The last time Celtic were in the Europa League, Ange Postecoglou was their manager. The Hoops are now set to travel to Serbia to take on Red Star Belgrade in their opening game in the competition. Incidentally, the Australian finds himself back in the mix as well, despite having won it the last season with Tottenham Hotspur.
The newly appointed Nottingham Forest manager will face Real Betis. Of course, that opposition will bring up some memories for Celtic fans as well.
For many, it was in the away game against Real Betis that the fans believed that Celtic could do something of note under the management of Postecoglou. They lost that game in Spain but won the reverse fixture at home 3-2, despite playing a weakened side.
Postecoglou was recently speaking about his experience of managing Celtic in Europe, something that is a highlight for most managers who find themselves in the Parkhead hot seat. It appears to have been no different for the Aussie legend as well. He told the Daily Mirror (via 67 Hail Hail):
"I had two years at Celtic, where we were in Europe as well. It’s a great experience."
Ange Postecoglou makes superb Celtic claim heading into Europa League
Celtic fans do have some decent memories of European football under the management of Postecoglou as well. That debut season, they picked up nine points in the group round and were unlucky not to make it through.
They would drop down to the Conference League and were drawn against Bodo/Glimt. We might not have known back then but Kjetil Knutsen was building something special there and Celtic could not keep up. If the Hoops do find themselves in search of a manager next summer, he might be someone worth considering for sure.
In the following season, Postecoglou would manage Celtic in the Champions League, the club's return to the competition after missing out for more than half a decade. And while they did not have much success in terms of results, it was a positive experience regardless. The Hoops outplayed Real Madrid at home in the first half, and perhaps should have gotten a win or two if they had managed games better.
Celtic now find themselves back in the Europa League. And the minimum expectation is to make it to the next round. Perhaps they might even come up against Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest at some point.