'Do or die' - Celtic ace happy to ride title rollercoaster as he urges teammates to embrace Parkhead intensity
The Celtic loanee has had a week of contrasting emotions.
If Julian Araujo wasn’t aware of the demands of Celtic football club or the club’s task at hand prior to his loan arrival last month, then this past week will surely have opened his eyes.
Signing for the club on a loan deal until the end of the season from Bournemouth early in the winter transfer window, the defender was the club’s latest injury time hero when he smashed home a 97th-minute winner last weekend to help Martin O’Neill’s side complete a remarkable second-half comeback to win 3-2 at Kilmarnock, and go within three points of the Scottish Premiership summit.
However, just four days later, the Mexican international was left picking up multi-coloured tennis balls thrown onto the Celtic Park pitch in protest at the club’s board, whilst witnessing his teammate Kasper Schmeichel being booed by a section of the home support for his error-strewn performance in a 4-1 humbling against Stuttgart in the Europa League playoffs.
As challenging as those contrasting emotions may be, Araujo is choosing to embrace the pressure that comes with playing for his new employers ahead of Sunday’s crucial league game with Hibs in Glasgow.
“Football can change in a matter of seconds,” admitted Araujo in the bowels of Celtic Park, as he assessed a damaging defeat to Stuttgart. “I think my goal went viral. It was a crazy celebration. I've never experienced anything like that. But now that the game is over. The game [against Stuttgart] didn't go the way we wanted it to go. You can't have a team come to Celtic Park and let them score four goals. This motivates us, and now we have the focus on Hibs.
“We're all footballers. We all know what we have to do. We know that we have a game. We know that we have a league to chase, and this is another final against Hibs. All of us have been very strong [in the league]. Whether we're scoring in the 90th minute or winning it early on. We're still all doing very well. Football's a game of 90 plus minutes, so we just have to stay focused. Obviously, right now, our focus is on the league. Everybody's mad [about the Stuttgart result]. But we have to switch it off, and when we get home, get over it and focus on Sunday.”
Despite being just 24 years old, the 16-cap Mexican has plenty of top-level experience. A key player as Las Palmas avoided relegation to the Spanish second-tier just two seasons ago, while on loan from Barcelona, he has also faced battles with the likes of English Premier League superstars such as Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Martinelli, and Anthony Elanga during his debut season with AFC Bournemouth. However, with just three points separating the top three of Hearts, Rangers, and Celtic at the top of the table, Araujo admits the intensity of the Scottish Premiership’s exhilarating title race is a completely new experience for him - though he’s keen to embrace it.
“This is the beauty of football,” smiled the full-back. “It's do or die. We have a tough couple of weeks coming up, so we have to keep confidence in ourselves. I'm grateful to be a part of it; it gets the adrenaline going. Stay focused, stay humble and enjoy it all. I've never been involved [in anything as tense], but I'm enjoying the ride. I enjoy every day. I'm doing what I love to do, and with Celtic, and I think we all believe in ourselves and know we can do it. We have to win every game from now until the end of the season. We can do some good things this year.”
Celtic face Hibs in the Scottish Premiership this Sunday at Celtic Park, with kick-off scheduled for 3pm.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.