Jose Antonio Camacho came up against Gordon Strachan as a player and will now pit his wits against him as a manager.
Rival managers met during playing days
Benfica boss Jose Antonio Camacho came up against Gordon Strachan as a player and is now ready to pit his wits against him as a manager.
The Portuguese outfit welcome Strachan's Celtic side to Lisbon for Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group D showdown, live on
Sky Sports Xtra.
Former Real Madrid left-back Camacho came off second best during Celtic boss Strachan's playing days when Aberdeen stunned Real Madrid 2-1 in Gothenburg in the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup final.
But Camacho also has memories of a European victory against Celtic, with Spanish giants Real recording a 3-2 aggregate victory over Celtic in the 1979-80 European Cup quarter-finals.
Great manager
"It was very tough when we lost the final," Camacho said.
"It demonstrated that he (Strachan) was a great player, but now he is showing that he is also a great manager."
"But I also remember knocking out Celtic. This game is in a different competition.
"I played many games against Scottish teams. You have very competitive teams, as is the case with Celtic who always battle to win the domestic league and look to be stronger in the Champions League."
Motivation
With Celtic beating Milan in the previous round of group games, Benfica have been left three points adrift at the foot of the group.
Camacho added: "It's a very important match for Benfica because Milan and Shakhtar play each other and they both can't win.
"So if we win we move level with Celtic and get closer to second place.
"The players, as a team, will have to be at 100 per cent and maintain that rhythm from the first minute to the last.
"The only thing we know for sure is we have to go into it with motivation, knowing that we're taking part in an important game."
