And that against exactly the club against which he was only in the starting line-up of athletes 25 months ago. In the time in between he made his breakthrough as a professional, in the dress of the Wattener.
Celic proved his quality in Tirol and Darmstadt “and will show it here too, should he play,” said coach Dietmar Kühbauer, who did not want to reveal who placed the suspended Branko Jovicic in defensive midfield. But everything points to Celic.
“I have a lot of positive memories with LASK, this is where my path to becoming a professional footballer began,” said the 23-year-old when he was signed on loan with an option to buy from the German second division team Darmstadt. Through the Linz Academy he once made it into the LASK Bundesliga squad. He made his Bundesliga debut under coach Oliver Glasner in May 2018, successor Valerien Ismael put the native of Linz in the starting XI for the first time in August 2019 against Tyrol – Celic came into play in the 1-1 draw because Ismael was three days before the play-off first leg Champions League against Bruges rested numerous regular players.
Breakthrough in Tyrol
Celic showed his talent, but he only got his next chance in the Bundesliga after moving to Tirol in the summer of 2020. He matured into a leading player – so well that Kühbauer wanted to win him for his former club Rapid at the time.
Celic chose to challenge Darmstadt in the second German Bundesliga. In the beginning he was mostly substituted on, but in the spring it was only 25 minutes of play spread over four games.
With his return to LASK, he made a fresh start, which was slowed down by a torn ligament in preparation. Tomorrow he should be in the front row, like Marvin Potzmann because of Filip Stojkovic’s suspension. Marin Ljubicic, the third red failure, is represented by Efthymios Koulouris, as in Lustenau. Kühbauer: “Players who have been at the bottom so far will show their skills. I’m not worried about that at all.”
Source: Nachrichten
