Guardiola understudy has much to prove against Celtic

Celtic vs. Sporting Braga in the Europa League

Glasgow’s Celtic Park Date: Thursday, October 2 Kick-off: 17:45 BST

Despite a positive start to their Europa League campaign, Braga arrive in Glasgow in somewhat depressed mood, much like Genk did last week against Rangers.

Fans who watched their team lose 1-0 to the Nacional of Madeira on Sunday, dropping to seventh in the Liga Portugal table after five games without winning in one of their home games, were unsatisfied with the matchday one victory over Feyenoord.

Carlos Vicens, the team’s new head coach, who has personally dealt with fan dissatisfaction, most recently the dreaded waving of the white handkerchiefs frequently seen in Iberian stands when hardship strikes, criticizes the players’ attitude.

Vicens’ rise is largely due to his apprenticeship at Manchester City, where he transitioned from a work experience position to his first full-time position coaching the under-12s and 13s before convincing Guardiola to call him in 2021.

Vicens wanted to break into the professional game after four years under the guidance of arguably the best coach in the field today. Braga, who had already parted company with Carlos Carvalhal, called.

A 0-0 draw away to Levski Sofia in his opening game of the Europa League, followed by a stingy victory at home against the Bulgarians, under the new boss, was a start.

However, Braga’s 4-1 overall victory over Cluj and its subsequent 2 3-0 league victories should be positive signs.

The play-off round featured the first signs of a stumble as Celtic drawn away from AVS, their only remaining playoff game of the year, but the result was as comfortable as it could have been against Celtic’s former adversaries, Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar.

The Braga have lost both of their previous four league games at home, drawing the fanfare of the team.

In such a setting, Celtic Park, where they previously lost on their only previous visit to the team in August 2010 while playing Champions League qualifying, were unable to overcome a 3-0 first-leg deficit.

The Champions League team’s third-place finish that year opened the door for their best European campaign, which they won in the Europa League and won the final against Celtic’s Porto, who won the competition in 2003.

Rangers stopped them in the quarter-finals of 2022, putting them in the final on their own. Their best performance since then was in 2022.

With only a goal behind Fenerbahce, who went on to lose to Rangers, last season’s victories over Maccabi Tel Aviv, Hoffenheim, and Lazio proved insufficient to get them to the knockout phase.

It’s unknown whether the squad for this year is any better prepared for success.

Pau Victor, a Spanish striker from Barcelona (approximately £10.5 million), and Mario Dorgeles, a young Ivory Coast midfielder from Nordsjaelland (£9.6 million), both made significant investments, but Dorgeles may miss the game because he hasn’t played in the last five games.