UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE CELTIC V AALBORG:AT 61, Bruce Rioch can lay claim to being one of the Champions League's oldest debutants. Few managers have taken such a circuitous route onto European football's greatest stage.
This evening at Parkhead he arrives as coach of Aalborg, the relatively unknown Danish club who have the ominous task of stalling Celtic on a ground where they have been flawless in the Champions League group stage in the past two years.
Rioch's career has been on the wane since his appointment at Arsenal in 1995. Prior to then, he had won a strong reputation on account of progress at Middlesbrough and Bolton Wanderers - he is still revered by the latter club's supporters.
His single season at Arsenal was overshadowed by a dispute with the board over transfer funds and, notably, Ian Wright's transfer request after the prolific striker was deployed on the left wing. Yet Rioch is also the man credited with bringing David Platt and Dennis Bergkamp to Highbury.
Ill-fated periods at Norwich and Wigan followed, before a four-year exodus from football. Denmark supplied unlikely redemption. Rioch took charge of Odense between 2005 and 2007 prior to guiding into the Champions League an Aalborg side for whom the €38 million Manchester United paid for Dimitri Berbatov would finance staff and players for seven years.
The theory advanced by the Celtic manager, Gordon Strachan, that Rioch is now a better manager may be tested close to home in the not-too distant future. Rioch's Aalborg contract expires in December and he has aspirations of returning to Britain.
Meanwhile, Georgios Samaras has revealed he has no regrets about leaving Manchester City, now the world's richest club, for a place on the fringes at Celtic. "Celtic are a bigger club [than City]," stressed Samaras, whose two goals in Saturday's defeat of Motherwell ensure he has a good chance of starting tonight.
"Celtic is not just a football club. The important thing is not money, it is the mentality of the club."
Venue:Celtic Park Kick-off:7.45 On TV:Setanta Ireland, Sky Sports Xtra
- Guardian Service
