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Celtic twice competed in the prestigious pre-season Feyenoord tournament which was held by the famous Dutch club at the Stadion Feyenoord.
Celtic struck gold in the summer of 1981 on their first visit to the four team Rotterdam tournament by eliminating the hosts 2-1 thanks to goals from Dom Sullivan and Frank McGarvey. Dukla Prague had dispatched Anderlecht in the other semi-final and faced the Bhoys in the final on Sunday August 2nd.
In front of a crowd of 25,000 Celtic got off to a thunderous start with midfielder Murdo MacLeod scoring twice in the opening twenty minutes. It was to prove a far from comfortable victory though as Dukla pulled a goal back through Kriz but despite sporadic Dukla pressure the Hoops were able to hold on during the closing stages. A replica of Rotterdam’s Euro Tower, was the inspiration for the trophy presented to the Bhoys.
The Celtic team that claimed the trophy was: Bonner, McGrain, McAdam, Aitken, Garner, MacLeod, Provan, Sullivan, McGarvey (McCluskey), Burns, Nicholas.
As holders the Hoops returned to Holland the following year and put up a brave but ultimately unsuccessful defence of their crown. Two goals from Frank McGarvey, and strikes from the impressive Tommy Burns and George McCluskey sealed an emphatic 4-0 opening win against FK Austria and set up a final meeting with the hosts.
It a thrilling final in front of 40,000 noisy supporters goals from McCluskey and Burns plus Mark Reid’s penalty were to prove in vain as a late winner from Jeliazkov capped a fantastic game and gave Feyenoord a 4-3 victory.
Celtic were not to leave Rotterdam empty handed though as Tommy Burns produced two wonderful displays and was a worthy winner of Player of the Tournament.
SUMMARY:
Rotterdam AD Tournament 1981
Semi-finals [Jul 31]
Dukla Prague 3-1 RSC Anderlecht
Celtic 2-1 Feyenoord
Third Place Match [Aug 2]
RSC Anderlecht 1-1 Feyenoord [5-4 pen]
Final [Aug 2]
Celtic 2-1 Dukla Prague
Rotterdam AD Tournament 1982
Semi-finals [Aug 6]
Celtic 4-0 FK Austria Wien
Feyenoord 2-0 Arsenal
Third Place Match [Aug 8]
FK Austria Wien 4-0 Arsenal
Final [Aug 8]
Feyenoord 4-3 Celtic
