Scottish giants Glasgow Celtic and Glasgow Rangers are set to contest the Old Firm outside Scottish soil for the first time in history in December of this year as they will partake in the upcoming inaugural edition of the Sydney Super Cup, which will also feature the city’s A-League Men sides Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers. It will be an emotional homecoming for Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, who will return to his country for the first time in three years.
Celtic made the announcement regarding their participation in the newly-created four-team tournament on Wednesday, with the tournament itself taking place in Sydney at the end of this year. The Bhoys are taking advantage of a lengthy mid-season break to the Scottish Premiership season that was brought on by the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and Ange wanted to use this moment to keep his team sharp for competitive action throughout the tournament.
Australia has seen a steady growth of Celtic fans following Ange’s appointment as the club’s manager and the former Melbourne Victory and Yokohama F. Marinos boss expressed his excitement regarding his team’s Australian trip.
“I haven’t been home for almost three years by the time this comes around so I’m super-excited,” Ange said, as quoted from Celtic’s official website, “The club’s obviously been down there a couple of times before and I know just how passionate Celtic fans are about the football club, so we’re looking forward to it.”
Ange also remarked about the connections between Celtic and Australia, with a number of players from Down Under having represented the Bhoys throughout its history. Other than Ange himself, Celtic also has another Australian in attacking midfielder Tom Rogic amongst their ranks, while the likes of Scott McDonald and Jackson Irvine have represented Celtic in the past.
The former Australia national team head coach also believes that it is very important for Celtic to put on a good show during their time in Australia, as a way to thank the nation’s Celtic fans for their constant support despite the vast time difference that saw the fans watch Celtic games very early into the morning.