Scotland

We just want everyone to know that five-year-old Celtic fan Louis Kayes is a more dedicated fan than all of you put together.

Louis missed Saturday's game against Motherwell, which is not something you would normally associate with the most dedicated fan in the world, but Louis, because he is so dedicated, called Celtic to apologize for his absence. Specifically, he wanted manager Brendan Rodgers and captain Scott Brown to know he had missed the match because of a birthday party.

The “Old Firm” derby — Celtic and Rangers — divides the city of Glasgow, and much of Scotland, at least in footballing terms.

And, it has become known as one of football’s most notorious derbies--a rivalry played out before the backdrop of religion and politics. It is known worldwide.

Known maybe, but no longer watched.

With the rivalry’s four-year respite resulting from Rangers financial woes and subsequent relegation, it appears the fixture has lost some of its luster. 

Celtic central defender Kolo Toure, The18's 2015 Player of the Year, has boatloads of good experience in big matches. Unfortunately, that is not how it worked out against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Liverpool fans and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, who was at Anfield at the time, will remember when Toure had a similar howler against West Brom in February 2014, which snatched a 1-1 draw from the jaws of victory--and may have helped cost the Reds the EPL title that season.

Just a few days ago Celtic’s Karamoko Dembele was merely the club’s “other Dembele”. Even when he made his debut for the Hoops’ U-20s against Hearts last Wednesday - as a substitute in the 81st minute - he was still second fiddle to first-teamer Moussa Dembele, the recent scorer of a spectacular brace against Manchester City in Champions League play.

Last week, Moussa Dembele made headlines with his performance against Manchester City in the Champions League, but this week, it's Celtic’s 'other Dembele', 13-year-old Karamoko, in the spotlight. Though he could easily be mistaken for a ball boy with his shorts nearly covering his legs, the teenaged Karamoko Dembele replaced 16-year-old Jack Aitchison in the 81st minute of Celtic’s U-20 match with Hearts to make his Celtic debut at that age level.

Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney has now figured in two shock results for the Hoops in the UEFA Champions League — their stunning 2-1 win over Barcelona in November of 2012 and their not-as-stunning-but-still impressive 3-3 draw with Manchester City on Wednesday night.

Both matches were at Celtic Park.

But the 19-year-old’s role against City was certainly different than his task against the Blaugrana in 2012.

On paper, Celtic don’t stand much of a chance against English giants Manchester City on Wednesday night in their UEFA Champions League group stage match.

But, as the old saying goes, the game won’t be played on paper, but on grass — specifically Celtic Park grass, where the Hoops have a history of pulling off the odd upset.

Coming off a 7-0 loss at Barcelona in the opening match of the group stages, the Bhoys will need a result to keep their faint hopes of advancing to the knockout round alive. However, they can draw on these momentous results for inspiration:

When Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers signed Scott Sinclair from Aston Villa during the summer transfer window, the winger was a known quantity to the bench boss. . .but few others.