| Full name | The Celtic Football Club | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bhoys | |||
| Founded | 1888 | |||
| Ground | Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity: 60,837) |
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| Chairman | ||||
| Manager | ||||
| League | Scottish Premier League | |||
| 2008–09 | 2nd Place | |||
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The Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. Since the club's formation in 1888, Celtic have won the Scottish championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the 2007/08 season, and the Scottish Cup 34 times. They won the European Cup in 1967, beating Inter Milan 2-1 in the final. Celtic's home stadium is Celtic Park, the biggest 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 1967, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup and with a team composed entirely of home-grown players.[1][2] The players, subsequently known as the Lisbon Lions, were all born within a 30-mile radius of Parkhead. Celtic won every competition they entered that season: the Scottish League Championship, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the European Cup and the Glasgow Cup. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final, but were beaten by Feyenoord 2-1
In 2003 Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final, where they lost 3–2 to FC Porto. Over 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville, despite many lacking match tickets. Celtic fans received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their behaviour at the match.[3][4][5][6] In April 2008 the club was estimated to have a fan base of nine million people, including one million in North America.[7]
Celtic were formally founded 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 1888.
Brother 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 was intended to reflect the club's Irish and Scottish origins, 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.
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 6 November 2006, only 13 games into the season.[8] By mid-November Celtic were 11 points clear of their nearest challengers.
Having qualified automatically for the group stage of the Champions League, Celtic were drawn with Benfica, FC 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 group format was introduced in 1992/93. 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 Kaka.
During the January 2007 transfer window Celtic signed Scotland internationals and former Hearts 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 second consecutive league championship, and 41st overall. The title was secured by an injury-time free-kick from Shunsuke Nakamura in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock.[9] 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.
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.[10] However Lennon returned to the club later in the season as a coach.
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.[11] 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 lost 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 and also Greek striker Georgios Samaras on loan from Manchester City, who signed permanently at the beginning of the following season.
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. 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 Celtic's coach Tommy Burns, who had died the previous Thursday. The result also meant Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive League Championships.
Celtic signed winger Pat McCourt from Derry City, and Greek international striker Georgios Samaras, who had spent the second half of the 2007/08 season on loan, signed on a permanent basis. 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.
In the January transfer window, Celtic signed winger Niall McGinn from Derry City, left back Milan Mišůn from FK Příbram, and midfielder Willo Flood from Cardiff while also agreeing a deal to sign Dundee United goalkeeper Łukasz Załuska on 1 June 2009.
Celtic won the League Cup Final against Rangers at Hampden Park on 15 March 2009. This victory marked the end of a 20 year gap since Celtic last defeated Rangers in a domestic cup final. That occasion was the Scottish Cup Final on 20 May 1989.
On the final day of the season, Celtic failed in their quest for a fourth successive title, with Rangers defeating Dundee United 3-0 at Tannadice to win the Championship and Celtic playing out a 0-0 draw with Hearts. The following day, manager Gordon Strachan resigned from the club and was replaced by former Celtic player Tony Mowbray, who had been, manager of West Bromwich Albion.
In 1965 Celtic began publishing The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football [12].
In 2004 Celtic launched its own digital TV channel Celtic TV available in the UK through Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. Due to the collapse of Setanta in the UK in June 2009, Celtic TV is no longer broadcasting, although the club are hoping to find a new broadcast partner soon. 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.
Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish extraction, who are both predominantly Catholic. Fans of rivals Rangers tended to come from Scottish Protestant backgrounds and were supporters of British Unionism. As a result both clubs attracted the support of 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 and troublesome supporters, using increased levels of policing and surveillance.[13][14] In 1996 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.[15] In 2002 McLeod then wrote to all season ticket holders concerning chants at the clubs matches. [16]
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* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2–2 draw
The Ferencvaros Vase (also known as The Budapest Cup)[21] is a football trophy won by Celtic on a European tour in 1914.
Celtic arrived in Budapest and played Burnley in what evolved into a bad tempered affair. Ferencvárosi TC had agreed to award a trophy to the winner but the match ended in a draw and both teams refused to play extra time. A replay couldn't be organised in Budapest as Celtic were travelling back to Glasgow. After winning the coin toss to play the game at home, Burnley played host to Celtic. The visitors won 2-0 and part of the gate money was sent to the Hungarian Charity Fund, however Celtic were not presented with the trophy, which had been sold to raise funds for the war effort.
Seventy four years later, in 1988, Celtic were celebrating their centenary and Ferencváros remembered they owed the club a trophy. In the absence of the original trophy they brought a decorative white porcelain vase, fashioned in the traditional shape of a football cup, to Glasgow. It was presented at Celtic's centenary championship winning match against Dundee in April 1988.
The Victory In Europe Cup was a one-off football tournament won by Celtic on 9 May 1945.
To celebrate Victory in Europe Day in 1945, the Glasgow Charity Cup committee presented the Victory in Europe Cup to be awarded to the winners of a charity cup final. Rangers were invited to participate but declined as they had a forthcoming cup tie against Motherwell. This allowed Queen's Park to step in and play Celtic. The game was well contested in front of a large crowd and Celtic won only by the margin of a corner kick after the teams could not be separated by goals.
The winning Celtic team was:Miller, Hogg, P. McDonald, Lynch, Mallan, McPhail, Paton, M. McDonald, Gallacher, Evans and McLaughlin.
After this win Celtic were to endure one of the worst periods in their history only avoiding relegation on the last day of the season in the 1947/48 campaign.
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy 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 |
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy 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 |
| Rank | 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 |
| Name | Scottish League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | European Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maley, WillieWillie Maley 1897–1940 |
16 | 14 | — | — | 30 |
| McStay, JimmyJimmy McStay 1940–1945 |
0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| McGrory, JimmyJimmy McGrory 1945–1965 |
1 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 |
| Stein, JockJock Stein 1965–1978 |
10 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
| McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill 1978–1983 |
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Hay, DavidDavid Hay 1983–1987 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill 1987–1991 |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Brady, LiamLiam Brady 1991–1993 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Macari, LouLou Macari 1993–1994 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Burns, TommyTommy Burns 1994–1997 |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jansen, WimWim Jansen 1997–1998 |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Vengloš, JozefJozef Vengloš 1998–1999 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Barnes, JohnJohn Barnes 1999–2000 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish 2000 |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| O'Neill, MartinMartin O'Neill 2000–2005 |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Strachan, GordonGordon Strachan 2005–2009 |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Mowbray, TonyTony Mowbray 2009–present |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
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For Celtic's reserve and youth squads, see here.
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | 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[22] |
| Non-Executive Director | Brian Wilson |
| Commercial Director | Adrian Filby |
| Director of International Developments | Jason Hughes |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Tony Mowbray |
| Assistant Manager | Mark Venus |
| First Team Coach | Peter Grant |
| Reserve Team Coach | Neil Lennon |
| Reserve Assistant Team Coach | Danny McGrain |
| Head of Youth and Academy | Chris McCart |
| Head of Intermediate Academy | John McLaughlan |
| Under 19 Coach | Stephen Frail |
| Under 17 Coach | Miodrag Krivokapić |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Stevie Woods |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Chris Hannah |
| Club Doctor | Derek McCormack |
| Head of Sports Science | Vacant |
| Physiotherapist | Graham Parsons |
| Physiotherapist | Andrew Robson |
| Physiotherapist | Ross Harvie |
| Kit Controller | John Clark |
| Football Development Manager | John Park |
| Chief Scout | Tommy O'Neill |
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
So far 13 Celtic players and managers have entered the Scottish Football Hall of Fame:[23]
In the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 5 Celtic players have been selected, they are:
| Greatest ever Celtic team |
The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002.[24]
| Preceded by Real Madrid |
European Cup Winner 1967 |
Succeeded by Manchester United |
stock | retire | vm
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