셀타의 역사 파트 3 : 유럽의 영광

In the 1996-1997 season Celta made a great investment trying to avoid fighting for relagation, as the used to do for the last 4 seasons. Management brought players like Richard Dutruel, Haim Revivo, Russian rising star Alexander Mostovoi, and world cup winner Mazinho. Despite all the economic efforts, the team, could not find a style of play, and avoid relegation in the final week of the competition. As a fact, in a game against Oviedo, and when Celta was losing, about ten minutes into the second half, Mostovoi headed to the bench without being substituted, with the intention to leave the pitch. Celta captain Patxi Salinas grabbed Mostovoi by the top, and made him come back to the pitch. At that moment, no one could predict what Mostovoi was going to mean for Celta, but as well that moment reflects the change of mentality in that team, cause that’s when they hit the bottom.

Next year, the team was managed by Javier Irureta, and there more additions to the previous squad of some internationally known players: Goran Djorovic, Jorge Cadete or Valery Karpin among others. That year Celta started to forge a reputation for a beautiful style of play, being touted as the surprise team that year. That same year, was the moment Alexander Mostovoi started to forge his legacy at Celta and in Spain, as the classiest player in the division. This year Celta achieves Uefa classification after 25 years of waiting.

But next year, archrivals Deportivo de la Coruna, signed Celta’s Coach Irureta, and there was the doubt if Celta was going to be able to find a replacement that will keep on making the same good football, so they signed Spanish rising coach Victor Fernandez. What seemed impossible, got even better, and Celta kept Champion League positions the whole seasons, and played a last game at home against Atletico de Madrid, where a draw will guarantee Celta a Champions League qualification. I remember that time very well, as I was living in Scotland and had to listen to the game through and old radio that was able to tune Spanish International Channel, and sadly heard how Solari scored a last minute goal to deny Celta’s qualification for the Champions League. One of the saddest days I remembered.

From that time until the 2002-2003 season, Celta achieved classification for the UEFA Cup, making some historic games that still remains in all Celta’s fans memories. Celta won a Uefa match up against Juventus after beating the Italians 4-0 in Balaidos, and they eliminated Benfica after scoring 7 goals at home, Benfica´s biggest defeat to the date. Other teams to taste defeat at the hands of Celta during that time are Liverpool and Aston Villa, so was the impact in the UK that The Times said Celta was playing the best football in Europe.

Alexander Mostovoi established himself as one of the five best players in the division, and took Celta to goals they had never dreamt. He was the captain, and until this day, he stills holds the record of games played with the Celta top on the first division. He played that kind of football only reserved for the great players, but it might be because of his difficult character that he could not get to a bigger team.

Apart from Alexander Mostovoi, there were many important players to have played during that time at Celta, and here are some examples:

Richard Dutruel: the French international goalkeeper arrived at Celta as one of the first players to come from that country. He joined Celta when he was reserve at PSG. He didn’t have a good start for Celta and struggled for the first two seasons before becoming one of the best keepers in Spain.  After  four seasons at Celta, he joined Barcelona, where he was unable to maintain a starter spot, and left after three years without playing.

Pablo Caballero: this Argentina international joined Celta after just one season at Espanol, and spend the next 4 years at Celta. He arrived to be Dutruel’s replacement and he became one of the team leaders in no time. He achieved best keeper of the year award twice while at Celta, but witnessed  the worst part of Celta’s history with relegation.

Michel Salgado: in the list, the only player to come from Celta’s Academy. Born in Vigo, Salgado started as a winger, but changed his position after a loan to Salamanca. The new position transformed Michel Salgado in the best 2 to play in Spain for a decade, holding that position in the national team. He was transferred to Real Madrid for a 12.000.000 € fee.

Juan Velasco: He came to replace Michel Salgado, and nobody though he was going to make us forget about him. When he signed for Celta, he was playing for Sevilla B team, and when he arrived to Vigo, he took the number 2 without any kind of doubts. He debuted with the National team, and was the natural replacement for Salgado when he got injured. Very good player with a tendency to injuries.

Goran Djorovic: as many Central defenders from Yugoslavia, Goran Djorovic had a beautiful touch of the ball, and made him one of the best assistants at Celta. He also was a tight marker, pairing with Caceres to create one of the toughest defenses in the division, making his keeper have the lowest goals received/games played ratio in the league. After being loved by the supporters, Djorovic did what no Celta player could do, sign for Deportivo de la Coruña on a free transfer, after rejecting Celta’s renewals offers.

Fernando Caceres: Caceres was signed from Zaragoza, and became Argentinian international after playing at a great level at Celta. Out of the duo with Djorovic, Caceres was the bad cop, in charge of playing some dirty football when needed. He became a fan favourite.

Claude Makelele: Makelele arrived at Vigo after spending his last season in France sitting on the bench. Nobody could think of what the small midfielder could achieve when he played his first game at Celta, but the amount of field covered by this player was amazing, making him a perfect partner for any midfielder. He could steal the ball, and before you knew, the ball was already off his feet into an unmarked team mate. He drew the attention of Real Madrid, who paid 15.000.000 € for his transfer before becoming a star at Madrid.

Mazinho: the best midfielder to have played in Vigo. This World Cup winner took Celta midfield since the first day he arrived, and played his best years in Spain at Celta. Only a knee injury, from which he never recovered, prevented him from finishing his career at Vigo. He tried to come back, but never came back as the same player.

Valery Karpin: Karpin had played for Real Sociedad before signing for Valencia, but he never played as many minutes as he did in San Sebastian, and Celta asked him on loan. The arrival of Karpin meant Mostovoi’s awakening, and the two Russians forged a legacy together at Celta. I don’t doubt that if Karpin had not come to Celta, Mostovoi would have never achieved what he did at Celta.

Haim Revivo: first and only player from Israel to have played for Celta. He became famous because he was signed by the President himself after watching a video tape, without any further scouting. Haim struggled in his first season, but exploded in the following ones, scoring unforgettable goals against teams like Aston Villa or Liverpool. Exquisite touch, it looked like he had the ball sewed to his boot.

 

Gustavo Lopez: Gustavo arrived from Zaragoza after Revivo’s departure, and achieved even greater glory that the Israel international. His strong personality and willingness made him a fan favourite. Quick with the ball on the feet, he had the capacity to score, netting more than 5 goals on every season despite playing as a winger. International with Argentina.

Luboslav Penev: the Bulgarian international was the best striker to arrive at Celta until that time. Exquisite with the ball on the feet, he adjusted very well to the 4-2-3-1 system that Celta was playing, and was key to give assists to his team mates, apart from scoring more than 15 goals.

Savo Milosevic : although he played just one season in Celta, he filled the spot left by Penev very well, as he is the same kind of striker, tall and with good touch of the ball. He continued taking Celta to glory in Europe before leaving Celta to join Osasuna.