SNS GroupCeltic’s captain and manager have been hailing the “phenomenal” achievements of the club’s greatest ever side on the 55th anniversary of their European Cup win.
Jock Stein led the side that would become known as the Lisbon Lions to a 2-1 final victory over Inter Milan in the Portuguese capital on May 25, 1967.
On Wednesday Callum McGregor praised the influence the famous team still has on the current squad and management staff and the example they set to players.
And Ange Postecoglou said their achievements remain “the greatest of all”.
The club won every tournament they entered that year making them the first club in history to win the treble of league title, domestic cup and European cup and the only team ever to win the quadruple with the domestic league cup added.
Only another six teams, Ajax, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Manchester United, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven have won the treble since.
And to make the achievement even more impressive it was won with a team of eleven men born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park and Ayrshire born forward Bobby Lennox being the only one who wasn’t from Glasgow.
SNS GroupThe remaining members of the Lisbon Lions including Lennox, Jim Craig and current kitman John Clark, who all started the game, as well as John Fallon and John Hughes who were part of the squad, attended a special celebratory lunch at Celtic Park on Wednesday.
The only other living player who started the game, Willie Wallace, joined through a video call from Australia where he now lives.
Speaking at the event Mcgregor, who captained the current side to the Scottish Premiership title earlier this month, said: “It is always a privilege to be in the company of this great team and their families and it really is an honour to be with them to mark this anniversary.
“The Lions will always be our example, for what they did on the pitch but also for the character and the humility they have always shown as people.
“To become the first British team to lift the greatest prize of all in club football is quite phenomenal.
“The Lions’ achievement is unbeatable and on behalf of the current team we thank them for all they have given Celtic.”
And Postecoglou said: “To be manager of a club with such a special history is a real honour and the Lions are fundamental to this history – their achievement was the greatest of all.
“It is has been a real privilege to meet members of the team since I have been at the club – great men who gave so much to the club.
“Rightly, their wonderful success should be celebrated today.”
The legendary side’s place in history is secured and the club’s name remains engraved, alongside its 21 other winners, on the trophy that Real Madrid and Liverpool will play for in this weekend’s Champions League final.
No other team from a country of less than 10 million people has won the tournament in its 66-year history.
Celtic will return to the Champions League group stage next season for the first time since 2017.
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