Celtic icon Lubo Moravcik speaks to The Celtic Way about winning trebles, Brendan Rodgers' side and the strength of his era at the Bhoys.
Lubomir Moravcik was nicknamed 'Gift from God'. The sublime Slovakian midfielder etched smiles on the Celtic supporters as wide as the River Clyde.
The £330,000 that Celtic forked out to MSV Duisburg remains one of Scottish football's transfers of a lifetime.
Bertie Auld famously labelled him the best Celtic player outwith the Lisbon Lions. Auld opined, “For most people, it would understandably be Henrik Larsson, who was a fantastic player, but in my opinion, it would have to be Lubo Moravcik. He was a very special talent.”
Lubo's former Celtic boss Martin O'Neill also once said of him: "Lubo is the most two-footed player in Europe, his talent is amazing. His contribution to the Treble-winning team was absolutely immense.
"He remains one of the most gifted footballers I have ever seen or worked with and considering I played with many excellent players at club and international level, I cannot pay him any greater compliment than that.
"In only a short period of time at Celtic Park he has become as big a hero as any of the Lisbon Lions of 1967. He must have done something special to have warranted such acclaim.”
Moravcik knows what it takes to win the 'Treble'. He was part of O'Neill's side that swept the boards in season 2000/01 after languishing a pitiful 21 points behind Rangers the season before.
That was all set to change when Celtic appointed Irishman O'Neill and he guided the club to the third 'Treble' in the club's history.
Moravcik insists that O'Neill's side who went on to reach the UEFA Cup final in Seville in 2003 were a match for any team and could have graced any major European league at the time and held their own.
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Moravcik said: "The 2000/01 season was the best in my career because we won the 'Treble'. Celtic had not achieved that feat since 1969 when Jock Stein was the manager so it was a wonderful experience.
"It was only the third 'Treble' in the history of the club and it felt special to do that. Celtic have won five trebles since O'Neill's team did it and that is a remarkable level of consistency and success.
"The club has dominated the Scottish League for the last 20 years and it wasn't like that before because it was always a battle between Celtic and Rangers for the flag.
"It is different conditions now for both teams as Rangers have had their financial troubles and that is a big handicap for them.
"We didn't expect to win the 'Treble' during O'Neill's first season at the club. Celtic had struggled the season before as we only won the League Cup so nobody knew what was going to happen and we certainly never expected to win the 'Treble'.
"Martin had come in as the new manager and he brought in a whole group of new players. He built a brilliant team with new arrivals like Chris Sutton, Alan Thompson, Neil Lennon, Johan Mjallby, Joos Valgaeren and Ramon Vega adding to the talented players that were already at the club like Paul Lambert, Stiliyan Petrov as well as myself.
"That Celtic team could have held its own with any team in British football.
"We would have competed at the highest level in the English Premier League or any league in European football at that time.
"Two seasons later when we reached the UEFA Cup final in Seville we beat both Blackburn Rovers and Liverpool away and not many teams go to Anfield and win.
"I was proud to be part of the team that won the treble and I played in 40 matches that season and spent a lot of time on the pitch which is not bad.
"To be a regular starter in O'Neill's team wasn't easy as it was a side that was crammed full of excellent players. You had to be a good player to feature every week in that Celtic team.
"I scored a few goals as well and we were so happy at the end of that campaign to have achieved what we did."
Circumstances may have changed and the Scottish football landscape might well be different compared to the one that Moravcik and company inhabited a quarter of a century ago.
However, Moravcik is delighted to see that some things remain the same as Celtic close in on a record ninth treble and 55th title as well as their 13th flag success in the last 14 years and the fourth straight league championship in a row.
The 59-year-old admits that he has been massively impressed with Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers who like O Neill before him has instilled a high bar in terms of driving standards and a winning culture at the club.
Moravcik said: "Under Brendan Rodgers this season Celtic have been excellent at times. I have enjoyed watching them at times this season, especially in the Champions League. They did very well in the competition and that is the level Celtic should always be at.
"Trebles are not easy to win and Rodgers sports an incredible record having already won two during his first stint as manager and now he is on the verge of a third clean sweep.
"That takes some doing and it shows how dominant Celtic have been over the last few seasons in Scotland and how good a manager Rodgers is.
"When I see Celtic play well and win the title it always makes me happy. When you have a manager like Rodgers at the helm then I always feel that they have a very good chance of winning lots of trophies.
"It was similar to how I felt when Martin was in charge at Celtic as everybody in the dressing room believed with him in charge we could be successful. I'm sure the current Celtic team feel the same way about Rodgers.
"To be close to winning three 'Trebles' with Celtic is a superb achievement. I know how I felt when I won all the trophies under O'Neill back in 2001.
"It will be great to see them experience the same thing as I did by claiming the lot."
Celtic face St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final this weekend at Hampden Park and Moravcik doesn't expect lightning to strike twice in two weeks.
Moravcik insists that Celtic will be mindful of what happened after they were turned over 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership in Perth a fortnight ago.
He firmly believes that Celtic will dispose of the Saints as well as Aberdeen or Hearts in the final to seal the 'Treble' ideal.
Moravcik said: "I watched the last game against St Johnstone which was not a very good game but I hope Celtic learn some lessons from that and take that into the Scottish Cup semi-final.
"With Aberdeen or Hearts potential lying in wait in the Scottish Cup final then you have to say that Celtic has another big chance to claim another treble.
"Hearts will be bitterly disappointed that they failed to make the Scottish Premiership top six this season and whilst there has been some improvement at Aberdeen under Jimmy Thelin they always seem to live in the shadow of Scottish football's big two teams.
"The Scottish Cup semi-final will be a hard game but I just don't see St Johnstone beating Celtic twice in the space of a couple of weeks.
"Celtic also like playing at Hampden Park and they usually turn up on the big occasion."
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