| Chapter Six Twin Peaks: Lisbon ...... and Madrid
OVER the
intervening years, oceans of eloquence, a battery of benedictions and the whole gamut of
superlatives have been deployed in the rightful lionising of the events of 25th
May, 1967. Almost every living supporter must have seen the highlights a thousand times.
It may well be beyond the wit of man to further embellish that most glorious chapter in
the saga of our 'Grand Old Team'.
Let us, therefore, pause a moment instead, just to reflect on the distinctive flavour of
those formative times:
The sporting world
had exploded into that May with Muhammad Ali, the World Heavyweight Champion, being
stripped of his title by all world boxing authorities over his steadfast refusal to be
drafted for U.S. Army service in Vietnam. "I ain't got no quarrel with them
Viet-Cong!" was Ali's typically pugnacious retort.
………………………
In Glasgow and throughout the country, the 'Summer of love'
had been preceded by a winter and spring of adulation. Celtic could do no wrong. They
seemed to be invincible, their manager infallible. Yet the magnitude of the task which lay
ahead and the awesome reputation of Inter Milan might daunt the staunchest supporter and
it is appropriate at this juncture to take stock and put the situation into
perspective......
Inter had won the European Cup at their first attempt, in 1964, beating
the great Real Madrid 3-1 in the Vienna final......
In the eyes of Europe’s football press and assorted pundits, the
Italian form horses were red-hot favourites. Of course, it was
somewhat grudgingly conceded, Celtic had forged a passing European reputation of their own
with their two recent runs to the semi-final of the Cup-Winners' Cup, but they had no real
stars, no names to compare with the likes of Inter’s
Facchetti or Mazzola. They had done exceptionally well, but were now surely out of their
depth. They were the corner shop to Inter’s supermarket......
Nonetheless, in the run-up to the big day, it was Celtic who undoubtedly
won the battle for the hearts and minds of the local Portuguese, and indeed of neutrals
everywhere, hands down......
Celtic began the game impressively enough, finding their men with
accurate passes, but Scottish hearts were in their mouths after only four minutes as Inter
nearly scored in their very first attack.
The early confirmation of Inter's ability to strike like a cobra was met
firmly by a swift and encouraging Celtic reply. .....
As the teams trooped off at half-time, with Celtic trailing 1-0, there
was understandable anxiety inside the stadium and amongst the T.V. millions that the
players might lose heart......
Still Celtic stayed cool, refusing to panic as
the minutes ticked agonisingly past and beckoning glory seemed to recede......
The next instant is one of those forever imprinted on the freeze-frame
of the mind's eye of every Celtic supporter who witnessed it. Inter captain, Picchi,
lunged towards Gemmell as if to block the coming shot, but, frankly, chickened out as big
Tam made devastating contact. His right-foot drive thundered past the powerless Sarti's
right hand and tore at the netting, leaving the beaten 'keeper desperately pointing
accusing fingers at the retreating figures of Lennox and Wallace, either of whom may have
been caught in technically offside positions as the Inter defence instinctively streamed
out towards Gemmell......
The world will never know what might have come about had the sides still
been locked at 1-1 at time-up, for, in the eighty-fifth minute, Celtic claimed the cup for
Glasgow, Scotland and everyone ever connected with the club, right back to it's spiritual
roots in Ballymote, County Sligo, home of founder, Brother Walfrid.
.............................
Celtic still had one more glamorous occasion in which to participate,
one more glittering prize to attain in that sparkling 'Season
in the Sun'. At the outset, they had defeated their eventual
successors as European Champions, Manchester United; along the way, they had overcome the
champions of 1964 and 1965, Inter Milan; and now, as a grand finale, they had their prior
commitment to provide the opposition in a testimonial match for the legendary Alfredo Di
Stefano, against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, on Wednesday, 7th June......
It was clear that Jimmy Johnstone had decided to make it his
night. The nominal star of the show, Di Stefano, had departed after a token
appearance of fifteen minutes to be replaced by Grosso, but 'Jinky' was weaving his magic
all over the pitch and Real’s defence just couldn’t cope with him......
As the final whistle sounded, Johnstone was,
fittingly, in possession of the ball, which he picked up and raised one-handed above his
head in salute to a generous crowd who had come to see Celtic buried, but stayed to
acclaim the new kings in the deposed monarchs' very own courtyard.
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Epilogue
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