A battle of culture, colour, style and passion will descend on Dublin on Saturday as Barcelona take on Celtic in the International Champions Cup.
The European football landscape has changed hugely since the famous Lisbon Lions delivered Celtic’s historic European Cup win back in 1967. Back then, La Liga was in its 36th season and Real Madrid earned their 12th title by finishing seven points ahead of their rivals Barcelona. Unfortunately for the Catalan side, back in 1967, second place in the top league in Spain was not enough to qualify for the European Cup competition.
Meanwhile, back in Scotland, 49 years have past and Celtic have struggled to rekindle those glory days. The football scene is very different now and the newly re-branded Scottish Premiership has fallen down the European rankings. In fact, Saturday’s clash between Celtic and Barcelona comes sandwiched in between two crucial Champions League qualifiers for the Glasgow side.
Regardless of their divergent paths, both clubs are known for their passionate worldwide fan base and the famous names who have donned their distinctive jerseys.
There are some players who have had the rare opportunity to line out for both teams during their careers. Mostly notably was one of the greatest ever players and the current manager of Helsingborgs IF, Henrik Larsson. The now 44-year-old caused a huge stir when he joined Celtic in 1997 for just over half a million pounds.
He brought with him instant success as the Scottish side won the league for the first time in 10 years and the Scottish League Cup for the first time in 15 years. Larsson went on to win a further three league titles, two Scottish Cups and another Scottish League Cup during his seven years in Glasgow.
He also inspired his team to the Uefa Cup final in 2003, where he finished the competition as the second highest goal scorer behind Porto’s Brazilian striker Darlei. A year later, the Swedish striker joined Barcelona on a free transfer.
His time in Spain though was hampered by injury but the positive effect he had on the club and the players around him was widely documented. He received praise from famous names like Ronaldinho and Thierry Henry and he played a role in some crucial goals over the course of his 58 appearances.
A memorable goal came during the 2004 Champions League group stages when Larsson returned to Celtic Park for the first time as a Barcelona player. The Spanish giants were 2-1 up in the 62nd minute when they brought on the former Celt in place of Ronaldinho.
Larsson latched onto a poor defensive header from his former team mate Alan Thompson and scored to finally break Celtic’s unbeaten home record in the Champions League.
In his last ever match for Barcelona, the Helsingborg-born footballer was instrumental in helping his team defeat Arsenal and win the 2006 Champions League. It was the first time in 14 years that the club won Europe’s biggest prize.
Tenerife midfielder Marc Crosas is another rarity who donned both the hoops and the stripes. The Catalan-born 28-year-old is a self-confessed 'super fan' of both clubs and has had admitted to being torn when the sides met in the past.
However, unlike Larsson, he never played when the two sides met. Crosas spent six years emerging through the Barcelona youth ranks. He had initially trained in Scotland with a Barcelona USA tour squad in the summer of 2008 and, soon after, Celtic came calling. The Catalan club did keep an eye on Crosas during his time in Scotland as they had a buy-back clause as part of the initial transfer deal.
In his three years with the Glasgow side, Crosas made over 50 appearances and was even voted Celtic’s Young Player of the Season for 2008/09 by supporters. Along with that, he scored a beautiful goal from 30-yards out, which was eventually voted as Celtic’s Goal of the Season, during a 7-0 victory over St Mirren.
Not too long after Neil Lennon took over at Parkhead, Crosas lost his place in the first XI and eventually took the same route as fellow Celt Aiden McGeady and took a chance on playing in Russia.
Mexico International Efrain Juarez broke a record in 2010 when he became the first ever Mexican to play in the Scottish Premier League. However, it was the Catalan club that initially brought him to Europe.
Juarez had been involved in Mexico’s Under-17 World Championship success in 2005 when the Spanish giants brought him over as a youth. Although it did not work out for Juarez in Barcelona’s B side, he did secure a move back to the Pumas in Mexico but eventually returned to Europe, signing for Celtic in 2010.
The versatile midfielder got his Celtic career off to the perfect start by scoring in the Champions League and Europa League qualifiers. The early stages had looked promising for Juarez and many Celtic fans believed he would become a suitable replaced for Stillian Petrov, who at that time, had moved to Aston Villa.
Unfortunately, it didn’t last and the 28-year-old is back playing in Mexico for Monterrey.
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