Jock Stein
This quote, given in Stein’s first interview after the match, remains the definitive verdict on Celtic’s performance: "We did it by playing football. Pure, beautiful, inventive football."
After Bill Shankly told him "John, you’re immortal" this was the manager’s reaction to victory: There is not a prouder man on God’s earth than me at this moment. Winning was important, aye, but it was the way that we have won that has filled me with satisfaction. We did it by playing football. Pure, beautiful, inventive football. There was not a negative thought in our heads. Inter played right into our hands; it’s so sad to see such gifted players shackled by a system that restricts their freedom to think and to act. Our fans would never accept that sort of sterile approach. Our objective is always to try to win with style.
Ronnie Simpson
The ‘faither’ and how he kept his teeth: When we got to the European Cup final in 1967, it was just something that happened. The games we played in the run-up to the match with Inter Milan were just regular games for us. When we got to the final, it was just another match.
We were all over them and thoroughly deserved to win 2-1. At one point, I got caught about 30 yards off my line when they played a ball through the middle. I back-heeled it and John Clark collected it. It all turned out fine, but if it had gone wrong I have no idea what would have happened.
The fans were desperate to get some sort of souvenir. They were cutting up the turf and the corner flags were on their way to places far away from Portugal. My cap, with two sets of false teeth, were too obvious a trophy.
Bobby Lennox grabbed his teeth and ran for the tunnel and I quickly followed, but only got there after what seemed like an eternity. I was almost half-strangled and almost crushed in the tug of war that went on for my jersey.
Jim Craig
On conceding Inter’s penalty after seven minutes: Jock had said in the team talk that Cappellini would play up, against me, and he did. He also said that he was very good at turning inside, so, when he came up, I ran forward to make sure that he couldn’t turn inside.
If he tried to turn inside then he was going to run into me, which is exactly what happened.
I still don’t think it was a penalty. There was no deliberation on my part. It was a collision, and the referee was as nervous as the rest of us. The Italians were very good at putting pressure on and he overreacted.
Sometimes I wake up in a cold sweat about that penalty. What lives with me now is the reaction of my father to it. He didn’t attend many games, but I got both my uncle Philip and him tickets for Lisbon and flights over. Not a man to use choice language, my uncle told me afterwards that the moment the penalty was given dad shouted: "I came all this bloody way to see that!"
Tommy Gemmell
On the reaction to going behind and then scoring: We knew when they scored they would sit back and try to hold the lead because that was the Italian style of play. But, if you took away Ronnie and John Clark, we had nine potential goalscorers and you couldn’t afford to give us the ball for such an amount of time without paying the price.
We didn’t change our game because the only way we knew how to play was attack, although for a while I thought it was going to be one of those days when you have all the possession but can’t put the ball in the net.
If you look back at my goal on the film of the game, you’ll see there’s an Italian defender who comes out as I’m lining up to shoot. And he stops about two yards away from me and turns his back. If that guy takes one more pace, and he blocks the shot, then no one has ever heard of me.
I should have had my behind kicked because I shouldn’t have been there. The golden rule was that if one full-back was up the other one should be round covering central defence and it was Jim who cut the ball back for me.
However, there was no need to cover because they only had one player in our half against two of our defenders.
Bobby Murdoch
On Celtic’s confidence, psyching out the Italians and his part in the winning goal: By the beginning of May, we had still not won anything apart from the League Cup. The League Championship, Scottish Cup and European Cup were all still up for grabs and we had a lot of fixtures to contend with and concentrate on.
We had a good build-up to the final, which had a very relaxed atmosphere. I think the players were all quietly confident that we would beat Inter Milan and Jock certainly was convinced that we would.
We were standing there (in the tunnel). Bertie started singing a song. And the Italians are all going, ‘Wait a minute… ’
I’ll tell you what. The Crazy Gang of Wimbledon had nothing on us. We knew it was up to ourselves. We had confidence in each other. We were so skilful. I didn’t realise how skilful we were. You sit and watch videos of it now and you think: ‘Did you see that? It’s amazing’.
We lost a goal through a penalty after only seven minutes and I think that fired us up even more than we had been. For the rest of the game it was all Celtic. They sat back and we went at them. They played into our hands.
People told me (about the winning goal), ‘it was going in anyway’, but it had more chance of going for a throw-in. Steve got a great touch to turn it in.
Billy McNeill
On the moment he knew Celtic would win, and the aftermath:
I remember being in the perfect position to see it. Stood on the halfway line, I watched Tommy Gemmell shape to hit the shot and I instantly knew we would go on to lift the European Cup.
When Gemmell hit the ball, it stayed hit. I knew we would get another because Inter were gone, they were physically and psychologically beaten. Steve Chalmers got our second with five minutes to go, but the final scoreline of 2-1 did not reflect our superiority.
It was undoubtedly the easiest match I played in during our famous 1967 European campaign. I have spoken to Inter players since then and the one thing they all agree on is that they did not believe the skill we possessed.
I remember the defender Tarcisio Burgnich telling me their plan had been to score first and then shut up shop and operate on the counter-attack. However, he said we attacked with such skill and persistence that we never gave them a chance.
People often ask me about the aftermath, when I lifted the cup, but my memories are foggy. It was as if the emotional experience was too much for me to take in. I don’t think what we achieved that day really sunk in for years. When I look back, I think it took the 25th-anniversary celebrations before I fully appreciated the impact our European Cup win had on our fans and British football.
John Clark
On his happiest memory at Celtic – not May 25, 1967 – and on beating ‘the best team in the world’: People still ask me if winning in Lisbon was the absolute pinnacle of my career. I think they are rather taken aback when I say no. My happiest ever memory from all my days in football was actually signing for Celtic in the first place.
The final in Lisbon against Inter Milan was a difficult match, but we knew it would take something exceptional from the Italians to beat us. We were all so up for it. It was one of those games where the longer we played the more confident we became.
Inter were the best team in the world then and they scored with a penalty early on. They played with a defensive system that had brought them great success, but when we equalised through Tommy Gemmell we knew the trophy would be ours.
Jimmy Johnstone
On gums and Stein’s instructions: There they were, all six-footers with Ambre Solaire suntans, Colgate smiles and sleek-backed hair. They even smelt beautiful. And there’s us lot - midgets. I’ve got no teeth, Bobby Lennox hasn’t any, and old Ronnie Simpson’s got none, top or bottom. The Italians are staring down at us and we’re grinning back up at them wi’ our great gumsy grins. We must have looked like something out of the circus.
Big Jock knew that continental footballers tend to move the ball very freely and seldom held on to it, or give the kind of individual performance that has been a tradition in Scottish football. So he made my instructions clear. As early as possible in the game, I was to gain possession and try to give a couple of those mazy runs of mine.
At half-time there were no angry words. The boss simply told us to keep up the pressure. Attack was our only possible strategy.
Willie Wallace
On his role in Celtic’s first goal: I am glad to say I had a hand, quite literally, in Big Tommy’s equaliser. I took the shy that moved the ball around the field before finishing behind the redoubtable Sarti! I recall I was going to throw it into the penalty box but their giant defender Giacinto Facchetti blocked my view. Big Jock used to hammer it into us to play the ball into the opposing team’s box because you couldn’t be offside at a throw-in. But Facchetti prevented that and I actually threw it back to Big Tommy. I thought, if nothing else, it would be better for us to keep possession. And from that came our leveller. Now if big Facchetti had just minded his own business…
Stevie Chalmers
On how the winning goal was no fluke: It was really the greatest moment of my career when I scored our winner in Lisbon. Some of the boys told me I looked as if I was in a daze for the rest of the game. It must have been a daze of joy.
It all really began at half-time when the boss told us to vary our tactics a bit. One of his points was that we should try angling the ball low and hard across the goal. And that’s exactly what Bobby Murdoch did.
He was at the left edge of the penalty box when he let fly. The ball was going like a rocket, heading for just past the far post. Instinctively I stuck out my right foot and that was it. I’ve scored better goals maybe, but never more valuable. I finished up our top European Cup scorer with five. In fact I scored in every round except the semi-final.
Bertie Auld
On pre-match psychology and his near thing: If you get the opportunity to watch the teams strolling out on to the track and then on to the playing surface, have a look at the Italians. A lot of them are actually eyeing us up and down and shaking their heads. They were just a tad bemused. They were going to be a lot more bemused by time-up – that was certain.
I hit their crossbar with a run and shot as we swept down on them looking for a first-half equaliser. I’ve often been asked if I intended a cross. Take it from me, that was an attempt at goal. I put a little bend on the ball as I hared into their box and I thought it looked good. Well, it would have to be good to beat their keeper Sarti, who was unbelievable. However, the woodwork got in the way of me and glory and the ball bounced to safety. Thankfully, Tommy and Stevie had better fortune later on.
Bobby Lennox
On the movement and skill that won the match: Big Jock Stein thought that the movement of the Celtic forwards was great during the European Cup final. Although we weren’t on the ball much, he thought we had played extremely well. We had been told not to stand in front of the goals but to move our markers from side to side and we kept the Italians moving around so much that other players could push up right on top of their defence. Movement creates room and that’s how football players play. It never worked more beautifully than on that hot late afternoon in Lisbon.
Everybody in that Celtic team could perform with excellence in their own position. We probably weren’t the best players, individually, in the world but as a unit we were very, very good; if not great.
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt