I remember the 10th anniversary of Lisbon. The BBC marked the occasion with a memorable documentary and on the exact anniversary, Liverpool won their first European Cup, against Borussia Monchengladbach in Rome. Celtic had just won the double, which would turn out to be Jock Stein’s last trophies.
We had little to celebrate on the 20th or 30th anniversaries, but the 40th anniversary was marked appropriately. For the first time, I felt we correctly defined the achievement of the Lions, not just for becoming European champions, but for pivoting Celtic’s history away from mediocrity to spectacular success.
The 50th anniversary will be the final big celebration, nothing like this will happen again. The groundswell you see from the fans, in particular on the 67th minute of each game, is unique to this year.
All of this leaves you and me with a question, do we let the anniversary pass us by as just another night on the calendar, or are we going to mark the occasion in an appropriate manner? It has to be the latter.
For me, this means doing what I can for the Celtic FC Foundation. I’ve signed up for what will be my first marathon, at Stirling, four days before the 50th. It is five weeks on Sunday, and if I get a move on, I might get to Celtic Park to see the second half of our final league game of the season.
I know most of us are not in a position to take on a project like this, but maybe you can support me along the way, the next five weeks will be difficult.
On a related note, I discussing the Dukla Prague semi-final at Celtic Park with my Dad, which happened 50 years ago this week, and he emailed me the notes below, on that night and on the Vojvodina game. We should tell each other as many stories as we have from that era. Here’s Martin42’s:
“50 years is a long time in football and sometimes our memories become a blurred, however that game will always loom large in my memory, as will the last few minutes of the quarter final tie v Vojvodina Nova Sad, to give them their full name.
“For the life of me I cannot remember who scored the 1st goal that night. 1-0 down from the first leg, we needed to score 2 goals and keep a clean sheet to go through to the next round.
“I will always remember the tension around the whole stadium as we won a corner and Charlie Gallacher trotted over to take it. I am sure the whole stadium was thinking the same as me, that Charlie and Billy had done it before in the Dunfermline cup final in 1965, and that they could do so again.
“The wait seemed to go on for ages but at last the ball came over, as straight as a die, to the forehead of our centre half and then into the back of the net.
“The duo had done it again, Charlie and Billy, 2 of the most important goals in our history.
“As for the home tie v Dukla Prague, we have spoken about it often, and you probably know my memories as clearly as I, so what I will tell you is about the break into my butcher van. That was the only time I used the van to go to a game.
“I always went to the midweek games with Thomas and John and we would to in via the Hamilton Road and Gallowgate but that night I went to the hospital before the visiting time to see your mum and then went straight into the game.
“We parked on the London Road and ran all the way to the ground, watched the game in a state of frenzy, and walked back to the van in a mind state that you will know when you think of Boavista.
“Policeman were standing at the van when I reached it and found that the back doors had been forced open, and the inside trashed. My knives and chopper were stolen.
“Back down to earth with a bump, well for a wee while anyway. Just had to face the consequences when I got home, clean up the van and mop up 2 or 3 trays of smashed eggs.
“At the end of the day, alls well that ends well and the football was more important that night than the mess and theft from the van.”
I’m not looking forward to the work I need to do for this marathon, but this occasion requires a significant gesture. For lots or reasons you’ll understand.
You can sponsor me here, money goes straight to fund the important work of the Foundation.
Thank you.
Published today by CQN Books.
618 Comments- Pages:
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HH
Hail hail
Well done Bada HH
Latest Score
78min 4-0
Get Bojan–BR will make him into a Messi. Some player, but needs to be loved and wanted. He’ll get that at Celtic. Mark Hughes has a personality that would turn a hump. Rescue Bojan, I says.
Good luck with the marathon!
Renewed ST online and also used the online finance option, very quick and efficient. I Remember bhoys failing credit authorisation last year but it took an age to find out. Well the online option is almost automatic, authorised and completed in under 5 minutes.
Here is something new about Dave King And The Takeover Panel. https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/dave-king-and-the-takeover-panel/
And something about stereotyping…
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2017/04/13/rangers-international-stereotype-football-club/
Latest Score
85min 4-0
SoT/Dallas,
Caught tail end of SS last nite and they were discussing countries all time leading scorers.
Last one was Italy and the panelists couldn’t get it.
Gerry the presenter said “i’ll have to tell you the answer, but i’ve never heard of him!”
The answer, as you will know, Gianni Rivera.
The Big Man wept! :-(
Latest Score
88min 4-0
TONYDONNELLY67 on 14TH APRIL 2017 10:16 AM
Totally agree!
KTF
Paul67,
Good to read your dad’s recollections of the Vojvodina game.
I, too,remember that night.
My brother came up from London for the game.
Truth be told, we weren’t very good in the first half and our opponents showed their class.
I remember my brother complaining at half time about coming all the way up from London to watch that rubbish.
I think we all knew, after we equalised the tie, that we would need to get a winner, as a replay in a neutral venue would be difficult.
After the final whistle and Charlie and Billy’s intervention, Big Bro announced that he was going to Lisbon.
No word of a semi final to negotiate. Nope.
He was going to Lisbon….and he did; but that’s another story, which I’ve asked him to relate.
Word of The Day(Inspired by hurting Huns talking about King …..)
galimatias /ˌɡælɪˈmeɪʃɪəs; -ˈmætɪəs/
noun
1. (rare) confused talk
2. gibberish
3. unintelligible talk.
Word Origin
1645-55; < French, word of obscure origin first attested in Montaigne (jargon de galimathias)
KTF
It would seem that the BBC Scotland’s Douglas Fraser Business/economy editor is not on script with the Sports Department:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-39598397
Development League
Full Time
Celtic 4
Regan Hendry 07-30-52pen mins
Kyle Bradley 13og min
The Rangers(2012) 0
ART OF WAR .@ 12 45
My addled ole bonce is confused by that –
I think the great Gigi Riva is Italys’ all time top scorer . . Averaged close to a goal a game . I very much doubt that Gianni Rivera scored more than 15 goals for Italy
Warning — Long post and story — especially for Bobby Murdoch’s Ankle
One Day in Lisbon — Part Two
The train pulled into Cruz de Quebrada station, and I knew that from there the Estadio Nacional was about 15 minutes walk away.
In truth, the station at Cruz Quebrada is nothing to write home about.
When the train drew in all I could see was graffiti on the wall and lots of it.
Loads of colourful swirls and words on a grey concrete wall which demonstrated both boredom and a certain lack of imagination on the part of the graffiti artists.
As an introduction to the hallowed Estadio Nacional the station was a disappointment, and looked as if it belonged on a clapped out industrial estate.
Yet this is where you get off the train and start the walk to where Celtic lifted the greatest prize in European Football some 50 years ago.
When you get off the train, you turn right and walk down the platform and after the train has passed you walk across the lines towards the motorway on the other side.
I was so focused on getting to the stadium that I hadn’t noticed that the Portuguese Cowboy and part time philosopher had also decided to get off the train as well.
However, I had barely placed my feet on the platform when the voice I had listened to on the train accosted my ears with a question: ” Mr Celtic! Do you mind if I walk with you?”
I turned to find the cowboy hatted political commentator striding up the platform towards me.
“Do you mind if I walk with you a little? My car is parked in the park where The Jamor is situated”.
Some Portuguese refer to the Estadio Nacional as “The Jamor” because it is part of the sports complex called “Centro desportivo do Jamor”
It would have been rude to say no, but, in truth, I was intrigued to learn more about this man with the leather cowboy hat and so I readily said that I would be happy to have the company.
“Not at all” I replied to my new companion “Provided you tell me your story of the Celtic fans in 1967.”
And so began no more than 10 minutes in the company of Luis. I never got to know his second name but I quickly discovered that he had lived in England for many years, that he was 67 years old, was a retired engineer, widowed, and was in the course of purchasing a flat in the park area close to the Estadio Nacional.
As we walked he told me his story and gave me a history lesson with virtually no interruption from me.
In 1982, when visiting the town of Ericeira, some 50 miles north on the Lisbon coast, I was told a story by a former Lisbon resident about how in 1967 the visiting Celtic fans had had a far reaching effect on Lisbon and Portugal itself. The man concerned said that he had always been a Celtic fan ever since the events of May 1967 and, while he heaped praise on Celtic and their football when beating Inter Milan, he spoke most passionately about the way the fans conducted themselves in Lisbon and how the Portuguese authorities had reacted to the unexpected arrival of thousands of Scottish people who only wanted to smile, sing, party and laugh on the streets of Lisbon when supporting a football team.
It was a story I had repeated often in the intervening years, but one which I took with a little pinch of salt as it was hard to believe.
To my delight, within the next ten minutes, Luis was to virtually repeat what I had been told over 30 years before and what the man had to say was measured, delivered without either false praise or any great drama and was absolutely fascinating.
“ I was 17 years old when your club and their fans came to Lisbon, and for some their very presence and attitude became hugely significant.
However, to others, I will be honest, and say they were just a one or two day wonder who came and disappeared again. I personally saw very little of them because I lived on the outskirts of Lisbon and so did not see the city centre and so much of what I am about to say was told to me later and it is important that you understand that.
The story I am about to tell was told to me by my father, who worked in the city centre, and then later by others whom I met at University a few years later. Some, perhaps the more political people, saw the Celtic fans as very significant politically.
“Why?” I asked.
At this point, my far larger companion stopped and looked down on me with a huge smile.
“Because the sang; They smiled; They laughed – In short my father told me that what was so obvious that these crazy football fans were just not afraid. And that made them stand out! That made them different – very different.
“You have to understand what Portugal and Lisbon was like in 1967.
Antonio Salazar had ruled as a fascist right wing dictator since the early 1930’s. Prior to that, Portugal had suffered two decades of misrule by a hopeless and out of date republic which had replaced an even more hopeless monarchy.
At first Salazar’s promise of stability and order was attractive to some sections of society, and so there was support for his policies, especially among landowners, colonialists and some sections of the middle classes.
However, the ordinary people had to pay a price for this “order”. That price was a growing gap between the ordinary people and the very wealthy with those in power tightening their grip on all political and business appointments with a clear policy of keeping all wealth to themselves. While some got very rich, Portugal itself became poorer and poorer.
By 1967 Portugal was a ‘corporate republic’ with a handful of rich families controlling the financial and industrial conglomerates and virtually the whole population was beholding to them in one way or another.
Worse still was the fact that the Acção Nacional Popular (ANP), the state fascist party, was the only political organisation permitted, alongside its youth wing, and anyone who dissented from their policies was in danger of not only losing their job but likely to be imprisoned.
There were open paramilitary groups who terrorised anyone who was thought of as left-wing or who expressed what could be called socialist points of view. Independent trade unions and the right to strike were illegal.
The state police, The PIDE (Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado) was backed up by a massive network of secret agents and part-time informers, and so it was common to hear of people being arrested and imprisoned without trial. Ordinary people were often taken away and tortured.
No, in 1967, Lisbon was not a happy place. It was not a holiday destination and it was not a place where the ordinary citizens were used to seeing singing and dancing in the street. The people were afraid, even terrified of the police, the state and even their neighbours. It was a place governed and ruled by fear.
And then came your Celtic fans.
In truth they were unexpected. So unexpected that the airport staff risked going on strike as they had to handle far more work than they were used to or being paid for.
Until the arrival of the Celtic fans, My father told me that most people in Portugal would have supported Inter. They were one of the class teams in Europe. They had won the cup before, had players who were well known, at least to some, and were a proper football team.
As for Celtic? Well, who were they? Some funny wee team from Scotland or Britain? No one knew who they were. We didn’t know their players or anything about them – and we certainly didn’t know anything about their fans.
Yet here they came in their thousands.
They piled into Lisbon and cared nothing about the secret police or the authorities. Apparently, they came in from the airport, went to mass, came out of mass and simply sang, drank, laughed and joked throughout the centre of Lisbon without a care in the world.
For the people from Lisbon, this was something they had not expected at all and had never seen before. But the way it was told to me, many people could see that the police, the army, the armed guards and the secret police had absolutely no idea what to do with these people.
I was told that some people expected them to be rounded up and taken away to jail, but instead the police just stood there and let them get on with it. It was as if the police were no longer in charge and that these ordinary people were dictating the mood with their parties and their singing.
I am told that there was one song, in particular, which they sang which caught the imagination of some local students in Lisbon. They sang a version of a song by The Seekers pop group called “We shall not be moved” and I am told that the sight of all these football fans in the street singing that song and those words was inspirational because they were not moved, the police did nothing.
Had local Portuguese people taken to the streets like that then the tanks and armoured cars would have come out and people would have been shot and arrested.
I have since seen TV footage of Celtic fans running on to the pitch at the Estadio Nacional after Celtic had won. If you speak to any of the Celtic fans who were there they should remember that they ran passed armed soldiers. I will tell you now that a Portuguese crowd would not have been allowed to do that. Only the Celtic fans could have done that as they were there in numbers and were in a party mood. Had Inter won there would have been no such pitch invasion.
Years later I was at university and much the same story was told to me by others who lived in the city with some saying “Do you remember when the Celtic fans came and how the police did nothing?”
In 1968 Salazar had a stroke and was replaced by Marcello Caetano who at first introduced some reforms and what appeared to be greater democracy but in truth it was all a sham.
1968 saw the start of more and more social unrest with students and others becoming braver and going on strike and taking to the streets only to be met with fierce resistance from the police and more and more informers.
Portugal was at war in the colonies, Mozambique etc, and more and more young men were drafted into the army and sent away to fight in wars they could not win. By the time of the revolution in 1974, many like me who had been 16 or 17 in 1967 were in their twenties and they wanted none of it. They wanted change.
“Have you heard of singer called Zeca Afonso?” he asked
“ No” I replied.
“ Well he was a folk musician and an agitator. A radical.
Many of his songs were banned by the state because they were protest songs.
In March 1974 Zeca Afonso appeared in concert and sang a song called Grandola Vila Morena. It is a song which, on the face of it, is about the strength of the town and the people of Grandola which is in the Alentejo region of Portugal. Do you know about Alentejo?”
“ No” I replied
“In Portuguese, “Alen” means beyond and “Tejo” is the river Tagus. The Alentejo is that area beyond the Tagus. It is a large historical and cultural area of Portugal but for years it and its people were ignored. It is known as “The Breadbasket” of Portugal and it is here you will find our best wines, bread and olives. But it is a poor area and the people lived and still live like farm peasants in many respects. There is a high level of illiteracy even today. In the times of the dictatorship these people were treated dreadfully. They were poor and they were kept poor.
Anyway, Afonso wrote this song called Grandola Vila Morena and it used the Alentejo style of singing. The Alentejo historically sang while they worked. They have a unique Polyphonic singing style which makes every song sound like being sung by a choir with one voice.
At this concert in 1974, Zeco Afonso sang the song and suddenly the audience cheerfully burst into song with him and they all sang Grândola Vila Morena together, symbolising the unification of the people.
Very quickly, the song became a symbol of togetherness, a song for the people, a song that, if you like, said “we shall not be moved”.
This is important because on Thursday, 25 April 1974 at 12.25am the signal was given and the rebel song, Grandola Vila Morena, by Zeca Afonso, was unexpectedly played on Rádio Renascença – the state radio station.
This was the signal for the start of what became known as the Carnation Revolution which brought decades of Fascist dictatorship in Portugal to an end.
Captain Salgueira da Maia and other young members of the army left Santarém (50 miles north-east of Lisbon) with eight armoured cars and ten trucks, and moved on the capital. Other divisions under the command of the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA – the Armed Forces Movement, radicalised mid-rank officers, typically young captains in their 20’s, were mobilised.
The 5th Infantry Regiment took control of Rádio Clube Português, another state radio station, transmitting the first MFA communiqué at 5.30.
It appealed to police and ordinary troops to stay in barracks.
By the time the rebellious soldiers reached the centre of Lisbon there was some opposition from other parts of the army and there was a very tense stand off. The radio instructed people to stay indoors in this time of crisis, but what happened next was remarkable.
The vast majority of Lisbon took to the streets and simply stood there. They blocked the streets, climbed trees and brought the whole city to a standstill. It was as if they were all saying “we shall not be moved!”
They placed carnations in the barrels of the army guns and ensured that there would be no fighting. The army soldiers who were originally against the revolution were won over and the whole crowd began to sing in the street – a bit like the partying Celtic fans 7 years before.
This then spread throughout Portugal.
Caetano was ousted and went into exile and within a year Portugal had elections.
And that, my friend is my story, and how some people say that Celtic and their fans played a little part in the story of Portugal.”
“ That is very interesting” I said “But surely it is stretching things too far to say that football fans – Celtic fans—played a significant part in the Carnation Revolution?”
Luis turned before heading to his car. He adjusted the cowboy hat and said:
“Well, Celtic fans come to this city and this stadium year in and year out. I know they are automatically given directions and all the help they need by the people of Lisbon, especially by the older generations.
So ask yourself this: Why are they treated so well? Because they won a football match 50 years ago? Loads of teams have played football in Lisbon and their fans don’t get the same reception. Why is that?
Portuguese people are very friendly in the main but Celtic fans are given a special welcome in this city by some – just ask yourself why that is?
“Further, I told you that in 1967 the people of Lisbon knew nothing about Celtic and their team. Well, I for one can now tell you that the manager was Jock Stein and that the goals that day were scored by Gemmell and Chalmers. When Jock Stein died it was front page news in Portugal.
Why is that?
I knew nothing of Celtic the football team before 1967, but my father told me the story of the Celtic fans in Lisbon and I later saw the video of the game against Inter who were the favourites. I made it my business to know and learn about this Celtic club and their crazy fans. That was not because of their football, although that was great, but it was because their fans came as one and won over a city and, for some, they played a part in showing what could happen if people stood and partied together. They rendered fear and oppression useless.
Perhaps that is hard to understand when you have always had democracy but here in Portugal the revolution is still very much celebrated.”
And with that, Luis shook my hand and bade his farewell as he turned right towards his car while I went left towards the Estadio Nacional.
But after only twenty yards or so he turned and shouted:
“Oh and another thing: Throughout my time in England I always looked out for Celtic and would tell anyone and everyone that I am a Sporting fan first but a Celtic fan second or even equal first – and we should have won in Seville! I don’t like Mourinho or Porto!!”
With those words from a Portuguese stranger ringing in my ears, I started to climb the hill towards one of the most famous stadiums in the history of Celtic Football Club and all the way up the hill I simply thought:
“Bloody hell!”
To be continued ………..
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
On 24th May 2017, Celtic fans will celebrate the victory which took place in Lisbon on 25th May 1967.
The celebration will be by way of a large dinner in The Casa do Alentejo (The home of the Alentejo) in Lisbon.
The song Grandola Vila Morena has become the symbol of the Carnation Revolution which took place in 1974 and is sung in typical Alentejo fashion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQWgz7P0ueA
It is regularly sung to this day and the Alentejo are always recognised as its source.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQ1JDqD746k
Seen the back page of the DR at Morrisons, ‘Celtic and Rodgers…’ getting the blame for Sevco v Sheep not on TV, you can feel the hate…
Vojvodina ?
A great team … A better team than Inter (IMO). The team that Herrera wanted to avoid . He was absolutely delighted that Celtic eliminated them . A team that missed a proverbial sitter early in the game @ Glasgow . Fine margins -had they scored it -history might have been very different !!!!
Burnley and Southampton want Armstrong
Paul,
Good luck with the marathon training. A modest donation will be made. You are a credit to Celtic and its support.
Loved the comments from your dad regarding the Lisbon season.
All Celtic fans should cherish memories like these handed down from the older generation. I still remember being taken, a wide-eyed five year old, by my dad to my first ever Celtic game, a European tie against Boavista of Portugal in 1975. I don’t remember anything about the match itself (we won 3-1) but the memory of seeing that hallowed green pitch for the first time, under the floodlights, will remain with me forever. My dad sat me on a crush barrier, leaned in and said, with no little solemnity, “THIS is Celtic Park, son”. Talk about a rite of passage or a handing on of the baton….I still get goosebumps when I think of it. A match programme from that night remains one of my treasured possessions.
My dad was taken from us very suddenly at the age of 41 when I was still a child. How I wish I could, as an adult, have heard all his stories about the Lions and all those epic encounters of the Stein era. Many years later we were of course paired with Boavista once more in the semi-final of the UEFA cup. It was an emotional, poignant and proud moment when I took my seat and thought back again to that drizzly November night 28 years earlier when my life as a Celtic supporter really started.
As I say, cherish the stories and memories of those older supporters still with us who lived through the greatest period of our club’s proud history.
Hail Hail and a Happy Easter to all CQN’ers.
Praecepta- 12.58
Final paragraph of your article
‘”We don’t know how he got into that very expensive mess in his tax affairs. But the evidence suggests he may be the kind of person who receives official-looking letters and stuffs them in a drawer in the hope that the problem goes away. As a general rule, it doesn’t.
LINE 1.They do know.49 convictions.
…and that he nowt….
Good recap on zombie shareholders lol.hope your good;, seen yi beat the bookie other night at football.:-)
:-)
HH
Great to see Charlie Gallagher getting a mention. As Martin42 says, he set up 2 of the most important goals in our history.
Paul – Your article says hard work in the next 5 weeks for the marathon.
You should have done most of it already and ought to be tapering down.
You haven’t just decided recently to run it ?
Rocobhoy
50/50 – 01418825050
SouthSide Cars – 01418833333
Fairfield Cars – 01414401112
MWD
Zombie shareholders
The other puzzlement is the 10.4% of the company that’s owned by anonymous funds that have refused to respond to messages from Ibrox.
Blue Pitch Holdings has four million shares, ATP Investments has 2.6m, Norne Anstalt has 1.2m and Putney Holdings has 700,000.
Directors have written to them “requiring information about the nature of those interests”. And having received no answer, they have barred these shareholders from exercising voting rights, receiving any dividends, or having a transfer of shares registered. That should make them impossible to sell.
These appear to be zombie shareholders,
They are going to love that.
AN TEARMANN
Creaking along – WD40 not working too well. :-)
Bookies like a game of tennis – like the ball it goes back and forth though I did have 2 nice e/ws in the Masters. Hope you’re well?
!!BADA BING!!
Apologies for not replying to you the other night – the old Tinternet went down just as I was about to type!
Good to see the interview with John Traynor, I used to exchange mail with John a good few years ago, but lost contact. He produced a few great books in his time, The Celtic Story, Former Glories, Future Dreams. (Maybe a wee nod to The Glory and the Dream ??) All Time Greats and of course Season in the Sun.
Paul67 et al
Not all of us will make it to Lisbon for the actual commemoration itself so I wonder if something might be done closer to home to celebrate that greatest of days. (Don’t get me wrong Paul I’ll be cheering you all the way round Stirling) Could the Celtic Foundation perhaps not include a special tribute as part of the Legends Match to be played on Sunday 28 May. Without getting too far ahead of myself, might it not be possible, to herald those Lisbon Lions well enough to attend, with a possible treble winning Celtic also on hand to salute them, all silverware on display including the European Cup itself, not to mention the presence of Henrik and Lubo et al on the pitch. The Last Hurrah perhaps?
http://celticbynumberscom.ipage.com/celtic-3-kilmarnock-1-by-numbers/
Impressive passing stats from Celtic on Saturday – 4 players made more than 100 passes. But we all know passing counts for nothing if you don’t create chances. Just as well we attempted to create more chances than any game this season, and attempted more take ons than any game apart from Lincoln Red Imps at home.
All the numbers in Celtic By Numbers.
HH
Don’t suppose anyone has a link to Part One of BRTH’s Lisboan adventure ?
I read it at the time, but would like to let someone else read it.
thanks in advance.
Did the police ever find Martin’s chopper?
!!BADA BING!! on 14TH APRIL 2017 1:13 PM
Burnley and Southampton want Armstrong
Which one,Lance,Stuart,or Stretch.
For all you old film buffs,here’s the latest one.
“Bring Me The Contract of Bojan Krcirvic!”
Telling ye,it’s a blockbuster.
PAUL67
Bit harsh to describe our pre-Jock years as a history of mediocrity.
Pretty sure a certain song predated them.
Bateen Bhoy
I can’t even find it and didn’t keep it. I am also looking for the big Lisbon list as it needs updated as the whole thing has grown arms and legs.
BRTH
Reckon I really cocked that up.
Apologies to all,if there’s a moderator about,PLEASE remove my youchooooob link from about five minutes ago.