AMERICA proved to the the perfect launch pad for Celtic’s spectacular 1966/67 season when Jock Stein’s all-conquering heroes achieved unparalled success.
Billy McNeill and Co were unstoppable as they blitzed the opposition home and abroad to win EVERY tournament in which they competed.
The domestic treble was won in swashbuckling style before Big Jock’s juggernaut brought down the curtain on a glorious crusade with the historic European Cup triumph in Lisbon on May 25 1967.
The Hoops even threw in the Glasgow Cup for good measure!
In another CQN EXCLUSIVE, author Alex Gordon rolls back the years with an extract from his best-selling tribute book, ‘That Season in Paradise‘, which was published by CQN in 2016.
Please enjoy!
IT SEEMED that no sooner had Bobby Lennox’s close-range drive nestled in the Motherwell net to clinch the title on May 7 1966 than the Celtic players were packing their bags for the football trip of a lifetime.
There were a few who questioned the wisdom of Jock Stein ushering his newly-crowned champions on a marathon 11-game one-month tour of the United States, Canada and Bermuda a mere four days after an exhausting and gruelling domestic and European campaign.
The dissenters should have known better.
Quite simply, Stein, with that uncommon commodity of common sense, reckoned he would find out a lot more about the depth of personality within his players on a prolonged trip as opposed to a scattering of pre-season games.
Seventeen professionals were among the Celtic party who flew out from Abbotsinch Airport – now Glasgow International Airport – on the Friday morning of May 11 1966. Jim Craig remained at home for dental exams, a situation which left Stein doubting his commitment to the club, and young Frank Carron was brought in as his replacement.
Ian Young and Jimmy Johnstone were involved, but had been given permission to return with two games still to play to attend their respective weddings.
CROWNING GLORY…Bobby Lennox darts in front of Motherwell defender Matt Thomson to score the 1965/66 title winner and set up Celtic for the most memorable season in their history.
It became a voyage of discovery and players have repeated over the years that it could very well have been the axis around which the Celtic success story revolved in the developing 12 months. As an exercise, it served as an extraordinary bonding factor among the individuals.
The Parkhead side returned in the early hours of Wednesday June 12 with a record that showed eight wins, three draws and no defeats. A remarkable 47 goals had been racked up with the concession of only six. A foundation had been put in place for what lay ahead.
Bobby Lennox was the goalscoring star of the roadshow with 19 strikes. He reflected: “I have often stated that Celtic really gelled and came together months before we even thought about playing in Lisbon.
“I am talking about our American tour in 1966 and it was a masterstroke to take us away for four weeks. The players got to know one another even better than is possible when you are just turning up for training and, of course, playing on matchday.
“We all enjoyed the experience, but we also realised we were there to work. This was no holiday and Jock Stein, even after a full season, was still getting to know the squad of players he had inherited.
“Everyone wanted to impress him and I think I did well enough – I managed to score nineteen goals in 11 games!
READ ALL ABOUT IT…Alex Gordon’s best-selling Celtic tribute book.
“Okay, we did play a few select teams from Bermuda, New Jersey and St.Louis, but we also took on Spurs three times. The London side were a really top outfit at the time and they went on to win the FA Cup in 1967, beating Chelsea 2-1 in the Final.
“Of course, they had also won the European Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1963 when they walloped Atletico Madrid 5-1 in Rotterdam.
“But I think they were a bit annoyed that they couldn’t put one over on us. We beat them 1-0 and then 2-1 before we played them for a third time and they managed to get a 1-1 draw.
“These were important games for us. They were taking us to another level and it didn’t do our confidence any harm, either.”
*TOMORROW: Don’t miss the second EXCLUSIVE instalment of The Great American Dream 66 – only in your champion CQN.
