2 wins in 23 game
Celtic crashed out of the Champions League after defeat to Lazio on Tuesday night as they exited European football all together on another dismal night in the competition. Celtic have dominated Scottish football across the last decade but they’ve been unable to transfer those results onto the European stage and they’ve remarkably not recorded a Champions League victory in six years, since a 3-0 triumph over Anderlecht.
Rodgers failed Celtic target and Liverpool parallel
Rodgers masterminded Celtic to victory over Anderlecht in 2017 – which ended a four-year wait for a win in the competition – in his previous spell at Parkhead and he targeted improving their European record when he replaced Ange Postecoglou this summer. “European football is all about trying to get as far as we can in whatever competition we are in,” Rodgers declared in pre-season. “When we arrive at the Champions League, our ambition is to qualify out of the group stage. That is a huge challenge but it is a challenge that we will embrace. If not then we want to ensure that we secure European football after Christmas and go as far as we possibly can.”
Rodgers reiterated his desire to improve Celtic’s results in Europe upon his return, but he ultimately failed to achieve his target of securing European football next year. The Northern Irishman won every domestic trophy available during his first spell in Glasgow but he failed to make an impact in Europe and his record in the Champions League with Celtic is abysmal. The aforementioned win over Anderlecht is his only victory in 17 group stage games with Celtic, losing 12. The financial disparity between Celtic and other teams in Champions League holds legitimacy and their squad value of €126.65 is, by some distance, the lowest in Group E and less than half of Lazio.
Rodgers, however, has also managed Liverpool in the competition and they massively underperformed during the 2014/15 season. Liverpool failed to progress from their group finishing behind Real Madrid and Basel in third place. While Celtic’s squad valuation was comfortably the lowest of their group this season, Liverpool’s total market value of €877.3m was more than 20 times higher than Swiss side Basel – just €33.8m.
Celtic manager’s fail to replicate Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan’s European success
Ahead of this season, Rodgers and his predecessor Postecoglou reigned supreme in Scotland, winning 15 of a possible 16 trophies but their Champions League records don’t compare favorably to previous Celtic managers. Rodgers has amassed 0.41 points per game (ppg) in the competition with Celtic, while Postecoglou failed to record a single win across six group stages games and two qualifiers. Neil Lennon was the last Celtic manager to enjoy success in the Champions League as he led them to the last 16 with a successful group stage campaign featuring a memorable win over Barcelona.
Lennon’s predecessor Gordon Strachan enjoyed huge success in the Champions League as he led Celtic to the knockout stages in 2006/07 and 2007/08. Despite Strachan’s unquestionable success with Celtic in the Champions League, Martin O’Neill actually boasts the best ppg record (1.17), but the Northern Irishman never progressed from the group stages in three attempts – although he did reach the UEFA Cup final in 2003. While Celtic are heavy favourites to retain their Scottish Premiership crown this season, Rodgers will be fully aware that his European record will come under scrutiny next season, if it doesn’t improve considerably.
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