Invite to Celtic do is ‘honour’ for Ferguson
Former assistant manager to Parkhead legend Stein will mark cup win anniversary
SIR Alex Ferguson has described the invitation from Celtic to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their European Cup triumph next month as “an honour”.
Jock Stein’s legendary achievements on 25 May, 1967 in Lisbon enshrined Celtic in the history books as the first British team to lift the most coveted prize in European football. Ferguson, who lifted the trophy twice with Manchester United in a success-laden spell between 1986-2013, was Stein’s assistant manager at Scotland in the 1980s – taking over from the Parkhead great after his death during a World Cup qualifier against Wales at St Ninian Park in 1985.
The event, which takes place at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on 25 May – 50 years to the day since Billy McNeill famously lifted the trophy in Portugal – will feature music by Sir Rod Stewart and other special guests from the world of football to commemorate their incredible achievements.
Ferguson, 75, will offer his own memories of Celtic’s European Cup success, and the players and manager who achieved it.
He was a Dunfermline Athletic player back in the 1966/67 season, and even scored two goals against Stein’s all-conquering side at Celtic Park on March 18, 1967 – though the home side ran out 3-2 winners on their way to winning the title.
Ferguson earned a move to boyhood heroes Rangers that summer, where he played 41 times, scoring 25 goals.
He told the official Celtic website: “It’s an honour to have been invited to join the celebration of one of the greatest victories in the history of Scottish football.
“On the night of the game I was touring with the Scotland team and we were all sitting by the radio in Hong Kong, waiting for the hourly updates. When the final score came in, everyone celebrated the result.
“It should be a great event and I am really looking forward to catching up with some genuine legends of the game.”
Ferguson has often cited Stein as his greatest mentor and when the future Old Trafford manager first tasted European success with Aberdeen in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1983, where they faced Real Madrid in Gothenburg, he invited Jock Stein to travel with the Aberdeen party as his guest.
And the former United manager believes his old club should prioritise winning the Europa League to secure a Champions League place.
United are favourites to win the one major European title they have never claimed and will take on Anderlecht in the quarter-finals.
Ferguson told ESPN: “The thing is, we’ve never won the Europa League. We’ve never won (the) UEFA Cup, what it used to be. And we’ve got a great draw. I’m not saying it’s a certainty, but they’ve got a great chance.
“If you win a trophy, it’s important. It doesn’t matter that it’s not the Champions League – it’s still a European trophy. And if you win it, you get into the Champions League.
“And your CV gets bigger. If we won the Europa League? Fantastic. Add it to the European Cup, the Cup-Winners’ Cup, the Champions League – it’s bigger and bigger.
“We also want to be the most successful club in England.”