AC Milan Technical Director Paolo Maldini knows all about Celtic Park’s famous atmosphere. He came to the ground as a player in 2007 and left empty handed. After the match, the legendary footballer said: “Every footballer should seek to play at Celtic Park at least once in their life, I have never felt anything like it.”
Maldini played three times at Celtic Park in total and never went back to Italy with a win. That’s quite an incredible record considering that he played teams that were holders of the Champions League at the time.
Returning to Paradise in his role with Milan this season, Maldini told his players that they were unlucky to miss out on the experience of playing in front of the incredible Celtic fans. The match, like all Europa League group games were played behind closed doors and Maldini admits that playing without a Parkhead crowd helped his team.
The footballing legend spoke to Sky Sports Italia, ahead of Milan’s recent Serie A game against Juventus. He told the channel: “It’s Milan vs Juventus without an audience, all my greatest memories are tied to the participation of the fans. It’s a less emotional and exciting kind of football. In Glasgow we played without fans and it was an advantage for us, but I told the lads it was a shame for them to play at Celtic Park without that extraordinary support.”