Jiri Jarosik today said goodbye to Chelsea by signing for Scottish champions Glasgow Celtic.
After suffering the heartbreak of relegation whilst on loan at Birmingham City last season, the Czech international knew that he had to find a new club. Any chance of a return to Chelsea was always going to be a long shot considering the wealth of midfield talent the club currently has. Indeed, many pundits expected Jiri to move to mainland Europe after suggestions that he had refuted an approach from Celtic became common place.
Jiri joined Chelsea from CSKA Moscow mid season and, in all honesty, struggled to make an impact. The fact that he joined during the Russian mid-season break may well have contributed to that, a point not lost on us when Maniche followed the same route this season.
However, during the pre-season matches Jiri looked sharp and it came as something of a surprise when he was farmed out for the season. Nevertheless, his talents were appreciated at Stamford Bridge and the Celtic manager was quick to emphasis this point remarking,
“He has got a bit of everything. He has been about and knows the game. He has experience, he has been in big sides, he scores goals and he gives us a presence, a physical presence and he can play with good players. You don`t play for Chelsea unless the manager thinks you can play with good players and he has loads of what we are looking for, that`s for sure.”
Jiri signed a three year contract for Celtic with the option to extend it by a further year with Celtic Chief Executive, Peter Lawwell remarking,
“It`s massive for us. The interest in Jiri was great among Spanish clubs, clubs in the Premiership and in Russia.”
Further explaining,
“There were some big clubs offering him lucrative deals, so it`s a massive coup for us to have someone of that pedigree and that quality available is fantastic. We are absolutely delighted to have secured Jiri. It has been a lot of hard work over the past month or two, but it is fantastic that he has come here. He has fantastic pedigree, in terms of the teams he has played with and the performances he has had and we are absolutely delighted.”
Whilst not wishing to pour scorn on Jiri`s achievements at Chelsea, he could be classy at times, we can`t help but feel Celtic are going a little overboard in their lavish praise of him.
However, at least we get the chance to bid farewell to Jiri Jarosik when Celtic travel to Stamford Bridge for a lucrative friendly in August. Or is he barred from playing in it?
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