Lisbon Lions

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Lore & Background

Celtic's style was the antithesis of Inter Milan's defensive approach, described by Jimmy Johnstone as 'like the Dutch speeded-up'. In the match, Sandro Mazzola opened the scoring for Inter with a 7th-minute penalty after Jim Craig brought down Renato Cappellini. Inter retreated into their famous defence but did not win a single corner. Celtic had two shots off the crossbar and 39 other attempts on goal: 13 were saved by Giuliano Sarti, seven were blocked or deflected, and 19 were off-target. Jim Craig made amends at the 63rd minute by laying off for Tommy Gemmell to equalise. With 83 minutes played, Gemmell passed to Bobby Murdoch, whose long-range shot was deflected by Stevie Chalmers into the net.

In Their Own Story

Celtic became the first British club to win the European Cup and remain the only Scottish club to reach a final. Having already won the Scottish top flight, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup, they became the first winners of the European Treble and the only winners of the Quadruple. They also won five trophies in a single season after triumphing over Partick Thistle in the Glasgow Cup. The team reached the 1970 final but lost 2–1 to Feyenoord after extra time.

Reader's Guide

The Lisbon Lions were awarded the BBC Sports Team of the Year in 1967, the SPFA Special Merit Award in 1992, and were inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2017. They also received The Loving Cup (Lord Provost's Awards) in 2017 for their 50th anniversary. Notable squad members who played in Europe that season but did not feature in the final included Charlie Gallagher, John Hughes, Joe McBride, and Willie O'Neill. A second goalkeeper was the only substitute allowed at the time; John Fallon was named as the unused substitute.

Did You Know?

• The name 'Lisbon Lions' likely comes from Sporting (a Lisbon-based club) having a lion mascot and both clubs wearing green and white horizontal stripes.
• Celtic did not wear numbers on their shirts during the final; the numbers shown were sewn onto their shorts.
• Inter Milan forced Celtic goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson to make only two saves despite Celtic having 41 attempts on goal in total.
• The Lisbon Lions remain the only winners of the fabled Quadruple and one of just three European clubs to win five trophies in a single season.