Icon Billy given special gong by Spanish giants
BY FRASER WILSON CELTIC hero Billy McNeill is to be honoured with a prestigious European award for his extraordinary service to the Parkhead giants.
The European Cup winning skipper – dubbed Cesar by Hoops team-mates and fans – will pick up the One Club Man Award from Athletic Bilbao.
Following legends including Paolo Maldini, Sepp Maier and Carles Puyol, McNeill has been selected for the honour after spending 18 years as a player and nine years as a manager at Parkhead.
The defender led Celtic to a record nine-in-a-row titles as well as their greatest ever moment in becoming champions of Europe in 1967.
He later went on to manage the club and lifted a further four titles, three Scottish Cups and one League Cup.
A special ceremony will take place in Glasgow with legendary Bilbao keeper Jose Angel Iribar presenting the award.
McNeill, who is fighting dementia, will be unable to accept the award in person.
A statement from Bilbao said: “Athletic Club has decided to award with the One Club Man Award 2019 to the legendary Celtic FC captain William McNeill. The Scottish defender is the footballer who has played the most matches in the famous Scottish jersey, the only one he wore during his career, a total of 822 times during 18 seasons.
“The choice of McNeill as OCM transcends the player’s extraordinary individual career and links directly to the team he captained, the Lisbon Lions.
“That memorable Celtic team won the 1967 European Cup against Helenio Herrera’s Inter Milan (2-1) with a squad made up entirely of Scottish players.”
Celtic chairman Ian Bankier said: “This award is a fantastic recognition for Billy and recognises the phenomenal contribution he made to Celtic over so many years.”