What a fine young man Kieran Tierney is. What a fine example to young players everywhere, a kid not motivated by money, who knows he’s lucked in to the greatest experience anyone can ever have; getting paid well for doing something he loves.
And it wasn’t luck either, of course.
The game is filled with kids who never quite made it, who bumped their heads on the glass ceiling and could never quite break through. It’s also filled to the brim with wasters, and the outlands of the sport are like a graveyard of talent that smashed against the rocks.
Has this been the greatest generation for football fans ever, in terms of the talent we’ve got to see? I remember fleeting glimpses of Maradona growing up, and Van Basten and guys like that, but I’ve never seen anything like Messi.
It’s equally clear that a handful of others – Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ibrahimovi?, Ronaldinho – could have played in any era and been magnificent footballers and global stars. The question is – and the answer is indisputably yes – were there others whose talents eclipsed all of them who we never even heard of?
Up where I’m from, there’s a local legend, an ex-Celtic youth who supposedly had more talent than any Scottish player of his generation. The booze got him, when he was still trying to make it. The wreckage of his career isn’t even a cautionary tale; he’s one of the Forgotten. There are so very many of them, in Scotland and across the world.
To get where Kieran has takes more than just skill, which he has in abundance.
It takes dedication the likes of which we mere mortals can barely imagine.
Getting good at everything does; it takes chipping away one piece of stone at a time.
When Kieran was a kid he must have put in hours running and tackling and learning the craft.
He must have missed out on a lot of things that kids take for granted.
When others were sitting playing video games after school he must have been at training, running laps, doing push-ups, practicing his dribbling.
He has lived a clean life. He takes care of himself. He has resisted temptations of all shapes and sizes and dedicated himself to one thing, to being as good a player as he can be.
That’s not luck. That’s drive. That’s ambition.
And that ambition is not about money. He will make a very good living out of the sport, and he knows this, so it’s not about what’s in the bank. It’s about the memories he’ll have when he’s retired. The trophy cabinet. Being recognised and loved by the best supporters in the world. His one objective is to become a star … at Celtic Park.
The media has done its level best to unsettle this kid; even after he revealed that he’s turned down a chance to go to Arsenal to play a role here under Brendan – having decided to stay at Parkhead no matter who the manager was – they are still playing their games. The Daily Record has managed to turn a very innocuous statement from Pat Nevin into a plea for Chelsea to sign him. It’s ridiculous. How many more ways does this kid have to put this? He is going nowhere. He is not interested in a move to any other club.
He’s committed himself to Celtic.
Kieran is not interested in earning mega-bucks playing in the soulless EPL.
He is a Celtic fan. He loves our club. This is where he sees his future. The Danny McGrain comparisons are better than many of the hacks think; Danny was very nearly a one-club player. He spent a year at Hamilton after spending seventeen of them in a Celtic shirt. Everything of repute that he achieved (he won the First Division title at Hamilton) – seven titles, five Scottish Cups and two League Cups – was achieved at Celtic Park.
Kieran already has two titles.
I think he’ll eclipse the legend’s trophy haul in time.
In fact, I’ll go one better; he may even be on the left what McGrain is on the right, a player who could slot into our finest eleven of all time. He’s that good. There is nothing in the game that Kieran Tierney cannot achieve, and he wants to do it in the Hoops.
That’s as good as it gets.