Ex Rangers star Cedric Itten has warned his Young Boys teammates not to lose an early goal because Parkhead would be “on fire” – as the Hoops aim to protect a 62-year record against Swiss opposition at home in Europe.
The 28-year-old Swiss international will return to Glasgow for the Champions League showdown after spending two years at Ibrox. His appearances at Rangers were limited and he made only eight league starts and was even farmed off on loan to German side Greuther Furth in hi second season.
He still managed nine goals for Rangers including two in Europe against Lech Poznan and Royal Antwerp before leaving in 2022 to YB. Itten experienced the Old Firm showdown twice and has warned his colleagues what to expect with Celtic on the brink of reaching the next stage of the Champions League.
The Hoops boast a proud home record over Swiss clubs having won eight and drawn only once in Europe on a run that stretches back 62 years. Itten said: “The place will be full of 60,000 fans. And they are loud…very loud, in fact! They stand up and join in with every action. You have to fight back at the beginning and not let in a goal in the first 15 minutes.
“That would be the worst thing that could happen. The stadium would be on fire! I will tell my teammates that. Celtic are really strong. I still follow the Scottish league, especially the Old Firm derbies. Celtic are way ahead. They will throw everything into it and play at full throttle.”
And Itten has likened Parkhead to another famous fortress of European football – Galatasaray’s Ali Sami Yen. But he has good memories of that because Young Boys beat the Turks 1-0 in August. Itten aid: “We did really well at Galatasaray. The noise levels are similar there to Celtic’s ground. You’ll probably hear our fans sporadically because they aren’t continually booed as the Galatasaray fans did. Fair play is in a completely different place in Scotland. But it’s not nice to know that we’re last and don’t have a point yet. We definitely want to score points in the last two games.”