IT would be unfair to compare new Celtic signing Aaron Mooy, or any player in world football for that matter, to Lubomir Moravcik.
Fans of the Parkhead club still, some 20 years after the tiny Slovakian playmaker departed Glasgow, go down on one bended knee when his name is mentioned.
The Scottish champions have had many skilful footballers who their supporters have adored throughout their long and trophy-laden history. But Lubo, as he became affectionately known, was a unique talent.
The two-footed midfielder’s trickery on the ball during his four seasons in this country gave his team a cutting edge in the final third and helped them, after Martin O’Neill had been appointed manager in 2000 and some quality reinforcements had been added to the squad, to dominate domestically.
His classy brace in a 5-1 victory over Rangers in just his third appearance gave an early indication of what he was capable of. He built on that strong start and attained legendary status. Celtic will never see his likes again.
Yet, there is one similarity between Mooy - whose capture, along with that of German centre half Moritz Jenz, was confirmed on Tuesday – and Moravcik.
It is fair to say the signing of the Australian internationalist, who is set to turn 32 in September, on a free transfer has not been greeted with unbridled rejoicing by supporters.
The response online has certainly been far from euphoric. The words “washed up”, “journeyman” and “unfit” have been used to describe the new arrival. One cyberspace cynic even remarked: “I am sick of the fans being treated like this”.
But when Moravcik joined from German club Duisburg for a £200,000 fee in the October of 1998 the reaction was identical.
New Rangers manager Dick Advocaat had lavished in excess of £25m that summer on the likes of Arthur Numan, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Andrei Kanchelskis, Lionel Charbonnier, Daniel Prodan and Colin Hendry and his side were comfortably ahead in the Premier League table.
So Jozef Venglos landing in his little-known 33-year-old countryman, who he had previously coached during his spell in charge of Czechoslovakia, hardly caused alarm down Govan way. If anything, there was widespread amusement and even derision.
The transfer was labelled “an old pal’s act”, “laughable” and “an embarrassment” by scribes who would soon be made to rue their scepticism.
Moravcik’s subsequent success here shows that you do not need to cost a small fortune, be a household name or have the best years of your career ahead of you to make an impact.
There are many more examples. Paul Hartley, for instance, set Celtic back a paltry £1.1m from Hearts in the January of 2007 when he was 30. His combativeness, intelligence and experience would prove invaluable at home and abroad over the following year and a half. He would lift the Premier League, League Cup and Scottish Cup trophies and feature in the knockout rounds of the Champions League.
Will Mooy go on to attain the same cult hero status as his revered predecessor Moravcik? It is highly doubtful. For a start, he performs a defensive role these days. But he can still be as important an acquisition for Ange Postecoglou as Hartley was for Gordon Strachan.
Postecoglou worked with the former St Mirren, Western Sydney Warriors, Melbourne City, Manchester City, Huddersfield Town, Brighton and Shanghai Port man during his stint as manager of Australia and appreciates exactly what he can offer.
The 52-times capped No 6, who is set to feature for his homeland at the World Cup finals in November, will have little difficulty slotting into his compatriot’s system or executing his game plan given their previous time together.
He will have his work cut out getting a regular start in the 2021/22 campaign. He will be vying for a place with Callum McGregor. But there were occasions last term, like in the first leg of the Europa Conference League play-off against Bodo/Glimt in February, when the captain would have benefitted from having a deep-lying midfielder sitting alongside him.
For whatever reason, James McCarthy was a peripheral figure. Reo Hatate, Matt O’Riley and David Turnbull are all far more effective when deployed higher up the park. Postecoglou now has a much-needed alternative in an important area in Mooy. He may also be able to rest his skipper, who was once again one of the most-played individuals in the global game last term, when he sees fit.
The shaven-headed ball winner has no previous experience of European club competition. Could, though, his presence be important when Celtic make their long-awaited return to the group stages of the Champions League next month?
Hartley had never been involved at such a high level either and he excelled. He enabled the Parkhead club to nullify the threat posed by Rino Gattuso, Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, Kaka and Filippo Inzaghi in a 2-1 win over holders AC Milan in 2007 and then progress to the last 16 for the second year running.
Postecoglou was rightly lavished with praise last term for the exciting brand of attacking football which his team produced and he will, even in their encounters with the cream of the continent, want his charges to continue entertaining crowds. It is in his DNA.
Still, he will have learned from the losses to Bayer Leverkusen, Real Betis and Bodo/Glimt and will recognise the merit in taking a more cautious approach against top class foreign rivals. Mooy has the potential to help Celtic enjoy a successful Champions League campaign.
