Mission: Impossible

Published on Saturday 1 March 2008 18:46

THE build-up to ties that teams cannot win demands a lot of idle blether. Massimo Donati said all the right things about the impossible task facing Celtic at the Nou Camp come Tuesday. But the poor guy couldn't say anything else. The game's conventions demand he champion a belief Gordon Strachan's side can overturn a 3-2 first leg deficit in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 tie against Barcelona. Even when your team is facing an uphill struggle that makes the north fa

So it was that Donati gave us the works, while always being careful to acknowledge the magnitude of the assignment. "Everything is possible in football"..."we are not going there for a holiday"..."their defence is not as good as their midfield and attack and we can give them problems". In fairness, Donati and his colleagues must hope against hope, must kid themselves on.

"Till 40 minutes before the end we were winning 2-1 (in the first leg] and that gives me the confidence we can do it," said Donati when asked what provided him with belief that his club can produce a colossal upset in midweek. The only problem with the Italian clutching that straw is that a 2-1 advantage would not be enough for Celtic to progress. Strachan's side require a two-goal winning margin. Unless they can somehow secure a 3-2 victory, hang on in extra-time and dispose of the home side on penalties.

"We don't have anything to lose and we can go there clear in our mind that the only result is a win," said Donati. "We shouldn't do like we did away to AC Milan and be all defensive. We were punished (with a 1-0 defeat in the final group game]. We have to go there and attack and see what can happen."

Strachan has also said there is a need to be progressive – though not in a "gung ho way" – but that is debatable. Celtic are unbeaten in their past two visits to the Nou Camp because on both occasions they played "anti-football" and resorted to blanket defence. They should do so again because a draw or even a slender defeat would be a decent night's work. It would prevent any possible psychological damage at a delicate stage of the title race. Celtic should follow Valencia's example. In midweek, they came within seconds of a 1-0 Copa Del Rey victory at the Nou Camp. They sneaked a draw despite having a mere 30% of possession and only two efforts on target. However gifted are those who represent the Catalan cause, they tend to be flouncy sorts who struggle to be clinical if facing a human wall.

Celtic should not lose sight of the harsh facts about their midweek sojourn. They are without a victory in 16 Champions League road trips and have not recorded a win in 11 away games against Spanish opposition. They must concentrate on getting Tuesday out of the way with the minimum of hassles and then simply forget about it.

The same might be said to Donati about the headlines he has attracted. The 26-year-old has failed to live up to expectations since his 3m summer arrival from AC Milan. A naturally deep-lying midfielder, he patently possesses craft but can struggle to make a positive contribution in the hurly-burly of the Scottish game. In and out of the side in recent months, certain comments from an interview in his homeland were reproduced in a Scottish newspaper last weekend to give the impression he was seeking a swift return to Serie A. Donati denies this is the case.

"I am not planning to go back to Italy," he said. "I was asked the question and said I am fine at Celtic but obviously in the future if big clubs like Inter, Milan or Juve asked me to come back I would consider that. These are the only clubs in Italy at the same high level as Celtic. There was also another article saying that it's not working for me at Celtic. That's not true. I haven't said any of that. Apart from the weather, everything is fine here."