Celtic FC Derailed by Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar

Brendan Rodgers's redemption tour is off to a rocky start. On a glorified high school stadium in the shadow of the rock of Gibraltar, the semi-professional Lincoln Red Imps, champions of the Gibraltar Premier Division, stunned Scottish Champs Celtic 1-0. This game was not a preseason friendly either, Celtic played their first team as this match was a UEFA Champions League qualifier. All the more shocking is that the Gibraltar (population ~32,000) champions' first team features about half "full time footballers" and half semi-professional players, whose day jobs range from policemen and customs officials to laborers and cab drivers.

Celtic dominated possession, but the 1967 European Cup winners looked lackadaisical and sloppy, especially in the attacking third. The Red Imps, who have the best name in European Club Soccer, were able to capitalize on a counter in the 48th minute when policeman Lee Casciaro used divine touch to split his defenders and bury the winning goal.

Lee Casciaro's match winner in the 48th minute

New Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers, fresh off a mid-season sacking from Liverpool, was never able to find the right pieces to unlock the stingy Imp defense, in what will go down in European soccer lore as one of the greatest club upsets ever. Scottish fans, who hailed Iceland's embarrassment of England, were served their own sobering dose of humility at the hands of and even more improbable opponent.