Back the Team – Europa League isn’t worthless, it’s actually winnable

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The Celtic Star

·28. September 2025

Back the Team – Europa League isn’t worthless, it’s actually winnable

The Europa League is not where we aspire to be as a football club, but to claim it’s worthless is absolutely ridiculous. Ask any Tottenham fan about that…

Ange Postecoglou, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, lifts the UEFA Europa League Trophy after his sides victory in the UEFA Europa League Final 2025 between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at Estadio de San Mames on May 21, 2025 in Bilbao, Spain. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The Europa league is not where we aspire Celtic to be both as a football club and as a supporter base. A club that boasts our history, our size and stature should be competing at the highest level of European football, but due to a lack of ambition by our board yet again this summer we ultimately find ourselves looking in from the outside filled with nothing but frustration and regret.

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Some Celtic supporters are dismissing the competition

Some Celtic supporters are dismissing the competition, and considering it a worthless waste of time, but that is an absolute ridiculous attitude to hold. Indeed the one big advantage that the Europa League holds for Celtic is that it is a European tournament that is winnable, unlike the Champions League that is very much geared towards the elite, super-rich clubs playing in the top five leagues.

Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers applauds the Celtic fans at full-time. Final score Celtic 0 Hibernian 0. Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 27 September 2025 Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/Shutterstock

Like it or not, the Europa League is where we are at this season, and whilst some might think we don’t belong in such lower surroundings, it’s where we find ourselves and have no other option but to get on with things and try to make the best of it, and hopefully try and earn not just a form of success, but win back some respect on the continent.

It’s too long ago that theRangers reached a Europa League final

The last eight, semi finals? The final? Win the tournament? There are some decent sides in the competition but it’s not beyond us to target one of those achievements. It’s too long ago that theRangers reached a Europa League final and took it all the way to a penalty shoot-out so why can’t Celtic do something similar?

Celtic’s European record since the Seville season has been unacceptable and in particular the play-off defeats we have had to entire due to flawed boardroom thinking has harmed our reputation on the European stage.

Red Star Belgrade 1-1 Celtic.Kelechi Iheanacho of Celtic celebrates his goal Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 Sep 2025Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic Shutterstock

The co-efficient calamity that awaits Scottish football

A long run deep into the Europa League would not only be financially beneficial, it would more importantly raise our stock on the European scene which will only be of great benefit when it comes to future tournaments such as seedings and qualification.

The co-efficient calamity that awaits Scottish football can be lessened by Celtic doing well in the Europa League this season and the ultimately will reduce the number of those traumatic qualifiers and play-off rounds we will have to ensure in summers to come.

Brendan Rodgers of Celtic Crvena zvezda v Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Football, Rajko Mitic Stadium, Belgrade, Serbia – 24 September 2025 Belgrade Rajko Mitic Stadium Serbia Photo Nikola Krstic Shutterstock

A chance to restore Celtic’s reputation on the European scene

The Europa is not as glamorous and prestigious as the Champions League, but all that brings is the money which is not even invested in the team but instead sits in the PLC bank account. So let’s look on the Europa League as a chance to restore Celtic’s reputation on the European scene by having our name carved on another trophy. Sadly there are fewer and fewer Celtic supporters still around to say that they’ve seen that happen before.

So the Europa League is anything but worthless, it’s actually a great opportunity for this Celtic team to walk in the footsteps of Lions.

Let’s play our part on Thursday night at ROAR the Bhoys to victory against Sporting Braga, who incidentally are a very decent side.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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