Brendan Rodgers faced an extraordinary tirade from Dutch pundit Jan Mulder, who laid the blame for Cameron Carter-Vickers’ own goal squarely on the Celtic manager’s data-driven tactics.
Celtic’s Champions League clash against Club Brugge ended in a 1-1 draw, with Daizen Maeda salvaging a point after Carter-Vickers’ calamitous backpass gifted the Belgian side the opener.
While the result keeps Celtic in the hunt for a top-24 finish, which would guarantee at least a playoff for the last 16, the dropped points in a winnable fixture could prove costly.
Rodgers, speaking post-match, refused to single out any player for criticism, emphasising that mistakes are part of the game.
However, Mulder, a former Anderlecht striker and veteran pundit, saw things differently. Speaking on Belgian TV channel VTM, the 79-year-old launched a scathing critique of Rodgers’ reliance on analytics, branding it the root cause of the blunder.
“I see it almost every week in the Netherlands. We invented total football, but now there’s a Christmas party in the asylum every week. This is the new kind of football, I’m afraid, and that’s because of that data,” Mulder said.
He continued: “Defenders are now asked to build up. If they make a wrong pass, the computer will put a cross next to their name and of course they don’t want that.
“Insane! This is not Carter-Vickers’ fault, but of his trainer (Brendan Rodgers). This can’t be such a thing, can it? As a neutral in the stadium, you are already terrified by such phases, let alone if you are a fan of the team that does it.”
Mulder’s comments highlight the growing debate around modern football’s reliance on data and its potential impact on player decision-making under pressure. For Rodgers, however, the focus remains on guiding Celtic through their European campaign.