Country Bhoys Slovakia

CELTIC Football Club is a name known throughout the football world, while in just about any country you care to mention, youre guaranteed to find Celtic supporters proudly wearing the green and white Hoops.

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This week it’s Slovakia

And as well as having universal appeal, the Celtic first-team squad has a global look to it, with players from 13 countries playing their part in the historic success the club has enjoyed in recent seasons.

Over the course of this season we’ll be taking a closer look at these countries and their current Celtic links, as well as other nations who have played their part in our unique story.

AND IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY

The Celts had previously visited what would become Czechoslovakia in 1904, 1906 and 1911 when it was still part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and returned in 1922 when it had adopted the ‘duopoly’ moniker, but on each occasion the Hoops never ventured on to what is now Slovakia. So the first time Celtic played on Slovakian soil was competitively in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup quarter-final of season 1963/64 when they played Slovan Bratislava. Thanks to a Bobby Murdoch penalty in the home leg, Celtic travelled there in the driving seat and when John Hughes scored in the 85th minute, the tie was all but over. A key member of the Slovan squad who didn’t play in the games was a certain Jozef Venglos, but there will be more about him later. Another Slovan player was named Moravcik – no relation, however.