As Ange Postecoglou has been prone to affirming of late, Celtic’s position of dominance in Scottish football – itself reaffirmed by Sunday’s Viaplay Cup Final win over Rangers – owes very little to luck.
Where Aaron Mooy is concerned though, perhaps even the Celtic manager would give a passing nod to the role serendipity has played in his emergence as a key component of his midfield three.
The unassuming Aussie – Mooy, that is – was famously training alone in a park to keep himself ticking over after his exit from Chinese club Shanghai SIPG not so long ago. Even then, his driving motivation was to stay fit to make the Australian World Cup squad, rather than having any grand designs of landing a contract at a major club once more at the age of 32.
It just so happened though that Mooy was in fact trudging around parts of Glasgow, and one call from Postecoglou ultimately led to the midfielder swapping the public park for Hampden Park, playing a starring role at the weekend as Celtic lifted yet another trophy: their third of four available under the current manager.
As a character, Mooy is pleasant and polite, but by his own admission, painfully shy.
“The boys like to take the mickey,” he admitted. “They know I’m a bit uncomfortable when the limelight is on me, so they get a bit of a buzz out of it.”
It was no surprise whatsoever then when he was eventually coaxed into providing a few words on the remarkable renaissance he is currently enjoying in his career, he gave the majority of the credit to Postecoglou.
Without him, Mooy might still be doing laps around the Dear Green Place, and what a pity that would be for Celtic to be denied such a talent, and for anyone who enjoys watching quality players operate in Scottish football.
His motivation now then is to not only help Celtic sate their seemingly relentless appetite for silverware, but to repay the man who made all of this possible for him.
“I do feel I owe him,” Mooy said.
“Of course, he gave me a chance, believed in me. Hopefully I can pay him back.
“Hopefully, by the time I leave, people will look back and say I did well. I hope he feels the same way. That’s a good motivation for me.
“I’m loving my time at Celtic and, hopefully, this could be a very special season for me. That’s why you put in the work every day, to make the best memories you can make. That’s what I’m trying to do.
“It felt amazing to win a trophy so soon in my Celtic career. I was absolutely buzzing.
“I think we played really well in the first half against Rangers and started the second half well. We deserved to go 2-0 up.
“When they scored from the set piece, it became a bit more nervy – but we showed great resilience.”
What was also key to Celtic’s victory on Sunday was the dominance they exhibited for large portions of the match in the middle of the park, with Postecoglou’s preferred triumvirate in there at present – Mooy, Reo Hatate and captain Callum McGregor – hardly giving their direct opponents a sniff.
Mooy concedes that overall, Celtic may not have produced the sort of free-flowing football that is their preferred method of overcoming the opposition, but that the midfield masterclass they put on provided a platform to go on and get the win, nonetheless.
“It felt like we were in control for parts of the game, but a cup final is a very different sort of a match,” he said. “A bit more physical.
“Getting a hold of the ball was a bit harder. But all that matters is if you win or not. If you play well and lose a final, that’s a horrible feeling.”
Not that Celtic have experienced that feeling much of late. They have now lost just one of their last 20 matches at Hampden all told, proving that while the personnel may come and go, their capacity for rising to the big occasion remains undimmed.
One man who is certainly making a reputation for himself as a big game player is striker Kyogo, who, remarkably, netted his second double in consecutive League Cup Finals with his brace against Rangers.
Mooy is not prone to hyperbole, so when he says the forward is one of the best he has ever laid eyes on, then you know it is high praise indeed.
“If you put the ball in the box, you just know he’s always going to be ready to score,” he said.
“He’s quite amazing, really. You wonder where he is and then, all of a sudden, he’s there.
“His movement is amazing and defenders just don’t know which way he’s going to go. He must be a nightmare to play against.
“He’s one of the very best I’ve seen. And he’s quite a short guy, so to get on the end of so many crosses, it shows you what a player he is.”
