New Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is an eternal optimist, but it will be hard for him to find positives in his first competitive game with the Scottish club, as Celtic were beaten, 1-0, in the Champions League by Gibraltarian side Lincoln Red Imps. Seriously.
Lincoln Red Imps manager Roy Chipolina is also a customs officer and left work in mid-afternoon to get to the game.
Here's what Rodgers told the Daily Record prior to the match:
“Will we treat them the same as if we were playing Barcelona or Real Madrid?
“Yeah - that’s what I said to the team when we went through the video analysis. We will give them full respect and the same preparation whether it’s a team from Gibraltar or anyone else.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s the Champions League or a big game in Scotland.
We will always respect our opponent.”
Well, if they didn't respect Lincoln Red Imps before the match, they certainly do now.
Celtic is, we're sure, a team filled with beautiful human beings, each with wonderful character. Also technicians. They've got plenty of those.
What they didn't have plenty of was goals. Or defense. Here's the goal that ended Rodgers's Celtic honeymoon period.
That man you saw scoring a goal is Lee Casciaro, who plays up front for the Gibraltar National Team and serves as a policeman in the Gibraltar Defense Force.
A policeman. Really.
Our favorite part of this game: learning more about the Lincoln Red Imps. This is their crest:
Photo: @doingthe116 | Twitter
I really respect how comfortable that imp is with his body, considering how much body hair it has. Body confidence is very important, even for imps. This imp is being its best self, and we respect the hell out of that.
One person who has had enough of imps, we bet, is Brendan Rodgers, who was fortunate that the fans in attendance were understanding and respectful during his team's defeat.
Just kidding they told him he was going to get fired.
Lincoln Red Imps fans singing ‘sacked in the morning’ to Brendan Rodgers is an early contender for highlight of the season..
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) July 12, 2016
This is mighty early to land on the hot seat, Brendan. Maybe once Celtic sign Joe Allen and Kolo Toure it'll get better.
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
