Football’s greats
Over the years some of the greatest players the world of football has ever seen have appeared at Celtic Park. They have both wowed and tormented a home support which, while always fiercely partisan, will never tire of watching the greatest exponents of the beautiful game – be they friend or foe.
Celtic’s fame and long European tradition means that Hoops fans have regularly had the opportunity to witness some of the greatest club sides and players to ever grace the game. From Di Stefano to Messi, many of football’s most iconic performers have come to Glasgow’s East End to play at the home of the Hoops. An arena of which legendary manager Willie Maley proudly remarked: “Celtic Park, where a man is judged on football alone”.
Here then is a chronological list of some of the great footballers who have emerged on to the Parkhead pitch from the away dressing room.
It is a list which proves, as that song in honour of Mr Maley declares:
#…and most of the football greats,
have passed through Parkhead’s gates,
all to play football,
the Glasgow Celtic way!#
Players
1. Alfredo Di Stefano 1962
In 1962 the great Real Madrid team visited Celtic Park for a challenge match which attracted a marvellous crowd of 72,000. The five times European Cup winners turned on a great show to win 3-1 but the great Alfredo did not score on this occasion. Before the emergence of Pele, Alfredo Di Stefano was regarded as the pre-eminent player in world football and his skills enthralled the sporting Celtic Park crowd who cheered the Real side on an unforgettable night. Despite playing for an incredible three countries – his native Argentina, Colombia and Spain – he would never grace a World Cup finals with his presence. Di Stefano would memorably invite the new European champions to Madrid for his testimonial in 1967 (a night where a wee ginger winger from Viewpark upstaged him), and was even rumoured to have been courted by Celtic in the sixties!
2. Ferenc Puskas 1962
If Di Stefano was Real Madrid’s generalissimo then the Galloping Major was his right hand man. Puskas had been in the British footballing conscience since the Magical Magyars’ famous visit to Wembley in 1953, and played in the 1954 World Cup final when Hungary lost to West Germany in what was regarded as a shocking upset. He was also an orchestrator of Real’s great success of the 1950’s and early 1960’s, no more evident than on the night he scored four goals against Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden to give Real their fifth European Cup. The fans who turned out on that warm September night regarded it as a privilege to have seen him play on Parkhead’s hallowed turf.
3. Bobby Charlton 1966 and 1974
Matt Busby’s Manchester United side played against Celtic in a pre season friendly on August 6 1966. The soon to be Lisbon Lions destroyed them by a 4-1 scoreline and gave note of what was to come for the rest of the season. Charlton had won the World Cup with England at Wembley only seven days previously and, understandably, was not on his best form. In August 1974 Bobby returned to Celtic Park as player manager of Preston North End for another friendly. He was given a wonderful ovation from the Parkhead crowd who even cheered as he scored the winning goal late in the second half.
4. George Best 1966 and 1980
Manchester United lost soundly to Celtic in the 1966 friendly and George Best is said to have had rather a quiet game. 14 years later and Best turned out at Celtic Park for Hibernian in a Premier League match. Best spent the best part of a year at Easter Road but only played once at Parkhead due to Hibs’ relegation in May 1980. He was a shadow of the player that the fans had recalled at his peak with Manchester United and Northern Ireland and, as in 1966, Celtic won comprehensively, this time by 4-0. He is another legendary figure never to play at a World Cup.
5. Josef Masopust 1967
The Czech internationalist was elected European Footballer of the Year in 1962 – the same year as he scored in Czechoslovakia’s 3-1 defeat to Brazil in the World Cup final in Santiago, Chile. In 1967 he appeared in the European Cup semi final at Parkhead for Dukla Prague, when Celtic won 3-1 to put one foot on the plane to Lisbon. In the return leg Celtic secured that passage after a 0-0 draw and Masopust refused to shake hands with the Celtic players. However, he came into their dressing room to apologise profusely, saying that at the age of 36 his last chance of appearing in a European final had now gone.
6. Dragan Dzajic 1968
In November 1968 Red Star Belgrade came to Glasgow in the European Cup. Dzajic was Red Star’s best player and had led Yugoslavia to the final of the 1968 European Championship (where they lost narrowly to Italy after a replay), scoring to overcome the world champions England in the semis. On the night he was totally overshadowed by a rampant Jimmy Johnstone, who ran riot in Celtic’s 5-1 victory, but there is no doubt that Dzajic was one of the finest players in European football at this time.
7. Gianni Rivera 1969
The AC Milan play-maker was regarded as the playboy of Italian football with his good looks and stylish play. Milan came to Parkhead in March 1969 for a European Cup quarter final tie and inspired his side to a 1-0 win (the first leg at the San Siro had finished 0-0) which helped them on their way to winning the European Cup that season – his second medal at that level. Rivera was European Player of the Year in 1969, helped Italy to victory in the 1968 European Championships and played for the Azzurri at four World Cups (memorably scoring the winner in the 1970 semi-final against West Germany).
8. Billy Bremner 1969
The boyhood Celtic fan appeared for Leeds at Parkhead in a pre season friendly on 5 August 1969 in a 1-1 draw. No-one knew it that day in 1969, but 8 months later the teams were to be drawn against each other in the 1970 European Cup semi final. Celtic’s home game was moved to Hampden to accommodate the 136,000 crowd – which remains a European record until this day – who witnessed a Johnstone virtuoso performance as Celtic defeated the English champions and stunned the English press who thought Don Revie’s Leeds invincible. He would eventually captain Leeds to a European Cup final five years later, but amidst controversy and rioting in Paris they fell to the defending champions Bayern Munich (a side containing great players such as Beckenbauer, Hoeness and Muller).
9. Eusebio 1969
In November 1969 the great Eusebio came to Parkhead on European Cup business with Benfica, but it was Gemmell, Wallace and Hood who took the honours on the night by scoring in Celtic’s 3-0 win in front of 75,000 fans. In 1974 Benfica returned to Parkhead for a friendly in aid of UNICEF but it was a major disappointment that the great man was not able to play through injury. He won two European Cups with Benfica and was the 1965 European Player of the Year.
10. Sandro Mazzola 1972.
Mazzola had already scored against Celtic in the 1967 European Cup final and did so again for Inter in the 1972 European Cup semi final at Celtic Park. With the game deadlocked at 0-0 after two legs and extra time Mazzola once again slotted home from the spot as he inspired his side to victory in the penalty shoot-out, Dixie Deans having missed for the Celts. Mazzola won two European Cups with Internazionale as well as a European Championship with Italy in 1968.
11. Kevin Keegan 1974.
Liverpool came north to play in Billy McNeill’s testimonial match in August 1974. Keegan had a marvellous partnership with John Toshack and it was Toshack who scored Liverpool’s goal that night in a 1-1 draw. Keegan departed to Hamburg in 1977 and unfortunately Liverpool snapped up Kenny Dalglish from Celtic as his replacement (at a bargain price to boot). Keegan won the European Cup in 1977 with Liverpool and was European Player of the Year in 1978 and 1979.
12. Dino Zoff 1981.
Zoff had previously been at the end of a 5-1 hammering at Easter Road whilst a Napoli player but on 16 September 1981 he appeared at Parkhead as the goalkeeper of Italian giants Juventus. Celtic won 1-0 and it could have been more if not for the efforts of Zoff. Nine months later at the age of 40 he captained Italy to their unforgettable World Cup triumph in Spain when Italy beat West Germany 3-1, becoming the only Italian player to win both a European Championship and a World Cup.
13. Johan Cruyff 1982.
Cruyff was another who had appeared to have been deprived of appearing at Celtic Park when Celtic moved their 1971 European Cup quarter final tie against the great Ajax side to Hampden. In 1982 however he had returned to the Dutch giants at the age of 35 and gave an enthralling display as the old head of a young Ajax squad. He helped create the Ajax goals but also fouled Tommy Burns for a penalty from which Charlie Nicholas scored. Cruyff was regarded as the world’s greatest player between the end of the era of Pele and the emergence of Maradona. He won three European Cups with the Dutch side in his first stint and was also European Footballer of the Year three times. He is considered one of the greatest players never to lift the World Cup though, with the Netherlands faltering at the final hurdle in 1974.
14. Lothar Matthaus 1997.
Bayern Munich paid Peter Grant the great honour of turning out as opposition in his testimonial game in February 1997. Matthaus captained his side to a 2-1 win on the night. The inspirational German captained his country to the 1990 World Cup in Italy and was World Player of the Year in 1991, though was denied European Cup success in both 1987 by FC Porto and – more memorably – in 1999 by Manchester United.
15. Alessandro Del Piero 2001.
Juventus visited Parkhead in 2001 in Champions League tie which brought back memories of the great Celtic European adventures under Jock Stein. Del Piero scored a brilliant 30 yard free kick but Celtic rallied to win 4-3 in a memorable night under the Paradise lights. He gave a wonderful show that night (only upstaged by the magnificent display by Celtic’s Lubo Moravcik) showing his skills that brought him Champions League medals with Juve and World Cup success with Italy in 2006.
16. Steven Gerrard 2003.
Celtic were well on the road to Seville when Liverpool visited Parkhead for a UEFA Cup quarter final tie in March 2003 hoping to end the Bhoys’ European journey. Gerrard was by then the driving force of both the Anfield club and the England midfield, although on the night he had a quiet match. The game finished 1-1 with Celtic winning 2-0 in the return leg on a never to be forgotten night on Merseyside. Gerrard was inspirational in Liverpool’s stunning Champions League final victory over AC Milan in 2005 in Istanbul. He later sullied his decent reputation with the Celtic support by taking a job elsewhere in Glasgow, but as a player you can’t deny his talent.
17. Oliver Kahn 2003.
The distinctive German goalkeeper appeared at Parkhead on European duty with Bayern Munich in November 2003. Although Celtic pressed all night they were denied by the a fine display by Kahn in the Bayern goal and the game finished 0-0. Kahn had a wonderful career and won the Champions League with Bayern in 2001 as well as the European Championship with Germany (on English soil no less) in 1996 and a World Cup runners-up medal in 2002.
18. Ronaldinho 2004 and 2008.
The Brazilian superstar came to Parkhead twice in 2004 – for a UEFA Cup tie with Barcelona and a Champions League game in the following season. He gave great performances on both occasions and had the admiration of the Celtic Park crowd with his footwork and trickery. In the second game he was substituted for the legendary Henrik Larsson, who went on to score much to the dismay of the fans who had cheered for him only months previously. On his final visit to Glasgow in 2008 he threaded a ball through to Thierry Henry for Barcelona’s second equaliser but was largely upstaged by a 20 year old Argentinian in Los Cules colours – more on him later. Ronaldinho was a World Cup winner with Brazil in 2002 in addition to winning the World Player of the Year award twice.
19. Paolo Maldini 2004 and 2007
Widely regarded as one of the finest full-backs to have played the game, the great Paolo Maldini captained AC Milan in two Champions League matches at Celtic Park which both ended in 0-0 draws. Maldini was the typical Italian defender – classy but with a rugged edge when required. It was a genuine thrill to see such an accomplished player in action against Celtic. In a magnificent career Maldini won 5 EC/Champions Leagues and was European Footballer of the Year twice, yet could only manage runners-up medals with Italy at the 1994 World Cup and Euro 2000.
20. Cristiano Ronaldo 2006 and 2008
Despite being a controversial figure due to his perceived primadonna nature and penchant for playacting, it would be churlish to deny that Ronaldo is only rivalled by Lionel Messi as the best in the modern game. He has appeared twice on the hallowed Parkhead turf, both times in the colours of Manchester United. He was overshadowed by Shunsuke Nakamura’s sublime free kick on his first appearance though was instrumental in United’s late penalty award – it was his free kick which ricocheted off the arm of Maloney. On his second visit to Parkhead he was a defending European champion. It was his shot which Artur Boruc failed to hold, falling to Giggs and gifting United their equaliser, but his performance was marred with diving and gamesmanship. At the end of that season he made a world-record £80 million move to Real Madrid, winning four more Champions League medals to go with the one he collected at United and helped Portugal to their first ever international title at Euro 2016. Ronaldo has won the European and World Player of the Year awards numerous times, and would possibly have secured more if not for the brilliance of the afore-mentioned Messi.
The brilliant Lionel Messi is regularly lauded one of the greatest ever to play the game alongside Pele, Maradona and Cruyff. He first turned out at Celtic Park for Barcelona in 2008 in a Champions League last 16 tie. Although only 20 years old the Argentinian put on a wonder show and inspired Barca to a 3-2 victory scoring a glorious individual goal in the process. He returned with Barca to Paradise on Champions League duty four years later on the night the Bhoys would celebrate their 125th anniversary. His late goal could not cancel out those of Victor Wanyama and 18 year old Tony Watt as Celtic secured one of their greatest European results.
Messi missed out on Barca’s trip to Paradise one year on from that historic night but he would once again grace the Parkhead turf in Brendan Rodgers’ maiden Champions League campaign. He was once again in fine fettle, scoring twice – including once from the penalty spot – and causing no end of issues for the defence as the Hoops tumbled out of Europe. He has won four Champions League titles and countless Spanish honours in his career as well as being both European and World Player of the Year on multiple occasions, although international success with Argentina had infamously eluded him until Argentina finally won the Copa America in 2021.
22. Neymar 2013, 2016 and 2017
Brazil have had many incredible players but also plenty of primadonna superstars, and Neymar is probably the biggest of the latter albeit not denying his obvious talent.
He has had a tumultuous relationship with the Parkhead faithful to say the very least. On his first visit to Glasgow after a £49m transfer from Santos, a tussle with Scott Brown saw the captain sent off, and he later played a role in Barca’s winner. Come 2016 he was in good form to set up the legendary Messi for Barcelona’s first goal, but should’ve seen red for a rotten challenge on Mikael Lustig.
A year after that, he was no longer playing second-fiddle to Messi but the world’s most expensive player. Paris Saint-Germain forked out a ridiculous €222 million on him and, given our lack of luck with Champions League draws, of course the Bhoys would be the first team to face him in the European arena. On a sorry night for Brendan Rodgers’ domestic Invincibles, he scored the opener and was always a danger (although was also booked for diving, quelle surprise) as the mega-rich French side put five past us at home in our worst home defeat for over 120 years. A small crumb of comfort came in the form of stand-in right back Tony Ralston who, although constantly troubled by the Brazilian, was unawed by the challenge posed and indeed laughed in the face of the headline-grabber.