There was something divinely inspirational about Lubomir Moravcik and Celtic.

They were a match made in heaven; he became known as the Gift from God.

Signed by then Celtic boss Dr Jo Venglos in October 1998 for a modest fee of £330,000, there was media scepticism over the impact a player of 33 could make on the Scottish game.

Moravcik went on to become a hero in the eyes of the Parkhead faithful, forming an outstanding partnership with the legendary Henrik Larsson. The duo were signed for less than £1million combined.

'Lubo', as he is affectionately known, made his Celtic Old Firm debut against Rangers on November 21 1998 - and also scored his first two goals that same day as the Hoops earned a memorable 5–1 victory.

The 80-cap Czechoslovakia and Slovakia international stayed at Parkhead for a total of four seasons, winning two Scottish championships, one Scottish Cup and two Scottish League Cups.

"My favourite time, my most special time, was at Celtic," Moravcik once said of his stay in Glasgow. "They said I was a gift from God but it was the opposite – Celtic was a gift from God to me… Celtic is unique."

What was it like to face the footballing force of nature that was Lubomir Moravcik? The Celtic Way tracked down some of his former opponents to find out...

Stuart Lovell (Hibs & Livingston)

Moravcik was actually one of my favourite opponents to play against. I think all players when they play at a high and decent level can recognise the qualities of another good player. In this case, Lubo was more than good. When you see someone who is that good and who also carries themself very well - he wasn't someone who was overly theatrical or over-celebrated or overdid anything, a very humble and modest guy - that kind of sticks in your mind.

But he was a savage to play against. One of my most humiliating moments was when we played Celtic at Easter Road before the 2001 Scottish Cup final. It was a barnstormer of a game, Hibs lost 5-2. 

I remember being stuck out at right wing-back playing against Moravcik that day and he got the ball in the far corner - in front of all the headcase Hibs fans - and he shaped to cross with his left foot. I was slightly off balance and he twisted me inside out and then shaped to cross with his right foot - I just kept falling for it and going back and forth.

READ MORE: Creating Celtic magic and how Martin O'Neill 'turned club upside down' - Lubo Moravcik Big Interview

I reckon he must have shaped to cross the ball six times and the guys in the middle Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton were going mental and telling him to get the ball into the box. Lubo was just having a bit of fun with me - he was like a cat with a mouse. I had a blazing row with Big Eck [Hibs boss Alex McLeish] when I went back into the dressing room as he was screaming at me to stop the cross and I told him that he should go out there and play against him and see if he could stop the cross! We both laugh at that now.

You just never knew if Lubo was going to use his left or his right foot - and it didn't matter as it was going to be on a sixpence with pace on it anyway. He was an absolute nightmare to play against. He was frustrating as he'd hang out wide and tempt you in. He was so difficult to read, he was always trouble... a real conundrum to play against and a player who, if you spoke to his fellow professionals, would tell you he was off the scale. The ultimate two-footed player.

It is poetry to watch someone who has the balance and technique down to a fine art. And that's what football was for Lubo: an art form. For me that is what football is all about too, I would pay to watch a player like him. He was head and shoulders above everybody else in terms of what he could do with the ball. He was value for money and not far behind Larsson in terms of bargains of the century; a once-in-a-generation player who just lit up Scottish football.

Keith Lasley (Motherwell)

Moravcik was a football genius. I have never seen a more technically-gifted player in Scottish football. It was astonishing what he could do with a ball. I remember there was genuine controversy when he signed about his age and where he'd come from but people soon changed their tune and it became pretty apparent that this guy could play.

I was on the receiving end of it a few times. I never usually spoke to any of my opponents - because I was too busy trying to kick them! - but Lubo just looked like a guy that genuinely enjoyed football. Every game seemed to be treated as if he was outside with his mates playing in the local park. He had a matador side where you thought you could get the ball off him and then he would turn to the other side and away he went. I was still a young player making my way in the game at the time so it was an education playing against the likes of him, Larsson and Sutton. It helped me progress as a footballer. 

Celtic Way:

When you came up close and personal with Lubomir Moravcik you just marvelled at how he made football look easy. It made me think to myself 'Where was he? How did it take until he was 33 before he signed for Celtic?' He should have been playing in the English Premier League, Serie A or La Liga. He could have held his own there absolutely no problem at all. He had a level of technique that you just didn't see every week in Scotland and it set the standard for what a proper technical footballer should look like in this country.

Darren Young (Aberdeen & Dunfermline)

He was the most assured two-footed player I ever played against but even his strength was phenomenal - you would just bounce off him at times, you couldn't get near him to leave one on him. He genuinely was that good.

It didn't matter if he used his left foot or right foot. He could ping free kicks into the top corner and take set-pieces with deadly accuracy. His corners? They were something else altogether. I know David Beckham used to practise his free-kicks until he was pitch-perfect so the Celtic boys will probably tell you that Moravcik will have done the same.

When you see and hear about these players who are staying behind and doing that bit extra on the training pitch to hone their skills you have to admire that. I remember a story about Gianfranco Zola doing extra training and practising his skills even though this was a guy that had played in the World Cup finals with Italy. Even though he was the main man he was very graceful and very humble at Stamford Bridge and I've always admired that about those kinds of players. Lubo was one, no airs or graces and by all accounts unbelievable.

On the pitch he was as sharp as anything. He also had a five-yard burst of speed as well as a brain that never switched off... can you imagine what he could have achieved had he arrived 10 years earlier? It is not fanciful to think the likes of Barcelona or Real Madrid could have come calling. He was frightening.

David Bingham (Dunfermline & Livingston)

Moravcik was a wonderful player who possessed fantastic technique, a dead-ball specialist who it felt like could do everything with a football... I'll give you one such story.

Livingston played Celtic on Boxing Day 2001 at Parkhead. We lost 3-2 in the end. However, Steve Tosh has steamrollered Paul Lambert some 30 yards from goal inside the first 15 minutes. I was apoplectic, screaming at Tosher 'What did you do that for? Lubo will bend this into the top corner. I'm telling you!'

If you watch the footage I am in the defensive wall and I am still angry and moaning as I just had such a bad feeling about what was coming next. I can remember Tosher's response as clear as day. He shot me one of those glances and said 'Lubo is going to have to be some player to bend one into the top corner from that distance'.

Famous last words indeed. The rest is history. Moravcik opened the scoring from said free-kick by bending it right into the top corner. That totally summed up the sublime talent that he was - a magnificent footballer. Scottish football was lucky to have witnessed such a player.

Lee Makel (Hearts & Livingston)

He wasn't bad, was he? Unbelievable ability with both feet, you could tell that straight away, but I'll tell you something about Lubomir Moravcik you probably didn't know: he was a strong little bastard!

He had such a low centre of gravity, he'd twist and turn and you just couldn't knock him off the ball if your life depended on it. He was a great player, exceptional with either foot, but he also possessed everything in his armoury. His technique and skill, you couldn't tell if he had a weak side and I was genuinely impressed by that. The guy could take inswinging corners from both sides and at times I just stood there and thought 'fucking hell'. He was such a crowd-pleaser that sometimes you just had to marvel at his maverick talent.

I remember playing against him and he switched this ball from his left to right foot and then pinged an 80-yard diagonal pass with pinpoint accuracy. About 10 minutes later he drifted over to the other side and switched the ball from his right to left foot and did the exact same diagonal pass from 80 yards again.

I mean I played with some top players in England [Makel was at Blackburn Rovers when they won the Premier League] and Moravcik is definitely up there with some of the best the English game had to offer. His set-pieces, his free-kicks... a joy to watch, so intelligent in taking up positions on the field. Show him onto his weaker side? He didn't have one! I'm just glad he never came to Scottish football when he was 23 - he was talented enough at 33.

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