The Big Interview Charlie Nicholas

Charlie will never forget the night the Bhoys sunk Cruyff.

Charlie Nicholas scored an incredible 48 goals for Celtic in season 1982/83. Then, still just 20 years old, he tore through defences, whether domestic or Continental.

And none of his strikes is more celebrated than his stunning effort in Amsterdam that helped the Hoops knock Ajax out of the European Cup. The Scotland internationalist left two of the Dutch club’s defenders in his wake before chipping the keeper.

It made him an idol to a generation of Celtic supporters and was instrumental in earning him £800,000 transfer to Arsenal at the end of that season.

As Nicholas reveals, though, the ties are burned into his memory for a different reason. 30 years on, the Hoops take on the Amsterdam giants again in the Champions League on Tuesday night, the first of their back-to-back meetings with the Dutch masters.

Now a leading football analyst with Sky Sports, Charlie remembers Ajax as probably the best football team he EVER faced. And Johan Cruyff is certainly the best player he ever shared a football pitch with.

“I have been fortunate enough to play against some of the all-time greats Michel Platini, Franz Beckenbauer and Kenny Dalglish,” said Nicholas as he looked ahead to the clubs’ Champions League renewal in Glasgow on Tuesday night. And, of course, Zinedine Zidane, who had amazing ability.

“None of them, though, were as good as Cruyff, a player who had always been a personal hero of mine. This was the guy who, in my opinion, was a genuine game-changer because he transformed the way football was played, not only in Holland but right across the Continent.

“In the flesh he was just jaw-droppingly good. I never ever saw someone who appeared to have so much time on the ball. When I played against him, it was at the tail end of his career, too, after he’d come back to Holland from his stint in the United States.

“He was 35 years old and playing in a deeper role than he had back in the 70s when he helped Ajax win three European Cups in a row (1971-73). But it was a role that really suited him because it allowed him to make use of his amazing vision. If you look at the footage from the game in Glasgow, you will see his set-up for Soren Lerby at Ajax’s second goal a first time lay-off is genius.”

Lerby was the captain of Denmark and just one of the quality supporting acts to Cruyff.

“That two-legged tie was one of the greatest memories in my career because Ajax were as good a team as I ever played against and we put them out,” said Nicholas. “They were stunning. Their passing and their movement were just sensational. I remember we went into Glasgow afterwards for a couple of pints and saying to Danny McGrain: ‘Was it just me or were they from a different planet?’

“Danny’s experience summed it up. I trained with him and played alongside him so no-one needs to tell me how good a defender he was. The way he was back then, I would have backed him against anyone in the world. So it was weird to see Jesper Olsen give him a really tough time.

“We had some great players. Danny was probably up on another level from the rest of us, but we had the likes of Tommy Burns, Paul McStay, Murdo MacLeod and Davie Provan in the team. We were pretty good but where we took three or four touches to get into the areas we wanted, they were doing it in one or two. They really did give us a bit of a doing.

“Olsen and Soren Lerby both scored, but I converted a penalty kick after Cruyff, of all people, took down Tommy in their box. Then Frank McGarvey got us a late equaliser.

“2-2 was a funny result because it meant that, as things stood, we were out of the competition because they had the away goals. That actually was the gist of big Billy McNeill’s team-talk to us before the return in the Olympic Stadium. He said unless you do something to change this situation, then you are going out of the European Cup.

“I wouldn’t claim it to be one of the great motivational speeches of all time, but it really hammered home the point to all of us. Billy had urged us to marry passion and commitment to the ability that we had, and we certainly did, pulling off a famous 2-1 victory. And I was thrilled when Cruyff came up to me after the game and said he hoped we would go all the way.

“Of course, we didn’t. We went out to Real Sociedad in the next round but that made it for me. It was a nice touch and underlined the class that Cruyff had.”

While the 2013 Ajax lack a superstar like Cruyff, Nicholas sees direct similarities with the ties in 1982.

“I think the tremendously interesting thing about the games is the fact they are effectively a two-leg shoot-out because of the way the Group has panned out,” he said. “To stay in Europe beyond Christmas, Celtic are going to have to take more from these games than Ajax get. If they do that, they can be in the Europa League they might even make the last 16 of the Champions League. Fail, and they will walk away with nothing.

“It is a situation where I think you have no choice but to be bold, just as we had to be back in 1982.

“Will Neil Lennon have the courage to really go for it in an attacking sense? We will see. Celtic are going to need to unlock the Ajax defence, and for me the key man will be Kris Commons. They have other good forwards but he is the one with the real creative spark I think they are going to need.”

In other words, the Cruyff Factor!