Celtic 0- 5 Paris St Germain: Proud of my team in the soft power era. Yes, seriously!

Losing is never acceptable. When is a Celtic 5-0 home loss to Paris St Germain a matter for Pride?

They came, we all saw, we lost. But, in defeat, we remain “unconquered”.

What rambling nonsense is this?

Well, firstly, this blogger never accepts defeat, never mind emphatic losses, at Celtic Park of all places.

A year ago, we lost 7-0 in Barcelona, arguably a comparable scoreline, given that we were away from home then but, tonight, we were at the often-feared Celtic Park.

And yet, the performances were starkly contrasting. In the Camp Nou, our fledgling team seemed out of its depth, lacking confidence and, essentially, courage. But it was clear that we were on the beginning of a journey. We just didn’t know where we were going or how fast.

Tonight, we suffered a historic defeat. In no way could that scoreline be considered good enough. But it should not be seen as humiliating or embarrassing.

Make no mistake – the day we accept defeats as part of our story, we will be on the road to mediocrity. And that is somewhere no Celtic fan would be content to be.

On the other hand, tonight I saw the most expensive football team ever assembled playing brilliant, sometimes breathtakingly-good football, a team teeming with talent in every position, which often looked like their players were wearing magnetic boots while dealing with a light, ferrous ball.

PSG played a game that few of us will ever see in football. When the great Barcelona team played something comparable to that style, the football world Kowtowed in appreciation.

But, as media figures will emphasise, Celtic suffered the club’s worst home defeat in 100 years.

And yet, what I saw tonight was a team that played with the heart and courage that was so missing from the Camp Nou 12 months ago.

And a special mention for Anthony Ralston, who played like a lion.

I saw a team with real quality, going for it and maintaining a level of professionalism that the sports pages are unlikely to reflect tomorrow.

For those who may wonder what the headline refers to, “soft power” is considered the new, big thing in politics and international diplomacy. Crudely summarised, it is the understanding that internationally-prestigious events or media coverage have a major impact in raising the international standing of nations and other entities.

The oil-wealthy Qatari government that funds Paris St Germain may or may not see establishing footballing credibility in advance of the World Cup as being crucial to their international standing.

Should we expect similar support from the Scottish government for Celtic or prefer to field our green-and-white hoops for the traditions of our club, our supporters and our history?

I saw a still-improving team, led by coaches who understand our tradition, fighting for the club, with skill and courage, never accepting second-best.

Mistakes were made but I was – and am – proud of our players.

How about you?

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