Erik Sviatchenko

on the bench tonight for Denmark in Poland.

 

Everyone wants to do their best and we will do our best to perform.


ES: "If we can get the same intensity we had the last time against Man City, will be to our advantage."


ES: "From the start, we have been telling people around us that we will do our best, not just happy to be in #UCL





ES: "@borussia_en a really good team & caused Barcelona problems, have been really good over last couple of years in Germany."


ES: "Every team can take advantage if they have key players, but important to focus on what we have as Celtic players."

ES: "As I mentioned before, at home, we need these games to be our fort. When teams come here they need to be frightened."


ES on City performance: "Gives you belief, naturally, if you perform well but the next step is at Celtic Park tomorrow.

ES on the fans: "If they can perform like last time then Gladbach will be a bit frightened."


ES on his own form: "Fully confident, playing the best I have ever played. Socially and mentally in a good place.



ERIK Sviatchenko reckons the Paradise roar can strike terror into Borussia Monchengladbach in tomorrow’s crunch UEFA Champions League clash.

The Danish defender got his first taste of a Champions League group game at Celtic Park in last month’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Manchester City.

He believes the noise generated by the home crowd hampered the star-studded English side on that occasion and he’s confident the Hoops faithful can have a similar impact on the Bundesliga outfit.

But he knows the Bhoys must do their bit on the pitch as well and work in tandem with the supporters to give them the edge on the night.

The 25-year-old said: “As I mentioned before, at home, we need these games to be our fortress. When players and teams come here they need to be frightened.

“To draw a parallel to the City game, you could see they were struggling even though they are big stars. We will do our best to create that intensity for the game tomorrow and with the fans that combination will be good.

“My first experience against City in this tournament was really big, but imagine being in the opponent’s side, feeling that pressure especially in the last couple of minutes of the game where they really helped us when we needed it? If they can perform like last time, then Gladbach will be a bit frightened.

“They might know this place is difficult to play but if they thought it was an easy game before the City match they might be surprised. Every game in this tournament is difficult.”

Celtic produced a wonderful performance in their last Champions League outing against Manchester City, full of dynamism, aggression and purpose to earn a deserved share of the spoils.

Sviatchenko knows the team must maintain those high standards for the visit of Monchengladbach, with both teams aware that a positive result would give them a huge boost towards qualifying from the group.

He said: “It gives you belief, naturally, because you performed well, but if the performance is poor tomorrow we can’t talk about the game. It has to go step-by-step and the next step is at Celtic Park tomorrow, and we also need to show we are good.

“Gladbach are a really good team and they caused Barcelona problems. Although they had more difficulties against City, they are a team who have been really good over the last couple of years in Germany.

“We did the last time in the Champions League against City on this turf. If we can get the same intensity we had the last time against Man City, it will be to our advantage.

“From the start, we have been ourselves and telling people around us that we will do the best we can in this tournament. We are not just happy to be in it, we also want to see if we can get something out of it. So we will do our best and see where we are at the last game once it’s finished.”

 

He should be starting for them

 

Super cool in his interview. Starting tomorrow no worries.

Guy is supremely confident right now.

There is an air of confidence running through the whole club right now, from tea ladies to manager to players to supporters.

 

press conference today
https://streamable.com/ymdj

 

Favourite player in the team. Solid defensively but it's his passion that makes him even more likeable. Much like Lustig, he "gets" the club.

Just read there that his twin sister has moved to Glasgow with her partner, and she's working with the Celtic Foundation. So that's Erik, his girlfriend and his sister all working at Celtic!

 

The annals of history are littered with tales of footballers whose inability to adjust to a new environment nullified whatever talent they had.

From harsh climates to language barriers, unappealing local cuisine to homesickness, time and again those attempting to extricate themselves from lucrative contracts in foreign climes have cited the most banal excuses imaginable.

A man of culture, Erik Sviatchenko was never likely to have taken cold feet upon arriving in the Dear Green Place. A purveyor of Glasgow’s many art galleries, boredom is simply not something the Dane is familiar with.




As for the small matter of being apart from his nearest and dearest – a matter gazing at all the Monets in the world just cannot replace – the 25-year-old has arrived at a rather novel solution.

‘My twin sister Alexandra just moved here with her boyfriend Emil,’ he explained. ‘She wanted to try something and my girlfriend and I said “why don’t you come to Glasgow?”

‘We know a lot of places in the city and it will be easy for them. They’ve been staying with us for the last two weeks and now they have found an apartment.

‘Alexandra will join the Celtic Foundation and Emil will work at Kember and Jones Bakery. So my partner and I play for Celtic and Alexandra works there too. So we have a real family connection.

‘I am really comfortable here. I think Celtic employ more Danes than anyone else!’

Who’s to argue with the reasons lying behind the Dane’s current contentment? One of the few men to emerge from the Ronny Deila experiment with their reputations enhanced, the 25-year-old, whose partner Anne also plays for the Celtic Women’s Team, has already kicked on under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers.




A happy home life may be essential for any player to succeed on the field of play but without the right learning blocks being in place in the place of work it counts for little.

‘It’s a combination of people who have been helping me,’ Sviatchenko explained. ‘The manager has been really good at telling us how to do it and my team-mates are taking this really well.

‘The guys around us – John Kennedy and Chris Davies - are really close with us. It’s a combination of people really wanting to improve. That’s the first phase of being better than just good – you want to be great. Then there’s the phase when you are really looking at the details. That’s what this team is about.’

Five weeks ago in Barcelona, it was hard to look at Celtic as a side aspiring to reach the next level. Seven goals had flown past them and it was difficult to dispute that the scoreline was in anyway harsh.




In the days that followed, the debate was whether the champions of Scotland were no longer competitors in the Champions League but mere participants.

By the time the final whistle sounded at the end of an epic six-goal encounter with Manchester City, we had our answer.

‘We learned from that,’ Sviatchenko reflected. ‘If you took those two games, against two teams with huge players, there was a huge difference.

‘The most important thing is that we don’t have the mindset that we are just happy to be in the competition. We are not tourists in the tournament.

‘Some people can be star-struck when you come up against opponents that you play Fifa with. You have to forget about that and play. We are here for a reason – we qualified and we beat some good teams to get there.

‘We are getting better domestically and all these things combined gives a sense that we can do something here.

‘We may be up against bigger teams and better players, but sometimes It’s about the preparation and belief.



‘If you believe you can take the ball off Luis Suarez, you will take it. If you are afraid of him, he will probably go past you.’

It would be wrong to state, however, that City did not have their moments last time out. Unlike in the Nou Camp, though, Celtic had almost as many.

You would expect Brendan Rodgers’ side to create a number of openings tonight although anyone believing Borussia Monchengladbach are a significant step down in class stands accused of wishful thinking.

For Rodgers’ side to prevail, the complete performance is required.

‘It is important that we maintain the intensity for 90 minutes but as a footballer that is hard,’ Sviatchenko continued. ‘You have to pick and choose when the right time is to do that.

‘At the beginning of the match, you have energy and you need to put that it in.

‘Towards the end of the game, when you don’t have the same freshness, it’s important that you are calm in your mind and stay compact.



‘You have to work closer together and ensure you don’t make any irrational decisions.’

As if 60,000 prying eyes are not enough, tonight’s encounter will attract added interest in Sviatchenko’s homeland.

Andreas Christensen, one international team-mate, seems set to miss out through injury but as chance would have it Jannik Vestergaard – the other man currently keeping Sviatchenko out of the Denmark side – is set to play in his place.

Monchengladbach’s connections with Denmark, stretching back to Allan Simonsen’s day, remains strong.

‘He was European player of the year,’ Sviatchenko recalled. ‘I think the Bundesliga in general is popular in Denmark and when Danish players moved abroad, if they can move to the Bundesliga it’s a big step.

‘So Jannik and Andreas have done well. We all spoke the last time we were with the national team. I tried to get something out of them but it didn’t work. It was more jokes, they are good boys. They were looking forward to playing at Celtic Park.’

Whether plying their trade at the Allianz Arena or the Westfalenstadion can adequately prepare them for what lies in wait tonight, we shall know soon enough. Sviatchenko believes he already knows the answer.



‘The atmosphere was very big for me in the City game so just imagine what it feels like to be on the other side,’ he mused. ‘In those last couple of minutes the fans helped us when we really needed.

‘If we can have that again then I am sure Monchengladbach will be really frightened.

‘We need Celtic Park to be our fort. Teams need to be frightened to come here. In the City game you could see they were struggling - even though they are big stars.

‘We’ll do our best to create that intensity again and when you bring in the fans it can be a good combination.

‘Borussia might have looked at the City game but they will know this is a difficult place to come to anyway. If they think it will be easy they will be in for a surprise.’

 

SUCH was the deafening din during Celtic’s UEFA Champions League thriller with Manchester City, Erik Sviatchenko felt like he had been standing next to speakers blasting out music all night.

Although his ears were sore after the epic 3-3 draw, it was an unforgettable night for the Danish defender and he’s relishing his next instalment of the Paradise Champions League experience tonight against Borussia Monchengladbach.

The 25-year-old knows the home crowd will provide their brilliant backing again and he believes that a similar performance on the pitch from the Hoops can deliver them their first three points of this season’s group campaign.

Once the tough challenge of the Bundesliga outfit has been negotiated, Sviatchenko and his team-mates will turn their attentions to Sunday’s League Cup semi-final against Rangers where they aim to book their spot in the first showpiece final of the season.

It’s another big week for Brendan Rodgers’ side but the defender told this week’s Celtic View that belief is brimming at the club as the Scottish champions’ impressive start to the campaign shows no sign of abating.

What kind of test can we expect from Borussia Monchengladbach?

It will be really difficult and also because we’re coming after a really good game against Manchester City, people will now be expecting something and we will also expect that we can perform at the high standards we set against City. I think we will have some of the same approaches towards the game even though there will be slight changes. But we will go there without any fear on the pitch and we will try to suffocate them in the same way, which we did with a lot of success the last time we played in the Champions League. Even though it will be a tough game, if we’re up to our game, we will have a good chance to get the points.

So more of that aggressive approach, being on the front foot from the word go?

From the backline to the midfield to the attackers, there has to be unity. Referring to the City game again, they were struggling, and every team will do that if we are on the front foot and up to our game.

Given how well the team performed against Manchester City, this game certainly won’t faze you or the players

It’s about the mental preparation as well – to be fearless but also respectful. The respect you give must be a certain amount as we also have to believe in ourselves, our strengths and how we can wound them in the football sense. If we can take some of the good spells we had against City and put it into the game against Monchengladbach then we will be good to go.

How much did you enjoy your first UEFA Champions League group game at Celtic Park?

It was unbelievable. I had dreamed about playing these games. I wasn’t dreaming about playing at Celtic Park back then but if I was back there dreaming now, then I would dream about playing at Celtic Park as the atmosphere is unbelievable. My ears were sore after the game as it was like standing beside a speaker for an entire night. It was really loud and I was trying to call out for Kolo and KT and I was losing my breath because they couldn’t hear me at all. You had to go over to them and shout into their ear. It’s really those games which are nice to play and feel that the crowd are together with us. It’s a really nice experience.

What kind of difference does it make as a player on a match of that magnitude to have that level of backing?

It makes a major difference as you always have responsibility towards the fans whether you play at home or away. But when they put in a performance like that then you are just being carried. It can sound like a cliché to say we are being carried by the 12th man but especially at Celtic Park, it’s really that 12th man that keeps us going and they can really help especially at the end of the game against City. They were howling and booing against City when they had the ball and that must create uncertainty for them. It was difficult for us to speak but we knew they were on our side so it was about getting tight together and defending as it was a bit hard in the end, but we got that one point that was important to get us going again in the tournament.

 

This guy is smooth...seems like just a really nice guy in general as well as a great player. He loves us too

 

Only player with pass marks tonight

 

Bar Toure's two unbelievable blunders, this guy was actually worse..

 

Classic.

Sviatchenko in the first half got caught out a number of times stepping forward too much and letting his man get in behind and a defence splitting pass. Thankfully in the first half Toure was there to clear up the danger. Erik came in to the game more second half at least.

 

Disagree. He bailed Toure on several occasions tonight IMO. Goal saving challenge as well on Hahn.

 

After a couple of dodgy moments in the first half, he ended up being our best outfield player. Thought he was solid in the second half.

 

They cut him open constantly in the first half. Toure was heroic..

Second half the big man fell to pieces, for once..

 

Agreed. Happened at a bad time, but hopefully the pair of them bounce back. Two big players for us and have better in their game than tonight.

 

picked up tonight's Celtic website man of the match.

 

Scraping the barrel for him to get it. Was probably our joint worst player first half..

 

Thought he played well to be fair. As well as he could have we were pinned back all game that could have been a battering tonight.

 

Thought he played well tonight. Would like to see him and Josh in on Sunday together now.