The Lisbon Lions: How Celtic became first British team to win European Cup in 1967

If one was to consider the greatest feat ever achieved by a British club in football history, Celtic's European Cup triumph of 1967 ought to spring to mind.

Conquering an outstanding Inter Milan side 2-1 in the final in Lisbon, Celtic became not only the first British club to win the European Cup but the first team from Northern Europe.

What made this achievement so special was that this famed Celtic side was comprised of a group of a players all born within a 30-mile radius of the club's home of Celtic Park.

If you fast forward to today's game, with the rapid commercialisation of the sport giving rise to multicultural squads made up of footballers from all over the globe, it seems almost certain that never again will we see the like of the team now known as the 'Lisbon Lions'.

We take a deep dive into the greatest night in Celtic's history on 25th May 1967 at the Estadio Nacional, Lisbon.

The Road to Lisbon

Round	Aggregate score
First round	Celtic 5-0 FC Zurich
Second round	Celtic 6-2 Nantes
Quarter-finals	Celtic 2-1 Vojvodina
Semi-finals	Celtic 3-1 Dukla Prague

The build-up: Inter backed to prevail

Winners of the European Cup in two of the previous three years, in 1964 and 1965, and Italian champions for two years running, Inter Milan were favourites to overcome Celtic and be crowned the best team in Europe once again in 1967.

The pre-match talk in Milan was of Inter completing a hat-trick of European Cup titles - coined the tripletta - with Glasgow side Celtic deemed favourable opposition in the final considering the Nerazzurri had already beaten reigning champions Real Madrid en route to Lisbon.

The Lisbon final would see two contrasting styles of football collide, with Inter renowned for their defensive Catenaccio approach under Argentine-French manager Helenio Herrera, whilst underdogs Celtic played a flamboyant attacking brand of football inspired by Jock Stein.

Inter's desire to win the European Cup will have likely been strengthened by losing in the Coppa Italia semi-finals and narrowly missing out on the Scudetto, with Celtic entering the final aiming to complete a historic quintuple having already secured the Scottish league title, Scottish Cup, League Cup and Glasgow Cup.

Despite heading into the final as underdogs, Celtic travelled to Lisbon fully confident of lifting the trophy:

Celtic will be the first team to bring the European Cup back to Britain, we are going to attack as we have never attacked before.

- Jock Stein

Celtic starting XI

The Lisbon Lions:

GK - Ronnie Simpson (Glasgow)

RB - Jim Craig (Glasgow)

CB - Billy McNeill (c) (Mossend, North Lanarkshire)

CB - John Clark (Chapelhall, North Lanarkshire)

LB - Tommy Gemmell (Craigneuk, North Lanarkshire)

CM - Bobby Murdoch (Rutherglen, South Lanarkshire)

CM - Bertie Auld (Maryhill, Glasgow)

RW - Jimmy Johnstone (Viewpark, North Lanarkshire)

LW - Bobby Lennox (Saltcoats, North Ayrshire)

ST - Willie Wallace (Kirkintilloch, East Dunbartonshire)

ST - Stevie Chalmers (Glasgow)

First-half: Italians make early breakthrough

Inter's favourites status appeared justified early on in the sunshine of the 1967 European Cup final in Portugal's capital, with the Nerazzuri taking the lead seven minutes in courtesy of a penalty from Italy international forward Sandro Mazzola.

An early breakthrough prompted Inter to retreat into their famed Catenaccio style and seek to shut Celtic out for the duration of the match.

The ultra-attacking Hoops threw men forward in an attempt to get back on level terms, but both the woodwork and the outstanding Inter goalkeeper Giuliano Sarti were able to snuff the Scottish champions out.

It threatened to be an evening of frustration for Glasgow's green and white as they trudged into their dressing room upon the half-time whistle in Lisbon,

Second-half: Hoops rip up the script

Undeterred by their inability to make a breakthrough in the opening period, Jock Stein's Celts continued to plug away upon the restart and take the game to their Italian adversaries.

Eventually their perseverance paid off in the 63rd minute of the match, courtesy of a rasping drive from inside the D from full-back Tommy Gemmell.

Celtic's leveller did little to spur Inter back to life, with wave after wave of attacks from the Glasgow giants continuing to descend upon Sarti's goal.

The Nerazzuri had no answers for the skill and energy of their Scottish counterparts, with Celtic's crowning moment arriving just six minutes from time.

In a move later asserted to have been drilled on the training ground, Bobby Murdoch's long-range strike from outside the area was diverted into the net by Stevie Chalmers to send the Celtic supporters who had been able to make the long journey across to Portugal into euphoria.

In a now iconic image, Celtic were crowned champions of Europe as skipper Billy McNeill made his way to Estadio Nacional's podium to proudly lifted the European Cup trophy aloft.

This Celtic team are now immortalised as the Lisbon Lions, a tag believed to have been spawned as a reference to Sporting Lisbon's mascot, with the two clubs connected by their green and white shirts.

The Lisbon Lions' enduring legacy continues to be felt at Celtic Park today. with the stadium's East Stand named in their honour and the team's supporters continuing to sing songs about the club's greatest ever achievement.

We did it by playing football. Pure, beautiful, inventive football.

- Jock Stein

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