Celtic
2008–09 season
ChairmanJohn Reid
ManagerGordon Strachan
GroundCeltic Park
Glasgow, Scotland
(Capacity: 60,355)
Scottish Premier League2nd
Scottish CupQuarter-finals
Scottish League CupWinners
Champions LeagueGroup stage
Top goalscorerLeague:
Scott McDonald (16)
All:
Scott McDonald (19)

The 2008–09 season was the 120th season of competitive football by Celtic.

Overview

Celtic went into the 2008–09 season defending their Scottish Premier League title, which they won for the third consecutive time in 2007–08.

They also entered the UEFA Champions League directly at the group stage, as well as taking part in the two domestic cup competitions, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.

To prepare for the Season, Celtic took part in two Pre-Season Tournaments; the Algarve Challenge Cup in Faro, Portugal, where they finished bottom, having faced Middlesbrough and Cardiff City, and the Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament in Rotterdam, where they finished second, having faced Tottenham Hotspur and host club Feyenoord.

The campaign

League campaign

The Championship flag was unfurled before Celtic's first League game, against St Mirren at Celtic Park on 10 August by Rosemary Burns, the widow of former Celtic player Tommy Burns, who had died of skin cancer at the end of season 2007–08. Celtic won the game 1–0, through a Barry Robson penalty, getting their Campaign off to a winning start.

Celtic finished second in the SPL table at the end of the season, eventually finishing four points behind champions Rangers. This was despite at one point having built up a seven-point lead over Rangers. This lead was squandered though, Celtic dropping points to Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Motherwell, Rangers themselves, and on two occasions to both Hibernian and Hearts.

One day after the final league game of the season, a 0–0 draw with Hearts at Celtic Park, it was announced that Gordon Strachan would leave as manager of Celtic with immediate effect. This brought to an end Strachan's four-year spell as manager, during which he guided the club to three SPL titles, one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups. He also guided the club twice into the last 16 of the Champions League, losing out to A.C. Milan and Barcelona respectively.

European campaign

Celtic, as Scottish champions, qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League, where they were the sole Scottish side as Rangers were knocked out in the second qualifying round by FBK Kaunas, meaning Celtic received all the TV money allocated to Scotland.

Celtic were in Pot 3 for the group stage draw, which took place in Monaco on 28 August. They were drawn with Manchester United, Villarreal and Aalborg. The first game, a home tie against Aalborg, finished in a goalless draw. The next game, away to Villarreal ended in a 1–0 defeat, which was followed by a 3–0 defeat away to Manchester United. Next up, at home, Celtic drew 1–1 with Manchester United, with Scott McDonald putting Celtic in the lead in the 13th minute, only for Ryan Giggs to equalise for Manchester United in the 84th minute. A disappointing 2–1 defeat to Aalborg in Denmark saw Celtic's European aspirations end, despite having taken the lead through Barry Robson. Nonetheless, Celtic rallied to end their campaign on a high with a 2–0 victory over Villarreal at Celtic Park.

Domestic cups

Celtic entered the Scottish League Cup at the third round proper (the last 16 stage) and the Scottish Cup at the fourth round proper (the Round of 32). The club beat Livingston 4–0 in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September, and travelled to Kilmarnock on 28 October, beating them 3–1 and qualifying for the semi-finals, where they faced Dundee United at Hampden Park on 28 January. After a 0–0 draw in extra time, Celtic won a penalty shoot-out 11–10 to set up a final against Rangers on 15 March. The team won the 2009 Scottish League Cup Final 2–0 aet at Hampden, with Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady getting the goals.

The fourth round of the Scottish Cup took place on 10 January, with Celtic beating Dundee at Celtic Park. In the fifth round, Celtic hosted Queen's Park on 7 February, beating them 2–1. In the quarter-finals, Celtic lost 1–0 at St Mirren on 7 March.

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Scottish Premier League

10 August 2008 SPL Celtic 1–0 St Mirren Celtic Park
Robson 62' (pen.) BBC Sport Attendance: 57,441
Referee: Eddie Smith
17 August 2008 SPL Dundee United 1–1 Celtic Tannadice Park
Sandaza 79' BBC Sport Hartley 51' Attendance: 11,648
Referee: Charlie Richmond
23 August 2008 SPL Celtic 3–0 Falkirk Celtic Park
McManus 32'
Samaras 44', 68'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 56,031
Referee: Iain Brines
31 August 2008 SPL Celtic 2–4 Rangers Celtic Park
Samaras 39'
Nakamura 90+2'		 BBC Sport Cousin 37'
Miller 52', 79'
Mendes 62'		 Attendance: 58,595
Referee: Dougie McDonald
13 September 2008 SPL Motherwell 2–4 Celtic Fir Park
Sutton 55'
Clarkson 57'		 BBC Sport Maloney 5'
Samaras 9', 42'
McDonald 24'		 Attendance: 11,595
Referee: Craig Thomson
21 September 2008 SPL Kilmarnock 1–3 Celtic Rugby Park
Taouil 89' (pen.) BBC Sport Maloney 26'
Samaras 56', 82' (pen.)		 Attendance: 8,111
Referee: Mike McCurry
27 September 2008 SPL Celtic 3–2 Aberdeen Celtic Park
Vennegoor of Hesselink 14', 90+3'
McDonald 78'		 BBC Sport Mulgrew 57', 65' Attendance: 57,441
Referee: Eddie Smith
18 October 2008 SPL Inverness CT 1–2 Celtic Caledonian Stadium
Wood 69' BBC Sport Brown 48'
Loovens 65'		 Attendance: 7,143
Referee: Iain Brines
25 October 2008 SPL Celtic 4–2 Hibernian Celtic Park
McManus 32'
Sheridan 36'
Loovens 76'
Brown 82'		 BBC Sport Nish 41'
Fletcher 50'		 Attendance: 58,337
Referee: Calum Murray
2 November 2008 SPL Hearts 0–2 Celtic Tynecastle Stadium
BBC Sport Maloney 7'
Caldwell 20'		 Attendance: 7,143
Referee: Craig Thomson
8 November 2008 SPL Celtic 2–0 Motherwell Celtic Park
Hartley 45'
McDonald 71'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 56,504
Referee: Dougie McDonald
12 November 2008 SPL Celtic 3–0 Kilmarnock Celtic Park
Sheridan 18', 75'
Nakamura 84'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 55,347
Referee: Mike Tumilty
22 November 2008 SPL St Mirren 1–3 Celtic Love Street
Hamilton 89' BBC Sport Samaras 64'
Nakamura 66'
Sheridan 80'		 Attendance: 7,433
Referee: Willie Collum
29 November 2008 SPL Celtic 1–0 Inverness CT Celtic Park
Maloney 29' BBC Sport Attendance: 55,117
Referee: David Somers
7 December 2008 SPL Hibernian 2–0 Celtic Easter Road
Rankin 55'
Nish 69'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 14,289
Referee: Craig Thomson
13 December 2008 SPL Celtic 1–1 Hearts Celtic Park
McManus 79' BBC Sport Driver 23' Attendance: 56,079
Referee: Charlie Richmond
21 December 2008 SPL Falkirk 0–3 Celtic Falkirk Stadium
BBC Sport Samaras 48'
Mizuno 90+1'
McDonald 90+3'		 Attendance: 6,543
Referee: Eddie Smith
27 December 2008 SPL Rangers 0–1 Celtic Ibrox Stadium
BBC Sport McDonald 58' Attendance: 50,403
Referee: Craig Thomson
3 January 2009 SPL Celtic 2–2 Dundee United Celtic Park
Samaras 12', 58' BBC Sport Dixon 60'
Feeney 77'		 Attendance: 59,558
Referee: Steve Conroy
18 January 2009 SPL Aberdeen 4–2 Celtic Pittodrie Stadium
G. McDonald 24'
Duff 31'
Diamond 75', 78'		 BBC Sport Brown 25'
McDonald 73'		 Attendance: 14,289
Referee: Dougie McDonald
24 January 2009 SPL Celtic 3–1 Hibernian Celtic Park
McDonald 3', 76'
McManus 9'		 BBC Sport Jones 17' Attendance: 58,930
Referee: David Somers
1 February 2009 SPL Inverness CT 0–0 Celtic Caledonian Stadium
BBC Sport Attendance: 7,007
Referee: Charlie Richmond
15 February 2009 SPL Celtic 0–0 Rangers Celtic Park
BBC Sport Attendance: 58,766
Referee: Calum Murray
22 February 2009 SPL Motherwell 1–1 Celtic Fir Park
Quinn 81' BBC Sport McDonald 60' Attendance: 8,593
Referee: Iain Brines
28 February 2009 SPL Celtic 7–0 St Mirren Celtic Park
Nakamura 16', 35', 58'
Crosas 51'
Brown 55', 68'
Potter 76' (o.g.)		 BBC Sport Attendance: 58,286
Referee: Crawford Allan
4 March 2009 SPL Kilmarnock 1–2 Celtic Rugby Park
Invincibile 36' BBC Sport McDonald 27', 81' Attendance: 6,712
Referee: Craig Thomson
22 March 2009 SPL Dundee United 2–2 Celtic Tannadice Park
Sandaza 47', 58' BBC Sport McDonald 24'
Naylor 81'		 Attendance: 12,043
Referee: Steve Conroy
8 April 2009 SPL Celtic 4–0 Falkirk Celtic Park
Caldwell 29'
Vennegoor of Hesselink 62'
McGeady 78'
O'Dea 90+2'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 57,669
Referee: Willie Collum
11 April 2009 SPL Hearts 1–1 Celtic Tynecastle Stadium
Aguiar 32' BBC Sport Vennegoor of Hesselink 1' Attendance: 16,514
Referee: Craig Thomson
18 April 2009 SPL Celtic 2–0 Aberdeen Celtic Park
Vennegoor of Hesselink 43'
McDonald 55'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 58,581
Referee: Dougie McDonald
2 May 2009 SPL Aberdeen 1–3 Celtic Pittodrie Stadium
Maguire 22' BBC Sport Considine 44' (o.g.)
McDonald 72', 90+2'		 Attendance: 14,752
Referee: Dougie McDonald
9 May 2009 SPL Rangers 1–0 Celtic Ibrox Stadium
Davis 37' BBC Sport Attendance: 50,321
Referee: Craig Thomson
12 May 2009 SPL Celtic 2–1 Dundee Utd Celtic Park
Loovens 22'
Samaras 52'		 BBC Sport Robertson 57' Attendance: 57,407
Referee: Stuart Dougal
17 May 2009 SPL Hibernian 0–0 Celtic Easter Road
BBC Sport Attendance: 14,074
Referee: Iain Brines
24 May 2009 SPL Celtic 0–0 Hearts Celtic Park
BBC Sport Attendance: 59,685
Referee: Craig Thomson

UEFA Champions League

17 September 2008 Group stage Celtic Scotland 0–0 Denmark Aalborg Celtic Park
BBC Sport Attendance: 57,432
Referee: Matteo Trefoloni
30 September 2008 Group stage Villarreal Spain 1–0 Scotland Celtic El Madrigal
Senna 67' BBC Sport Attendance: 21,515
Referee: Viktor Kassai
25 November 2008 Group stage Aalborg Denmark 2–1 Scotland Celtic Energi Nord Arena
Cacá 73'
Caldwell 87' (o.g.)		 BBC Sport Robson 53' Attendance: 12,647
Referee: Konrad Plautz
10 December 2008 Group stage Celtic Scotland 2–0 Spain Villarreal Celtic Park
Maloney 14'
McGeady 45+2'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 58,104
Referee: Claudio Circhetta

Scottish League Cup

23 September 2008 Third round Celtic 4–0 Livingston Celtic Park
Loovens 24'
Samaras 64', 85' (pen.)
Brown 81'		 BBC Sport Attendance: 23,569
Referee: Willie Collum
29 October 2008 Quarter-finals Kilmarnock 1–3 Celtic Rugby Park
Invincibile 69' BBC Sport McDonald 11'
Nakamura 45+1'
McGeady 72'		 Attendance: 6,319
Referee: Craig Thomson
28 January 2009 Semi-finals Dundee United 0–0* Celtic Hampden Park
BBC Sport* Attendance: 19,258
Referee: Calum Murray
15 March 2009 Final Celtic 2–0 Rangers Hampden Park
O'Dea 91'
McGeady 120' (pen.)		 BBC Sport Attendance: 51,193
Referee: Dougie McDonald

*Celtic won the match 11–10 on penalties

Scottish Cup

10 January 2009 Fourth round Celtic 2–1 Dundee Celtic Park
Brown 37'
McGeady 44'		 BBC Sport McMenamin 14' Attendance: 23,070
Referee: Calum Murray
10 January 2009 Fifth round Celtic 2–1 Queen's Park Celtic Park
Caldwell 19'
McDonald 45'		 BBC Sport Coakley 66' Attendance: 22,223
Referee: Willie Collum
7 March 2009 Quarter-finals St Mirren 1–0 Celtic St Mirren Park
Mehmet 55' (pen.) BBC Sport Attendance: 5,925
Referee: Charlie Richmond

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition

No. Pos Nat Player TotalPremier LeagueFA CupLeague CupOther
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1 GK Poland POL Artur Boruc 470340304060
2 DF Germany GER Andreas Hinkel 420320204040
3 DF England ENG Lee Naylor 30119+41202030
4 DF Scotland SCO Stephen McManus 414314202060
5 DF Scotland SCO Gary Caldwell 474363213060
6 DF Guinea GUI Dianbobo Balde 0000000000
7 FW Australia AUS Scott McDonald 471933+11631414+21
8 MF Scotland SCO Scott Brown 487365213+1160
9 FW Greece GRE Georgios Samaras 411719+12150+301+2240
10 FW Netherlands NED Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink 32615+106301+100+20
11 MF Scotland SCO Paul Hartley 33320+53102+103+10
12 DF Scotland SCO Mark Wilson 25015+30001+1050
13 FW Scotland SCO Shaun Maloney 30514+74101+104+21
14 MF Northern Ireland NIR Niall McGinn 0000000000
15 DF Czech Republic CZE Milan Mišůn 0000000000
16 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Willo Flood 502+30000000
17 MF Spain ESP Marc Crosas 22114+41301000
18 MF Italy ITA Massimo Donati 802+200+10200+10
19 MF Scotland SCO Barry Robson 24213+410+100+104+11
20 MF Northern Ireland NIR Paddy McCourt 500+400+100000
21 GK Scotland SCO Mark Brown 4040000000
22 DF Netherlands NED Glenn Loovens 23413+43103120
23 FW England ENG Ben Hutchinson 400+3000000+10
24 DF Cameroon CMR Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé 0000000000
25 MF Japan JPN Shunsuke Nakamura 42930+28203150
26 FW Republic of Ireland IRL Cillian Sheridan 1646+64000+101+20
29 MF Japan JPN Koki Mizuno 1012+81000000
33 FW New Zealand NZL Chris Killen 100+10000000
41 DF Scotland SCO John Kennedy 0000000000
42 MF New Zealand NZL Michael McGlinchey 0000000000
46 MF Republic of Ireland IRL Aiden McGeady 40721+8331423+11
48 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Darren O'Dea 1627+3120210+20
52 DF Scotland SCO Paul Caddis 700+50101000
54 MF Scotland SCO Ryan Conroy 10000+100000
55 MF Scotland SCO Paul McGowan 100000000+10

Top scorers

R Player Scottish
Premier
League
 Scottish
League
Cup		 Scottish
Cup		 UEFA
Champions
League		 Total
1 Australia Scott McDonald 16 1 1 1 19
2 Greece Georgios Samaras 15 2 0 0 17
3 Japan Shunsuke Nakamura 8 1 0 0 9
4 Scotland Scott Brown 5 1 1 0 7
Republic of Ireland Aiden McGeady 3 2 1 1 7
5 Netherlands Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink 6 0 0 0 6
6 Scotland Shaun Maloney 4 0 0 1 5
7 Republic of Ireland Cillian Sheridan 4 0 0 0 4
Scotland Stephen McManus 4 0 0 0 4
Netherlands Glenn Loovens 3 1 0 0 4
8 Scotland Paul Hartley 3 0 0 0 3
Scotland Gary Caldwell 2 0 1 0 3
9 Scotland Barry Robson 1 0 0 1 2
Republic of Ireland Darren O'Dea 1 1 0 0 2
10 Japan Koki Mizuno 1 0 0 0 1
Spain Marc Crosas 1 0 0 0 1
England Lee Naylor 1 0 0 0 1

Team statistics

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation[lower-alpha 1]
1 Rangers 38 26 8 4 77 28 +49 86 Qualification for the Champions League group stage
2 Celtic 38 24 10 4 80 33 +47 82 Qualification for the Champions League third qualifying round
3 Heart of Midlothian 38 16 11 11 40 37 +3 59 Qualification for the Europa League play-off round
4 Aberdeen 38 14 11 13 41 40 +1 53 Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round
5 Dundee United 38 13 14 11 47 50 −3 53
Source: Scottish Professional Football League
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ↑ Teams played each other three times (33 matches), before the league split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six) for the last five matches.

Technical staff

Position Staff
Manager Gordon Strachan
Assistant Manager Gary Pendrey
First team Coach Neil Lennon
Goalkeeping Coach Jim Blyth
Head of Youth Academy Chris McCart
Head of Recruitment John Park
Physiotherapist Graeme Parsons
Physiotherapist Gavin McCarthy
Doctor Derek McCormack
Head of Sports Science Greg Dupont
Strength & Conditioning Coach Benjamin Mackenzie

Last updated: 12 June 2017
Source:

Transfers

In

Date Player From Fee Source
19 June 2008Northern Ireland Paddy McCourtRepublic of Ireland Derry City£500,000[1]
15 July 2008Greece Georgios SamarasEngland Manchester City£3 million[2]
15 July 2008England Matty HughesEngland RochdaleUndisclosed[3]
10 August 2008Spain Marc CrosasSpain Barcelona £400,000[4][5]
16 August 2008Netherlands Glenn LoovensWales Cardiff City£2.5 million[6]
22 August 2008Scotland Shaun MaloneyEngland Aston Villa£2.2 million[7]
16 December 2008Northern Ireland Niall McGinnRepublic of Ireland Derry City£300,000[8]
23 December 2008Czech Republic Milan MišůnCzech Republic FK Příbram£500,000[9]
30 January 2009Republic of Ireland Willo FloodWales Cardiff City£1.3 million[10]
2 February 2009Czech Republic Filip TwardzikGermany Hertha BerlinUndisclosed[11]
2 February 2009Czech Republic Patrik TwardzikGermany Hertha BerlinUndisclosed[11]

Out

Date Player To Fee Source
17 June 2008Northern Ireland Michael McGovernScotland Dundee UtdFree Transfer[12]
30 June 2008Scotland Adam VirgoEngland Brighton & Hove Albion Free Transfer[13]
1 July 2008Republic of Ireland Diarmuid O'CarrollEngland MorecambeFree Transfer[14]
27 July 2008Scotland John KennedyEngland Norwich City Loan[15]
7 August 2008Scotland Rocco QuinnScotland Livingston Loan[16]
8 August 2008Republic of Ireland Jim O'BrienScotland Motherwell Undisclosed[17]
14 August 2008Scotland Scott CuthbertScotland St Mirren Loan[18]
18 August 2008Denmark Thomas GravesenRetired[19]
21 August 2008Netherlands Evander SnoNetherlands Ajax£1.2 million[20]
1 September 2008Scotland Steven PressleyDenmark Randers FCFree[21]
1 September 2008Scotland Derek RiordanScotland Hibernian£500,000[22]
7 January 2009Scotland Paul McGowanScotland Hamilton AcciesLoan[23]
31 January 2009New Zealand Chris KillenEngland Norwich CityLoan[24]
2 February 2009Scotland Rocco QuinnScotland Hamilton AcademicalFree[25]
2 February 2009Republic of Ireland Cillian SheridanScotland MotherwellLoan[26]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "McCourt seals transfer to Celtic". BBC Sport. 19 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "Samaras completes Celtic switch". BBC Sport. 15 July 2008.
  3. ↑ "Celtic recruit Rochdale teenager". BBC Sport. 15 July 2008.
  4. ↑ "Barça's Crosas wends his way to Celtic". UEFA.com. UEFA. 10 August 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  5. ↑ "Celtic new boy, Marc Crosas - Barca no more". The Scotsman. Johnston Publishing. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  6. ↑ "Celtic sign Loovens from Cardiff". BBC Sport. 16 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "Shaun Maloney returns to Paradise". Celtic FC. 22 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  8. ↑ "McGinn seals transfer to Celtic". BBC Sport. 16 December 2008.
  9. ↑ "Misun completes Celtic transfer". BBC Sport. 23 December 2008.
  10. ↑ "Celtic complete signing of Flood". BBC Sport. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
  11. 1 2 "Transfers registered with the Scottish Football Association over the past three days". Scotsman Sport. 3 February 2009. Archived from the original on 22 July 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
  12. ↑ "Dundee United make double swoop". BBC Sport. 17 June 2008.
  13. ↑ "Brighton re-sign defender Virgo". BBC Sport. 30 June 2008.
  14. ↑ "Morecambe snap up Celtic striker". BBC Sport. 1 July 2008.
  15. ↑ "Norwich win loan race for Kennedy". BBC Sport. 27 July 2008.
  16. ↑ "Livingston announce new signing". Livingston FC. 7 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 September 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
  17. ↑ "'Well unveil double signing". Motherwell FC. 8 August 2008. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 8 August 2008.
  18. ↑ "Saints seal Cuthbert loan deal". BBC Sport. 14 August 2008.
  19. ↑ "Celtic part company with Thomas Gravesen". Celtic FC. 18 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008.
  20. ↑ "Ajax sign Evander Sno". Ajax AFC. 21 August 2008. Archived from the original on 24 August 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2008.
  21. ↑ "Pressley moves to Danish outfit". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008.
  22. ↑ "Riordan opts for Hibernian return". BBC Sport. 1 September 2008.
  23. ↑ "Accies sign Old Firm pair on loan". BBC Sport. 7 January 2009.
  24. ↑ "Norwich secure Killen loan deal". BBC Sport. 31 January 2009.
  25. ↑ "Hamilton complete Quinn signing". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009.
  26. ↑ "Motherwell take Sheridan on loan". BBC Sport. 2 February 2009.
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