Celtic F.C.

Celtic F.C.
Full name The Celtic Football Club
Nickname(s) The Bhoys (official)
The Celts
The Hoops
Founded 1888
Ground Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland
(Capacity: 60,832)
Chairman Flag of Scotland Dr John Reid MP
Manager Flag of Scotland Gordon Strachan
League Scottish Premier League
2007/08 Scottish Premier League, 1st
All-time top scorer James McGrory (522)
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours Team colours Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

The Celtic Football Club are a Scottish football club based in the east end of 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 have won the Scottish crown on 42 occasions and the Scottish Cup 34 times (a record), and are the only Scottish team to have won Europe's premier football competition, the European Cup, in 1967. Celtic's home stadium is Celtic Park (commonly referred to as Parkhead after the area of Glasgow in which it is situated) which has a capacity of 60,832, making it the largest football stadium in Scotland. Together with their Glasgow rivals, Rangers, they form the Old Firm, one of the most famous and fierce rivalries in sport. The club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts with white shorts and white socks.

In 1966/67 season, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup (now known as the UEFA Champions League), and are one of only two clubs ever to win the competition with a team composed entirely of home-grown talent (along with Steaua Bucharest of Romania in 1986).[1][2]. All of the players, subsequently known as the Lisbon Lions, were born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park. 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, to become the first, and so far only, team to win the Quadruple. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final, but were beaten by Feyenoord.

In 2003 Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final, where they lost 3–2 to FC Porto. Approximately 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville for this game, the largest foreign travelling support in history at the time. The fans also received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their behaviour throughout the tournament.[3][4][5] Celtic have an estimated fan base of nine million, including one million in North America.[6]

Contents

Formation and history

Main article: History of Celtic F.C.

Celtic were formally founded at a meeting in St. Mary's Church Hall on East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton, Glasgow, by Brother Walfrid, an Irish Marist brother, 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 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. The club's first ever goal was scored by Neil McCallum in this match. During these formative years, Celtic played in a white shirt with a green collar and a red Celtic cross on the breast, then switched to green and white vertical stripes around 1890. They made the switch to their iconic green-and-white hoops in 1903.

Celtic and the media

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. However, Celtic has never promoted itself as a club for Catholics only. Throughout it's history Celtic has prided itself as being a club for everyone. Fans of rivals Rangers FC tended to come from Scottish Protestant backgrounds and were supporters 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, hand gestures, 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

Main article: 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 being 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 Athletic.

Celtic showed their Championship credentials on New Year's Day 2006, after staging a late comeback to beat 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 Third Round. Their impressive league form continued however and on 19 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 19 March, Gordon Strachan won his first trophy for Celtic with a 3–0 win over Dunfermline in the final of the Scottish League Cup.

On 5 April, 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 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

Main article: 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 paid out on Celtic as the winners of the SPL on 4 November 2006, only 13 games into the season.[11] 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, F.C. 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 Kaká.

During the January 2007 transfer window Celtic signed Scotland internationals and former Heart's 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 22 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.[12] The result left Celtic 13 points clear of Rangers with four matches remaining. They 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

Main article: 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.[13] 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 2007/08 Champions League. 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 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 on aggregate.

The club's first signing of the winter transfer window was Andreas Hinkel. They followed up by signing Japanese youngster Koki Mizuno, 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 22 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.

Current season 2008/09

Main article: Celtic F.C. season 2008-09

Celtic signed winger Pat McCourt from League of Ireland side Derry City on a 3 year contract on 19 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 14 July after agreeing a 3 year contract. Celtic also added the signings of Marc Crosas, Glenn Loovens and the return of Shaun Maloney from Aston Villa before the closure of the Summer transfer window.

As SPL Champions, Celtic gained automatic entry to the UEFA Champions League, but after being drawn with Manchester United, Villarreal, and AaB Aalborg, they finished bottom of their group.

Celtic are currently top of the SPL, and have qualified for the semi-finals of the League Cup, and will play Dundee United at Hampden Park on Wednesday 28 January 2009.

Records

National honours

Trophy case at Celtic Park
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
1956/57,1957/58, 1965/66, 1966/67, 1967/68, 1968/69, 1969/70, 1974/75, 1982/83, 1997/98, 1999/2000, 2000/01, 2005/06

International club honours

1967
1970
2003
1967

Minor honours

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, 2008
1902
1914
1918
1938
1945
1951
1953
1967
1968
1970
1974
1977
1981
1988
1984, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006
2000, 2003
2004, 2005, 2006
2002, 2003, 2004
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2–2 draw

Special honours

1967
1970
1975
1979
2003 (awarded to the fans of Celtic FC)

Individual

All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.
Top Goalscorers
# Name Career Goals
1 James McGrory 1922–1937 522
2 Bobby Lennox 1961–1978
1979-1980
273
3 Henrik Larsson Flag of Sweden 1997–2004 242
4 Stevie Chalmers 1958–1971 231
5 Jimmy Quinn 1900–1917 217
6 Patsy Gallacher Flag of Ireland 1911–1926 192
7 John Hughes 1960–1971 189
8 Sandy McMahon 1891–1903 171
9 Jimmy McMenemy 1902–1920 168
10 Kenny Dalglish 1969–1977 167
Top League Goalscorers
# Name Career Goals
1 James McGrory 1922–1937 397
2 Jimmy Quinn 1900–1917 187
3 Patsy Gallacher Flag of Ireland 1911–1926 186
4 Henrik Larsson Flag of Sweden 1997–2004 174
5 Bobby Lennox 1961–1978
1979–1980
167
6 Stevie Chalmers 1958–1971 159
7 Jimmy McMenemy 1902–1920 144
8 Sandy McMahon 1891–1903 130
9 Adam McLean 1917–1928 128
10 John Hughes 1960–1971 115
Most Appearances
# Name Career Apps
1 Billy McNeill 1957–1975 790
2 Paul McStay 1981–1997 678
3 Roy Aitken 1976–1990 669
4 Danny McGrain 1970–1987 661
5 Packie Bonner Flag of Ireland 1978–1995 642
6 Bobby Lennox 1961–1978
1979–1980
587
7 Bobby Evans 1944–1960 548
8 Jimmy Johnstone 1962–1975 515
9 Jimmy McMenemy 1902–1920 515
10 Tommy Burns 1975–1989 504

Managers

Name Scottish League Scottish Cup Scottish League Cup European Cup Total
Maley, WillieWillie Maley 1897–1940 Flag of Ireland 16 14 30
McStay, JimmyJimmy McStay 1940–1945 Flag of Scotland 0 0 0
McGrory, JimmyJimmy McGrory 1945–1965 Flag of Scotland 1 2 2 5
Stein, JockJock Stein 1965–1978 Flag of Scotland 10 8 6 1 25
McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill 1978–1983, 1987–1991 Flag of Scotland 4 3 1 0 8
Hay, DavidDavid Hay 1983–1987 Flag of Scotland 1 1 0 0 2
Brady, LiamLiam Brady 1991–1993 Flag of Ireland 0 0 0 0 0
Macari, LouLou Macari 1993–1994 Flag of Scotland 0 0 0 0 0
Burns, TommyTommy Burns 1994–1997 Flag of Scotland 0 1 0 0 1
Jansen, WimWim Jansen 1997–1998 Flag of the Netherlands 1 0 1 0 2
Vengloš, JozefJozef Vengloš 1998–1999 Flag of Slovakia 0 0 0 0 0
Barnes, JohnJohn Barnes 1999–2000 Flag of England 0 0 0 0 0
Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish 2000 Flag of Scotland 0 0 1 0 1
O'Neill, MartinMartin O'Neill 2000–2005 Flag of Northern Ireland 3 3 1 0 7
Strachan, GordonGordon Strachan 2005–present Flag of Scotland 3 1 1 0 5

Players

As of 22 August 2008.[18]

Current squad

No. Position Player
1 Flag of Poland GK Artur Boruc
2 Flag of Germany DF Andreas Hinkel
3 Flag of England DF Lee Naylor
4 Flag of Scotland DF Stephen McManus (Captain)
5 Flag of Scotland DF Gary Caldwell
6 Flag of Guinea DF Bobo Baldé
7 Flag of Australia FW Scott McDonald
8 Flag of Scotland MF Scott Brown
9 Flag of Greece FW Georgios Samaras
10 Flag of the Netherlands FW Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink
11 Flag of Scotland MF Paul Hartley
12 Flag of Scotland DF Mark Wilson
13 Flag of Scotland MF Shaun Maloney
17 Flag of Spain MF Marc Crosas
18 Flag of Italy MF Massimo Donati
19 Flag of Scotland MF Barry Robson
20 Flag of Northern Ireland MF Pat McCourt
21 Flag of Scotland GK Mark Brown
No. Position Player
22 Flag of the Netherlands DF Glenn Loovens
23 Flag of England FW Ben Hutchinson
24 Flag of Cameroon DF Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé
25 Flag of Japan MF Shunsuke Nakamura
26 Flag of Ireland FW Cillian Sheridan
29 Flag of Japan MF Koki Mizuno
33 Flag of New Zealand FW Chris Killen
42 Flag of Scotland FW Michael McGlinchey
46 Flag of Ireland MF Aiden McGeady
47 Flag of the United States GK Dominic Cervi
48 Flag of Ireland DF Darren O'Dea
51 Flag of Scotland MF Nicky Riley
52 Flag of Scotland DF Paul Caddis
53 Flag of Scotland MF Simon Ferry
54 Flag of Scotland MF Ryan Conroy
55 Flag of Scotland FW Paul McGowan
56 Flag of Scotland MF Mark Millar
62 Flag of Scotland GK Scott Fox

Players out on loan

No. Position Player
38 Flag of Scotland FW Rocco Quinn (On loan to Livingston)
41 Flag of Scotland DF John Kennedy (On loan to Norwich City)
No. Position Player
49 Flag of Scotland DF Scott Cuthbert (on loan to St. Mirren)

Reserve and youth squads

No. Position Player
-- Flag of Northern Ireland DF Daniel Lafferty (Reserve)
-- Flag of Ireland DF Laurence Gaughan (Reserve)
-- Flag of Ireland DF Richie Towell (Reserve)
-- Flag of Scotland DF Jason Marr (Reserve)
50 Flag of Italy MF Luca Santonocito (Reserve)
59 Flag of Scotland MF Charlie Grant (Reserve)
-- Flag of Ireland MF Graham Carey (Reserve)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Ross Hepburn (Reserve)
-- Flag of Scotland FW Kevin Cawley (Reserve)
-- Flag of Italy GK Daniele Giordano (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland GK Ryan Marshall (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland GK Connor Fairley (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland GK Andrew Kennedy (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland GK Robbie Thomson (Youth)
89 Flag of Scotland DF Lewis Toshney (Youth)
-- Flag of England DF Matty Hughes (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland DF Carlo Monti (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland DF Declan Gallacher (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland DF Grant Gallacher (Youth)
No. Position Player
-- Flag of Scotland DF Ryan Strachan (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland DF Grant Mossom (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland DF John Young (Youth)
-- Flag of Northern Ireland MF Paul George (Youth)
-- Flag of Ireland MF Stephen McDonnell (Youth)
-- Flag of Bulgaria MF Tomislav Pavlov (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Michael Graham (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Jordan Lowdon (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Haydon Cochrane (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Sean Fitzharris (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Michael Tidser (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland MF Joe Bradley (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland FW Eric Foley (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland FW James Forrest (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland FW Islam Feruz (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland FW James Keatings (Youth)
-- Flag of Northern Ireland FW Declan Bunting (Youth)
-- Flag of Scotland FW Callum McGregor (Youth)
-- Flag of England FW Danny Gardner (Youth)

2008/09 transfers

Click here for a list of Celtic transfers in season 2008/09

Non-playing staff

Board of Directors

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[19]
Non-Executive Director Brian Wilson
Commercial Director Adrian Filby
Director of International Developments Jason Hughes

Management

Position Name
Manager Gordon Strachan OBE
Assistant Manager Garry Pendrey
First Team Coach Neil Lennon
Reserve Team Coach Willie McStay
Reserve Assistant Team Coach Danny McGrain
Head of Youth Development Chris McCart
Youth Team Coach John McLaughlan
Under 17's Coach Joe McBride
Goalkeeping Coach Jim Blyth
Goalkeeping Coach Chris Hannah
Goalkeeping Coach Stevie Woods
Club Doctor Derek McCormack
Head of Sports Science Gregory Dupont
Physiotherapist Graham Parsons
Physiotherapist Gavin McCarthy
Kit Controller John Clark
Football Development Manager John Park
Chief Scout Ray Clarke
Scout Tommy O'Neill

Sponsors

Notable former players

See List of Celtic F.C. players for players with over 100 appearances, List of Celtic F.C. international footballers and Category:Celtic FC players

Scotland Football Hall of Fame

So far 7 Celtic players have entered the Scotland Football Hall of Fame:

Scottish Sports Hall of Fame

In the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 5 Celtic players have been selected, they are:

Greatest ever team

Soccer.Field Transparant.png

SIMPSON
McNEILL
MURDOCH
GEMMELL
McGRAIN
JOHNSTONE
AULD
McSTAY
LENNOX
Greatest ever Celtic team

The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002.[20]

See also

References

External links

Preceded by
Real Madrid
European Cup Winner
1967
Succeeded by
Manchester United