Gemmell: Strachan's side can prevent hat-trick

Lisbon Lion Tommy Gemmell believes the Celtic of 2007 can succeed where their

predecessors failed and send AC Milan crashing out of the Champions League.

History suggests that if Milan overcome Celtic in their forthcoming last-16

tie then they can book their hotel for the final at the Olympic Stadium, Athens

on May 23.

It would be disingenuous to link the Rossoneri's European successes solely

with beating Celtic - after all they have reached the final of Europe's premier

club competition on 10 occasions, six of which proved to be successful.

However, in both seasons that Celtic have faced the Italians, Milan have gone

on to reach the final.

The two clubs met at the quarter-final stage of the 1969 European Cup - the

forerunner of the Champions League.

Gemmell was in the Celtic side who allowed the Italians to recover from a

goalless draw at the San Siro to go through 1-0 on aggregate, thanks to a

Pierino Prati goal in the second leg in Glasgow.

Milan hammered Ajax 4-1 in the Madrid final, their second success in three

attempts.

Celtic's home record since the Champions League was born is outstanding - nine

wins in 12 matches - but away from Parkhead they have harvested just one draw

from 12 otherwise fruitless trips.

"If they can get over that problem of not being good travellers then I think

they can do it," said Gemmell.

"But I'm of the mind that it doesn't matter where you play, you still have

the same ability.

"It's all in the mind and it shouldn't matter whether you play at Celtic Park

or in the San Siro."

When the two clubs met again in 2004/05, in the group stages of the Champions

League, Celtic were not the mighty European force they had been in the late

1960s.

The 1967 team featuring Gemmell remains the only Celtic side to have won the

European Cup - at Inter Milan's expense of course - whereas Milan had in the

meantime firmly established themselves as a European super-power.

Martin O'Neill's men capitulated 3-1 in Italy and their creditable goalless

draw at Celtic Park was not enough, in the final analysis, to see them emerge

blinking into the knockout stages.

Milan went on to lose a three-goal lead to Liverpool in the final in a

never-to-be-forgotten night in Istanbul.

As O'Neill's successor Gordon Strachan prepares his side for another tilt at

the Italian giants in the first leg at Celtic Park on Tuesday, Gemmell could be

forgiven for fast-forwarding to the return match in a fortnight's time.

The former Hoops defender experienced mixed fortunes in the San Siro during

his career which spanned the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1970, he scored for Celtic in the 1970 European Cup final but finished with

a runners-up medal after a 2-1 defeat to Feyenoord.

Gemmell remembers all too well how that quarter-final defeat cost the Glasgow

side the chance of appearing in three finals in four seasons.

He told PA Sport: "I haven't seen much of AC Milan this season but they will

have to be some team to be better than the team we played against in 1969.

"In those days Inter and AC Milan made up the bulk of the Italian

international side so they were class players.

"A goalless draw over there was a tremendous result for us. There was a big

crowd at the San Siro and it was an intimidating atmosphere but we were a good

side at the time and we didn't feel under pressure.

"We played well and after the draw, we thought that was it, we would go on.

"But we lost a silly goal at Celtic Park and we were out.

"Jim Craig took a throw-in to big Billy (McNeill) and he never got a hold of

it, Prati was the guy who ran through and scored. It was their only chance of

the game but it was enough and they went on to win the final.

"It could have been another final for us if we had got through so it was a

big disappointment for all of us."

Gemmell is adamant the current Celtic side, so dominant in the Bank of

Scotland Premier League this season, can avenge the two defeats by the

Rossoneri.

He said: "It will be a very interesting tie. Celtic have a poor record away

from home but they can beat any team in front of their own supporters.

"I watched them against Hibs the other week and it was a mediocre game but

they ground out the result.

"Now they need to do it against superior opposition."