Slovan Bratislava manager makes Rangers admission before facing Celtic

Most Celtic fans would not have known much about Slovan Bratislava before the Hoops were drawn to face the Slovakian team in the Champions League. Brendan Rodgers' side will kick off their European campaign against them at Parkhead. And in what is a rare sight these days, they are being considered the favourites going into the match.

Celtic cannot afford to make the mistake of taking their opponents lightly though. Especially as Slovan Bratislava manager, Vladimir Weiss, has pulled off an incredible upset against the Hoops in the past.

He was the manager of the FC Artmedia team that won 5-0 against Celtic back in 2005. It would be safe to say that Hoops fans do not want to be reminded of that result.

That is not the only history that the Weiss family has with Celtic though. His son, Vladimir Jr, played for and won a double with the Rangers, while on loan from Manchester City. He is currently the captain of Slovan Bratislava.

Slovan Bratislava manager makes Rangers admission before facing Celtic

Weiss Jr has had a decent career for sure. Other than Manchester City and the Rangers, he has also played for teams like Espanyol and Olympiacos. He has also represented the Slovakia national team on almost 80 occasions.

Through all this, Weiss Jr appears to have retained a soft spot for the Ibrox club. As reported by The Herald, Weiss Sr said about his son:

"All our lives we've been talking about Celtic and Rangers.

"My son played for Rangers and he's a fan. He's a Rangers fan and tomorrow he will face Celtic, their biggest arch rival.

"When he was here at Rangers, they won the double. So he has the best memories. And the derby with Celtic is the best. It's the top. He had a great time and tomorrow he will play Celtic again. But tomorrow he will be playing Celtic again for Slovan and we'll see how it goes."

It looks like there is more history associated with this game than most people had realised coming into it. Now, it remains to be seen if Celtic can get a positive result on the night.

Anything other than a win would be disappointing. If Celtic are hoping to make it to the next stage of the competition, they have to get the better of teams like Slovan Bratislava, with all due respect to the Slovakian side.