In 1967, the European Cup had never been won by a British club. It had belonged to Real Madrid, Benfica and the two great Milan clubs. Then a team of players from in and around Glasgow travelled to Lisbon and changed football history.
Jock Stein's Celtic
Jock Stein became Celtic manager in 1965 and quickly transformed the club. He built a team that played fast, attacking football, with full-backs who surged forward and forwards who never stopped moving. Remarkably, the players who would win the European Cup were all born within a short distance of Celtic Park — a fact that is still a source of enormous pride for the club.
Facing Inter Milan
Their opponents in the final, played on 25 May 1967 at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, were Inter Milan. Coached by Helenio Herrera, Inter had won the European Cup in 1964 and 1965 and were famous for catenaccio, a highly organised defensive system. Most experts expected them to win.
The match began badly for Celtic. Inter were awarded an early penalty, which Sandro Mazzola converted, and then the Italians retreated to protect their lead, as they so often did.
Wave after wave
What followed was one of the most one-sided finals ever played. Celtic attacked constantly, hitting the woodwork and forcing save after save. In the second half, left-back Tommy Gemmell finally broke through with a powerful shot from the edge of the area. With a few minutes left, Stevie Chalmers turned a shot into the net to make it 2–1.
Celtic had won the European Cup, and they had done it by attacking — a victory not just for a club but for a style of football.
A perfect season
That season Celtic won every competition they entered, including the Scottish league, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, as well as the European Cup. The players became known forever as the "Lisbon Lions".
A year later, Manchester United became the first English club to win the trophy. But it was Celtic, from Glasgow, who were the first British champions of Europe — and few victories in the history of the game have been as celebrated.