John Guidetti: Nobody’s Hero

John Guidetti has left Celtic with a ludicrous parting shot at Scotland, and at the standard of our football.

The striker, who showed only sporadic form in his time at Parkhead, has said he had to leave because he would not have been selected for Sweden as “goals in Scotland don’t count” as much as they do elsewhere.

Oddly enough, playing in Scotland hasn’t hindered the careers of other players.

Fraser Forster was capped for England playing right here, and the Swedish team contains Mikael Lustig, who plays for our club.

The enivornment in which he plays every week has in no way stopped his national coach from selecting him.

Because Lustig is unquestionably a class act, and he proves it week on week.

Guidetti didn’t. Not even close. He blew hot and cold. He seemed moody and prone to huge lapses in confidence, which is death to any striker.

I liked him when he signed. Of course I did. I was excited about his pedigree, his goals in Holland, the quality everyone said he had.

He scored some fantastic goals in the Hoops. The one against Inter will live long in all our memories.

But he didn’t do it enough, and the situation with his contract and whether he’d stay or not became ridiculous.

He says in the article Deila benched him because of that. He didn’t do enough to start at times, so perhaps he’s simply making excuses for not getting picked … but I like the idea that our manager wanted only players in the jersey who appreciated it and were committed to wearing it.

Guidetti’s attitude problem was exemplified best during the League Cup Final, when he went straight up the tunnell at the end of the game instead of celebrating with the rest of the players, a couple of whom had to go and get him to come out.

Every players spits the dummy from time to time. But during the celebrations for the first cup win of a new era at a club … that’s one dreadful time to go in the huff.

It was things like that, things that there were just no excuses for, that soured the relationship early.

Today’s story comes as a splurge of media tales link him to clubs across Europe.

It bears all the hallmarks of an agent-led PR campaign.

Guidetti will find a club who’ll pay him a fine salary. Oh it won’t the one he thinks he’s worth, but it’ll be a fortune.

He might well see European football at some point.

He might well become a top player.

But the adulation that we heaped on his fellow Swede, Henrik Larsson … that he’ll never have.

Guidetti could have been a legend in the Hoops … if he’d applied himself right, and brought the correct attitude to the club.

He departs what he was when he left. A player with potential … but nobody’s hero.