ESPN Bundesliga expert makes a surprising prediction if Celtic were playing in Germany
Out of all the leagues in Europe, the Bundesliga has to be one of the most high-profile of them all.
Comprised with legendary teams like Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig, the quality in the German top tier is undeniably excellent.
So if Celtic were to find themselves suddenly pitched into the German league, how would they fare? Pretty well, according to ESPN’s Derek Rae.
Rae has been covering the Bundesliga since he was appointed ESPN’s lead commentator in the league back in 2020. So if anyone needs listening to when it comes to the German league, it is him.
Rae was asked this morning on how he thought Celtic would fare in the Bundesliga and his reply will pleasantly surprise the Celtic support.
Rae said, “Always think these are difficult questions as if Celtic were actually in the Bundesliga, their budget & resources would be greater.
“As of now, probably touch & go for a European place at best. But that’s more a reflection on the greater strength of the Bundesliga.”
For me, that is a compliment to Celtic. We have seen how our team has fared against German competition in recent years and our record against them is not that great.
Back in 2017, we faced Bayern Munich in the Champions League and lost the home tie 2-1 and succumbed to a 3-0 defeat in Germany.
The year before that we struggled against Borrusia Monchengladbach with a 2-0 defeat at home but got a reputable 1-1 draw in the away tie.
But it was most recently against Bayer Leverkusen that we received our most humbling defeat. A 4-0 home loss in the Europa League was one of our heaviest in history.
However, we did some repair to our damaged reputation in the return tie in Germany as we narrowly lost 3-2 courtesy of two late goals in the final ten minutes of the game.
But, as Rae says, Celtic would be open to better revenue streams which would lead to bigger budgets and better players so, I suppose, any historical comparison is a moot point.
