Having successfully navigated the qualification rounds of the UEFA Champions League, Celtic are now looking ahead to Thursday’s Group Stage draw in which they’ll be drawn against the most talented teams on the continent.With a widening money gap between the Hoops and these teams, it’s more difficult than ever for Celtic to be a force at that level but every supporter knows they’ll at the very least give it their all.The club now has a little bit more breathing room in the transfer market due to both the cash windfall the club receive for making it into the groups and the attraction playing in the competition has for prospective players.One man they’re set to imminently sign is South African defender Rivaldo Coetzee.After his club Ajax Cape Town revealed on Twitter that the club had done a deal for the 20-year-old, Brendan Rodgers himself admitted to STV he was set to undergo a medical, calling him an ‘outstanding young player’, meaning in all likelihood he’ll be a Hoops player very shortly.Given he plays on a different continent he’s not exactly a household name amongst Celtic supporters, but fear not, we have the information every Celtic fan needs to know about their new Bhoy…
He’s young, but a signing for the first team
At 20 years of age Rivaldo Coetzee is still very much in the apprentice stage of his footballing career. For a defender that’s no age at all in the game, especially for a team competing at the highest level in the UEFA Champions League, however he is not some academy graduate who does not have much playing time.
In his short career he’s already played close to 100 times for this club Ajax Cape Town, with 91 appearances in total. He made his debut at the age of 17 and has emerged as one of the South African club’s top players.
Last season he even won the club’s Young Player and Player Of The Season awards, highlighting his quick progress at the back for the team dubbed the ‘Urban Warriors’.
That experience means he’s well suited to compete for first-team places straight away at Celtic. Brendan Rodgers isn’t afraid of playing youth, especially in the Scottish Premiership, and he’s likely to find opportunities to impress plentiful alongside the likes of Jozo Simunovic and Dedryck Boyata.
He may have scope for improvement, but he’s coming to make an impact.
He naturally fits into Brendan Rodgers’ style of playing
Every Celtic fan has come to expect Brendan Rodgers’ side to play in a very specific and deliberate manner, building all of their positive play forward from goalkeeper to central defenders through the midfield. It’s a possession heavy tactic designed to sap energy out of the opposition and ensure that the Hoops’ slick, dynamic passers can get their foot on the ball and open up defences.
The Hoops boss has even used midfielders in the position in recent weeks, partly due to injury but also because he likes his defenders to be accomplished on the ball and complete passes consistently above a rate of 90%.
Rivaldo Coetzee is said to have those attributes about him too and while we’re not experts on his career so far, we can look to respected African journalist Collins Okinyo for guidance, who tweeted briefly this week about the youngster.
This would certainly appear to be accurate in highlights of the defender we’ve seen, having that natural ability to find his teammates from the back that will see him fit in perfectly to Rodgers’ system.
He was once South Africa’s youngest ever player
With 19 caps in total for the South African national team already, it’s fair to say Rivaldo Coetzee is also making an impression on the international scene. In fact, at the age of just 17 he became the youngest player in the history of the country on his debut, a record which has now been bettered.
However, he’s become an important figure for the country, helping them keep nine clean sheets in those 19 games so far. With more exposure and a higher level of competition on his imminent move to the European stage, you’d expect that cap count to increase over the next few years, giving him vital elite international experience that will serve him well in his Celtic career.
You don’t often see caps handed out to 17 year olds, regardless of the quality of country, so it’s clear that he’s one of the brightest prospects to ever come out of South Africa.
Can he turn that potential into a successful career in Scotland?
