Celtic's Alistair Johnston reacts after Dortmund's third goal during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and Celtic FC at the BVB Stadion in Dortmund, Germany, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. Johnston is thriving at Glasgow Celtic, even if he has learned it's best to walk his dog at night in the fishbowl that is Glasgow soccer. Johnston is also excelling in Canada colours and is in line to earn his 50th cap against Suriname on Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Martin Meissner
Alistair Johnston is thriving at Celtic, even if he has had to learn how to live in the fishbowl for a soccer player that is Glasgow.
The city is divided between Celtic and Rangers supporters. And there are lots of each.
According to a September UEFA report, Celtic was one of 16 European clubs to have enjoyed home league attendance of one million-plus in the 2023-24 season, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Manchester City.
Add in domestic cup and UEFA club competition attendance and Rangers also reached the million-mark.
“You learn that it’s not the same as playing for an MLS team,” said Johnston, who signed with Celtic in December 2022 on a five-year deal from CF Montreal. “In Nashville and Montreal I could walk through the streets and not get any abuse.”
“Over here, every single person knows who you are and they either love you or they hate you,” he added.
Johnston has got both pep talks and scoldings from grandmothers on the street.
He has had to adapt to the constant attention. He walks the dog at night and if he goes out during the day, “it’s normally under pretty heavy disguise.”
“The passion for the sport there, it’s second to none,” he said. “It’s something I’ve learned, that I’m not going to be there for ever so cherish it while you are there because it’s not normal – and it’s not normal to a lot of cities in the world and it’s not normal to a lot of players, no matter what club you play for. “¦ It’s definitely a unique experience but I’ve enjoyed it.”
According to Scottish reports, Celtic is looking to reward him with a lucrative new contract that will keep him in Glasgow past the summer of 2027.
Johnston will likely be in the spotlight Friday when Canada, currently ranked 35th in the world, opens its two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against No. 136 Suriname in Paramaribo. He is one cap away from 50.
“It’s special,” Johnston, speaking from the Canada camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said of the milestone. “It’s an amazing achievement. Never would I have thought four years ago when I stepped onto the pitch for my first cap that I would hit 50. I as just happy to be there, happy to be with all the big guns for my first camp ever with Atiba (Hutchinson), Milan (Borjan), Jo David (Jonathan David), Phonzie (Alphonso Davies), all those kind of guys that I had been watching and following.”
The 26-year-old from Aurora, Ont., has been ever-present on the Canadian team sheet since making his debut as a 22-year-old in March 2021 in a 5-1 World Cup qualifying win over Bermuda.
Including that game, Johnston has played in 49 of Canada’s last 57 outings.
Johnston has started nine of Jesse Marsch’s 11 games as Canada coach, missing out on a September friendly against Mexico after an injury forced him out of Canada’s 2-1 win Sept. 7 over the United States in Kansas City in the 23rd minute.
He also sat out Canada’s Oct. 15 Panama friendly due to a minor injury.
Celtic has outscored its opposition 31-3 in league play this season with Johnston, who had five goals in 77 MLS regular-season games, scoring four times in all competitions.
Celtic (10-0-1) tops the Scottish Premiership on goal difference above Aberdeen, a team Celtic thumped 6-0 on Nov. 2 in the Scottish League Cup semifinal. And it has turned heads in Champions League play where it is 2-1-1 with wins over RB Leipzig (3-1) and Slovakia’s Slovan Bratislava (5-1) and a draw with Italy’s Atalanta (0-0).
Its lone loss this season was a 7-1 Champions League shellacking Oct. 1 at Borussia Dortmund, which was runner-up in the European cup competition last season.
“It got ugly pretty quick,” Johnston said of the Dortmund loss. “And that just reminded us that we’re playing these top teams (and) if you’re not fully tuned in to how you’re going to defend, you can get punished pretty quickly. But I think we learned from that.”
Celtic has gone 7-0-2 in all competitions since, outscoring the opposition 23-6.
Johnston was honoured last month when he captained the team at Motherwell. As skipper, it was his job to speak to the team during the pre-game huddle.
“They gave me some good advice because they know how much I like to talk,” he said. “They just said ‘Keep it short.'”
“A massive honour, especially being Canadian. “¦ It’s a very storied football club,” added Johnston, who scored in the 3-0 league win.
With Celtic, he is a two-time Scottish Premiership winner (2022-23, 2023-24), two-time Scottish Cup winner (2023, 2024), and Scottish League Cup winner (2023).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 13, 2024.
