Erik Sviatchenko is currently living the American dream in the land of the stars and stripes. However the former Celtic defender will never forget his stint in the hoops.

The Denmark international spent two-and-a-half years in Glasgow's east end and waltzed off with two titles, a Scottish Cup, a League Cup and a tag that money can't buy: Invincible.

Sviatchenko – who now plies his trade for Houston Dynamo in the MLS – admits that he will cast an eye on Sunday's proceedings at Hampden Park as Celtic take on Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final.

He will allow his mind to drift back to that fateful day in April 2016 when his beloved Hoops lost to Mark Warburton's Championship side on penalties as Ronny Deila's men fell at the penultimate hurdle.

Sviatchenko suffered with his team-mates at the national stadium on that afternoon but his own career was just about to take off after he scored the first equaliser for Celtic as the match ended in a 2-2 draw.

The 31-year-old leapt to head home into the top corner following corner kick. Despite the result, it was the moment that catapulted him into football fame and launched his career into the stratosphere.

"That goal at Hampden against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 2016 was really when my football career started,” Sviatchenko told TCW. “It was a great feeling as I felt in that moment that this club was so big, I grasped right away that the historical aspect of this game meant more to them than anything else.

"That launched me to the moon from my perspective, I really enjoyed that moment. I know Celtic eventually lost the game on penalties in the end – and that still hurts a bit – but I still cannot comprehend how big a thing it is to score a goal for Celtic against Rangers in any match. To do it at Hampden Park is something quite special.

"The day was divided in joy and despair as the goal was great but how could we lose to a Rangers team who were in the league below, right?”

Sviatchenko's hurt was only temporary because after Deila's exit in the summer of 2016 Celtic hired Brendan Rodgers. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Hoops won the domestic treble the following season without losing a game. They beat Rangers in both the League Cup and Scottish Cup semi-finals along the way as well as recording a 5-1 win over their rivals at Parkhead. That latter match featured Moussa Dembele netting a perfect hat-trick, the first treble in a league game against the Ibrox side since Stevie Chalmers in 1966.

Life was sweet for the great Dane who, after playing 43 games that season, would forever be known as an Invincible.

Truth be told Sviatchenko should actually have two precious Glasgow Derby strikes his name – and both should have been at the national stadium. However, referee Craig Thomson denied him a goal after alleging that he had fouled Rangers defender Clint Hill in the lead up to a deft header hitting the back of the net in the 2017 League Cup semi-final.

It was, it must be said, a ridiculous decision then and time is not a great healer for the Dane.

"Whenever I look back on those Celtic days I tell my son that I played against Lionel Messi and I scored for Celtic against Rangers at Hampden,” Sviatchenko added. “These are wonderful moments in my career – but I should actually have two career goals against Rangers.

“It was never a foul on Clint Hill in that League Cup semi-final. There is no contact as the Rangers defender just appears to hit the ground but the referee ruled in his favour. There was no infringement. I will be having words with him when I see him again as I am not best pleased with that decision!

"When we met Rangers in the league the season after the semi-final defeat we beat them 5-1 at Celtic Park which was perfect. We beat them 2-1at Ibrox and we also beat them 2-0 in the Scottish Cup semi-final although I didn't play in that match.

"The invincible season is the stuff of dreams and legend and to win all three competitions by not losing a game is a phenomenal achievement in any league. When people remind me that my name is on the invincible roll of honour I get goosebumps.

Celtic Way:

"It is incredible. It is a footballing achievement that is so underrated in places other than Scotland. When I tell people back home in Denmark and that I am an invincible treble winner they always ask me ‘what is that?’ I tell people all the time that they should come with me to Glasgow and I will walk you around and you will see how the invincible team is held in such high esteem.

"It is great to look back upon and it makes me incredibly happy and content. I was doing a show in Denmark and I was to pick my favourite ever XI that I had played with in my career and I couldn't help but put the likes of Scott Sinclair, Moussa Dembele and Stuart Armstrong… they all went straight into the team.

"There was a funny story with Stuart in that he wasn't playing at the start of the invincible season and he told me that he wanted to play in the Premier League in England one day. I told him it might be difficult to crack England because he wasn't getting a game in Scotland!

"Anyway he came on in the 5-1 game and scored the fifth goal and never looked back after that. It changed everything for him in a heartbeat. He finally got his move to Southampton in 2018 and he has been there ever since doing great things.

“That's football. If you work hard enough you can achieve things. Football can change for the better or the worse in an instant and you need to be aware of that."

Football changed very much for the better while Sviatchenko was at Celtic under Rodgers. He reckons there are similarities between when the Northern Irishman inherited the reins in 2016 and when Ange Postecoglou picked up the managerial cudgels in the summer of 2021.

"The structure at the club was fractured by the end of Ronny Deila's reign and we needed Rodgers to come in and steer us back on the right path,” he said. “That's when you saw the full potential of Celtic and how they could achieve great things.

"I can see and sense the same atmosphere now at the club under Ange Postecoglou. When Rodgers came in he noticed our body language when we lost that Scottish Cup semi-final to Rangers and when we walked onto the pitch he said that we weren't a team, that we were not together as we were all dressed differently and looked distant from each other.

READ MORE: Why Tomoki Iwata could be Celtic's Scottish Cup semi-final ace in the hole

“Rodgers made us a team again, he unified everybody in the same direction. Postecoglou has done exactly the same with this Celtic team – there is no doubt that this side know what to do as they are performing to the highest level every week.

"The Japanese contingent are playing out of their skin and Callum McGregor is constantly stepping up to the plate. I can relate to that. After being at a club for so many years you just want to perform well and as the captain of the team you just want to be the best, you have to be the best every single season.”

Although he has loved watching the Australian's team raise the bar this campaign, Sviatchenko admits for purely selfish reasons that he wants the Invincibles to remain the proud owners of the Celtic side that gained the most points in a league season.

Rodgers men reached an incredible 106 and Postecoglou's side would have to win their last five remaining Premiership encounters to eclipse that total by a solitary point.

"I saw Celtic's league points tally of 92 and that's an amazing statistic,” he added. “I know that if they win their last five league matches they will beat our total by one point.

"Obviously I am biased but I actually want Celtic to lose one match out of the last five so that the Invincibles hold on to that record for a little bit longer.”

As for Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final showdown at Hampden Park, Sviatchenko possesses no doubts there: his former charges can take one step closer to glory and an unprecedented eighth domestic treble.

"Celtic are on such an amazing run,” he said. “When you are a team like that and you are so hard to beat, the worst-case scenario is a draw. If you foster that winning mentality in the dressing room – which both Rodgers and Postecoglou have done – then you are already one step ahead of your rivals.

"I want Celtic to win an eighth treble and create more history. It is utter madness to hear those kind of numbers being bandied about and that no club has ever completed the domestic clean sweep eight times shows you how hard it is.

“I will be cheering on Celtic to Hampden glory come Sunday."