'Shocking!' - The Celtic horror decision that led to qualifying plan

The draw was supposedly kind to Celtic, being drawn against Italians Juventus, an emerging Porto - who would go on to defeat Celtic in the UEFA Cup final in 2003 and win the Champions League in 2004 - and the so-called Norwegian minnows Rosenborg. What transpired in the group was something else entirely.

It all started on Matchday One. Celtic rallied from 0-2 down in the Stadio Delle Alpi in Turin against the Old Lady only to be undone by a last-gasp Nicola Amoruso penalty. That strike handed Juve an undeserved 3-2 victory after the same player had cheated by diving theatrically in the box with Joos Valgaeren in close vicinity and German referee Helmut Krug inexplicably bought the foul. There was no VAR back then to bail Celtic out. O'Neill was also sent to the stands on a night which prompted one of his most famous post-match TV interviews when he ranted the word 'Shocking!' over and over again in stunned disbelief to the cameras.

There was also the lingering thought that the failure to secure a precious point against Juventus could come back to haunt Celtic when push came to shove. However any sense of injustice only served to fuel Celtic and they reeled off three impressive home victories against all of their opponents (Porto 1-0, Rosenborg 1-0, and Juventus 4-3). In fact, Celtic’s win over the Turin aristocrats on Matchday Six is still ranked as one of the best matches of the tournament and repeatedly heralded by many of the faithful as one of the best-ever matches. As exits from the greatest club competition on earth go. It was as heroic as it gets.

Back then Celtic had reached a record number of points (9!) for a team not to progress through to the knockout phase of the Champions League. The Scottish champions had finished third in the table but there was no UEFA Cup parachute at this juncture. How Celtic were made to pay by the German official's ineptitude after being robbed of a precious point on their travels in Italy.

The more things change, the more things stay the same and there is a general consensus in European football especially at the highest levels that Celtic tend to win all their home games and lose all their away games. It's a trend and pattern that certainly seemed to be true under O'Neill anyway. Fortress Celtic Park has long since shed that tag.

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Under O'Neill, the likes of Juventus, Porto, Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, VfB Stuttgart, Valencia, Bayern Munich, Lyon, Anderlecht, Barcelona and Villarreal among others all came to Celtic Park and didn't win. Of those opposition teams listed only Munich and Villarreal picked up draws. Everybody knew they were in a game when they visited Glasgow's East End. O'Neill's side were a match for anybody. It didn't matter if you were a European heavyweight. Reputations meant nothing. There were no better sights in football than a rocking Celtic Park on a Champions League night during the O'Neill era.

In the here and now, Celtic's recent record on the European stage is nothing to write home about. CFR Cluj, FC Copenhagen, Ferencvaros, Sparta Prague and Bodo/Glimt have all claimed Celtic's scalp at home. None of them have the history or European pedigree that Celtic have - yet all have turned the men in green and white over in their own backyard.

It will be 10 years in October since Celtic last tasted victory in a Champions League encounter at home. You have to go all the way back to 22nd October 2013, when Celtic bested Ajax 2-1 in the group stage -  but they still finished fourth after being drawn with Barcelona and AC Milan. It's a record O'Neill would certainly have a word to describe.

However, even after one Champions League Group E game in this year's competition, the match-up against Serie A outfit Lazio at Celtic Park on October 4 is already shaping up to be a must-win game. Although Celtic have recent form against the Italians after Neil Lennon's team defeated them home and away in the Europa League in 2019.  A terrific team display stunned the Romans courtesy of a last-minute Christopher Jullien goal at Parkhead and then a 95th-minute stoppage-time winner by Olivier Ntcham in the Stadio Olimpico. The victory saw Celtic advance to the knockout stage of the Europa League with two games to spare as Lennon masterminded the club first first-ever win on Italian soil. It was a great achievement then and still is now, remaining the highlight of Celtic's European exploits in recent memory.

That's why the home form is going to be so crucial to Celtic in what is going to be a cut-throat Champions League Group E. A home win against Lazio would certainly throw Celtic back into the equation and leave the Italians in a tough situation.

This brings me back rather neatly to Rodgers' comments. If Celtic are to get to "the last game with Feyenoord at home with everything to play for", then they are going to have to do what O'Neill's team did back in their Champions League campaign of 2001/02 and win all their home games. Those two fixtures against Lazio and Atletico Madrid have now become pivotal.

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There could yet be a wonderful twisted and poetic irony and logic in all of this. Wouldn't it be great if Rodgers' boys did emulate O'Neill's men and somehow go one better by gaining a point in Italy to amass 10 and qualify for the knockout phase?

Just think how satisfying would it be to get revenge for 'The Old Lady, Amoruso, Hellmut Krug and all that' more than two decades on from a night that still rankles with supporters of a certain vintage. Like the Murphys, yours truly is not bitter...

Hope springs eternal. Make no mistake Celtic's fate in Group E will be determined by their home form. End of. They simply have to target three wins against Lazio, Atletico Madrid and Feyenoord at Celtic Park. End of.

Rodgers needs to channel the spirit of O'Neill's class of 2001/02 and rock Celtic Park to its foundations once again. If they were to pull off a sensational three Champions League wins in Glasgow and collate nine points from Group E then they would certainly not be exiting stage left this time around- would they? Surely history couldn't repeat itself. 

In the immortal utterance of O'Neill that would truly be too 'Shocking!' to contemplate.