셀타의 역사 파트4 : 영광과 비참함

The 2000-2001 was Celta’s best season to that day, as Makelele’s transfer to Real Madrid for more than 12.000.000 € let Celta sign important players like Catanha, Rogerio Vagner  or Edu. In the league, the team finished in 6^th position after achieving a 7wins 4 draws and 1 loss in the last 12 weeks of the season. In the UEFA Cup Celta defeated teams like Red Star and Stuttgart, but lost in quarter finals against Barcelona in a tight match up. The glory came again in the King’s Cup, where, after defeating Barcelona, and avenge UEFA Cup loss, in semifinals, they loss the final against Zaragoza again after getting ahead with a goal by Mostovoi. That was the last time Celta has been in the final game of a competition.

The next season seemed to start Celta’s doom, as many internal problems with players didn’t let Celta play as well as they used to, and they got eliminated in the UEFA Cup on the early stages. That was the last season Victor Fernandez coached Celta, and the Club again risked by signing a relatively unknown coach, Miguel Angel Lotina. The next season with Miguel Angel Lotina in Ccharge was Celta’s best season position wise, with the team qualified for the Champions League. Celta was keeping the same team structure and players, but those players were getting old. The arrival of Mido in the winter transfer market changed Celta’s fate, as the Egyptian striker became Celta’s star in the six months he spent in Vigo.

The next season, Celta had to play Champions League preliminary round against Slavia Prague and they defeated their rival by a 3-2 aggregate. The bad start in the league was compensated by an excellent run in the Champions League, where they finished 2^nd in a group with Milan, Ajax and Brugges. They achieved classification after a last minute goal in San Siro by José Ignacio. The bad results continued in the league, and left the team on the edge of relegation. Miguel Angel Lotina was sacked and replaced by experienced Radomir Antic, who, despite the good start, resigned after being eliminated by Arsenal in the Champions League. Celta tried to overcome the situation, with the team in last position, with a tandem of coaches from the Academy. They got good numbers, but could not prevent Celta from being relegated.

The next season Celta lost many key players who did not want to play in the second division. With a renovated team, and with Galician coach Fernando Vazquez in charge,  the team achieved promotion in the very same season after an excellent second part of the season.

Celta built an interesting team for his return to First division with players like Fernando Baiano and David Silva. Celta became the breake through team finishing 6^th that season and achieved UEFA qualification that season. The next year Celta lost Sergio Fernandez and David Silva, and hired Nene and Tamas. Celta had a good run that season on the UEFA Cup onbly defeated by Werder Bremen, but the league was other history. A string of bad results at home condemned Celta to the last positions on the table and the arrival of Hristo Stoichkov as a manager could not prevent Celta from being relegated once again.

Players who played that time:

Jose Mauel Pinto: before arriving at Barcelona Jose Manuel Pinto had a long run at Celta, where he became one of the best keepers of the league, being awarded so two times at Celta.

David Silva: Celta made a move for Silva after watching the dynamic midfielder play at Eibar on loan from Valencia. Silva had no experience at first level, but became Celta’s player of the season. He went back to Valencia and became the star he is now.

Fernando Baiano: the Brazilian striker was the surprise of the seaon, as he showed potential to be one of the top strikers of the division. His lack of compromise was a key factor on his low profile, but was regarded as an exquisite player.

Angel Lopez: the right defender arrived at Celta and took the spot that previously had Salgado and Velasco, and became Celta’s thirs Right Defender to become Spanish International. He is still in active playing in the first division, but has never been called up for the national team again after leaving Celta.

Catanha: One of the most controversial players to play for Celta. His good numbers made Celta buy the Brazilian striker for the highest fee in Celta’s history 15.000.000 €. He was never worth that money, as he was a good striker, but not enough to had that value, and that always played against him with the supporters.