Haitham Hassan's European Challenge with Celtic
UEFA turned up the volume again on Friday. Barely hours after the drama of the Champions League draw, European football’s governing body rolled out the Europa League league phase pairings, and the tension in the room spiked all over again.
This season’s competition will not ease anyone in gently. The new format has thrown heavyweight names together from the start, serving up early tests that could define the title picture long before spring arrives.
Haitham Hassan steps onto the European stage
Egyptian interest is alive and well. The spotlight now falls on Haitham Hassan, the young Egyptian talent who joined Celtic in the summer and is about to taste European football for the first time in the famous green and white.
His introduction could hardly be more demanding.
Celtic’s draw is as glamorous as it is unforgiving. Eight league-phase clashes await against a spread of styles and traditions: Olympique Marseille, Benfica, Ferencvaros, Union Saint-Gilloise, Celta Vigo, Omonia, Besiktas and Utrecht.
It is a schedule that offers no hiding place. Marseille, Benfica and Besiktas bring deep European pedigree and the weight of expectation. Around them sit ambitious clubs eager to punch above their weight, disrupt the hierarchy and turn the group into chaos.
That leaves Hassan and his Celtic teammates staring at a genuine examination of their credentials. Survive this gauntlet, compete with the giants, and find a way into the knockout rounds, and they will not just have met expectations – they will have announced themselves as serious contenders on the continental stage.
