may2004

Graeme Souness has revealed how Henrik Larsson turned down a move to Blackburn - because of the weather.

Seven years in Glasgow with Celtic have apparently left the Swedish hitman craving a move to a hot climate.

Larsson, who lifted the Scottish Cup with Celtic on Saturday, has still to decide where he will play next season.

Souness told the Express: "It would have been a fantastic signing for us. But Henrik told me he wanted to go somewhere it was sunny.

Chris Sutton admits the close season has become a time of worry for Celtic players who fear Martin O'Neill may be snapped up by another club.

The Hoops boss has long been linked with a move back to the Premiership and is seen by many as a potential successor to Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.

But the uncertainty over Gerard Houllier's future at Liverpool means O'Neill is currently being forced to deal with rumours that he could be set for a switch to Anfield.

The Northern Irishman saw his stock rise even further this weekend when he added the Tennent's Scottish Cup to the SPL to secure the double for Celtic.

The Parkhead club are already coming to terms with losing star striker Henrik Larsson and his fellow striker Sutton admits speculation that O'Neill could follow him is a concern.

He said: "It is always a worry. He has been linked with everyone again and we just have to wait and see."

Wednesday 19th May 2004

10.00

Celts in Gothenburg.

Radio Scotland sport this morning reported a fair number of Celtic fans in Gothenburg for tonight’s UEFA Cup Final between Valencia and Marseille.

The reporter saying that he saw as many Celtic fans in the city as fans of both teams taking part albeit the day prior to the final taking place.

The official UEFA website is reporting that some 11,000 fans from each club are expected in Sweden's second city.

Somehow I expect Celtic would have had significantly more than 11,000 in Gothenburg had we got to the final for the second year in a row.

Wednesday 19th May 2004

10.00

O'Neill snubs Tottenham (report from this is London website)

Tottenham's search for a new manager suffered a severe setback last night when they were turned down by Martin O'Neill.

Sources close to Spurs were adamant last week that Celtic boss O'Neill would take on the challenge of resurrecting the north London club.

But they have yet to come up with a sufficiently attractive deal and must substantially increase their offer if they are to land the highly-regarded 52-year-old.

Thursday 13th May 2004

12.33

Countdown to Henrik's departure.

Only three games left now until Henrik depart's Celtic Park for good, the home matches against Dundee United, Seville and of course the cup final against Dunfermline on the 22nd May 2004 at Hampden Park.

Enjoy it while you can.

There's a sneaking suspicion however that he will return with his new club to play in a challenge match at Celtic Park, you heard it here first.

Tuesday 11th May 2004

18.50

Another Brazilian for Celtic Park?

Brazilian striker Marcio Amoroso has started a week-long trial with Celtic.

The 29-year-old left Borussia Dortmund last month when his contract was terminated following a series of rows with club officials.

Amoroso, who joined Dortmund for 18 million pounds from Italian club Parma in 2001, suffered a knee ligament injury last September and has not played a competitive match since.

He has also played for Udinese, Guarani, Flamengo and Verdy Kawasaki(Japan). He has also represented Brazil on the international level scoring 9 goals in 15 appearences.
He had his best season with Udinese in 1998 scoring 22 goals in 33 matches.

Tuesday 11th May 2004

13.50

Rivaldo favours Celtic

Rivaldo has hinted he will snub a move to Bolton to join SPL champions Celtic.

Celtic are also said to be considering a £3m raid for another ex-Boro target, Southampton striker Kevin Phillips.

Sat 8 May, 2004

05:43

Celtic seek six of best in Old Firm derby.

Celtic will record a sixth straight victory against Rangers for the first time in 89 years if they win the final Glasgow derby of the season today.

Martin O'Neill's side secured their 39th title with a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock last month but the latest Old Firm clash presents an opportunity to inflict another morale-sapping defeat upon their closest rivals.

"There is no such thing as a meaningless Old Firm match," said O'Neill, whose side go for a double in the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic on May 22 at Hampden Park.

Rangers trail Celtic by 13 points with three games left, but will want to avoid further ignominy having relinquished the treble of championship, League Cup and Scottish Cup they won last year.

"Celtic's momentum over the last four years has grown stronger and stronger," Rangers manager Alex McLeish said. "It is the way you would want any of your teams to be -- together for a period of time so that they have an understanding of playing together."

McLeish's side must look to a 3-2 home win over Celtic on December 7, 2002 for their last Old Firm success in the league, while they last beat Celtic in any competition on March 16, 2003 -- a 2-1 League Cup final victory.

Celtic last achieved six consecutive wins against Rangers between January 1912 and October 1915 under their long-serving manager Willie Maley.

Rangers managed six successive wins between 1963-1964, which included a seasonal sweep of five, while they also notched up four league wins on their way to equalling Celtic's record of nine successive titles in 1996/97.

The blue half of Glasgow will be hoping Celtic continue their indifferent recent form, which has brought them just two wins in their last eight outings, as Rangers seek their first win at Parkhead in the fixture since Rod Wallace scored in a 1-0 win in March 2000.

"It is about time we got a win over them and from my point of view it would be great to sign off with a victory at Parkhead," said Dutch striker Ronald de Boer, who will end a four-year spell at Rangers by moving to Qatar during the close season.

Friday 07th May 2004

16.00

Petrov may miss Old Firm showdown

Stilian Petrov is a doubt for the clash with Rangers after suffering a recurrence of the ankle injury picked up on duty for Bulgaria.

The midfielder returned to training this week but he pulled out early on Friday after feeling the problem again.

Jackie McNamara, Joos Valgaeren, Bobo Balde and Didier Agathe have also returned to training and are pushing for places in the SPL clash.

Celtic (from): Marshall, Agathe, Varga, Balde, Mjallby, Miller, Lennon, Smith, McGeady, Beattie, Larsson, Douglas, Sylla, Lambert, McManus, Sutton, Thompson, McNamara, Valgaeren, Petrov, Wallace.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has confirmed his interest in signing Brazilian midfielder Rivaldo.

The World Cup winner was set to complete a move to Bolton but has yet to sign after talks.

O'Neill said: "I wouldn't want to give bookmakers odds and it might be a move of great difficulty but he is a class player that we would be looking to buy."

Celtic's conquerors Villarreal crashed out of the UEFA cup tonight going down 1-0 on aggregate to Valencia. Valencia will now meet Monaco in the final after they disposed of Newcastle, the score on the night and on aggregate was Monaco 2 Newcastle 0.

Henrik Larsson's return to the international scene is complete after Sweden became the first country to name their squad for Euro 2004.

Celtic star Larsson revealed his intention to return to the international fold last week, and the Swedes have wasted little time in confirming his presence.

Larsson joins fellow British-based stars Freddie Ljungberg, Olof Mellberg, Johan Mjallby, Tobias Linderoth, Marcus Allback, Michael Svensson and Anders Svensson in the 23-man party.

Sweden's squad in full for Euro 2004: Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (Djurgarden), Magnus Hedman (Ancona), Magnus Kihlstedt (FC Copenhagen), Erik Edman (Heerenveen), Teddy Lucic (Bayer Leverkusen), Olof Mellberg (Aston Villa), Johan Mjallby (Celtic), Michael Svensson (Southampton), Andreas Jakobsson (Brondby), Erik Wahlstedt (Helsingborg), Petter Hansson (Heerenveen), Anders Andersson (Belenenses), Kim Kallstrom (Rennes), Tobias Linderoth (Everton), Fredrik Ljungberg (Arsenal), Mikael Nilsson (Halmstad), Anders Svensson (Southampton), Christian Wilhelmsson (Anderlecht), Pontus Farnerud (Racing Strasbourg), Marcus Allback (Aston Villa), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Ajax), Mattias Jonsson (Brondby), Henrik Larsson (Celtic).

Celtic goalkeeper Robert Douglas will attempt to cure a long-standing thigh injury with an operation during the summer.

The Scotland number one has been feeling pain during and after matches and after seeking advice from an English-based consultant he has agreed to go under the knife.

But Douglas still hopes to play in the Tennent's Scottish Cup final as the surgery will not go ahead until days after the end-of-season clash with Dunfermline at Hampden Park.

Manager Martin O'Neill has already ruled Wales striker John Hartson out of a dramatic return for the May 22 showdown despite making a speedy recovery from a back operation.

He has been told to set his sights on returning for the start of pre-season training along with Ulrik Laursen, who is progressing steadily after a shoulder problem.

But O'Neill's injury list is clearing up ahead of the short trip across town to the national stadium.

Stilian Petrov, Jackie McNamara and Joos Valgaeren are back in training after missing the league defeat against Dunfermline, and Bobo Balde and Didier Agathe could also come into contention for Saturday's final Old Firm game of the season at Parkhead.

John Kennedy and Shaun Maloney will not play again for some time but the latter hopes to travel to America with the rest of the first-team squad for their pre-season tour.

Hugh Dallas will be the man in the middle of the Old Firm action as he takes charge of the last clash between the two this season.

Scotland's top ref has been appointed to take charge of the Premier League match on Saturday between Celtic and Rangers which will be shown live on BBC with a 12.30pm kick-off.

Porto have made it through to the Champions League Final in Gelsenkirchen after they defeated Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 in Spain earlier tonight. The only goal of the game came when Brazilian striker Derlei, recalled to the competition after a five-month injury lay-off, converted a 59th-minute penalty to decide the tie.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill accepted substantial undisclosed libel damages on Tuesday over a newspaper allegation that he was joining Liverpool.

His solicitor, Paul Hackney, told Mr Justice Eady at London's High Court that the article in The Daily Record, in February last year, questioned Mr O'Neill's loyalty and commitment to Celtic, and his integrity.

The piece followed publication, in January 2003, of Mr O'Neill's express denial that he would be leaving Celtic and of his agreement to a new contract with his employers.

It stated that he had signed a legal document to join Liverpool and alleged that the agreement with the Merseyside club was concluded before Mr O'Neill announced the agreement of his new contract with Celtic.

Mr Hackney said that the allegations, which caused Mr O'Neill to issue further denials in the media, had caused him great distress and anxiety.

Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail Ltd had agreed to pay him substantial damages and his legal costs.

The newspaper's solicitor, Patrick Swaffer, confirmed its acceptance that the allegations were without foundation and offered its sincere apologies.

Celtic's Jackie McNamara has been voted the Scottish Football Writers' Association Player of the Year.

McNamara has played an integral role in Celtic's march to the league title, the Scottish Cup final and the quarter final of the Uefa Cup.

The versatile defender held off the challenges of team-mates Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton, who won the Players' Player of the year, in a close contest.