Generation Games

Chris McCart hopes international youth competitions can produce future teams of European heroes for Celtic.

- Mark Henderson and Martin Dalziel

CELTIC’S first-team players have been raised on a staple diet of European football for almost as long as continental club competition has been on the go and it has helped establish the Hoops as one of the most famous and high-profile teams in the world.

The glory of 1967’s triumph over Inter Milan may not have been replicated since that historic day in Lisbon, but constant progress in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League has allowed Celtic to develop as a club and continue to attract big names and talented players to Paradise.

The same can now also be said for Celtic’s Youth Academy, which has been at the vanguard of next generation tournaments on the continent over the past seven years and will continue that trend with participation in the English Premier League International Cup this season for the third year in a row.

The Bhoys have once again been invited to join the cream of the crop from the youth academies of England to compete with some of the top teams in Europe and Celtic’s Head of Youth, Chris McCart, said the experience of clashing with the best young players will be crucial to the development of his own young talents.

“It’s exciting and we have enjoyed participating in it in the past,” he told the Celtic View. “There are changes this year to make it up to an under-23 tournament and you’re allowed three overage players plus an overage goalkeeper.

“So with that there will be a lot of experience within the opposition teams and it’ll be a real test for us. We’re going to really progressive academy teams like Aston Villa and Norwich and clubs like those have in excess of 10,000 fans for these games, so that’s exciting.