Big interview John Robertson

Seville was the greatest show by Celts.

Responses please, for the following pub conversation openers.

Celtic’s best performance under Martin O’Neill?

Henrik Larsson’s finest hour in the Hoops?

The most impressive display of support EVER for a Scottish club?

Struggling?

John Robertson, O’Neill’s right- hand man during his five years at Celtic Park, can provide ready answers for all three.

He can address each issue, in fact, with just a single word Seville.

It was 10 years ago on Tuesday that Celtic played out the UEFA Cup Final against Porto in the steamy heat of Andalucia.

They lost, Derlei’s extra-time strike giving the Portuguese victory and sending their manager, Jose Mourinho, off on what looked a near-certifiable celebration.

As Robertson argues, though, it was one of those rare occasions when the manner of the defeat was a victory in itself.

“It is amazing when you think of all the successes we had in five years that we should celebrate a day on which we actually got beat,” he says.

“In the case of Seville, though, that is the only sane response you could have.

“I seriously think that is the best the team ever played in the time Martin and I were at Celtic Park.

“The spirit the lads showed in twice coming back from behind was just incredible.

“You have to remember this was a terrific Porto side they were up against.

“Twelve months later, nine of the players who started against us Vitor Baia, Nuno Valente, Ricardo Carvalho, Jorge Costa, Paulo Ferreira, Costinha, Maniche, Deco and Derlei were in the team that won the Champions League itself.

“You look at that list and you see some serious footballers in there.

“Deco, their wee midfielder, was an exceptional talent, as was Derlei up front. They were both really hard for our defence to deal with.

“But we had a fantastic team ourselves.

“Henrik was a phenomenal footballer, and I honestly don’t think he ever played better for Celtic than he did that night.

“He definitely raised his game for the occasion. To score twice in a European Final and end up on the losing side is very tough.

“His header for the second was as good as you will ever see.

“He did get some reward because I am convinced that was the match that convinced Barcelona to sign him.

“And, of course, that was a shrewd move on their part because Henrik repaid them by helping them beat Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League Final.

“When he came off the substitutes’ bench, they were trailing 1-0 but he set up two goals and they won it 2-1.

“But Henrik was just one of our stars.

“Chris Sutton was a devastatingly-effective target man, Paul Lambert was a Champions League-winning midfielder and Alan Thompson provided fantastic service from the wide areas.

“All the intelligence Neil Lennon now shows as a manager, he used to show then as a player.

“And speaking of that, don’t forget Martin O’Neill himself. He was a brilliant man motivator.

“Right throughout the club we had decent quality. I believe at that time we could have easily held our own in the English Premier League.”

The run that led to Seville provides evidence to back Robertson’s claim.

Among the victims in the ‘V for Victory’ campaign, so called because all the teams Celtic beat en route to the Final had the letter V in their name, were Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool.

“Those were perhaps the most enjoyable successes of 2003 because in both cases we were written off,” says the man who starred for Nottingham Forest and won European Cup medals in his playing days.

“It was more arrogance than ignorance because guys like Lenny, Lambert, Chris Sutton and John Hartson had all played at the top level in England and done well.

“I think it was just there was a low opinion of the standard of Scottish football.

“The ties were very similar. After we beat Blackburn 1-0 at Celtic Park, they weren’t very gracious about it and basically said they would knock us out at Ewood.

“They didn’t score and we got two to win 3-0 on aggregate.

“Against Liverpool in the quarter-final, we were again at home first. This time it finished 1-1.

“The verdict was that they had done enough but we went down to Liverpool and, on what was just a fantastic night, did them 2-0.

“It was probably then that we started to think: ‘Hey, we could actually win this competition!”

Small wonder. By then, Celtic had already seen off, in addition to the English clubs, Suduva of Lithuania, Celta Vigo and VfB Stuttgart.

“It was a great run and you could definitely see the players growing in belief along the way,” says the former Hoops coach.

“Winning at Anfield was a big one, though.

“It is such a famous football ground with so much history attached to it. You go there and beat Liverpool 2-0 and you are entitled to puff your chest out a bit.”

For the subsequent semi-final, they needed to stick it out to get over the line.

Boavista, the city of Porto’s other team, ran Celtic close before eventually going down to Henrik Larsson’s goal.

“They had to dig deep for that one and, of course, it was great because it set up the great pilgrimage,” says John.

“To go to the south of Spain and find that literally everywhere you looked was a just this sea of green and white was one of the most moving experiences of my career.

“There has never been a support like that for a Scottish club.

“80,000 going abroad was unheard of and the good behaviour of the fans was reflected by the awards from FIFA and UEFA.

“My only disappointment was that we couldn’t deliver the victory that would have rounded it all off.”