Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic showcased their superior ‘quality’ during the 4-2 pre-season victory over Banik Ostrava on Wednesday, the Czech club’s head coach Pavel Vrba tells O2 TV Sport.
You only have to look at the brilliance of Celtic’s first three goals in Ostrava to understand where Vrba is coming from. Three equally impressive, yet very different finishes.
The movement of James Forrest and Kyogo Furuhashi for the early equaliser, a spellbinding moment from Riley McGree’s wand of a left foot for number two, and a trademark acrobatic volley from the poacher extraordinaire that is Giorgios Giakoumakis.
“Conceding four goals is probably not ideal,” Vrba reflects, after Liel Abada put the finishing touches on an impressive performance.
“It was just a tough game for the defence. We came up against an opponent who won the Scottish league and qualified for the Champions League.
“Those teams have quality that is somewhere else. It’s very difficult when you play against an opponent who has individual quality that you don’t see against other opponents. And then the difference shows itself.”
Celtic beat Banik Ostrava 4-2 in pre-season
Veteran midfielder Nemanja Kuzmanovic, meanwhile, was not too disappointed after finding himself on the wrong end of a four-goal drubbing. Especially after being afforded the opportunity to witness the masterful Callum McGregor up close.
“It was great for us on to play against such players,” Kuzmanovic tells iSport.
“I have respect for them. They showed that they are completely different; Technically, and also in the organization of the game – how they are able to immediately press after losing the ball. They showed great quality.”
In addition to McGregor, it was Celtic’s style that caught Kuzmanovic’s eye. Postecoglou took the Scottish game by storm last season, turning a side who tended to plod around the pitch without a semblance of a gameplan during the final few months of the Neil Lennon era into one capable of asphyxiating any opposition with their unique brand of possession-based football.
“They weren’t as physical as when we used to watch the Scottish league,” he adds. “They tried to combine, they tried to play from the back. Classic island football – let’s kick it up a notch and go for a fight, nobody plays that much anymore. The opponent showed quality on the ball.
“Maybe captain Callum McGregor (was the best), with his experience on the ball. He didn’t panic when I ran up to him. Everyone there was a good footballer.”
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