The Celtic Football Club is a Scottish football club based in Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. Celtic are the champions of Scotland, having completed a hat-trick of titles on 22 May 2008, the final day of the 2007-08 season. Since its formation in 1888, Celtic has won the Scottish crown on 42 occasions and the Scottish Cup 34 times (a record), and is the only Scottish team to have won Europe's premier football competition, the European Cup, in 1967.
The full name of the club is The Celtic Football Club ("Celtic" is pronounced with a soft "c" sound). Until 1994, the club's full name was The Celtic Football and Athletic Company Ltd, whilst outside Scotland they are often (incorrectly) referred to as Glasgow Celtic. Celtic play home games at Celtic Park (commonly referred to as Parkhead) which has a capacity of 60,832, making it the largest football stadium in Scotland. Together with their rivals, Rangers, they form the Old Firm which is one of the most famous and most fierce rivalries in sport. Celtic's identity has traditionally been linked to its founding among the Irish immigrant community in Glasgow, for charitable purposes, though it has also never been exclusive to this group.
In 1967, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup, which had previously been the preserve of Italian, Portuguese and Spanish clubs. Managed by Jock Stein, Celtic won every competition that they entered that season: the Scottish League Championship, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the European Cup and the Glasgow Cup. Because of this feat, Celtic became the first team to win an unofficial "Continental Quadruple".
Celtic are the only club ever to win the trophy with a team composed entirely of home-grown talent.[1][2] as all of the players in the side were Scottish, and all were born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park. This team became known as the Lisbon Lions. Celtic again reached the European Cup final in 1970, only to be beaten by Feyenoord in extra time. In 2003 Martin O'Neill led the team to the UEFA Cup final in Seville where they lost 3-2 to F.C. Porto after extra time. 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for the final, believed by UEFA to be the largest foreign travelling support in history at the time. Celtic fans received awards from Uefa as a reward for their behaviour throughout the tournament.[3][4][5]
The club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts and white shorts with white socks. Celtic have an estimated fan base of nine million, including one million in North America. [6]
Formation and history
-
Celtic Football Club was formally constituted at a meeting in St. Mary's Church Hall on East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton, Glasgow, by an Irish Marist brother named Brother Walfrid originally from Ballymote in County Sligo on 6 November 1887. The purpose stated in the official club records as "being to alleviate poverty in Glasgow's East End parishes".
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 F.C. who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population thirteen years earlier in Edinburgh. Walfrid's own suggestion of the name 'Celtic' (pronounced Seltik), was intended to reflect the club's Irish and Scottish roots, 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. During these formative years, Celtic played in a white shirt with a green collar, only making the switch to their iconic green-and-white hoops in 1903.
Celtic and the media
Celtic have always attempted to engage directly with the fans and bypass the traditional media outlets as a method of communicating accurate information to the outside world about the inner workings of the club.citation needed
In 1965 Celtic began publishing The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football [7].
In 2004 Celtic launched its own digital TV channel Celtic TV available in the UK through Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. 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.
Old Firm and sectarianism
- See also: Sectarianism in Glasgow
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 Protestant backgrounds and were supporters of Anti Catholicism and of British Unionism. As a result both clubs became linked to the 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.[8][9] In 1996, for instance, 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.[10]
Recent seasons
2005-06
- Further information: Celtic F.C. season 2005-06
Celtic began the 2005-06 season with a new manager: Gordon Strachan, the former Scotland, Aberdeen and Manchester United midfielder took over from Martin O'Neill. Garry Pendrey was appointed as Strachan's assistant manager.
Before his first game, he was already getting criticized by the press for signing unknown players such as Japanese midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura from relegation battlers Reggina of Serie A and Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc from Legia Warsaw. In Celtic's first competitive game under Strachan, they lost 5-0 in a UEFA Champions League qualifier to Slovakian minnows Artmedia Bratislava. Strachan was under more pressure after the first SPL game of the season after his side lost a 3-1 lead away to Motherwell and only escaped with a point after grabbing a late equaliser in a 4-4 draw. The shoots of recovery started to grow with a 4-0 win in the home leg of the Champions League tie with Artmedia and although Celtic lost 3-1 to Rangers in the first Glasgow derby of the season, the team went on a 13 game unbeaten run, winning 12 of those games before losing to Dunfermline.
Celtic showed their Championship credentials on New Year's Day 2006, after staging a late comeback to beat rivals Hearts 3-2 in a top-of-the-table clash at Tynecastle thanks to two late goals from centre-half Stephen McManus.
After signing Roy Keane from Manchester United in January 2006, Celtic lost to Clyde 2-1 in the Scottish Cup. Their impressive league form continued however and on 19th February 2006 Celtic set a new scoring record for the SPL, an 8-1 victory at East End Park against Dunfermline, where Polish striker Maciej Żurawski scored 4 goals and assisted in 2 others.
On 19th March 2006, Gordon Strachan won his first trophy for Celtic with a 3-0 win over Dunfermline in the final of the CIS Cup.
On 5th April 2006 Celtic clinched their 40th league title thanks to a goal from John Hartson in a 1-0 win against Hearts at Celtic Park. The title was Celtic's fourth title in six years. This feat was achieved with six games remaining until the end of the season and before the SPL split. The Bhoys lifted the SPL trophy on Easter Sunday 2006 at home to Hibernian, after a 1-1 draw.
In April 2006, Celtic's reserve and Under-19 teams also won their championships, completing a clean sweep of Scotland's league competitions. Celtic's reserve team had won their league 5 years in a row and the Under-19s had won their league 4 years in a row.
2006-07
- Further information: Celtic F.C. season 2006-07
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 took the unprecedented step of paying out on Celtic as the winners of the SPL on 4th November, 2006, only 13 games into the season.citation needed By mid-November Celtic were 15 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 format was altered in 1993. 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 22nd April, 2007 Celtic won their 41st league championship, and second in a row. The title was won by an injury-time free-kick from Shunsuke Nakamura in a 2-1 victory against Kilmarnock. [11] The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. They finished the season 12 points above Rangers.
On 26th 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.
2007-08
- Further information: Celtic F.C. season 2007-08
Last Old Firm clash of the season results in 3:2 victory for Celtic.
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.[12] 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 UEFA Champions League 2007-08. 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.citation needed 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 losing 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 win overall.
The club's first signing of the winter transfer window was Andreas Hinkel. They followed up by signing Japanese youngster Koki Mizuno, Greek international striker Georgios Samaras on loan from Manchester City, Barry Robson from Dundee Utd as well as young striker Ben Hutchinson from Middlesbrough.
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, because of this the manager was badly criticised and there was speculation that he might be sacked or resign. 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 22nd 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 Tommy Burns, former player and manager, who had died the previous Thursday. The result also meant Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive league championships.
2008-09
- Further information: Celtic F.C. season 2008-09
Celtic signed winger Pat McCourt from League of Ireland side Derry City on a 3 year contract on 19th June. Greek international striker Georgios Samaras, who had spent the 2nd half of the 2007-08 season on loan from Manchester City signed on a permanent basis on 14th July after agreeing a 3 year contract.
Celtic have already qualified for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League after winning a 3rd consecutive SPL title.
Their first SPL game of the season is at home to St Mirren on Sunday 10th August. The first match between Celtic and Rangers is scheduled for 31st August, at 12:30pm at Celtic Park.
Records
- The Scottish Cup final win against Aberdeen in 1937 was attended by a crowd of 146,433 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which remains a record for a club match in European football
- Celtic currently hold the UK record for an unbeaten run in professional football: 62 games (49 won, 13 drawn), from 13 November 1915 until 21 April 1917- a total of 17 months and four days in all (they lost at home to Kilmarnock on the last day of the season)
- Celtic also hold the SPL record for an unbeaten run of home matches (77), spanning from 2001 to 2004 (this run was ended by a 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen on 21 April 2004), and the record for the longest run of consecutive wins in a single season (25 matches)
- Record victory: 11-0, against Dundee in 1895
- Record defeat: 0-8 against Motherwell in 1937
- Record home defeat: 0-7 against Dumbarton in 1892.
- Record post war home defeat 1-5 Aberdeen 1948
- Record European victory 9-0 KPV Kokkola (Finland), 1970
- Record European defeat: 0-5 against FC Artmedia Bratislava on 27 July 2005
- Record victory against Rangers: 7-1 1957 Scottish league cup final
- Complete record v Rangers P-371 W-133 D-91 L-147 F-508 A-529
- Record points earned in a season: 72 (Premier Division, 1987/88, 2 points for a win); 103 (Scottish Premier League, 2001/02, 3 points for a win), also the SPL points tally record
- Record home attendance: 92,000 against Rangers in 1938. A 3-0 victory for Celtic
- Most capped player: 102, Kenny Dalglish: Scotland.
- Record appearances: Billy McNeill, 790 from 1957 - 1975
- Most goals in a season: Henrik Larsson, 53
- Record scorer: Jimmy McGrory, 468
- First British club to reach the final of the European Cup
- First Scottish, British and Northern Europe team to win the European Cup
- Only club in history to have won the European Cup with a team comprised entirely of home-grown players (born within a 30 mile radius of the stadium)
- Hold the record for the highest score in a domestic cup final: Celtic 7 - 1 Rangers, Scottish League Cup Final 1957[13]
- Hold the record for the highest attendance for a European club competition match: Celtic v Leeds United in the European Cup semi-final 1970 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Official attendance 136,505
- Fastest hat-trick in European Club Football - Mark Burchill vs Jeunesse Esch, Luxembourg in 2000citation needed
- Earliest SPL Championship won. Won with 6 games to go against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2004 and Hearts on 5 April 2006
- First weekly club publication in the UK, The Celtic View.
- Biggest margin of victory in the SPL. 8-1 against Dunfermline, February 2006
- First stadium in the UK to stage motorcycle speedway racing on 28 April 1928.
- Celtic and Hibernian hold the record for the biggest transfer fee between two Scottish clubs. Celtic bought Scott Brown from Hibernian on 16 May 2007 for £4.4m[14][15]
Major honours
-
- 1966-67
-
- 1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1936, 1938, 1954, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974*, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008
-
- 1892, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007
-
- 1957, 1958, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1975, 1983, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2006
Minor honours
-
- 1969-70
-
- 2002-03
-
- 1967
-
- 1891, 1892, 1895, 1896, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1939, 1941, 1949, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1975*, 1982
-
- 1902[1]
-
- 1914
-
- 1918
-
- 1938
-
- 1945
-
- 1951
-
- 1953
-
- 1967
-
- 1968
-
- 1970
-
- 1974
-
- 1977
-
- 2003/awarded to the fans of Celtic FC
-
- 1984, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006
- Under 18 Scottish Premier League: 2
-
- 2000, 2003
- Under 19 Scottish Premier League: 3
-
- 2004, 2005, 2006
- Under 21 Scottish Premier League: 3
-
- 2002, 2003, 2004
- Reserve Scottish Premier League: 4
-
- 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2-2 draw
Individual
- All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
Managers
| 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 CBE 1965-1978 |
10 |
9 |
6 |
1 |
26 |
| McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill MBE 1978-1983 and 1987-1990 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
8 |
| Hay, DavidDavid Hay 1983-1987 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
| 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 OBE 1999-2000 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish MBE 2000 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
| O'Neill, MartinMartin O'Neill OBE 2000-2005 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
0 |
7 |
| Strachan, GordonGordon Strachan OBE 2005- |
3 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
Players
- As of 15 July 2008.[16]
Current squad
Reserve and youth squads
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| -- |
 |
GK |
Paul Skinner (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
DF |
Laurence Gaughan (Reserve) |
| -- |
 |
DF |
Matty Hughes (Youth) |
| -- |
 |
DF |
Daniel Lafferty (Reserve) |
| -- |
 |
DF |
Jason Marr (Reserve) |
| -- |
 |
DF |
Marian Pop (Youth) |
| -- |
|
DF |
Richie Towell (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
MF |
Sean Anderson (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
MF |
Paul Cahillane (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
MF |
Graham Carey (Reserve) |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player |
| -- |
|
MF |
Richard Filaret (Youth) |
| -- |
|
MF |
Charles Grant (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
MF |
Ross Hepburn (Reserve) |
| -- |
 |
MF |
Tomislav Pavlov (Youth) |
| 50 |
 |
MF |
Luca Santonocito (Youth) |
| -- |
|
FW |
Declan Bunting (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
FW |
Kevin Cawley (Reserve) |
| -- |
 |
FW |
Kjartan Finnbogason (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
FW |
Gary Livingstone (Reserve) |
| -- |
|
FW |
Mark Millar (Reserve) |
|
2008-09 transfers
- Click here for a list of Celtic transfers in season 2008-09.
Non-playing staff
Boardroom
| Position |
Name |
| Chairman |
Dr 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[17] |
| Non-Executive Director |
Brian Wilson |
| Commercial Director |
Adrian Filby |
| Director of International Developments |
Jason Hughes |
Management
Sponsors
Notable former players
Click here for a List of Celtic F.C. players with over 100 caps, click here for a List of Celtic F.C. international footballers or click here Category:Celtic FC players.
Scotland Football Hall of Fame
So far 6 Celtic players have entered the Scotland Football Hall of Fame:
Scottish Sports Hall of Fame
And in the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 5 Celtic players have been selected, they are:
Greatest ever team
|
|
| Greatest ever Celtic team |
The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002.[18]
See also
References
|
