Xavi and Andres Iniesta are two of the most decorated footballers in history, and they enjoyed trophy-laden careers in Barcelona. The iconic Spanish midfield duo were teammates in the Catalans’ side for around 12 seasons, helping the Blaugrana win four UEFA Champions Leagues.
The two Spaniards enjoyed many memorable moments in Europe’s elite club competition, including their performances in the 2019 final. Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi scored in a 2-0 win over Manchester United. It was a footballing masterclass, and Xavi and Iniesta pulled the strings for Pep Guardiola.
That famous night came at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, one of European football’s most stunning stadiums. Xavi and Iniesta spent their careers conducting midfield for Barca and doing so across Europe.
Yet the iconic Italian stadium isn’t the ground the pair feel has the best atmosphere of all the ones they’ve played in. That honour was bestowed on Celtic’s Celtic Park, which is rich in footballing history and home to raucous and passionate fans who cheer the Bhoys on.
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Xavi and Iniesta blown away by Celtic Park
The Barcelona icons couldn’t believe the noise
Xavi visited Celtic Park five times as a player and was captain twice. He recalled the intense atmosphere created by Celtic fans each time he took to their pitch while naming it above the likes of Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu:
The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtic’s stadium for our visit was the most impressive I’ve ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best.
Meanwhile, Iniesta played four times at the 60,000-capacity stadium. He called it an honour to play at the 14th-best stadium in the world:
I’ll never forget playing against Celtic, either. The atmosphere is one of the best in the world. I was fortunate to play there several times and it was always so intense. It was an honour to play amid such incredible noise.
Barca and Celtic have a history of famous European nights at Celtic Park. One of the biggest underdog victories in Champions League history came in 2012 when the Bhoys beat the Blaugrana 2-1 on home soil despite having only 16% of possession on the night.
Tony Watt and Victor Wanyama scored for the Scottish giants to give them an unlikely lead, and Messi could only grab a late consolation. It’s one of many iconic nights enjoyed by the Hoops in Europe’s elite club competition, which has continued into this year. The crowd’s roar gave Brendan Rodgers’ troops a twelfth man in their famous 3-1 win over RB Leipzig (November 5, 2024).
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