Massimo Donati scored a winner for Bari to beat Juventus in Serie A with 60,000 fans watching. But it still didn’t top the moment he grabbed a golden goal for Celtic against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.
The truth is, the Italian will probably never experience that adrenaline rush again. When the ball hit the back of the net and an explosion of noise went off inside Parkhead, Donati’s senses were scrambled. But now, 15 years on, the goal and emotion of what it meant remains strikingly vivid.
In November 2007, Gordon Strachan ’s Hoops side had to beat the Ukrainians at home to put one foot in the Champions League last 16. They went behind early but equalised through Jiri Jarosik before half-time. With the game deadlocked and seconds left to play, Celtic were all but out of the competition. That’s when Donati stepped up to score a goal that’s now part of club folklore.
The former midfielder, now a manager in Italy’s third tier, still remembers the strike like it was yesterday. Ahead of Celtic’s next clash with Shakhtar in Warsaw on Wednesday night, he told MailSport : “I remember everything about that night.
“It’s 15 years ago already but fresh in my memory. Even now, sometimes I go on YouTube and watch the goal, just to see the atmosphere and celebrations.
“I started the game on the bench and wasn’t too happy. But I came on after just 16 minutes for Lee Naylor when we were down 1-0.
“We scored to make it 1-1 but it was a tough game. Thankfully, I got a really important goal. The game was nearly finished. I was so tired but I thought: ‘I have to try and get into the box.’
“Aiden McGeady gave me a good ball and I took a lucky touch. It wasn’t a fantastic shot – but it was in the net. For the next 15 to 20 seconds, I don’t understand what happened. My mind was gone.Have I ever felt anything similar in my career? Not like that.
“That goal was so important for Celtic. And when a player who doesn’t normally get goals, scores, it’s a special feeling.
“But that was in the Champions League, in the last seconds, at Celtic Park – so it was tremendous. I had a few good goals in my career that gave me good memories. But none like that.
“In one game, Bari beat Juventus 1-0 and I scored in front of 60,000 people in the stadium. That was a very good moment. But it wasn’t in the Champions League.”
Donati feels grateful he has experienced one of those European nights at Celtic Park as a Hoops player. It doesn’t shock him now when he hears the likes of Real Madrid duo Toni Kroos and Luka Modric rave about the noise inside Parkhead, like they did after last week’s Champions League clash.
And he’s delighted that, even though he only spent two years at the club, he played a small part in their history. He said: “Shakhtar had a good team with the likes of Italian striker Cristiano Lucarelli and Brazilian Brandao who scored at Celtic Park. But remember, Celtic also had a good team.
“The victory was so important because it set us up to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, which is an incredible achievement for Celtic. So the Shakhtar goal was crucial to our hopes of qualification.
“And nothing compares to the atmosphere at Celtic Park in the Champions League. I’m never surprised when visiting players talk about it after a European night.
“Modric was the latest one to do it last week. Big players like Lionel Messi, Alessandro Nesta, Paolo Maldini, they’ve all said it.
“The noise at Celtic Park is unbelievable, especially for Champions League games. I don’t know what is in the air on those nights – but it’s something very special.”
The 3-0 defeat to holders Madrid was obviously a blow for Ange Postecoglou and his men but, with Shakhtar and RB Leipzig up next, there’s still hope of progressing.
Donati is convinced Celtic can qualify from Group F. That would require Postecoglou’s men to take something off the Ukrainians in Poland this midweek.
The 41-year-old believes that’s possible, especially with Donetsk not having home advantage. He said: “Can Celtic get above Shakhtar and Leipzig this season to do what we did and qualify? Why not?
“Football is crazy sometimes, you can still get results against big teams. The first match against Real Madrid was actually a good game and Celtic played really well.
“After the second goal, the game was done. But if they play every Champions League game like that, they have a chance of going through.
“Shakhtar are a good team but Celtic have a top manager and top players. Scottish teams can still punch above their weight in Europe.
“Every season is different. Look at Rangers – they lost the Europa League Final but at least they got there.
“Playing the game in Poland and not Donetsk might help Celtic. At home, it’s far more important because you have your supporters there. Playing in another country, I don’t think it does any of the teams any favours.
“At a neutral ground it will just come down to who is better on the pitch that night. That’s who will win the game this week.”
