Strachan wary of mission to Moscow
Friday, August 3, 2007
Article summary
Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan spoke of a "tough" draw after the Scottish champions were pitted against the Russian Premier-Liga leaders FC Spartak Moskva.
Article body
Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan spoke of a "tough" draw after the Scottish champions were pitted against FC Spartak Moskva in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
'Tough'
Celtic are yet to kick off the new Scottish Premier League season which begins this weekend, but will come up against an in-form Spartak who top the Russian Premier-Liga, leaving the Glasgow side with a stern test in the away leg on 14 or 15 August. "Obviously it's a tough one," Strachan said. "When you sat down and looked at all the clubs in the draw this morning Moscow were one of the teams we would have liked to have avoided. I say that for two reasons: one they are a very good side, and I understand we must also play on astroturf which is not ideal. They are also well into their season having played 18 games and are top of their domestic league. We're starting our league on Sunday so it's not ideal, but we just have to get on with it."
Artmedia defeat
Strachan has bad memories of the qualifying stage after losing his first competitive game with Celtic 5-0 away to Slovakian side FC Artmedia Bratislava in the second qualifying round in 2005/06. Celtic bowed out 5-4 on aggregate, but made amends last season by reaching the knockout stages for the first time, narrowly losing out to eventual winners AC Milan 1-0 on aggregate.
Spartak strength
Spartak have reached the third qualifying round for the second year in a row. They beat FC Slovan Liberec 2-1 on aggregate this time last season to reach the group stage for the first time in five years, finishing third to qualify for the UEFA Cup in a section including FC Bayern München, FC Internazionale Milano and Sporting Clube de Portugal. All three of Spartak's home games were played on the artificial surface of the Luzhniki Stadium, none of which were won by the Russian side.
'Strong opponent'
"Celtic are a strong opponent that plays at home in front of full stands," Spartak coach Stanislav Cherchesov said. "They are a quality side who improve every year. But before we study the opponent in detail there is no point in saying anything about them. It's not our style to get ahead of events by making predictions."
