When Artur Boruc signed for Italian club Fiorentina it was the end of five great years for the Polish goalie at Celtic Park.

Probably the best keeper to play for the club in the past two decades, Boruc leaves Glasgow with three SPL badges, two League Cup and one Scottish Cup medal.

Always a character, the Holy Goalie’s match day ritual of blessing himself not only endeared him to The Faithful but angered the bigots that trawl this small minded country.

His heroics between the sticks included the famous penalty save from Manchester United’s Louis Saha in the Champions League, his penalty conversion against Dundee United in the CIS Cup semi-final and for me the best save of his career, when he tipped a swerving shot onto the post at Easter Road last season.

The big man was never afraid to voice his opinion or show his allegiance as he proved at Legoland when he left the park waving a ‘Champions’ Celtic flag!

Everyone at Celtic Fanzone wish the HG all the best for the future and look forward to seeing back visiting the club he held so dear for the last five years.

Good luck Artur!

The Holy Goalie

After reading over the last few days about The Holy Goalie’s trials and tribulations from last season and his ‘clear the air’ chat with new manager Tony Mowbray it appears to me the one thing that been missing is now sorted.

Artur’s best friend Lukasz Zaluska joined the club on a pre-contract agreement from Dundee United on the first day of June.

To me, that could well be a masterstroke.

Not only have we signed a really good goalkeeper, but we has also got someone in the club that might understand Artur a bit more.

Boruc Adored By Fans!

Having another Polish teammate, as well as friend might just be what the Holy Goalie needs right now.

I’m not making excuses for the big man, at times last season he was shocking, other times he was brilliant, but since Magic Zurawski left Celtic, Artur has kinda gone his own way.

Could be a Polish thing, I don’t know. Maybe he needs a countryman to confide in?

Either way, this will be a big season for Boruc, let hope he gets back to the form that made him the best ‘keeper in Euro 2008.

P.S. I’m not sure what Mogga meant by the form to attract a ‘big club’. He’s at the biggest.

Since the Hoops don’t have to worry about a Scottish Cup Semi-Final this weekend, wee Ghord and the Bhoys are off for a weeks ‘bonding’ in Spain.

Nice work if you can get it!

With the remaining SPL fixtures all ready carved up, the trip will be used to get the players in focus for the ‘five cup finals’ we have between now and the end of the season.

New Slimline Artur!

Obviously, La Manga in April will be the same conditions we’ll experience at Aberdeen next weekend!

Hopefully, the break will do the trick..and with a bit of luck WGS will be working on how to get into the lead and keep it.

The bottom line is..if Celtic keep three clean sheets away from home then we’ll be on our way to our fourth title.

P.S. Has anyone noticed how much slimmer the Holy Goalie has become since he started to wear…black? If only someone had told BBJ!

You’ve got to laugh. Scotland just get humped by the Dutch and are allowed to drown their sorrows with a few beers when Bazza and McGregor kick off.

Now there is nothing wrong with having a social drink amongst your team mates, but do you really have to make it a session, until the following afternoon?

How much pish can this pair talk?

And what kind of example is that to show the Rankers fans, who obviously copy what their players do?

Well, there’s no doubt the topic of conversation would involve Kris Boydichenko. It’s obvious, think back, the goalie was the first to stick up for him when he threw in the towel on the international team.

And who’s fault was it for Boyd’s huff, George Burley. The  manager must have been the target for the drunken Huns’ abuse. And in true management style, the pair have been banned from playing for Scotland.

Or have they…..the plot thickens.

You see, despite their loutish behaviour, both Baz and McGregor have played the old ‘get out of jail card.’ The same one Boydichenko played before last month’s CIS Cup Final. Not that it did him any good!

Sorry Mr Burley, Sorry Mr Smith.

Same patter, different managers.

But I wonder what the Laptop Loyal will make of this episode. Will they be calling for the two of them to be banished from international football? Will they demand an apology to the Tartan Army?

And how can Wattie cope with his captain and goalkeeper being such a disruptive influence? Surely he must sell them. (tried that one, nobody wants them!)

It’s only right, after all the same media demanded that Aiden McGeady and Artur Boruc be sold after their misdemeanours.

Somehow I don’t think we’ll see that.

The news that the Holy Goalie was sent back to Glasgow after the nightmare he endured on and off the park in Belfast last Saturday, should come as no surprise to anyone.

A Rebel Yell!

His international coach Leo Beenhakker has hardly been supportive of Artur, something that can’t be said of WGS. And to make matters worse, his goalkeeping coach Jan Tomaszewski has blamed Boruc for inciting a ‘religious war’.

That last piece of nonsense makes my blood boil. How would he know what Artur has to go through in Glasgow? Maybe Cloughie was right to call him a ‘clown’ all those years ago.

Anyway, it’s best for Artur to where he feels wanted, so Lennoxtown for the next couple of days will be a welcoming sanctuary for the big Pole.

And joining him shortly will be Aiden McGeady. The flying Irishman has a knee injury that will keep him out of the Republic’s game against Italy in Bari tomorrow night.

Aiden will surely benefit from the rest and be ready to face Hamilton this Saturday. Hopefully the remaining Bhoys on international ‘duty’ will come through unscathed and we can focus on the title run-in starting this week.

This really is a time when the club comes first.

Sure Lee Naylor’s second half volley was a screamer, and it did salvage a point when we all too easily gave up a one goal lead.

But don’t be fooled by Nayls’ wonder goal.

Both of Dundee United ‘s goals came from down the left. The second from a quickly taken free-kick that caught both Naka and Naylor sleeping.

Cracking Goal at Dundee

In fact most of the Arabs pressure came down that side.

And I’m not making excuses here, but yet again we’ve had to change the formation, this time due to injuries to Mick and Glenn.

Still, that’s another tricky away fixture out the road. We’ve not done too bad over the weekend I suppose, and if there if one real positive to come out of the game, our new goalie Lukasz Zaluska looks the part.

Of course he’ll need to get used to the ‘warped’ media attention he’ll get as a Celtic goalkeeper.

I can see the headlines now,” Boruc And Zaluska Fight In Polish Brothel”

…or words to that effect!

Since the Laptop Loyal’s favourites have ‘blown a gasket’, their mantra now must be the tried and tested, upset the Tims on the day of a big game.

And of course the easiest way to do that would be to link one of our best players with a move. That way the LL will get them to us amongst each other and forget about their Blue Eyed Boys.

A cunning plan.

But it has one flaw.

We’ve seen it all before.  Aiden To Bayern. Boruc To Quit. O’Dea To Demand Transfer. Big Jan To Score A Hat-Trick.

OK, the last one was stretching it a bit far, but you get the idea. We the Faithful can see right through their mischief making.

And no matter what they say, if the Bhoys do their stuff, at the ‘business end of the season’ then even the media can’t stop FOUR-IN-A-ROW!

Nostalgia Moment:

For all those who can remember the nine-in-a row run here’s a wee ditty from the early 70′s the Faithful used to sing  from the terraces.

“Ho-Ho-Ho It’s Magic, You Know,

It’s Gonna Be FOUR In A ROW!!”

Goldfish Bowl Existence

Everyone in Glasgow knows that when you play for Celtic your private life is now very much in the public domain. More so if you’ve got any real ability, which the Holy Goalie certainly has.

But it has it’s limits. Here’s what his international coach thinks about it….

Poland coach Jan de Zeeuw fears that Celtic goalkeeper Artur Boruc could be about to crack under the pressure of being number one for club and country.

The 28-year-old has had a series of blunders this season, and after fighting with Aiden McGeady last week questions have been asked about his future at Celtic.

But de Zeeuw feels the stress could be getting to him after working with him when Poland faced Wales on Wednesday, and it could not come at a worse time with the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

“We all know he has had some tough times and anybody in that situation can find it difficult,”

“He has had a hard time and is still having a hard time. But everybody deals with private problems in a different way. It is difficult for him.

“He has to live with a lot of pressure in Scotland and it is even worse when he comes to Poland. The bull**** he gets in the papers in Poland is unbelievable.”

He continued: “He is one of the biggest stars in Poland and the pressure is unbelievable because the Polish media is brutal.

“Everyone has a right to privacy but Artur has none, in Poland or in Scotland. It is very difficult for him.”

Looking ahead to Sunday’s game, de Zeeuw feels that Boruc will struggle to focus on the match.

“It’s a massive game for him, of course, but I don’t know how he will do because he has problems,” he added. “If everybody is confronting you all of the time it is difficult to concentrate on your job.

“I don’t know the details of any problems Artur might have but if he has difficulties he has to deal with them in his own way.”

So there you have it, but like everyone else, Artur is entitled to some privacy. I doubt if he’ll ever get it, especially here with the media hounds on his case. Share and Enjoy:

]]> http://celticfanzone.net/153/arturs-right-to-privacy/feed/ 0 http://celticfanzone.net/92/square-go/ http://celticfanzone.net/92/square-go/#comments Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:54:23 +0000 Fanzone http://celticfanzone.net/?p=92 Anarchy In Paradise!

Always ready to stir things up when it comes to Celtic, the Daily Record has ‘reported’ that the Holy Goalie has had a couple of  thumps at Aiden’s coupon.

Apparently this mismatch of a square go, Artur’s 6′ plus and Aiden’s barely 5’9, took place at Lennoxtown yesterday in front of ‘stunned’ team mates and the manager Ghordon Strachan.

No fists here!

The whole incident has been played down as a training ground ‘spat’  but no doubt the media will want to milk the hell out of it, calling for Boruc to be the first man to be hanged this century and Aiden to be ‘banished’ back to the nation that he plays for, Ireland.

All this when we’ve a treble to chase, tut, tut.

P.S. Tosh McKinley says he has nothing to do with it!