Strachan hails 'giant' Boruc
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Article summary
Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan described Artur Boruc as "a giant of a man" after his two shoot-out saves returned the Glasgow side to the group stage.
Article body
Celtic FC manager Gordon Strachan described Artur Boruc as "a giant of a man" after his two saves in a penalty shoot-out returned the Scottish champions to the UEFA Champions League at FC Spartak Moskva's expense.
'Fantastic game'
After drawing the first leg 1-1 in Moscow, both sides missed penalties during another 1-1 stalemate at Parkhead. It took a shoot-out to separate the sides and the Polish goalkeeper emerged as the hero, saving from Yegor Titov and Maxym Kalynychenko to ensure Celtic prevailed. "Artur is a giant of a man, both physically and psychologically," Strachan said. "I have had some great nights as a player and manager, but this will be one of those ones I will be sitting in 25 years time and thinking, 'What a game that was'."
'Mental strength'
"They played excellently in the first half and we showed great mental strength to come back. In terms of performance, Moscow were better than any team we played at home last season in the Champions League. I have no idea if the teams in the draw should fear us - but I know that Celtic should fear nobody." Defender Gary Caldwell added: "Artur is one of the best goalkeepers in the world. It is almost as though the bigger the game the better he plays. He makes big saves in massive games and that's a great asset to have. To save two penalties in the shootout was fantastic but these are the games he seems to thrive on."
Striker's redemption
Strachan's side could have won the match in open play. Nakamura came close three times near the end of the 90 minutes then Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink saw his penalty strike the woodwork - although the Dutchman would make amends in the shoot-out. "The game could have been finished," Strachan admitted. "Nakamura has missed three chances which he never does and he's a wee bit disappointed with himself. We missed a penalty but I thought they were all fantastic in the second half. My record in penalty shoot-outs is not great. I've missed out on one or two but thank goodness these guys have great mental strength."