‘Brilliant’: Paul Lambert names the ‘limited’ unsung hero that got Celtic to the UEFA Cup Final

Add as preferred source on Google

Celtic’s run to the UEFA Cup Final in 2003 will live long in the memory of the Hoops support.

Taking out teams like Liverpool and silencing the likes of the then Blackburn Rovers manager, Graeme Souness, fills the Celtic support with joyful memories.

The final itself was an evening of heartbreak and disappointment. In a rollercoaster of a match, Henrik Larsson’s double took the final to extra time which, when Celtic were reduced to ten men after the dismissal of Bobo Balde, ultimately led to a 3-2 defeat and broke every Celtic fan’s heart.

But, if it wasn’t for Balde, former Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert believes the Hoops wouldn’t have made it to that famous final. Here he explains why.

Lambert said [Official Celtic FC Podcast], “I’ll tell you what I’ve got to say about Bobo. Without Balde in Boavasta that night, I don’t think we would have qualified.

“I know Henrik gets the goal, but Balde that night in Boavista was unbe…You could have thrown anything into that box and he was heading it. And he was a brilliant, lovely big guy.

“People used to say he was limited, and he might have been with the ball, but I tell you what, to have him at your back? 100% I would have him all day long.”

Balde was one of my favourite defenders ever at Celtic. Behind Roy Aitken and Paul Elliot, the big Guinaean was an absolute rock in the heart of the Celtic defence.

The chorus of ‘Bobo’s gonna get ye!’ used to fill opposition players with fear and fearful they had to be. Because Bobo never held back. He never shirked a tackle and he wasn’t afraid of anyone.

No wonder Lambert was 100% certain that he was the one player he would take into battle because he was a warrior. A beast of a defender that I had the pleasure to meet in a nightclub once growing up.

And let me tell you, the pictures in the media do not do his size justice. What a defender he was and he is one that will always be looked upon fondly by the Celtic supporters.

In other news, 24-year-old Celtic player’s contract expires at end of this season, Rodgers must make big decision