Teemu Pukki reveals the reason for his Celtic woes - Celtic Shorts
· Mark Dixon · 2026-08-08 · nguồn gốc
Former Celtic striker Teemu Pukki has opened up on his time at the club, and revealed why he believed he failed to make an impact in the Hoops…
Finnish International Pukki was brought to the club in 2013 by Neil Lennon, in a £3 million move from Bundesliga side Schalke, and got off to a dream start as he scored on his debut against Hearts on 14 and again on his home debut against St Johnstone the following week, but would struggle to make an impact at the club before signing for Danish side Brondby on a loan deal the following year.
The Finn would make his move to Denmark permanent the following year, and went on to score an impressive 72 goals in 164 appearances, before moving to Norwich, where he also made his name as a goalscorer, including two impressive campaigns in the EPL.
Pukki retired from International duty last year, making his mark as the Finnish national sides all time top goalscorer having scored 43 goals in 133 caps.
His overall stats of 9 goals in 37 appearances in a Celtic jersey isn’t that bad, but he didn’t make the impression in a league he’d previously deemed as ‘easy’ and puts his failure to make an impact firmly down to being too young and shy.
After recently scoring against Motherwell for his current club HJK, Pukki now 36 will return to Scotland next week for the second leg of the Conference qualifying leg, and reckons he has nothing to prove to anyone on these shores.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Pukki said: “It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped at Celtic, but I still enjoyed my time over there. It was just the wrong time for me. I was too young and probably too shy back then.
“It was a huge club and the pressure was maybe a bit too much for me at that stage. If I’d made the move later in my career it would have been a different story, but there are no regrets.
“It still helped me. I was more ready when I came back to play in England because of how my time at Celtic went. When things don’t go your way it can help you.”
He added: “It will be nice back in Scotland, but I’m not going there to prove anything to anyone. I’m just trying to help the team get through.”
An open and frank admission from the Finn, but the excuse that he was too young and naive to succeed at Celtic could be counter argued that he was 23 when he arrived in Scotland, and had played for clubs such as Sevilla in La Liga, and Schalke in the Bundesliga, as well as being a full Finnish international.
Whatever the reasons, Pukki failed to make an impression in the hoops, despite starring elsewhere. He’s not the first, and he certainly won’t be the last.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
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