Everything about Glasgow Celtic totally explained
Celtic Football Club is a Scottish
football team based in
Glasgow, who currently play in the
Scottish Premier League. Celtic are champions of Scotland, having completed a hat-trick of titles on 22 May 2008, the final day of the
2007-08 season.
The full name of the club is
The Celtic Football club. Until
1994, the club's full name was
The Celtic Football and Athletic Company Ltd, whilst outside of
Scotland they're often 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. In
2006-07, Celtic Park attracted an average attendance of 57,543,
Together with their rivals,
Rangers F.C., they form the
Old Firm which is one of the most famous and most fierce
rivalries in sport. Celtic has traditionally been linked with its founding roots which originate from the
Irish immigrant community in
Glasgow.
In
1967, Celtic became the first northern European team to win the
European Champions 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, the
Scottish Cup, the
Scottish League Cup, the
European Cup and the
Glasgow Cup.
Celtic are the only club ever to win the trophy with a team composed entirely of home-grown talent.; as all of the players in the side were Scottish, and all were born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park and they're the only club in history to win a Continental Quadruple. 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. Over 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for the final.
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.
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.
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.
In 1965 Celtic began publishing
The Celtic View, the UK's first ever regular football club newspaper.
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
Celtic have a historic association with the peoples of
Ireland and Scots of Irish extraction, who are both predominantly
Catholic. Supporters of rivals Rangers tended to sympathise with
Protestantism and
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. 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.
In October 2006, club chairman
Brian Quinn dismissed calls to institute a list of what songs are unacceptable at Celtic Park and chief executive
Peter Lawwell defended the singing of "Irish ballads" at matches.
In November 2007, Jeanette Findlay, head of The Celtic Trust, an organisation made up of around 200 club shareholders and supporters (there are approx 27,500 shareholders), caused controversy by claiming that certain songs about the
IRA which were sung by a section of the Celtic support were not pro-terrorist. Findlay's remarks were widely criticised and described as "unrepresentative" by the club.
Recent seasons
2004-05
Following a race for the SPL title, with Rangers closely following, the club extended their lead at the top of the SPL table to two points as they lined up for the final game of the season, with a win at
Motherwell F.C. required to seal the title. With two minutes remaining on the clock, Celtic were leading 1 – 0 — a result which would have handed them the league.
However, Motherwell's
Scott McDonald (now playing for Celtic) netted two last-minute goals. Rangers defeated Hibernian 1 – 0 at Easter Road, thereby winning the league championship title. Earlier in the season Celtic recorded a record seventh straight win over city rivals Rangers.
Celtic ended the season one week later with a 1–0 win over
Dundee United F.C. in the Scottish Cup Final, which was marked by fans as
Martin O'Neill's final match as manager.
On
25 May,
2005, O'Neill announced he'd resign as manager of Celtic at the end of
2004-05 season along with first team coach
Steve Walford and assistant manager
John Robertson. It was widely reported that O'Neill decided to take time out of football in order to care for his ailing wife Geraldine, who was ill with
lymphoma (External Link
). He is currently manager of
Aston Villa F.C.
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
November 4,
2006, only 13 games into the season. By mid-November Celtic were 15 points clear of their nearest challengers.
On
November 21, Celtic defeated Manchester United 1-0 at home earning them qualification to the knockout stage of the last 16 teams for the first time since the format was altered in 1993, drawing
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
April 22,
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, after Jan Vennegoor Of Hesselink had the Hoops in front, before Colin Nish equalized for Kilmarnock just after half-time. The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. They then 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.
2007-08
Celtic bolstered their side for the 2007-08 season, signing
Scott Brown,
Chris Killen,
Scott McDonald and
Massimo Donati.
Neil Lennon left for
Nottingham Forest after seven years with the club, with
Stephen McManus taking over the club captaincy. However Lennon returned to the club later in the season as a coach.
Celtic was 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. They competed against A.C. Milan,
S.L. Benfica and
FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stages, going unbeaten 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 successions, where they drew
FC Barcelona. 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. 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 with signing Japanese youngster
Koki Mizuno,
Greek international striker
Georgios Samaras,
Barry Robson from
Dundee Utd as well as young striker
Ben Hutchinson from
Middlesbrough F.C.
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, including two Old Firm victories, to win the league on the last day of the season with 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 earlier that week. The result also meant Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive league championships.
Records
- The Scottish Cup final win against Aberdeen F.C. 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 F.C. 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 F.C. 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 P371 W133 D91 L147 F508 A529
- 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 (plus 13 whilst on loan at Clydebank).
- First British club to reach the final of the European Cup.
- First Scottish, British and northern European 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
- 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 2000.
- 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.
Major honours
Minor honours
Glasgow Merchants and Charity Cup: 27
* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2-2 draw
Individual
» All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
Managers
| Name |
Scottish League |
a href=http://Scottish_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="Scottish Cup - Totally Explained">Scottish Cup |
a href=http://Scottish_League_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="Scottish League Cup - Totally Explained">Scottish League Cup |
a href=http://European_Cup.totallyexplained.com title="European Cup - Totally Explained">European Cup |
otal |
| 1897-1940 |
|
14 |
- |
- |
30 |
| 1940-1945 |
|
0 |
- |
- |
0
|
| 1945-1960 |
|
2 |
2 |
- |
5
|
| 1965-1978 |
|
9 |
6 |
1 |
26
|
| 1978-1983 and 1987-1990 |
|
3 |
1 |
0 |
8
|
| 1983-1987 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
2
|
| 1990-1992 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| 1993-1994 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| 1994-1997 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
1
|
| 1997-1998 |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
2
|
| 1998-1999 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| 1999-2000 |
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
0
|
| 2000 |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
1
|
| 2000-2005 |
|
3 |
1 |
0 |
7
|
| 2005- |
|
1 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
Players
» As of 31 January, 2008.
Current squad
Out on loan
2007-08 transfers
» For a list of Celtic's 2007-08 transfers, see here.
Reserve and youth squads
Non-playing staff
Boardroom
| Position |
Name |
| Chairman |
John Reid |
| Chief Executive |
Peter Lawwell |
| Director of Finance |
Eric J. Riley |
| Non-Executive Director |
Dermot Desmond |
| Non-Executive Director |
Eric Hagman |
| Non-Executive Director |
Thomas E. Allison |
| Non-Executive Director |
Brian McBride |
| Non-Executive Director |
Brian Wilson |
| Commercial Director |
David Thomson |
Management
Sponsors
Carling
NTL Ireland
T-Mobile
Nike, Inc.
Thomas Cook
Phoenix Motorcars
MBNA
The Big Plus
Sanyo
Scottish Leader (whisky)
Soccer Savings
Celtic Village
Seat Exchange
Notable former players
Mohammed Abdul Salim first ever indian sub continent(asian) player to play for an european team
John Thomson a goalkeeper who was killed in a collison in an old firm game
Joe Kennaway first ever foreign player to play for Celtic
Click here for a full List of Celtic FC players
Greatest ever team
|
| Greatest ever Celtic team |
The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002.
Ronnie Simpson
Danny McGrain
Tommy Gemmell
Bobby Murdoch
Paul McStay
Billy McNeill - Voted Celtic's greatest ever Captain
Bertie Auld
Jimmy Johnstone - Voted Celtic's greatest ever player
Bobby Lennox
Kenny Dalglish
Henrik Larsson - Voted Celtic's greatest ever foreign playerFurther Information
Get more info on 'Glasgow Celtic'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://celtic_f_c.totallyexplained.com">Celtic F.C. Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
