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Pierre van Hooijdonk has claimed that Celtic Park had ‘no atmosphere’ until he returned with Feyenoord.
Van Hooijdonk spent just two years in Glasgow, but certainly made his mark with 56 goals in two-and-a-half seasons.
He departed Celtic in acrimonious circumstances, but remains well-remembered by many Hoops fans. An extremely prolific striker, he went on to score goals in England, Portugal and Turkey.
A league title evaded the Celts during van Hooijdonk’s spell, with the club in a period of transition. Reflecting on his time in Scotland, the Dutchman has made a controversial comment on the Parkhead atmosphere.
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Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images Pierre van Hooijdonk ‘never felt the magic’ of Celtic Park as a player
Speaking to MIDMID about his Celtic career, van Hooijdonk said: “I heard everyone talking about Celtic Park and how it was great it was…
“Now we’re sitting there and there’s no atmosphere.
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“There was no atmosphere because they weren’t performing at all. Back then the main stand was still there, because it was never renovated.
“But on the other side, the long side, there was a big stand and then behind those goals they had those temporary stands.
“Yeah. So I never really felt that whole magic of Celtic Park as a Celtic player.
“I did feel, of course, when we played there that it was special, when I came back there and played with Feyenoord in a friendly. Yeah, that was, the sound, yes, phenomenal.”
As van Hooijdonk mentions, the stadium was undergoing a massive and phased reconstruction at the time.
He joined halfway through the 1994-95 season, in which the Hoops were away from their home completely and playing home games at Hampden Park.
The loss of the Jungle from the old Celtic Park caused teething issues in a transition to an all-seater stadium. An unavoidable factor was, of course, performances on the pitch.
Celtic wouldn’t return to the top of Scottish football until 1998, after which the Celtic Park atmosphere never looked back.
Van Hooijdonk and his son Sydney, who was once linked with Celtic, are currently at the centre of an investigation in the Netherlands over conflict of interest in a transfer from NAC Breda.
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