Celtic overcame Romanian side Astra Giurgiu by 2-1 in their Europa League tie at Parkhead on Thursday night. As the tweets below inform us, Astra have an extremely unexpected connection to two of the biggest days in Irish football history.
@Ciaran_O @Pmacgiollabhain and their manager equalized against Ireland for USSR at Euro 88
— JungleLion (@JungleLion_) October 23, 2014
Here's the 25-year-old himself. Not really the spit of his dad, is he?
In case you forget what Silviu senior looks like, here's a completely gratuitous look back at the shootout in Genoa because it never fails to strike an emotional chord around these parts.
The USSR goalscorer in question is of course Oleg Protasov, who finished off a hoof forward and wonderfully aware flick-on by squeezing the ball past Packie Bonner. If ever Ireland conceded a Charlton-esque goal and scored one worthy of a major finalist, it was on that day in the Niedersachsenstadion in Hanover.
