Lambert ready to lead Celtic charge

By Roddy Forsyth

For Celtic FC captain Paul Lambert the UEFA Cup final offers the opportunity to win a second European club competition medal.

Dortmund success
A Scottish Cup winner with Saint Mirren FC in 1987 at the age of just 18, the attacking midfield player joined Motherwell FC in 1994 and was then taken by Ottmar Hitzfeld to play in the 1. German Bundesliga with BV Borussia Dortmund. Lambert flourished at the Westfalenstadion and helped Dortmund win the UEFA Champions League final against Juventus FC in 1997, appearing eleven times in the competition and scoring once.

Wealth of experience
However, despite his wealth of experience, the 33-year-old Lambert will not presume to play the elder statesman with his Celtic team-mates ahead of tonight's encounter with FC Porto. "The other lads in this side are big enough to know what they are going into," said Lambert. "When I was with Borussia I was playing with phenomenal players who had been in [FIFA] World Cup finals with their countries and had played in the [UEFA] Champions League, too.

'Not even in my dreams'
"My first final was incredible and I'm bound to say if you'd asked me seven years ago if I would play in two European finals I would have said, 'Not even in my dreams'. When I started at Saint Mirren and moved to Motherwell I couldn't have foreseen any of this. Mind you, this is not necessarily my last final!"

'No favourites in a final'
Lambert, who announced his retirement from international football after his country failed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea/Japan but reversed his decision to help Berti Vogts see Scotland through a phase of reconstruction, is used to playing with unfancied sides. "Nobody really gave Dortmund a chance against Juventus, who had the likes of [Alessandro] Del Piero and others of that calibre but I always think there are no favourites in a final."

Important role
Lambert left Germany for Celtic FC in November 1997 in a €3.2m deal, and was an immediate success. He has continued to play an important role in the club's fortunes since, deputising for club captain Tom Boyd and helping them to a domestic treble in 2000/01. The following term was also successful as Celtic romped to the league championship again and he scored five goals in 34 games, being voted Scottish Player of the Year.

Against expectations
Nevertheless, Celtic's success in Europe this season has been achieved against the expectations of many. "Celtic have been underdogs at every stage after the first round in this competition," Lambert said. "If we do manage to win the UEFA Cup it will be a great achievement for us to have come so far. I've said to the others that if they're nervous it's not necessarily a bad thing."

Silencing the critics
Ever the patriot, Lambert believes a Celtic win would boost Scottish football. "When you come from Scotland and can achieve something for your own country, it becomes a massive feat," he said. "We've silenced those who say you can't achieve anything playing in the Scottish league. Look at the leagues our opponents have played in – the top leagues in Europe.

'Good spirit'
"We've proved we can handle it," he continued. "We have a very good spirit and that'll be the case no matter what happens here in Spain. We win together and we lose together. If we do manage to win it we will be up there as legends in this club."