The 2008–09 season was the 115th season of competitive football by Celtic.
Overview Celtic went into the 2008–09 season defending their Scottish Premier League title, which they won for the third consecutive time in 2007–08.
They also entered the UEFA Champions League directly at the group stage, as well as taking part in the two domestic cup competitions, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup.
To prepare for the Season, Celtic took part in two Pre-Season Tournaments; the Algarve Challenge Cup in Faro, Portugal, where they finished bottom, having faced Middlesbrough and Cardiff City, and the Feyenoord Jubilee Tournament in Rotterdam, where they finished second, having faced Tottenham Hotspur and host club Feyenoord.
The campaign
League campaign The Championship flag was unfurled before Celtic's first League game, against St Mirren at Celtic Park on 10 August by Rosemary Burns, the widow of former Celtic player Tommy Burns, who had died of skin cancer at the end of season 2007–08. Celtic won the game 1–0, through a Barry Robson penalty, getting their campaign off to a winning start.
Celtic finished second in the SPL table at the end of the season, eventually finishing four points behind champions Rangers. This was despite at one point having built up a seven-point lead over Rangers. This lead was squandered though, Celtic dropping points to Dundee United, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Motherwell, Rangers themselves, and on two occasions to both Hibernian and Hearts.
One day after the final league game of the season, a 0–0 draw with Hearts at Celtic Park, it was announced that Gordon Strachan would leave as manager of Celtic with immediate effect. This brought to an end Strachan's four-year spell as manager, during which he guided the club to three SPL titles, one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups. He also guided the club twice into the last 16 of the Champions League, losing out to AC Milan and Barcelona respectively.
European campaign Celtic, as Scottish champions, qualified directly for the UEFA Champions League, where they were the sole Scottish side as Rangers were knocked out in the second qualifying round by FBK Kaunas, meaning Celtic received all the TV money allocated to Scotland.
Celtic were in Pot 3 for the group stage draw, which took place in Monaco on 28 August. They were drawn with Manchester United, Villarreal and Aalborg. The first game, a home tie against Aalborg, finished in a goalless draw. The next game, away to Villarreal, ended in a 1–0 defeat, which was followed by a 3–0 defeat away to Manchester United. Next up, at home, Celtic drew 1–1 with Manchester United, with Scott McDonald putting Celtic in the lead in the 13th minute, only for Ryan Giggs to equalise for Manchester United in the 84th minute. A disappointing 2–1 defeat to Aalborg in Denmark saw Celtic's European aspirations end, despite having taken the lead through Barry Robson. Nonetheless, Celtic rallied to end their campaign on a high with a 2–0 victory over Villarreal at Celtic Park.
Domestic cups Celtic entered the Scottish League Cup at the third round proper (the last 16 stage) and the Scottish Cup at the fourth round proper (the Round of 32). The club beat Livingston 4–0 in the third round of the League Cup on 23 September, and travelled to Kilmarnock on 28 October, beating them 3–1 and qualifying for the semi-finals, where they faced Dundee United at Hampden Park on 28 January. After a 0–0 draw in extra time, Celtic won a penalty shoot-out 11–10 to set up a final against Rangers on 15 March. The team won the 2009 Scottish League Cup Final 2–0 after extra time at Hampden, with Darren O'Dea and Aiden McGeady getting the goals.
The fourth round of the Scottish Cup took place on 10 January, with Celtic beating Dundee at Celtic Park. In the fifth round, Celtic hosted Queen's Park on 7 February, beating them 2–1. In the quarter-finals, Celtic lost 1–0 at St Mirren on 7 March.
Competitions
Scottish Premier League
Scottish League Cup
Scottish Cup
UEFA Champions League Group stage
Player statistics
Appearances and goals
List of squad players, including number of appearances by competition
Top scorers PlayerScottishPremierLeagueScottishLeagueCupScottishCupUEFAChampionsLeagueTotal1 Scott McDonald16111192 Georgios Samaras15200173 Shunsuke Nakamura810094 Scott Brown51107 Aiden McGeady321175 Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink600066 Shaun Maloney400157 Cillian Sheridan40004 Stephen McManus40004 Glenn Loovens310048 Paul Hartley30003 Gary Caldwell201039 Barry Robson10012 Darren O'Dea1100210 Koki Mizuno10001 Marc Crosas10001 Lee Naylor10001
Team statistics
League table
Champions league table
Technical staff
Transfers
In DatePlayerFromFeeSource19 June 2008 Derry City 08£500,000 15 July 2008 Manchester City 08£3,000,000 15 July 2008 Matty Hughes Rochdale 08Undisclosed 10 August 2008 Barcelona 08 £400,00016 August 2008 Cardiff City 08£2,500,00022 August 2008 Aston Villa 08£2,200,00016 December 2008 Derry City 08£300,000 23 December 2008 FK Příbram 08£500,000 30 January 2009 Cardiff City 08£1,300,000 2 February 2009 Filip Twardzik Hertha Berlin 08Undisclosed 2 February 2009 Patrik Twardzik 08Undisclosed
Out DatePlayerToFeeSource17 June 2008 Dundee United 08Free 30 June 2008 Brighton & Hove Albion 08Free 1 July 2008 Morecambe 08Free 27 July 2008 Norwich City 08 Loan 7 August 2008 Livingston 08 Loan 8 August 2008 Motherwell 08 Undisclosed14 August 2008 St Mirren 08 Loan18 August 2008 Retired 21 August 2008 Ajax 08£1,200,000 1 September 2008 Randers FC 08Free 1 September 2008 Hibernian 08£500,0007 January 2009 Hamilton Academical 08Loan31 January 2009 Norwich City 08Loan2 February 2009 Hamilton Academical 08Free2 February 2009 Motherwell 08Loan
See also List of Celtic F.C. seasons
References
External links Celtic FC website