Celtic’s Lisbon Lions - European Cup 1967

The Short Story of the Celtic Team that won the European Cup in 1967

The School to Football tells the story of the Celtic side that became Champions of Europe. Which in all likelihood, will not happen ever again.

On the 25th of May 1967 Celtic beat Inter Milan 2-1 to become the first British side to win the European Cup in the history of the game, doing so with a squad of 15 players who were all born within 30 miles of Celtic Park and all but 2 born within 10 miles.

Celtic’s route to the final

Managed by the legendary Jock Stein, Celtic’s route to the final started with a 5-0 aggregate win against Swiss side FC Zürich followed by a 6-1 aggregate win against FC Nantes in the second round.

In the quarterfinal, Celtic survived a scare when they overturned a 1-0 first-leg defeat against Serbian side FK Vojvodina to progress to the semi-final. In the semi-final, Celtic ran out relatively comfortable 3-1 winners against Dukla Prague to book a place in their first-ever European Cup final.

The Story of Celtic’s Lisbon Lions

The 1967 European Cup Final

The game took place at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon in front of 45,000 fans. Inter Milan came in as favourites having won the competition 2 of the previous 3 years and when Sandro Mozzila converged a 7th-minute penalty the odds looked stacked against them.

But a 63rd-minute equaliser from left-back Tommy Gemmell started a famous comeback and in the 84th-minute centre forward Stevie Chalmers popped up with what would turn out to be the winner.

After the final whistle, Celtic’s fans invaded the pitch in scenes of jubilation which meant that the trophy could not be presented on the pitch, so Billy McNeil Celtic’s captain had to lift the trophy on a podium in the stand.

This incredible team won an unprecedented quadruple that season lifting the Scottish title, league cup and Scottish Cup alongside the European Cup. As a result, the Lisbon Lions won the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year team award in 1967.

In 2000 the team was immortalised when Celtic named a stand after them at Celtic Park. Sadly on 6 of this famous team are alive today but their legacy lives on.

The Lisbon Lions squad; Ronnie Simpson (GK), Jim Craig (RB), Tommy Gemmell (LB), Bobby Murdoch (RH), Billy McNeil (CB), John Clark (CB), Jimmy Johnstone (RM), Willie Wallace (CF), Stevie Chalmers (CF), Bertie Auld (LH), Bobby Lennox (LM), John Fallon (GK), Charlie Gallagher (IF), John Hughes (CF), Joe McBride (CF), Willie O’Neil (RB)