IT was little wonder that Brendan Rodgers baulked when he was quizzed about the comparisons which have been made between him and Jock Stein ahead of the William Hill Scottish Cup final as he sat and chatted to the media at Hampden yesterday.
Rodgers had attended the gala concert in honour of Stein’s most famous team at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow city centre on Thursday night and was reminded of the magnitude of their finest accomplishment.
It was the 50th anniversary of the Lisbon Lions’ historic 2-1 victory over Inter Milan this week and the Parkhead club made sure the momentous occasion was marked accordingly.
Taking 11 players who hailed from within a 30 mile radius of their stadium and turning them into champions of Europe is something which was remarkable at the time and which will never be achieved by any coach at Celtic, or at any other club for that matter, in the future.
No matter what success Rodgers and his side go on to enjoy, in either domestic or continental competition, in the years to come, what Stein and his fabled team somehow pulled off will always be unsurpassable.
Still, should Celtic prevail against Aberdeen in their final fixture of a truly remarkable 2016/17 campaign this afternoon the triumph will go down in history and be remembered for years to come. What is more, the man responsible will be lionized as an all-time great.
It was unreasonable to expect Scott Brown and his fellow players to honour their revered forebears half a century after their finest hour by challenging the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus, Monaco and Real Madrid for the Champions League in the past 10 months.
However, going the entire domestic season undefeated and completing what would only be the fourth treble their 129 year existence would be a fitting tribute to Billy McNeill and his team mates. That, after all, was something which not even they, for all their many strengths, managed.
The unbeaten run started with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle in the Ladbrokes Premiership way back on August 7 and has continued for another 45 games. It is disrespectful to Scottish football, to Aberdeen in particular, to dismiss the extended streak of form, as many have, due to the standard of football in this country, the larger budget which Rodgers has for players or to the diminished state of Rangers. But what has made this incredible vein of form so noteworthy is that it has been achieved playing football that has been a delight to watch. Rodgers’s men have been robust at the back, dominant in midfield, inventive going forward and ruthless up front.
Like Stein’s side before them, they have entertained. It is that of which Rodgers deserves most praise and should be most proud.
However long he stays in Glasgow – and he signed a new contract that keeps him there until 2021 last month – he will forever hold a place in the affection of the support for the style of play Celtic have produced under him. His opposite number Derek McInnes may well be moving on following the final today whether his side win or lose. His achievements with Aberdeen were always going to attract interest from further afield and he has been installed by bookmakers as one of the favourites to succeed Davie Moyes at Sunderland.
Being defeated by Celtic for the sixth time this season will be no disgrace and will not impact upon his chances of being appointed at the Stadium of Light one iota.
But he may just be in with a chance of departing Pittodrie on a high.
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