THERE may have been some Celtic supporters who were already familiar with Moritz Jenz before he was signed by the club, given that reports of Ange Postecoglou’s interest in the big centre-back stretch all the way back to last summer.
When he finally did get his man though, there was no doubt a great deal of Googling going on to find out a little more about the 23-year-old German, who announced himself in fine style on his Celtic debut last week by heading a crucial late goal against Ross County.
One man who knew all about him though was Matt O’Riley, with Jenz revealing at his unveiling that he was a close friend of the Celtic midfielder from their days together in the Fulham youth academy.
O’Riley wasn’t surprised in the slightest that Jenz slotted into the team seamlessly last weekend, and he is sure that once he settles in, the pair will be able to create more special memories at Celtic after spending their formative years in the game together in England.
“I am really friendly with Moritz,” O’Riley said.
“We met each other at the age of 14 or 15 at Fulham. We played together for four years and then we both left. I didn’t actually see him again until he came to Celtic but we stayed in touch.
“It was nice when I heard he was coming, as having another friendly face around the place is a bonus. But in saying that, I have a lot of mates here already and that just shows the culture we have at Celtic. We have a great group and Moritz adds to that.
“When I signed in January, I wasn’t aware the club had looked at Mortiz last summer. It wasn’t until we had a few calls before he came that I found that out.
“We spoke about a lot of things when we chatted and I explained the set-up and system, but he was keen to come and here he is.
“Football can be crazy sometimes. That’s just how this game works. Things can change so fast and your journey ends up meeting again.
“Moritz left Fulham and went to Switzerland, then France. I went to League One with MK Dons. Then both of us sign with Celtic within a few months of each other. Football can throw stuff like this up and it’s nice to be his team-mate again.
“We shared a lot of good memories in the past and hopefully there are more to come in the future at Celtic.
“[His goal] was a massive moment for the team and for Moritz personally. I was so happy for him as I know how much it meant to him to score that goal. It was just nice to see him enjoying his football again.
“Moritz will add a lot to the squad and I feel we have a lot of good options at centre back. There is a lot of strength in depth and Moritz started really well at Ross County.
“He’s quick, strong and good in the air. He’s also composed on the ball. Moritz has all the attributes to be a top Celtic player if he keeps improving, and hopefully he does.” Jenz will be hoping to keep his place in the Celtic defence for the trip to Kilmarnock tomorrow, with Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou a little reluctant to throw Carl Starfelt back into the line-up on the artificial pitch of Rugby Park after his lengthy injury lay-off.
The surface is just one thing that might make it difficult for Celtic to play their usual attacking game against Derek McInnes’s men, with O’Riley admitting that the champions are expecting to face a team that is set up to frustrate them.
“At Celtic Park, it’s sometimes a bit easier to break teams down because of the way we play and the size of the pitch, “he said.
“But at other stadiums, we need to sometimes dig deep and find other ways to create openings and chances.
“All we can do is find solutions as games progress. We aren’t going to get too caught up in thinking about things. We just need to play our stuff and hopefully it works.
“It’s about patience and trusting the way we play. Then if we can create chances, we need to be clinical."
O’Riley wasn’t around when Celtic kicked off their season in unsteady fashion last season with three away defeats on the spin during a rocky opening six match spell.
All he can speak to is the positivity that the two wins from their opening two Premiership fixtures has engendered among the squad this time around, and he is desperate to keep that run going in Ayrshire.
“It’s been a positive start to the season and we feel good,” he said.
“I only had about two and a half weeks off in the summer but to be honest, after that I was ready to come back.
“I’m enjoying it and I think we are all in a good place mentally and physically. “You can see that in the way that we are playing.
“It’s still really early on. There is still a lot of football to be played but it’s been enjoyable.”
