Lisbon Lions pride of Scotland 50 years on

ON A hot and sunny afternoon in Lisbon 50 years ago, Celtic sealed their place in history by becoming the first British side to win the European Cup.

The current crop of Celtic stars – who stand on the verge of clinching a rare domestic treble – may be receiving plaudits for a record-breaking campaign that has seen them go an entire season unbeaten on their way to claiming a sixth title in a row.

But their achievements pale into insignificance when compared to the “Lisbon Lions” campaign of 1966-67, which ended with a clean sweep of trophies, including the European Cup.

On May 25, 1967, Jock Stein’s Celtic side came from behind to defeat the much-fancied Inter Milan 2-1 in front of 45,000 spectators at the Estadio Nacional.

It was a golden age for Scottish football. Less than 24 hours before Celtic’s victory in Lisbon, Kilmarnock had lost out to Leeds United in the semifinals of the Fairs Cup.

Six days later, rivals Rangers would lose 1-0 to Bayern Munich after extra-time in the Cup Winners’ Cup final – a competition they would later win in 1972.

But Celt i c’s remarkable achievement takes its place as the pinnacle of Scottish football that has yet to be surpassed in the modern era.

“We weren’t worried about being the first British team to win the European Cup – we just wanted to win,” right-back Jim Craig said. “For us to do it was absolutely amazing, and I can be honest about this and say that it put Celtic’s name up among t he bi g boys of Europe.”

Celtic’s triumph was all the more spectacular given the fact that the 11 first-team players were all born within a 30-mile radius of their stadium in the east end of Glasgow.

“That’s Bobby Lennox’s fault. If he hadn’t played it would have been within 10 miles of Glasgow,” Craig joked.

“It’s quite amazing. I would think nowadays it would be almost unbelievable to think that it might happen again.”

Craig, now 74, had to battle to regain his place in the side after missing a tour to America as the dentistry student had to sit university exams.

“Eventually I got my chance, and you’ve got to take your chance in football,” said Craig, the only qualified dentist to have won the European Cup.

“I was there for the right half of the season.”

‘They better hurry up’

As the club prepare to mark the anniversary of their greatest victory, not all the Lions will be there to join in with the celebrations.

Legendary manager Stein, and players Bobby Murdoch, Ronnie Simpson, Jimmy Johnstone and Gemmell have since passed away, while illness will prevent captain Billy McNeil and Chalmers from taking part.

“It’s with a great sadness we celebrate the 50th anniversary missing some of them. I get emotional thinking about it,” Craig said.

“We’ve lost half the team and others are not particularly well, so from that point of view it’s very poignant.

“As to whether a Celtic team will ever win it again, well, please God they will in my lifetime – so they better hurry up.”