A lot will be riding on the result of the upcoming game between Celtic and Feyenoord for both sides. The Hoops lost against FC Midtjylland in their previous outing in the competition, which left them sitting at 27th in the table, with four points to their name. On the other hand, the Dutch side are in 29th with three points.
So, both teams are in a terrible position in the competition. The automatic qualification hopes are already as good as over. But they will at least be targeting a playoff spot.
Celtic's struggles this season are well-documented. But Feyenoord are not having an easy time of it either. Entering this matchup, they have lost their previous three games and four of their last five across all competitions.
So, they will be eyeing a win this week, just like Celtic. But this fixture will be about more than just that for Feyenoord manager and Dutch footballing icon, Robin van Persie.
Robin van Persie makes classy claim about game vs Celtic
The Dutchman seems to have his mentor Wim Jansen in mind, heading into this contest. As reported by the Daily Record, van Persie said:
"Wim has been an icon for Dutch and Scottish football because of that year he had with Celtic. In this way, I feel we are playing a game tomorrow night which, in my opinion, is actually in honour of Wim Jansen.
“For me personally, I used to play in the youth team at Feyenoord Academy. The first thing I would always do, when I came onto the pitch, was look over to the corner flag on the left side of the clubhouse.
“That corner was always where Wim was. I always wanted to make sure he was there. Why? Because I only wanted to impress one person and that was Wim."
Of course, Jansen is considered an icon for Celtic as well. He was the one who stopped Rangers from doing 10IAR all those years ago and will forever be remembered at the club for that contribution alone.
So, in many ways, this game is indeed a tribute to Jansen. And someone of his magnitude certainly deserves it.
That won't be in the mind of the players during the 90 minutes though. Both teams will be looking to win and that's how it should be. We think that's how Jansen would have wanted it as well.