma and threatened to end Celtic’s interest in Europe at the league stage, with Celtic clinging on to the final play-off spot.
However, O’Neill returned and oversaw an impressive 2-2 draw away to Bologna and a 4-2 home victory over Utrecht to guarantee at least two further European matches.
Stuttgart challenge
Despite their improvement under O’Neill, Celtic are not the side they were in Europe two decades ago, when they were beating the likes of Barcelona, AC Milan and Manchester United.
In particular, they have struggled over two legs in the ensuing years, failing to win a post-group/league stage knockout tie in the last 10 attempts since beating Barcelona 1-0 on aggregate in the fourth round of the 2003-04 UEFA Cup.
Villarreal put them out in the following round that season, while in the following nine knockout ties, they have won only one leg.
That was a 1-0 win at home to Zenit in the first leg of the Europa League round of 32 in the 2017-18 season, with the Russians progressing after winning 3-0 in St Petersburg a week later.
Stuttgart, meanwhile, are arguably a stronger proposition than they were 23 years ago.
They qualified for that season’s UEFA Cup via the old Intertoto Cup after an eighth-place finish in the Bundesliga.
Despite going out to Celtic in the fourth round, they rallied and finished runners-up in the Bundesliga to Bayern Munich and went on to win the title in 2006-07.
They endured several seasons of turbulence, twice being relegated in 2015-16 and 2018-19 before winning immediate promotion.
In 2023-24 they again finished second, above Bayern, and last season won the DFB-Pokal while just missing out on the Champions League knockout phase play-offs.
Stuttgart’s biggest threat is likely to come from Deniz Undav, left, and Jamie Leweling (Image: Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto / Getty Images)Currently they occupy the fourth Champions League spot in the Bundesliga, are in the DFB-Pokal semi-finals and narrowly missed out on automatic progress to the last 16 of the Europa League.
Harry Kane is far and away the Bundesliga’s top scorer this season with 26, but Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav is third in the table with 12, just one behind Kane’s teammate Luis Diaz.
With five Bundesliga goals and six assists, winger Jamie Leweling is also a goal threat and was reportedly subject to a 40m bid from Bournemouth in the transfer window.
However, while his team may not boast the star-studded players of two decades ago or players in the €40m bracket, O’Neill has shown his current side can get results against established European sides and grind out a result against the odds.
Hopefully he can also infuse his side with some of the magic and belief that surrounded that memorable European run of 2003.
Celtic v Stuttgart, Europa League knockout phase play-off first leg, kicks off at Celtic Park at 8pm GMT is live on Premier Sports in Ireland and TNT Sports in Britain.
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