Eleven years to the day since Calmac made his Celtic debut

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The Celtic Star

·15 de julho de 2025

Eleven years to the day since Calmac made his Celtic debut

It’s eleven years to the day since Callum McGregor made his competitive debut for Celtic. 15 July 2014, away to KR Reykjavík in the first leg of a Champions League qualifier. Not a high-profile fixture by any stretch, but in hindsight, a quietly pivotal night for the club.

It was also the first competitive match in charge for Ronny Deila, a relatively unknown figure brought in to modernise and re-energise the squad. Celtic were in a bit of a holding pattern. Still recovering from the end of Neil Lennon’s tenure, still figuring out what Deila’s “project” would look like.

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And into all that stepped a 21-year-old Callum McGregor, fresh from a season-long loan at Notts County where he’d done well but hadn’t yet convinced everyone back home that he could make the step up.

On a tight, awkward pitch in Reykjavik, the game was as messy as you’d expect from a first-round European qualifier. But then, midway through the second half, McGregor found himself in space on the edge of the box. He shifted it, struck it, and the ball zipped low into the net.

1–0 Celtic. A tidy finish, a vital away goal, and a big moment for a young player taking his chance.

The second leg was played at Murrayfield, as Celtic Park was being used for the Commonwealth Games. In front of a decent crowd in the capital, Celtic were more composed and controlled. They ran out 4–0 winners on the night—5–0 on aggregate—with goals from Virgil van Dijk (2), Teemu Pukki, and Kris Commons. McGregor started again and didn’t look out of place.

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That tie may have seemed routine at the time, but looking back now, it marked the beginning of a major Celtic career. McGregor hasn’t looked back since. He’s gone on to become one of the most dependable players of the modern era. Over 450 appearances, multiple trophies, and now the captain of the club.

McGregor’s debut season under Ronny Deila had its ups and downs, but he made an impact early. He scored on his league debut away to St Johnstone, then followed that up with goals in Europe and domestically, building momentum as part of a team in transition.

He would go on to make 43 appearances in all competitions, scoring 6 goals, and showing his versatility by operating out wide or centrally depending on the system. His form dipped slightly mid-season—as often happens with young players—but Deila stuck by him.

By the time Celtic lifted the league title and League Cup double, McGregor had done enough to establish himself as a trusted squad member.

He wasn’t the finished article yet—but the signs were clear. He was technically tidy, had a good engine, and most importantly, he understood what the club was about.

Fast forward a decade, and that raw, promising debut campaign looks like the foundation of something far greater.

Eleven years on, Callum McGregor is still at the centre of everything Celtic do—and that first touch, that first finish, still stands as the moment it all began.

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Niall J

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