When Philippe Clement first met Arne Engels before to the Old Firm, supporters of both Celtic and Rangers would have delighted to have been flies on the wall.
They’ve now been given access to a peek at their chat. When the current Gers manager was in charge of Club Brugge in their home Belgium, the two collaborated together, and the Hoops’ newest record acquisition was a young talent who was developing at the team.
Their careers carried them in separate directions, but football, as it so often does, had an oddity when they ended up on either sides of the Glasgow divide. The animosity and tensions of the matchup between the two teams are well known yet there was still plenty of time for the duo to catch up before the game.
Engels ultimately made his Celtics debut off the bench as his team easily defeated the team led by his old boss, three goals to zero. However, was there any pre-match joking about joining the opposition team? Actually, the midfielder says, rather the reverse.
“Yeah, he said it was a good step for me,” he replied when asked if Clement had wished him luck at his new club. We had a brief conversation about our time together in Brugge during our final years. So, nah, nothing really noteworthy. That was all he said, wishing me well.”
Leave a Comment