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Celtic F.C.

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Celtic F.C.
Full nameCeltic Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bhoys
Founded1888
GroundCeltic Park,
Glasgow, Scotland
Capacity60,830
ChairmanBrian Quinn
ManagerMartin O'Neill
LeagueScottish Premier League
2003-04Scottish Premier League, 1st
File:Crestsml.gif

Celtic F.C. (pronounced 'seltic', not 'keltic') is perhaps the most famous Scottish football club. The club is based in the city of Glasgow, nicknamed the Bhoys. Together with their city rivals Rangers they dominate Scottish football as the Old Firm, a term which many Celtic supporters have tried to distance themselves from. Their kit is green and white hooped jerseys, white shorts and white socks. They play at the 60,830 seater stadium Celtic Park, one of the most famous stadia in Europe.

History

Celtic was founded in 1888 by Brother Walfrid as a way to raise money for terribly deprived Irish immigrants, mainly in the East of Glasgow. However, for her supporters, Celtic is much more than a football club, it is a reflection of their culture and history. Many believe that had it not been for the success of Celtic Football Club this history and identity may not have survived to the extent that it has. Celtic was founded as an outlet for the political, cultural and religious identity of the Irish immigrant community in Scotland in general and Glasgow in particular. These identities were important to those who were often greeted with racism and sectarianism themselves in their host community. The Irish identity, now perhaps more accuratly a Scots-Irish identity, is still very important to the majority of those involved in the club.

Under their first manager, Willie Maley, the Bhoys won 30 major trophies in 43 years. Celtic defeated Everton 1–0 at Ibrox for the Empire Exhibition Trophy, a possible predecessor of european competition. This one off trophy is held very dear by Celtic supporters as they are its only winners.

Former player Jimmy McStay was manager of the club during the war years of 1940-1945. There was no official competitve league football during these years and McStay was seen as something of an interim manger during these troubled times.

Ex-player and captain Jimmy McGrory became Celtic's manager in 1945. Under McGrory, Celtic defeated Arsenal, Manchester United and Hibernian to win the Coronation Cup, a tournament held in May 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Elizabeth II.

On October 10, 1957, Celtic succesfully won the Scottish League Cup, retaining the trophy they won for the first time the previous year.

Jock Stein succeeded McGrory in 1965. A former player and team captain, Stein gained most of his fame as Celtic's manager, and is acknowledged as one of the greatest football managers of all time. He managed Celtic to its nine straight Scottish League wins from 1966 to 1974—a Scottish record, equalled by Rangers from 1989 to 1997.

1967 was to be Celtic's best ever year. Celtic won every competition it entered: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the Bhoys became the first British side to win the European Cup. The "Lisbon Lions", managed by Jock Stein and captained by Billy McNeill, defeated Inter Milan 2–1 in Lisbon, Portugal. Jimmy 'Jinky' Johnstone, Bobby Lennox and Bobby Murdoch were three of the greatest ever Celtic players who also played in that famous team, who today have a stand in Celtic Park dedicated to them.

Celtic reached the European Cup Final again in 1970 but were beaten 2–1 by Feyenoord in the San Siro Stadium, Milan.

In 1994, expatriate businessman and Fergus McCann took control of the club, ousting the family dynasties which controlled the club since its foundation. To alleviate the club's financial strain, Celtic was reconstituted as a public limited company, resulting in one of the most successful share flotations in British history. The club netted £14 million towards the refinancing of the club. However for many of the supporters, some of the ramifications of these events have changed the face of Celtic. In recent years the club has managed to remain successful while keeping a tight eye on its finances. The club has refused to splash out on big money transfers, unlike its city rivals, yet managed to keep a tight grip on the Scottish title. While Rangers have had a personal investor, David Murray, to finance these expensive and often unsuccessful ventures, Celtic have been less fortunate, having to rely on intellegent buying polices and tight financial management.

The fans of Celtic share the blame for the sectarianism which is rampant in the sport in Glasgow as this problem can be equally attributed to both the blue and green halves of the city. Many Celtic supporters believe that the main difference between themselves and Rangers supporters is that they are motivated more by the positives of their culture and identity rather than religious hatred which they believe motivates many Rangers fans, even to this day, to sings songs with lines such as 'We're up to our knees in fenian blood'. There is a however a large section of Celtic fans who actively support militant Irish Rebublicanism and a number of campaigns have failed to stamp out 'sectarian' singing in Celtic Park. Routinely the ground still echoes with bowdlerised versions of Irish folk songs notably one which has the line ' soon there will be no protestants at all '. Celtic have attempted to attract support from many 'newer' immigrants to Glasgow based on the premise that they can identify with the perceived hostility experienced by Brother Walfrid and many other Irish Catholics as they walked the streets of Glasgow. The campaign has had little success as the ' newer ' immigrants have adopted a policy of integration rather that the seperatism which pervades the Glasgow / Irish.

Celtic early in its history decided to sign Protestant players, and has frequently had a number of Protestants on its roster. Indeed, the dictum in the West of Scotland (frequently attributed to Jock Stein) was that, given the choice between a Catholic and a Protestant player of equal skill, Celtic would sign the Protestant as they knew that many Roman Catholics would refuse to sign for Rangers. Former Celtic player Mo Johnston is commonly believed to have broken this tradition when he signed for Rangers in 1989. Unfortunately the subsequent demonisation of Johnston by Celtic fans did not reflect well on the club. However, he was merely the first high-profile player and there were others before him, most notably John Spencer. Today, the playing rosters of both Old Firm sides are multinational, multiracial, and represent both sides of the sectarian divide.

In 2003 an estimated 80,000 fans travelled to see Celtic take part in the UEFA Cup final in Seville in southern Spain. Although Celtic lost the match on in extra time despite two Henrik Larsson goals. The conduct of the Celtic supporters recieved much respect and supporters were awarded with Fair Play Awards from both FIFA and UEFA.

Recent Achievements

The current manager, as of August 2004 is Irishman Martin O'Neill from Kilrea, County Derry. In O'Neill's first season in 2000, Celtic won the domestic treble. This was a memorable season which saw varied results against Celtic's rivals Rangers, which included a 5-1 defeat and a 6-2 victory.

In 2003 they reached the UEFA Cup final but lost 3–2 to Porto.

In 2004 they continued to prosper in the UEFA Cup, reaching the quarterfinals. However, Celtic lost in the quarterfinals to the Spanish side, Villarreal CF (3–1 on aggregate).

Honours

  • European Champions Cup (1): 1967.
  • Scottish League Champions (39): 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1936, 1938, 1954, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004.
  • Scottish Cup (32): 1892, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2004.
  • Scottish League Cup (12): 1957, 1958, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1983, 1998, 2000, 2001.
  • Drybrough Cup: 1974.
  • Coronation Cup: 1953.

Current Squad

Goalkeepers

Magnus Hedman Swedish
David Marshall Scottish
Robert Douglas Scottish

Defenders

Stephane Henchoz Swiss
John Kennedy Scottish
Scott Cuthbert Scottish
Paul Lawson Scottish
Joos Valgaeren Belguin
Bobo Balde Ginea
Urik Laursen Danish
Stanislav Varga Slovak
Michael McGovern Scottish
Jackie McNamarra Scottish

Midfielders

Paul Lambert Scottish
Neil Lennon Northern Irish
Stilian Petrov Bulgarian
Ross Wallace Scottish
Stephen Pearson Scottish
Juninho Brazilian
Alan Thompson English
Didier Agathe French
Stephen McMannus Scottish
Aiden McGeady Irish

Strikers

John Hartson Welsh
Chris Sutton English
David Fernandez Spanish
Shaun Maloney Scottish
Craig Bellamy Welsh
Mohammed Sylla

Celtic Managers

Famous Celts

See also


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