the start of an era
part 5

In part 5 of our Jock Stein commemoration Manfred Lurker looks at Celtic's remarkable European exploits in the Cup Winners Cup of season 65-66.

Aside from wishing to pay tribute to Jock Stein on the thirtieth anniversary of his assumption to the Parkhead manager's job, one of the reasons for writing this series of articles was that the staff here at NTV Mansions were convinced that the Scottish Cup victory at the end of the 94-95 season could well have been the impetus for a spooky repetition of history. While this particular flight of optimistic fancy might well have been induced by a lethal combination of a night on strong German lager coupled with the hallucinogenic effects of sniffing George of the Jungle's Celtic tammy (unwashed since the heady days of the Stein era) there were one or two parallels to be drawn.

The 1996 Celtic team was unrecognisable from that which had one the Cup the season before against Airdrie. Tommy Burns had once again laid the emphasis on skillful attacking football, Celtic were challenging for the league title in April once again and we had been dumped out of the Cup thanks to a goal scored by a Dane (in the 1966 final the culprit had been kai Johansen).

Alas, one of the features of big Jock's first full season in charge that the '96 team failed to emulate was the incredible European campaign embarked on by the Hoops which in '66 was pulled up just short of what would have been a Hampden final, the credit for which goes to a lunatic French referee who officiated in the semi-final second leg at Anfield against Liverpool.

Yet, remarkable as it might seem, Celtic's European progress was not as unexpected as one might think. Under Jimmy McGrory the Celts had already shown that a fast, aggressive style coupled with great will and determination could see off all but the best of European opposition in those days. Having lost to Valencia (the Fairs Cup holders) in the first match of their very first European campaign in 1962, Celtic had made it to the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup the following season, somehow managing to concede a three goal advantage from the first leg against MTK Budapest. They also lost in the second round of the Fairs Cup in 1964 against Barcelona.

Unlike their modern progeny, the fans of '65 would not have been in a state of profound shock when Celtic began Stein's first European adventure with a comprehensive victory against a team from Holland. The Dutch outfit may have reveled in the name 'Go ahead Eagles' but they singularly failed to 'go ahead' in the first leg, played in the picturesque Netherlands city of Deventer. Perhaps they were confused by the Glasgow vernacular as their opponents from the west of Scotland taunted them with cries of "Come ahead Go Ahead!" Whatever the reason, they eventually lost by 6:0 (Lennox 3, Johnstone 2, Hughes) on their own pitch. The Eagles had had their wings well and truly clipped, predating by several years the Dutch concept of Total Football with their own brand of Total Shite, but they rallied round for the return leg at Parkhead and by stringing eleven men across their own 18 yard line (think Kilmarnock and you'll get the idea) managed a plucky 0:1 defeat. Aggregate score, 7:0 to Celtic.

Danish amateurs Aarhus were our next opponents, a team destined always to appear first in any dictionary of European football teams. It was never much of a contest and the 3:0 aggregate victory for Celtic bore little relation to the gulf in class which yawned between the sides.

Dynamo Kiev in round 3 were to prove themselves stiffer opposition in more ways than one. Having defeated the Ukrainians by 3:0 at Celtic Park in January 1966 thanks to another European intervention by Tommy Gemmell and two goals from Bobby Murdoch in the second half, things were looking good for Celtic to make further progress in the competition. And so it turned out when the players managed a creditable 1:1 draw in an ill-tempered away leg.

However, as Kiev in January is so cold you have thaw out your farts over an open fire before they even make a noise, the venue chosen for the game was in the Georgian capital Tblisi. A combination of Soviet bureaucracy and a faulty aircraft resulted in an epic return journey to Glasgow worthy of anything undertaken by Ernest Shackleton. The players arrived home at 11pm on the Friday night on the eve of a vital league match at Tynecastle. It was all too much and the Celts lost 2:3 to a Hearts team reduced to ten men after five minutes (and Steven Pressley wasn't even playing!). Nonetheless, a semi-final place against Liverpool had been secured.

The Celts head for Kiev: note Jimmy Johnstone's desperate attempts to avoid boarding the plane resulting in him being manhandles on by his team mates and the stylish 'shoulder bags'

The English Cup holders put up a spirited defence at Celtic Park but the Hoops could easily have had four goals before Bobby Lennox eventually netted what was to be the only goal of the game in the 51st minute.

At Anfield it was a different story. Celtic were clinging desperately to their one goal lead and managed to hold out for an hour before Tommy Smith scored with a free kick. Geoff Strong scored again with a header five minutes later and it looked like curtains in Europe for another season. But Celtic wouldn't be denied. Bobby Lennox broke clear of the Liverpool defence and ran through to net an incredible score in the final minute of the game. Bedlam ensued when the aforementioned French official made a decision worthy of anything Park Gardens' finest have ever perpetrated, disallowing the strike for an offside infringement which existed nowhere except in his febrile Gallic imagination. The resultant impromptu bottle party hastily organised behind the away fans' goal was a rare stain on our European reputation.

The ref later apologised and admitted his dreadful blunder but the damage had been done. Liverpool went on to contest the final, losing 1:2 after extra time to Borussia Dortmund at Hampden in front of a modest attendance of 40,000. If only...

As a result of this European success the strain began to tell in domestic competition. In the run-in to the league championship finale points were being dropped in needless draws, but there were signs that the Huns were beginning crack as well.

It would go down to the last day of the season.

part one
part two
part three
part four
part six
season stats