{"id":9544,"date":"2026-05-07T19:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/9544\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T19:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T19:20:09","slug":"pierre-van-hooijdonk-celtic-park-had-no-atmosphere-until-my-feyenoord-return","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/9544\/","title":{"rendered":"Pierre van Hooijdonk: Celtic Park had ‘no atmosphere’ until my Feyenoord return"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\/ Add as preferred source on Google <\/a> <\/p>\n

Pierre van Hooijdonk has claimed that Celtic Park had \u2018no atmosphere\u2019 until he returned with Feyenoord.<\/p>\n

Van Hooijdonk<\/a> spent just two years in Glasgow, but certainly made his mark with 56 goals in two-and-a-half seasons.<\/p>\n

He departed Celtic<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

A league title evaded the Celts during van Hooijdonk\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

How much would Pierre van Hooijdonk be worth in 2026? <\/p>\n

\"DundeePhoto by Richard Sellers\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar via Getty Images Pierre van Hooijdonk \u2018never felt the magic\u2019 of Celtic Park as a player<\/p>\n

Speaking to MIDMID about his Celtic career, van Hooijdonk said: \u201cI heard everyone talking about Celtic Park and how it was great it was\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we\u2019re sitting there and there\u2019s no atmosphere.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Lewis Morgan on playing for Celtic as a Rangers fan, hints at others \u2018people may not know of\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no atmosphere because they weren\u2019t performing at all. Back then the main stand was still there, because it was never renovated. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut on the other side, the long side, there was a big stand and then behind those goals they had those temporary stands. <\/p>\n

\u201cYeah. So I never really felt that whole magic of Celtic Park as a Celtic player.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

As van Hooijdonk mentions, the stadium was undergoing a massive and phased reconstruction at the time. <\/p>\n

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.<\/a><\/p>\n

The loss of the Jungle from the old Celtic Park<\/a> caused teething issues in a transition to an all-seater stadium. An unavoidable factor was, of course, performances on the pitch.<\/p>\n

Celtic wouldn\u2019t return to the top of Scottish football until 1998, after which the Celtic Park atmosphere never looked back.<\/p>\n

Van Hooijdonk and his son\u00a0Sydney, who was once linked with Celtic,<\/a> are currently at the centre of an investigation in the Netherlands over conflict of interest in a transfer from NAC Breda.<\/p>\n

Join Our Newsletter<\/p>\n

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