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‘Incredible’: Stephen McManus discusses the Celtic moment that left Alex Ferguson furious at Man United player
Celtic have had many iconic moments over their illustrious history.
Mine’s are Frank McAvennie’s double in the Centenary Double Winning season, Scott McDonald’s winning goal against AC Milan in the Champions League and Henrik Larsson‘s wonder goal against Rangers in the 6-2 win at Celtic Park.
In fact, the more I think about it, the more there are. I could list them all but we would be here all day. But there is one another moment in Celtic’s history that will live long in the memory of the Celtic fans and ranks as one of my best memories.
And according to former Celtic defender, Stephen McManus, it will also live in the memory of former Man United goalkeeper, Edwin van der Sar. But for all the wrong reasons.
The Celtic goal that left Man United manager Alex Ferguson fuming
We all know what I’m going to say right? You guessed it. That Shunsuke Nakamura free-kick against Manchester United in the 1-0 win at Celtic Park.
Nakamura’s goal ensured Celtic qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League that season and it also ensured the Dutch goalkeeper got a dose of the hairdryer treatment from Sir Alex Ferguson.
McManus said [], “That moment, I can still see it just now. You’re hoping please hit the target but then you see the distance he’s out you’re saying there’s no way that he’s going to score from there.
“It was an incredible strike but he’d already done it down there. You know, so he’d scored a free kick at Old Trafford. So I remember to speaking to Darren Fletcher when we were away with Scotland and I think Alex Ferguson had given [Edwin] van Der Saar it pretty tight in the second game because he’d already done it.
“But the distance that it was out, it was an iconic picture and I was fortunate enough to be a part of it, which was incredible.”
It really was one of those moments that make people fall in love with football. Nakamura had just joined the club that year and it was goals like this that made him an instant hero amongst the Celtic fans.
Of course, the Japanese legend also did the same at Old Trafford but it wasn’t anywhere near the precision and quality of the last-minute winner at Paradise.
Nakamura truly was one of those players that Celtic fans were blessed to see walk out at Parkhead. And it’s unlikely they will ever see his likes again.
In other news, ‘Go and do something’: Pundit backs 25-year-old Celtic player to follow Van Dijk’s footsteps and earn PL move