A fireman, a policeman, a customs officer and a taxi driver walk into a bar — and celebrate beating one a former European Cup winner in a Champions League qualifier.
It might sound like a joke but part-timers Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar produced one of the biggest shocks in European football after defeating Glasgow Celtic in the Champions League second qualifying round.
The 1-0 win in the first leg came courtesy of police officer’s Lee Casciaro’s strike.
For the Red Imps, which plays its games on the British overseas territory of around 30,000 people, it is the biggest result in its history — and it was achieved with players whose full-time jobs range from being shipping agents to civil servants.
It gets worse for Celtic — the entire population of Gibraltar could fit into the Scottish club’s stadium — twice over. This is a club don’t forget that has won the Scottish title 47 times and won the European Cup back in 1967 and in 2015 had a revenue of over $50 million
On Tuesday, most of the Red Imps players went to work before turning up to play in the biggest game of their careers while Celtic’s highly paid professionals spent the day preparing for the contest.
It’s also only three years since teams from Gibraltar were allowed to compete in European competition.
“It is an amazing night. It is a great story,” goalscorer Casciaro, whose brothers Kyle and Ryan were also in the team, told reporters.
“I will never forget this. This is something people dream about. This result is a remarkable thing for football.”
Judging by the reaction on social media Celtic might just never be allowed to forget Tuesday’s match either.
Former Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers, now in charge of Celtic, was attracting plenty of criticism in his first competitive match since arriving at the club.
Players and pundits registered their surprise with some such as Joey Barton, who now plays for Celtic’s arch rival, Rangers, taking delight in the result.
The two teams will meet again next week in Glasgow for the second leg as Celtic attempt to reach the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
