The “outstanding” Celtic star who has emerged as the new Lubo Moravcik

Celtic have made a terrific start to the new-look format in the Champions League this season and have already amassed their points total from last season.

The Hoops finished bottom of their group, racking up four points in six matches, in the 2023/24 campaign, as Brendan Rodgers’ side crashed out of Europe in dismal style.

However, the change to a league phase format, for the first time in the competition’s history, has seemingly helped the Scottish giants to find their feet in the tournament.

Celtic have won two, drawn one, and lost one of their opening four matches in the Champions League, leaving them on seven points, with their most recent win coming against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.

The Hoops will now be hoping that the second half of their league phase campaign is as successful and that they are able to make it through to the knock-out stages of the competition in 2025.

Rodgers will need his players to continue to step up and perform in the Champions League and one former Celtic star who caught the eye on the European stage was attacking midfielder Lubomir Moravcik.

Lubomir Moravcik’s Celtic career in numbers

The Slovakian whiz produced three goals and two assists in 15 matches as a central midfielder in European competitions for the Scottish giants, and both of those assists came in just three Champions League outings.

He registered two assists in three games, against Juventus, Porto, and Rosenborg, during the 2001/02 Champions League campaign for Celtic.

Former Hoops manager Martin O’Neill described the Slovakia international as one of the most two-footed players he had ever worked with, and hailed his talent as “amazing”. He also went as far as to say that Moravcik was one of the most “gifted” players he had ever seen, during his playing and managerial career.

The mercurial playmaker spent almost four years at Parkhead, between 1998 and 2002, and caught the eye with his exciting performances in the middle of the park, which earned him such high praise from O’Neill.

In those four seasons, the former Saint-Etienne magician contributed with a return of 31 goals and 14 assists in 118 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants, including six goals and nine assists in 21 outings in the Scottish Premiership in the 2001/02 campaign.

These statistics show that he was a central midfielder who could make a difference, with goals and assists, in the final third for Celtic, domestically and in Europe.

Moravcik, who scored four goals in 14 games against Rangers, won three domestic cups and two Premiership titles during his time in Glasgow, which shows that his goals and assists contributed to silverware for the Hoops.

It has been over 22 years since the midfield whiz moved on from Parkhead but the club may have unearthed their new version of Moravcik by hitting gold with Reo Hatate.

How much Celtic paid for Reo Hatate

In the January transfer window at the start of 2022, former Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou moved to sign the Japanese maestro from J-League champions Kawasaki Frontale for a reported fee of £1.4m.

It has turned out to be a bargain signing for the Scottish giants because the terrific talent has gone on to emerge as a star for the Hoops in recent seasons.

The Japan international hit the ground running at Parkhead with a return of four goals and three assists in 17 appearances in the Premiership during the second half of the 2021/22 campaign.

In his first full season in Glasgow, Hatate contributed with nine goals and 11 assists in 45 appearances in all competitions, with nine of those assists coming in the Premiership.

As you can see in the table above, the central midfielder missed a huge chunk of the 2023/24 campaign through injury, which meant that Rodgers was unable to get the best out of him.

The 26-year-old star only managed three goals and four assists in all competitions for Celtic, as his season was disrupted by several injuries.

Reo Hatate’s form for Celtic

The Hoops star has avoided any injury problems so far this term and has been available for every single match across all competitions for Rodgers, which has allowed him to build up his consistency on the pitch.

Scottish football account Inside The SPFL on X recently claimed that Hatate has “world class” ability and that he is the first Celtic player since Lobo Moravcik to pick out the kind of passes he plays, as the account stated that the midfielder sees the game “differently” to others.

That is serious praise for Hatate, given the Slovakian’s career with Celtic and the praise he received from O’Neill once upon a time, and it is deserved, when you consider the level of his performances at times.

The Japanese dynamo has produced one goal and one assist in four Champions League games so far this season, with a goal coming against Leipzig on Tuesday night.

As you can see in the table above, Hatate has also caught the eye with his displays in the Premiership for Rodgers, now that he has been able to play consistently without picking up any injury issues.

He has showcased his Moravcik-esque passing ability by creating four ‘big chances’ for his teammates in ten matches, but their wasteful finishing has stopped him from registering any assists thus far.

The midfield ace, who was hailed as “outstanding” against Leipzig by pundit Chris Sutton, now has a market value of €10m (£8m) on Transfermarkt, thanks to his form during his time with Celtic.

This shows that Hoops not only struck gold by unearthing their new version of Moravcik in midfield but they also hit the jackpot by signing a player for just £1.4m and helping his value to soar over the subsequent years.