Bennie45
Member
IT was on this day 54 years ago on June 22, 1965 that Lubomir Moravcik was born in the Slovakian town of Nitra.
Following starring for his hometown team, the midfielder played for Saint-Etienne and Bastia in France, MSV Duisburg in Germany and both the Czechoslovakian and Slovakian national teams before donning the Hoops
However, Moravcik’s arrival at Celtic was met with indifference by the Scottish press. One columnist was moved to describe the transfer as “laughable” and label him as nothing more than one of Dr Jozef Venglos’ “pals”.
Yet after 90 mercurial minutes in his debut match against Dundee, which Celtic won 6-1, everyone realised that Celtic had a special talent on their hands. He was outstanding, with his sublime cross for Henrik Larsson’s hat-trick goal the highlight of the match.
Costing just £300,000 from Duisburg, Moravcik immediately looked like the steal of the decade.
He had been a Celtic player for less than a month by the time Rangers arrived at Celtic Park for the first Glasgow derby of the 1998/99 season. It’s a game that can make or break even seasoned professionals, but Lubo was born for this stage.
Some 11 minutes had elapsed when he stepped on to Larsson’s dummy and whipped an unerring left-foot finish into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Just four minutes into the second half, Lubo was at it again – powering home a bullet header to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. A Larsson double and a solitary Mark Burchill strike rounded off the famous 5-1 victory.
He maintained his love affair with the Glasgow derby in what is now known simply as the 6-2 game and it needs no real introduction. It was the first Glasgow derby of Martin O’Neill’s reign and Celtic gave a signal of their intent in the Demolition Derby.
Lubo was at the heart of it all. It was from his corner that Chris Sutton fired Celtic ahead, before Stiliyan Petrov met another expert Lubo delivery to make it 2-0. With Rangers all over the place, Lubo sold Barry Ferguson a dummy and cut the ball back to Paul Lambert for a stunning third. Larsson’s double and Sutton’s late goal sealed the win.
It carried on as Celtic travelled over the Clyde as champions in April 2001. Neil Lennon’s pass was cushioned into Lubo’s path by Larsson and the Slovakian curled his shot beyond Stefan Klos. Yet he wasn’t finished. Running on to Shaun Maloney’s flick, Lubo ghosted past his marker and again found the corner. Larsson’s 50th goal of the season made it a dream afternoon for Celtic.
To single out these games, though, is a travesty as the skills of one of the greatest players to ever play for Celtic were a constant sight at grounds across Scotland and beyond. Lubo would trot over to take a corner and a band of Celtic fans would extend their arms and bow at the midfield genius. It was inspired by the ‘We’re Not Worthy’ sketch from Wayne’s World and this type of adulation meant a lot to Moravick, who always made sure he applauded the Hoops fans who idolised him.
The little magician scored 35 goals in his 129 games with 16 of those goals coming from his left foot, 16 from his right and three were headers and, in reference to trapping the ball with his backside against Hearts, the great man himself once said: “Football is not really about trapping the ball with your bum, though, it's about scoring goals and winning the game.”
Few did that better than Lubo Moravcik.
Happy Birthday Lubo
Following starring for his hometown team, the midfielder played for Saint-Etienne and Bastia in France, MSV Duisburg in Germany and both the Czechoslovakian and Slovakian national teams before donning the Hoops
However, Moravcik’s arrival at Celtic was met with indifference by the Scottish press. One columnist was moved to describe the transfer as “laughable” and label him as nothing more than one of Dr Jozef Venglos’ “pals”.
Yet after 90 mercurial minutes in his debut match against Dundee, which Celtic won 6-1, everyone realised that Celtic had a special talent on their hands. He was outstanding, with his sublime cross for Henrik Larsson’s hat-trick goal the highlight of the match.
Costing just £300,000 from Duisburg, Moravcik immediately looked like the steal of the decade.
He had been a Celtic player for less than a month by the time Rangers arrived at Celtic Park for the first Glasgow derby of the 1998/99 season. It’s a game that can make or break even seasoned professionals, but Lubo was born for this stage.
Some 11 minutes had elapsed when he stepped on to Larsson’s dummy and whipped an unerring left-foot finish into the bottom corner from 18 yards. Just four minutes into the second half, Lubo was at it again – powering home a bullet header to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. A Larsson double and a solitary Mark Burchill strike rounded off the famous 5-1 victory.
He maintained his love affair with the Glasgow derby in what is now known simply as the 6-2 game and it needs no real introduction. It was the first Glasgow derby of Martin O’Neill’s reign and Celtic gave a signal of their intent in the Demolition Derby.
Lubo was at the heart of it all. It was from his corner that Chris Sutton fired Celtic ahead, before Stiliyan Petrov met another expert Lubo delivery to make it 2-0. With Rangers all over the place, Lubo sold Barry Ferguson a dummy and cut the ball back to Paul Lambert for a stunning third. Larsson’s double and Sutton’s late goal sealed the win.
It carried on as Celtic travelled over the Clyde as champions in April 2001. Neil Lennon’s pass was cushioned into Lubo’s path by Larsson and the Slovakian curled his shot beyond Stefan Klos. Yet he wasn’t finished. Running on to Shaun Maloney’s flick, Lubo ghosted past his marker and again found the corner. Larsson’s 50th goal of the season made it a dream afternoon for Celtic.
To single out these games, though, is a travesty as the skills of one of the greatest players to ever play for Celtic were a constant sight at grounds across Scotland and beyond. Lubo would trot over to take a corner and a band of Celtic fans would extend their arms and bow at the midfield genius. It was inspired by the ‘We’re Not Worthy’ sketch from Wayne’s World and this type of adulation meant a lot to Moravick, who always made sure he applauded the Hoops fans who idolised him.
The little magician scored 35 goals in his 129 games with 16 of those goals coming from his left foot, 16 from his right and three were headers and, in reference to trapping the ball with his backside against Hearts, the great man himself once said: “Football is not really about trapping the ball with your bum, though, it's about scoring goals and winning the game.”
Few did that better than Lubo Moravcik.
Happy Birthday Lubo
