Lubomir Moravcik has warned Celtic to expect a tough test in the Champions League opener next week because Slovan Bratislava's boss Vladimir Weiss reminds him of his mentor, late Hoops boss Dr Jo Venglos.
The Scottish champions face the Slovakians in the opening game of the new-look tournament next week in Glasgow.
Slovan Bratislava will be viewed as one of the minnows in the competition, but Slovakian countryman Moravcik reckons they are dangerous.
Moravcik was famously an obscure 33-year-old midfielder when Venglos forked out £300,000 to land him from Duisburg in 1998 and he went on to become a huge hero with the Celtic fans.
Venglos passed away three years ago at the age of 84 and is regarded as the greatest-ever Slovakian manager.
And Moravcik reckons there are plenty of similarities between current Slovan boss Weiss and Venglos.
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He said: "I have my fingers crossed for Slovan Bratislava for every game they play...except when they play against Celtic! I will have to be neutral there as Celtic are in my heart.
"I think Slovan have a chance against Celtic. My old club have some excellent players, but they are not world class players, like they play for a top team in England for example.
"So Slovan has a chance. They just have to have a good day as they did when they beat FC Midtjylland. And I do think they will be very good at home and can surprise European teams there.
"I can understand why people have compared Vladimir Weiss with Dr Jo Venglos. Although I have to say that Venglos was a globally recognised manager.
"Vladimir Weiss is definitely the best Slovakian manager of recent times. I know he follows coaching methods he picked up from Veglos. They are still very useful to him today.
"He is also very patient, he has built up a team everywhere he has been.
"And also, this is probably the first time a Slovakian team have been known for playing attractive football. That is probably Weiss' biggest strength."
