Swede Dreams

Mikael Lustig has made a career out of being among the silverware and he aims to add more this season

- Tony Connelly

THE more things change the more they stay the same, or so the saying goes. For Mikael Lustig, that proverb has become more apparent in recent weeks with the return of Neil Lennon, the man who brought him to Paradise some seven years ago.

The Swedish defender’s future beyond the end of this season is uncertain, but his only focus is on the one constant that has defined his time in the Hoops winning silverware.

During his time as a Celt, Lustig has accumulated an impressive collection of medals, having won 14 pieces of domestic silverware. Scott Brown is the only player in the current team who has more medals with Celtic than the Swede.

Lustig epitomises what it means to be a Celtic player in many ways. He is a big personality, he plays with passion and he knows nothing but winning. In the last decade of his career, Lustig hasn’t failed to win a league championship - he scooped two Norwegian titles with Rosenborg before moving to Glasgow, where he has continued his winning ways.

Time seems to move faster in football than in most other areas of life. The continuing changes within the sport, and the huge number of games, can detract from the awareness of the passing of time. That feeling strongly resonates with players too, according to Lustig. There can be so many ups and downs within such short periods of time, and the best way to ride that wave is to remain focused on the targets being pursued.

“It doesn’t feel like too long ago that I was playing in the World Cup with Sweden,” Lustig told the View. “Things move really quickly in football and myself, and all the players know that. One month you can have nothing and then you can score two or three good goals and everyone is talking about you in a really positive way.