Bobby Murdoch – Obituary (Daily Telegraph)

IMMORTALITY IS a term which has been used so frequently of the Lisbon Lions, the swashbuckling Celtic side who brought the European Cup to Britain for the first time in 1967, that it long ago became a commonplace. Such is the aura of glory which continues to surround that team of local talents, moulded into a transcendent force by Jock Stein, that the line-up trips off the tongues of young Celtic fans who have never seen them play except on video reruns of that shimmering May evening in Portugal.

But all things must pass and there will be an empty place at the table whenever the Lisbon veterans assemble for another of their frequent reunions. Bobby Murdoch, who died of a stroke in the early hours of yesterday morning in a Glasgow hospital, was not a lionheart after the fashion of, say, his combative midfield partner, Bertie Auld. Nor is he the first name to suggest itself to those who know Celtic only from a distance and who can easily call to mind the distinctive figures of Auld, Billy McNeill, Tommy Gemmill or Jimmy Johnstone.
Those who know their football and their footballers will testify, nevertheless, that he was the heart of the Lions team which gave Inter Milan a goal start and then inexorably dismantled their fabled cattenaccio defence. Murdoch was already at Celtic Park when Stein arrived as manager in 1965, as were nine others who would be present in the club's defining moment two years later.
Murdoch, a sheet-metal worker by trade who had started at Celtic as a part-timer, had been deployed as an inside-right and had proved handy, but not exceptional, in the role. Stein's first great contribution to Celtic was to realise that almost all the pieces of the jigsaw were present but that the picture was not yet clear. On the eve of the 1965 Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic, Stein made a single decision which emphasised his authority in two ways.
He moved Murdoch downfield, switching him to right-half. The Celtic chairman, Robert Kelly, a man of expansive talents but also something of an autocrat, had been used to imposing himself on team selections by dint of carefully worded suggestions to previous managers. He looked at Stein's choice of players for the Cup final and remarked: "Murdoch is not a half-back." In a rejoinder which demonstrated his own self-regard as well as awareness of who knew better what made a real footballer, Stein retorted: "You'll see on Saturday that he is." Murdoch did not let Stein down as Celtic won the first of a stream of honours under their new manager, and fans immediately noted that a previously rather colourless individual had become a central figure.
By withdrawing Murdoch from an advanced position, Stein permitted Murdoch's visionary gifts to flourish mightily. Like Jim Baxter, who operated in the equivalent position on the left for Rangers, Murdoch conducted Celtic's rhapsodies from the right of midfield.
There was never any chance of Murdoch sauntering around Wembley taunting England by playing keepie-uppie against the world champions. The Celtic man's forte was understated superiority on the field and modest good humour off it. Where Baxter was famously languid, Murdoch was cool and subtle. His self-effacement may have contributed to his meagre total of Scotland caps – only 12, plus an under-23 appearance and five games for the Scottish League.
His haul of honours at club level, though, was substantial. Eight championship badges, four Scottish Cup medals and five League Cup medals plus, of course, a European Cup winner's medal. He made decisive interventions in many games under Stein but the apex of his achievement must surely be located forever in Lisbon.
The European Cup had never left the Latin realms of Spain, Portugal and Italy and the Inter Milan coach, Helenio Herrera, appealed to the Portuguese public to show solidarity with his notoriously defensive side. Stein and Celtic, however, won the battle of hearts, minds and spirits, even after they fell behind to an early penalty.
Celtic could be relied upon to respond with tireless attack but they required more than indomitable spirit to overcome such accomplished opponents. It fell to Murdoch to originate and vary the patterns of play which saw Stein's players ultimately prevail 2-1.
McNeill, the captain, said yesterday: "Bobby exerted a great influence on most occasions but against Inter he was massively effective. He took command, demanding the ball at the back and doing something positive with it time after time. He played a wonderful game that evening, always cool and composed and, of course, it was his shot which was turned in by Stevie Chalmers for the winning goal."
Nobody should have been surprised at Murdoch's composed contribution to their dazzling victory. On the way to the game, the Celtic team bus had been held up in traffic so heavy some began to fear that they would not reach the ground in time. Murdoch was unperturbed, gazing calmly out of his window. Years later he recollected: "I supposed they couldn't very well start without us, could they? Some of the others were getting a wee bit worked up. My attitude was, what's the point of getting upset about something you can do nothing about?"
He remained at Celtic for six more years – imposing himself on another colossal occasion by scoring a thunderous 50-yard goal against Leeds United in the 1970 European Cup semi-final at Hampden Park – before moving to Middlesbrough in 1973. Stein observed later that he had let Murdoch go with reluctance but accepted that the player had run out of challenges in the east end of Glasgow.
Middlesbrough came as something of a shock to him – the club was toiling initially – but under Jack Charlton and with Murdoch prompting from the middle in the company of a young Graeme Souness, the team stormed to the Second Division championship. In May 1981 he had the ill luck to be appointed manager, just as the playing side was disintegrating. He lasted barely a year. He went into the licensed trade but his pub went into receivership in 1987, forcing him to sell the family home.
He denied being an alcoholic but was on the bottle for a spell before making a recovery. His health, though, steadily declined and although he made regular appearances as a host in Celtic's sponsored lounges until very recently, and was a popular figure at supporters' gatherings, he was to be seen walking painfully with the aid of sticks.
He remained modest but engaging company. By contrast, the tributes to Murdoch, whose funeral will take place in his home town of Rutherglen, Glasgow, on Friday, were measured in superlatives. Stein said of him: "As far as I am concerned he was just about the best player I had as manager." Herrera's homage was even simpler and equally heartfelt. "Bobby Murdoch," said Herrera in the aftermath of Lisbon, "is my complete footballer."