TWENTY-TWO years ago tonight Celtic knocked Barcelona out of the UEFA Cup.
Alan Thompson’s goal in the first leg had given the hoops a flicker of hope in the Nou Camp but the odds were stacked against Martin O’Neill’s side.
True Celtic had reached the final of the UEFA Cup a year earlier but Barca were from the footballing elite.
Up there in the top 10, possibly the top five clubs in European football. Managed by Frank Rijkaard mixing the best of Dutch and Catalan talent together. With the bonus of Ronaldinho, probably the best player in the world in the first decade of this century.
Somehow Celtic got through the 90 plus minutes without losing a goal. They went through to the last eight of the competition.
Barcelona joined Teplice as victims of Celtic. Villarreal awaited in the quarter-final as Celtic aimed for back to back final appearances.
To reach the final in Seville Celtic had KNOCKED OUT Suduva, Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, Stuttgart, Liverpool and Boavista.
Clubs from Germany, England and Spain.
Since that dramatic night in the Nou Camp Celtic haven’t won a single UEFA knock out tie.
THE EUROPEAN DECLINE OF CELTIC
Across three competitions over 22 years Celtic have failed to win a single UEFA knock-out tie. The win over Barcelona was their eighth in 18 months as O’Neill raised the bar. In October 2003 Celtic appointed the glass ceiling.
Accountant Peter Lawwell became CEO in October 2003. Turnover for 2003/04 was £68.7m with the CEO paid £248,000 pro rata.
By 2018/19 Lawwell had taken his Celtic pay to £3.5m without the club winning a single UEFA knock out match.
His legacy lives on in Michael Nicholson, Celtic recently lost out to Stuttgart for a place in the last 16 of the Europa League. A 4-1 hammering at home in the first leg ensured another barren season.
One of the best results in Celtic’s history. To not concede a goal over two legs against a Barca side who were flying was immense.
— Stan Miguel (@babroo67) March 25, 2026
In 2004 the five-year-old Midtjylland club finished sixth in the Danish Superliga.
Tonight the Danes are in 52nd place in the UEFA Coefficient table, six above Celtic. With a stadium capacity of 12,000 Midtjylland have twice got the better of Celtic in European competition. In 2021 Ange Postecoglou had a bare bones squad for a Champions League qualifier, in November 2025 O’Neill was in a similar situation as the Danish club scored three first half goals before cruising through to a 3-1 victory.
In season 2003/04 Bodo Glimt finished in 12th place in the 14 team Norwegian Tippeligaen. They’ve not done badly since, their success isn’t solely down to having a plastic pitch. They have ambition and a plan.
MoN speaking after the game. pic.twitter.com/AYvBHUnoGO
— Celtic GIFs (@CelticGIFs) March 25, 2026
HOW BODO GLIMT SHOW UP CELTIC FAILINGS
Bodo beat Celtic in the 21/22 Conference League Round of 32.
Last season they reached the semi-final of the Europa League. Last week they were five minutes away from a place in the last eight of the Champions League.
During 2026 alone Bodo have beaten Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan twice and Sporting Lisbon over 90 minutes.
In November Ross Desmond scowled at Celtic shareholders about the changed European environment. Correct Ross, it has never been easier for an ambitious club to progress in UEFA competitions.
The new look Champions League is a gift to clubs outside of the five richest leagues. Qualify for four home and four away ties against a spread of clubs. No double headers against Barcelona, Manchester City, PSG or Bayern Munich.
Celtic’s social media team like to push out feel good stories to distract from the self sabotage that is going on at the moment. Eight defeats in 31 SPFL Premiership matches.
The November 2012 win over Barcelona with goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt is regularly revived. The club shop sells framed images of the tifo arranged that night by the Green Brigade.
Strangely the Nou Camp triumph barely gets a mention. Maybe the significance of what came afterwards is too embarrassing for ‘the best run and most admired club in Europe’.
BARCELONA V CELTIC 2004
Barcelona:–Valdes, Reiziger (Overmars 53), Puyol (Marquez 34), Oleguer, Xavi, Cocu, Gerard, Gabri, Luis Enrique (Sergio 64), Ronaldinho, Luis Garcia.Subs Not Used:- Rustu, Quaresma, Iniesta, Oscar Lopez.
Celtic:- Marshall; Kennedy, Varga, McNamara (Miller 52); Agathe, Lennon, Pearson, Petrov, Thompson; Sutton, Larsson
SUBS: McGovern, Lambert, Mjallby, Beattie, Smith
Full details and background to the match can be found on the Celtic Wiki website.
