CELTIC travel to Bavaria on Wednesday with a daunting task ahead of them.
Not only are Brendan Rodgers' side up against one of European football's most decorated and star-studded outfits in Bayern Munich, but they have the weight of history against them too.
Records are there to be broken and it's high time the Hoops ended their miserable record on German soil.
In 10 previous trips, Celtic are yet to record a win, coming away with seven defeats and three draws. Will it be different this time?
17 March 1976
FSV Zwickau 1-0 Celtic
UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals
Celtic’s trip to East Germany ended in disaster as a flu-struck Hoops side were knocked out of the Cup Winners’ Cup. A bug had hit the Bhoys camp hard, with five players too ill to play and another six only just recovering as they stepped onto the pitch. The Scottish side were only able to name four substitutes due to the crisis and Ludwig Blank’s early goal sealed defeat despite a string of chances for the visitors.
Evening Times reporter Alan Davidson didn’t hold back in his assessment of the game in the next day’s paper. He wrote: “Celtic were entitled to their genuine resentment on the flight home to Glasgow late last night, because they were helpless witnesses as Sachsenring committed unindictable robbery.”
29 September 1987
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Celtic
UEFA Cup first round
This 2-0 defeat saw Celtic crash out of the UEFA Cup at the first round with a 3-2 aggregate deficit. Norbert Dickel scored both of Dortmund’s goals in front of 3000 travelling Bhoys fans.
8 November 1988
Werder Bremen 0-0 Celtic
European Cup last 16
The Celts travelled to Bremen needing to overturn a 1-0 first leg defeat, but failed to secure a positive result after being frustrated by a cynical performance from the home side.
Although Celtic had the better chances, the West German champions held on to ensure they progressed to meet eventual winners AC Milan in the quarter-finals. They would lose 1-0 to the Italians over two legs.
15 September 1992
FC Koln 2-0 Celtic
UEFA Cup first round
An embarrassing night for Celtic as Koln, sitting rock-bottom of the German league, easily dismantled the visitors.
The Germans were without a win in six games going into the tie, but overcame Liam Brady’s side to continue their poor record in Germany.
However, the Hoops avoided an upset by turning the tie on its head with a 3-0 win at Parkhead in the second leg.
20 October 1992
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Celtic
UEFA Cup second round
Having pulled off that remarkable comeback against Cologne, Celtic returned to Germany the following month to take on Dortmund in the second round.
It was the second meeting between the sides in European competition, but the same outcome – Stephane Chapuisat’s goal inflicted yet another defeat for the Celts on German soil and sent them on the road to an eventual 3-1 aggregate defeat.
24 September 1996
Hamburg 2-0 Celtic
UEFA Cup first round
A calamitous first half gave Celtic a mountain to climb as Jorge Cadete was stretchered off injured before both Malky Mackay and John Hughes were shown red cards.
A goal either side of the break was enough to given Hamburg the win on the day and a comprehensive 4-0 aggregate victory over Tommy Burns’ side.
27 February 2003
Stuttgart 3-2 Celtic
UEFA Cup last 16
The Bhoys booked a spot in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals with this narrow defeat that gave them a 5-4 aggregate win over the Germans.
Martin O’Neill’s team would go on to reach the final, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Porto, but this result in Stuttgart marked the first moment in 23 years that the club had managed to remain in Europe beyond Christmas.
17 September 2003
Bayern Munich 2-1 Celtic
Champions League group stage
O’Neill’s side left Bavaria devastated after coming agonisingly close to collecting three points against one of Europe's giants.
Celtic went 1-0 up thanks to Alan Thompson’s goal before the hour mark, but a Roy Makaay double in the final 15 minutes broke travelling fans’ hearts and resigned the Hoops to their seventh defeat in eight trips to Germany.
5 November 2009
Hamburg 0-0 Celtic
Europa League group stage
Celtic returned to Hamburg 23 years on from their humiliation in the port city to produce a bore draw that all but ended their hopes of progressing in the Europa League.
The point left the Hoops bottom of their group and in need of wins in both of their final two games as well as the Bundesliga side losing theirs, a series of events that failed to materialise.
Despite the disappointment, it was only the second time in nine journeys to Germany that Celtic hadn’t returned to Scotland empty-handed.
1 November 2016
Borussia Monchengladbach 1-1 Celtic
Champions League group stage
Brendan Rodgers’ side desperately needed to record their first win in Germany after falling to a home defeat against Gladbach. Scott Sinclair came close to putting the Scottish champions in front in the first half when a curling effort came back off the post, but it was Lars Stindl who found the net for the hosts first just after the half-hour mark.
The Bundesliga side were also denied by the woodwork before Celtic were given hope when Julian Korb was sent off as he gave away a penalty that Moussa Dembele converted. Callum McGregor squandered a glorious chance late on to end the club’s winless run on German soil.
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