LISBON LION Jim Craig has revealed he has been living with Alzheimer’s.
The right-back in Jock Stein’s legendary team that became the first British club to conquer Europe in the Portuguese capital on May 25 1967 has been diagnosed with brain condition.
Craig, now 83, said: “I was pleased that they diagnosed something wrong, because I thought I was just ageing.
“But I was a bit surprised to hear what it was and I find it very frustrating.”
ACTION MAN…Jim Craig and Rangers’ Willie Johnston challenge for the ball.
After four years, the Craig family decided the was right to make the condition public.
Wife Elisabeth, speaking in a report in the Glasgow Times, added: “I think a lot of people know now and have been very understanding and very caring.
“It’s something that we manage and we navigate our way around.”
Craig signed professional forms at the club in January 1965 after originally arriving as an amateur while studying dentistry at Glasgow University. He made his debut in the Hoops’ 1-0 European Cup-Winners’ Cup over Dutch club Go Ahead Deventer at Parkhead on October 7 1965.
There wasn’t too much risk involved for manager Stein with the team 6-0 ahead from the first leg in Holland.
LISBON LION…Jim Craig at an event in Glasgow in April 2018 to mark the iconic European Cup win in the Portuguese capital on May 25 1967.
In 1972, after 231 games, six goals and 14 domestic honours, Craig, at the age of 29, made his final Celtic appearance in the team’s 6-1 Scottish Cup showpiece victory over Hibs at Hampden on April 6 1972.
He spent six months in South Africa with Hellenic FC before ending his career at Sheffield Wednesday.
After retiring from playing, Craig, who won just one Scotland international cap, returned to dentistry before becoming a Celtic ambassador.
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