On This Day – 25th May
It was on this day in 1967 that Celtic Football Club became the first British club to lift the European Cup. They beat Italian side Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon to claim a place in the record books.
Things didn’t start too brightly for Jock Stein’s men when Jim Craig fouled Inter striker Renato Cappellini in the penalty area in the opening minutes. Alessandro Mazzola scored from the resulting penalty kick to give Inter the lead with just seven minutes gone.
Undeterred, Celtic pushed on and were rewarded with a thumping drive from Tommy Gemmell after 63 minutes. Then with just six minutes remaining, Stevie Chalmers scored from close range to give Celtic the cup.
Every time this victory is remembered, a fascinating fact is always mentioned. The whole of the Celtic team was all born within close proximity of the club’s ground. Each person that you ask will give different distances – 5, 10, 20, 30, 50 miles, but it is still staggering considering the number of players who play in different countries across the globe.
Celtic fielded a fully Scottish side and Inter had eleven Italians. In last season’s Champions League Final there were eight nationalities represented from the 22 players who started the match.
Celtic had the opportunity to win the European Cup for a second time three years later, but lost to Feyenoord in the Final. That match was ironically hosted at the San Siro, the home stadium of Inter Milan – the team that they had beaten in 1967!
I’m off to go and get an Ordnance Survey map of Glasgow and a list of the winning Celtic eleven to find out just how far away they were all born from Celtic Park!
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