FC Barcelona vs Celtic FC Tickets

European behemoth FC Barcelona are rightly considered one of the biggest teams on the continent, but it is worth noting just how long it took the Catalan-based side to finally get their hands on the prized premier UEFA trophy.

Barcelona watched on as arch-rivals Real Madrid dominated the game, winning each of the first five editions of the European Cup from its early beginnings in the mid-1950s.

They finally had the chance to outdo their La Liga compatriots when they faced them in the 1959/60 European Cup Semi-Finals, only to get thumped 6-2 on aggregate. The following year they made up for that loss by beating Real Madrid on their way to their first ever European Cup Final, which saw them take on Benfica in the Swiss city of Bern.

Enrique Orizaola’s side took the lead through Hungarian Sandor Kocsis but lost 3-2 to their Portuguese opponents, and it would be another 13 years before they would return to the competition.

1985/86 saw English boss Terry Venables take Barcelona to another European Cup Final, this time against Romanian side Steaua Bucharest, a game that the Blaugrana were very much expected to win.

Steaua had other ideas as they held out defensively for the entirety of the 120 minutes before winning the penalty shoot-out after keeper Helmuth Duckadam saved all four of Barcelona’s spot-kicks.

1992 brought an end to their drought, with Dutch coach Johan Cruyff leading Barcelona to an extra-time triumph against Sampdoria at Wembley Stadium. Two years later, they were soundly beaten 4-0 by AC Milan in the 1994 final.

The turn of the century and the rise of a certain player by the name of Lionel Messi meant that Barcelona were about to become the best side in Europe.

2005/06 saw Barcelona come from behind to beat Arsenal in Paris, with goals from Samuel Eto’o and Juliano Belletti doing the damage. Under Pep Guardiola, FC Barcelona defeated Manchester United in both the 2009 and 2011 finals, two games they totally outplayed their Premier League opponents.

In 2015 the club’s electric front line of Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar tore apart the opposition, beating Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, and Bayern Munich on the way to the final against Juventus, which they easily won 3-1.

Up to 2023, Barcelona have struggled to hit the same heights but are no doubt not far away from once again lifting the famous trophy.

Glasgow side Celtic also have a rich history in the competition, which they won in 1967 to make them the first British side to do so. They continued to be very effective across the late 1960s and early 1970s, but in more recent times, they have failed to make a significant impact in the tournament.

FC Barcelona vs Celtic FC Head-to-Head

These two teams have met each other on repeated occasions in competitive European football. The first time they did so was in 1964 when Barcelona knocked Celtic out of the Fairs Cup.

In 2004 Celtic performed heroics to eliminate Barcelona in the Fourth Round of the UEFA Cup. Alan Thompson scored the only goal of a bad-tempered first leg at Celtic Park, a game that saw three players sent off.

The second leg finished goalless, and Celtic waltzed through to the next round.

In 2007/08, on the rare occasion when Celtic managed to qualify from their group stage of the UEFA Champions League, the two met in the Round of 16. In Scotland, a brace from Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to a 3-2 win, and Xavi scored the only goal in the second match to complete a comfortable 4-2 aggregate success.

The two teams were paired together in the group stages in 2012/13, 2013/14, and 2016/17, and on the whole, Barcelona have dominated, with one exception coming when goals from Victor Wanyama and Tony Watt earned Celtic a famous win over their illustrious opponents. September 2016 represented a new low for Celtic in the fixture, with Messi netting a hat-trick as part of a 7-0 drubbing.

FC Barcelona vs Celtic FC Connections

Relatively few players have worn both jerseys, with Marc Crosas and Efrain Jaurez being two such examples. However, the most famous individual to make his mark for both teams is, of course, goal machine Henrik Larsson.

Swedish international Larssons moved from Dutch side Feyenoord to Celtic in 1997 and did so at a time when the Scottish club was struggling. They hadn’t won a domestic title in a decade, and no one could have imagined just how much of an impact the lively attacker would make.

Over the course of his prolific seven-season spell, Larsson scored an incredible 242 goals in 313 games and helped Celtic to a multitude of crowns. These included four Scottish titles and four domestic cups, as well as a run to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003.

He left to join Barcelona in 2004 and proved a very useful signing, scoring 19 goals in 59 matches, and most famously played a key role in the club’s win over Arsenal in the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final, when he came off the bench to have a hand in both goals.

He left Camp Nou in 2006 to rejoin his former club Helsingborg before spending a brief stint at Manchester United later in his career.