Celtic F.C.
Celtic crest | |||
Full name | The Celtic Football Club | ||
---|---|---|---|
Nickname(s) | The Bhoys (official) The Celts The Hoops | ||
Founded | 1888 | ||
Ground | Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland | ||
Capacity | 60,832 | ||
Chairman | ![]() | ||
Manager | ![]() | ||
League | Scottish Premier League | ||
2007/08 | Scottish Premier League, 1st | ||
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The Celtic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the east end of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. Celtic are the champions of Scotland, having completed a hat-trick of titles on 22 May 2008, the final day of the 2007/08 season. Since the club's formation in 1888, Celtic have won the Scottish championship on 42 occasions and the Scottish Cup 34 times (a record), and won the European Cup in 1967. Celtic's home stadium is Celtic Park (commonly referred to as Parkhead after the area of Glasgow in which it is situated), the largest football stadium in Scotland, with a capacity of 60,832. Together with their Glasgow rivals, Rangers, they form the Old Firm, one of the most famous and fierce rivalries in sport. The club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts with white shorts and white socks.
In 1966/67 season, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup and are one of only two clubs ever to win the competition with a team composed entirely of players from the club's home country (along with Steaua Bucharest of Romania in 1986).[1][2]. All of the players, subsequently known as the Lisbon Lions, were born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park. Celtic won every competition that they entered that season: the Scottish League Championship, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the European Cup and the Glasgow Cup, to become the first, and so far only, team to win the Quadruple. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final, but were beaten by Feyenoord.
In 2003 Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final, where they lost 3–2 to FC Porto. Approximately 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for this game, the largest foreign travelling support in history at the time. Celtic fans also received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their behaviour throughout the tournament.[3][4][5] Celtic have an estimated fan base of nine million, including one million in North America.[6]
Formation and history
Celtic were formally founded at a meeting in St. Mary's Church Hall on East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton, Glasgow, by Brother Walfrid, an Irish Marist brother, on 6 November 1887. The purpose stated in the official club records as "being to alleviate poverty in Glasgow's East End parishes".
Walfrid's move to establish the club as a means of fund raising for his charity, The Poor Children's Dinner Table, was largely inspired by the example of Hibernian who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population thirteen years earlier in Edinburgh. Walfrid's own suggestion of the name 'Celtic' (pronounced Seltik), was intended to reflect the club's Irish and Scottish roots, and was adopted at the same meeting.
On 28 May 1888, Celtic played their first official match against Rangers and won 5–2 in what was described as a "friendly encounter". Celtic had 8 'guest' players from Hibernian playing that day. The club's first ever goal was scored by Neil McCallum in this match. During these formative years, Celtic played in a white shirt with a green collar and a red Celtic cross on the breast, then switched to green and white vertical stripes around 1890. They made the switch to their iconic green-and-white hoops in 1903.
Celtic and the media
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In 1965 Celtic began publishing The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football [7].
In 2004 Celtic launched its own digital TV channel Celtic TV available in the UK through Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. Since 2002 Celtic's Internet TV channel, Channel67 (previously known as Celtic Replay), has broadcast Celtic's own content worldwide, offers live match coverage to subscribers outside the UK, and now provides 3 online channels.
Old Firm and sectarianism
Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish extraction, who are both predominantly Catholic. However, Celtic has never promoted itself as a club for Catholics only. Throughout its history Celtic has prided itself as being a club for everyone. Fans of rivals Rangers FC tended to come from Scottish Protestant backgrounds and were supporters of British Unionism. As a result both clubs became linked to the opposing factions in the political difficulties of Northern Ireland, which intensified the rivalry in Scotland.
In recent times both clubs have taken measures to combat sectarianism. Working alongside the Scottish Parliament, church groups and community organisations, the Old Firm has clamped down on sectarian songs, inflammatory flag-waving, hand gestures, and troublesome supporters, using increased levels of policing and surveillance.[8][9] In 1996, for instance, Celtic launched their Bhoys Against Bigotry campaign, later followed by Youth Against Bigotry to "educate the young on having ... respect for all aspects of the community - all races, all colours, all creeds", according to then chief executive Ian McLeod.[10]
Recent seasons
2005/06
Celtic began the 2005/06 season with a new manager: Gordon Strachan, the former Scotland, Aberdeen and Manchester United midfielder took over from Martin O'Neill. Garry Pendrey was appointed as Strachan's assistant manager.
Before his first game, he was already being criticized by the press for signing unknown players such as Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura from relegation battlers Reggina of Serie A and Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc from Legia Warsaw. In Celtic's first competitive game under Strachan, they lost 5–0 in a UEFA Champions League qualifier to Slovakian minnows Artmedia Bratislava. Strachan was under more pressure after the first SPL game of the season after his side lost a 3–1 lead away to Motherwell and only escaped with a point after grabbing a late equaliser in a 4–4 draw. The shoots of recovery started to grow with a 4–0 win in the home leg of the Champions League tie with Artmedia and although Celtic lost 3–1 to Rangers in the first Glasgow derby of the season, the team went on a 13 game unbeaten run, winning 12 of those games before losing to Dunfermline Athletic.
Celtic showed their Championship credentials on New Year's Day 2006, after staging a late comeback to beat Hearts 3–2 in a top-of-the-table clash at Tynecastle thanks to two late goals from centre-half Stephen McManus.
After signing Roy Keane from Manchester United in January 2006, Celtic lost to Clyde 2–1 in the Scottish Cup Third Round. Their impressive league form continued however and on 19 February 2006 Celtic set a new scoring record for the SPL, an 8–1 victory at East End Park against Dunfermline, where Polish striker Maciej Żurawski scored 4 goals and assisted in 2 others.
On 19 March, Gordon Strachan won his first trophy for Celtic with a 3–0 win over Dunfermline in the final of the Scottish League Cup.
On 5 April, Celtic clinched their 40th league title thanks to a goal from John Hartson in a 1–0 win against Hearts at Celtic Park. The title was Celtic's fourth in six years. This feat was achieved with six games remaining until the end of the season and before the SPL split. The Bhoys lifted the SPL trophy on Easter Sunday 2006 at home to Hibernian, after a 1–1 draw.
In April 2006, Celtic's reserve and Under-19 teams also won their championships, completing a clean sweep of Scotland's league competitions. Celtic's reserve team had won their league 5 years in a row and the Under-19s had won their league 4 years in a row.
2006/07
Such was the good form of Celtic and the lack of a clear rival in the early stages of the 2006/07 season, that bookmakers Paddy Power paid out on Celtic as the winners of the SPL on 4 November 2006, only 13 games into the season.[11] By mid-November Celtic were 15 points clear of their nearest challengers.
Having qualified automatically for the group stage of the Champions League, Celtic were drawn with Benfica, F.C. Copenhagen, and Manchester United. Although Celtic lost their 3 away games, a 100% record at home earned them qualification to the knockout stage for the first time since the format was altered in 1993. Their opponents in the last 16 were AC Milan. After both legs of the tie ended 0–0, Celtic's Champions League run was ended by a solitary Milan goal in extra-time by Kaká.
During the January 2007 transfer window Celtic signed Scotland internationals and former Heart's players Steven Pressley and Paul Hartley, full-back Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé from Rennes on loan and goalkeeper Mark Brown from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
On 22 April 2007 Celtic won their 41st league championship, and second in a row. The title was won by an injury-time free-kick from Shunsuke Nakamura in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock.[12] The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. They finished the season 12 points above Rangers.
On 26 May 2007 Celtic won the Scottish Cup for a record 34th time after beating Dunfermline 1–0. The winner was scored by Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé in the 84th minute.
2007/08
Celtic bolstered their side for the 2007/08 season, signing Scott Brown, Chris Killen, Scott McDonald and Massimo Donati. Skipper Neil Lennon left for Nottingham Forest after seven years with the club, with Stephen McManus taking over the club captaincy.[13] However Lennon returned to the club later in the season as a coach.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Wikinews-logo.svg/40px-Wikinews-logo.svg.png)
Celtic were drawn against Russian side Spartak Moscow in the third round of qualifying for the 2007/08 Champions League. The tie ended in a penalty shootout, with Artur Boruc saving twice to ensure Celtic's passage to the next round. This was Celtic's first European penalty shootout victory.[citation needed] They competed against AC Milan, Benfica and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stages, who they beat 2–1, 1–0, and 2–1 respectively at home, but losing all their away matches. They finished second in their group, ensuring qualification to the knockout stage for the second year in succession. Celtic were drawn against FC Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played at Celtic Park, saw them defeated 3–2, after being ahead 1–0 and 2–1. In the second leg Barcelona grabbed an early goal through Xavi and held on for a 1–0 win on the night and 4–2 on aggregate.
The club's first signing of the winter transfer window was Andreas Hinkel. They followed up by signing Japanese youngster Koki Mizuno, Barry Robson from Dundee Utd as well as young striker Ben Hutchinson from Middlesbrough.
Although leading for the early part of the season, Celtic found themselves 7 points behind Rangers having played a game more with only seven weeks of the season left, because of this the manager was badly criticised and there was speculation that he might be sacked or resign. However, the club made a remarkable comeback, winning their last 7 games, including two victories over rivals Rangers at Celtic Park 2–1 and 3–2, and won the league on 22 May 2008, the last day of the season with a 1–0 win over Dundee United. Meanwhile Rangers lost to Aberdeen at Pittodrie. The victory was dedicated to the memory of Tommy Burns, former player and manager, who had died the previous Thursday. The result also meant Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive League Championships.
Current season 2008/09
Celtic signed winger Pat McCourt from FAI League of Ireland side Derry City on a 3 year contract on 19 June. Greek international striker Georgios Samaras, who had spent the second half of the 2007/08 season on loan from Manchester City signed on a permanent basis on 14 July after agreeing a 3 year contract. Celtic also added the signings of Marc Crosas, Glenn Loovens and the return of Shaun Maloney from Aston Villa before the closure of the summer transfer window.
As SPL Champions, Celtic gained automatic entry to the UEFA Champions League, but after being drawn with Manchester United, Villarreal, and AaB Aalborg, they finished fourth in their group.
Celtic are currently top of the SPL, having defeated rivals Rangers 1-0, at Ibrox on 27 December. They have also qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup, and will play Dundee United at Hampden Park on Wednesday 28 January 2009.
Records
- The Scottish Cup final win against Aberdeen in 1937 was attended by a crowd of 146,433 (sometimes listed as 147,365) at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which remains a record for a club match in European football
- Celtic currently hold the UK record for an unbeaten run in professional football: 62 games (49 won, 13 drawn), from 13 November 1915 until 21 April 1917 - a total of 17 months and four days in all (they lost at home to Kilmarnock on the penultimate day of the season)
- Celtic also hold the SPL record for an unbeaten run of home matches (1), spanning from 2001 to 2004.
- Record home attendance: 92,000 against Rangers on 1 January 1938. A 3–0 victory for Celtic
- Most capped player: 80, Pat Bonner: Republic of Ireland
- Most capped player (Scotland): 76, Paul McStay
- Record appearances: Juninho, 790 from 1957–1975
- Most goals in a season (all competitions): Pat McCourt, 1000 (2000/01)
- Most goals in a season (league only): Jimmy McGrory, 50 (1935/36)
- Record scorer: Jimmy McGrory, 468 (1922/23 - 1937/38)
- Most goals scored in one Scottish top-flight league match by one player: 8 goals by Jimmy McGrory against Dunfermline in 9–0 win on 14 January 1928
- First British club to reach the final of the European Cup
- First Scottish, British and Northern Europe team to win the European Cup
- First club in history to win the European Cup with a team made up only of players from the club's home country (in Celtic's case, all born within a 30 mile radius of The Maze Prison)
- Hold the record for the highest score in a domestic cup final: Celtic 7–1 Rangers, Scottish League Cup Final 1957[14]
- Hold the record for the highest attendance for a European club competition match: Celtic v Leeds United in the European Cup semi-final, 15 April 1970 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Official attendance 136,505
- Fastest hat-trick in European Club Football - Mark Burchill vs Jeunesse Esch, Luxembourg in 2000, a record at the time.[15]
- Earliest SPL Championship won. Won with 6 games to go against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2004 and Hearts on 5 April 2006
- First weekly club publication in the UK, The Celtic View
- Biggest margin of victory in the SPL. 8–1 against Dunfermline Athletic, February 2006
- First stadium in the UK to stage motorcycle speedway racing on 28 April 1928
- Celtic and Hibernian hold the record for the biggest transfer fee between two Scottish clubs. Celtic bought Scott Brown from Hibernian on 16 May 2007 for £4.4m[16][17]
- First club in the world to win their domestic league in their centenary season (1987/88)
- Appeared in 14 consecutive League Cup finals, from season 1964/65 to 1977/78 inclusive, a world record for successive appearances in the final of a major football competition
- Won the League Cup a record 5 times in succession, from season 1965/66 to 1969/70 inclusive
National honours
International club honours
Minor honours
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* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2–2 draw
Special honours
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Individual
- All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
# | Name | Career | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | James McGrory | 1922–1937 | 522 |
2 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979-1980 |
273 |
3 | Henrik Larsson ![]() |
1997–2004 | 242 |
4 | Stevie Chalmers | 1958–1971 | 231 |
5 | Jimmy Quinn | 1900–1917 | 217 |
6 | Patsy Gallacher ![]() |
1911–1926 | 192 |
7 | John Hughes | 1960–1971 | 189 |
8 | Sandy McMahon | 1891–1903 | 171 |
9 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 168 |
10 | Kenny Dalglish | 1969–1977 | 167 |
# | Name | Career | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
1 | James McGrory | 1922–1937 | 397 |
2 | Jimmy Quinn | 1900–1917 | 187 |
3 | Patsy Gallacher ![]() |
1911–1926 | 186 |
4 | Henrik Larsson ![]() |
1997–2004 | 174 |
5 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979–1980 |
167 |
6 | Stevie Chalmers | 1958–1971 | 159 |
7 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 144 |
8 | Sandy McMahon | 1891–1903 | 130 |
9 | Adam McLean | 1917–1928 | 128 |
10 | John Hughes | 1960–1971 | 115 |
# | Name | Career | Apps |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Billy McNeill | 1957–1975 | 790 |
2 | Paul McStay | 1981–1997 | 678 |
3 | Roy Aitken | 1976–1990 | 669 |
4 | Danny McGrain | 1970–1987 | 661 |
5 | Packie Bonner ![]() |
1978–1995 | 642 |
6 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979–1980 |
587 |
7 | Bobby Evans | 1944–1960 | 548 |
8 | Jimmy Johnstone | 1962–1975 | 515 |
9 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 515 |
10 | Tommy Burns | 1975–1989 | 504 |
Managers
Name | Scottish League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | European Cup | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Willie Maley 1897–1940 ![]() |
16 | 14 | — | — | 30 |
Jimmy McStay 1940–1945 ![]() |
0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
Jimmy McGrory 1945–1965 ![]() |
1 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 |
Jock Stein 1965–1978 ![]() |
10 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
Billy McNeill 1978–1983 ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
David Hay 1983–1987 ![]() |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Billy McNeill 1987–1991 ![]() |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
Liam Brady 1991–1993 ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lou Macari 1993–1994 ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tommy Burns 1994–1997 ![]() |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wim Jansen 1997–1998 ![]() |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Jozef Vengloš 1998–1999 ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
John Barnes 1999–2000 ![]() |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kenny Dalglish 2000 ![]() |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Martin O'Neill 2000–2005 ![]() |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
Gordon Strachan 2005–present ![]() |
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
Players
- As of 1 January 2009.[18]
Current squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Players out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Reserve and youth squads
For Celtic's reserve and youth squads, see here.
2008/09 transfers
- Click here for a list of Celtic transfers in season 2008/09
Non-playing staff
Board of Directors
Position | Name |
---|---|
Chairman | Dr John Reid |
Chief Executive | Peter Lawwell |
Director of Finance | Eric J. Riley |
Non-Executive Director | Ian Livingston |
Non-Executive Director | Dermot Desmond |
Non-Executive Director | Eric Hagman |
Non-Executive Director | Thomas E. Allison |
Non-Executive Director | Brian McBride[19] |
Non-Executive Director | Brian Wilson |
Commercial Director | Adrian Filby |
Director of International Developments | Jason Hughes |
Management
Position | Name |
---|---|
Manager | Gordon Strachan OBE |
Assistant Manager | Garry Pendrey |
First Team Coach | Neil Lennon |
Reserve Team Coach | Willie McStay |
Reserve Assistant Team Coach | Danny McGrain |
Head of Youth Development | Chris McCart |
Youth Team Coach | John McLaughlan |
Under 17's Coach | Miodrag Krivokapić |
Goalkeeping Coach | Jim Blyth |
Goalkeeping Coach | Chris Hannah |
Goalkeeping Coach | Stevie Woods |
Club Doctor | Derek McCormack |
Head of Sports Science | Gregory Dupont |
Physiotherapist | Graham Parsons |
Physiotherapist | Gavin McCarthy |
Kit Controller | John Clark |
Football Development Manager | John Park |
Chief Scout | Ray Clarke |
Scout | Tommy O'Neill |
Sponsors
- Carling
- NTL Ireland
- T-Mobile
- Nike
- Thomas Cook
- Phoenix Car Company
- MBNA
- The Big Plus
- Sanyo
- BT
- Scottish Leader (whisky)
- Soccer Savings
- Celtic Village
- Seat Exchange
Notable former players
See List of Celtic F.C. players for players with over 100 appearances, List of Celtic F.C. international footballers and Category:Celtic FC players
- William Angus VC - A World War I hero who was awarded the Victoria Cross
- Neil Clarke - First foreigner (outside UK) to play for Celtic
- Mohammed Salim - First Asian player to play in Europe
- John Thomson - Died in a collision while playing against Rangers
- Gil Heron - Jamaican footballer, an early black player in British football and father of noted poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron
Scotland Football Hall of Fame
So far 7 Celtic players have entered the Scotland Football Hall of Fame:
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
In the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 5 Celtic players have been selected, they are:
Greatest ever team
Greatest ever Celtic team |
The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002.[20]
Ronnie Simpson
Danny McGrain
Tommy Gemmell
Bobby Murdoch
Paul McStay MBE
Billy McNeill MBE, DUniv - Voted Celtic's greatest ever Captain
Bertie Auld
Jimmy Johnstone - Voted Celtic's greatest ever player
Bobby Lennox MBE
Kenny Dalglish MBE
Henrik Larsson MBE - Voted Celtic's greatest ever foreign player
See also
- Richest football clubs
- Sport in Scotland
- Football in Scotland
- Old Firm
- Lisbon Lions
- Bhoys from Seville
- European Cup 1966/67
- UEFA Cup 2002/03
- The Bhoys from Seville
- 1967 European Cup Final
- Hampden in the sun
- The Fields of Athenry
- List of Celtic FC players
- Lennoxtown training ground
- Celtic Boys Club
- Channel67
- The Celtic View
- Celtic FC and World War I
Thank You Brother Walfrid !
References
- ^ BBC - A Sporting Nation - Celtic win European Cup 1967
- ^ SI.com - Soccer - Celtic immersed in history before UEFA Cup final - Tuesday 20 May 2003 07:20 PM
- ^ Celtic in Seville: Observer Sport Monthly index | | The Observer
- ^ ESPNsoccernet - Report: Celtic vs FC Porto - UEFA Cup
- ^ http://www.fifa.com/newscentre/news/newsid=90249.html Celebrating Celtic pride in the heart of Andalusia
- ^ "Celtic to launch credit card for US fans". scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
- ^ Celtic View
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Celtic | Quinn warns on offensive chants
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Rangers | Murray sends sectarianism warning
- ^ BBC News | SCOTLAND | Bigotry puzzle for Old Firm
- ^ Paddy Power pays out on Scottish Premier League title
- ^ Colin Moffat, Kilmarnock 1-2 Celtic, BBC Sport, 22 April 2007
- ^ Forest win race to capture Lennon, BBC Sport, 12 June 2007
- ^ Lone Star Celtic Supporters Club (n.d.). "1957 Celtic in Seventh Heaven". Retrieved 2007-06-11.
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(help) - ^ O'Neill tells hat-trick hero Burch: You're not moving
- ^ Scott Brown signs for Celtic
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Celtic | Brown completes switch to Celtic
- ^ "First Team". Celtic FC. Retrieved 2008-07-19.
- ^ Profile of McBride
- ^ BBC SPORT | Football | Teams | Celtic | Jinky best-ever Celtic player
External links
- Official website
- Celtic F.C. on BBC Sport: Club news – Recent results and fixtures
- Celtic historical website in Polish
- Polish fans' website - the biggest foreign fan portal
- North American Celtic Fans forum and portal