Celtic F.C.
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Celtic F.C.
Full nameCeltic Football Club
Nickname(s)The Bhoys (official)
The Celts
The Hoops
Founded1888
GroundCeltic Park,
Glasgow,
Scotland
(
Capacity: 60,837)Chairman
John ReidManager
VacantLeague
Scottish Premier League2008–09Scottish Premier League, 2nd
Current seasonThe Celtic Football Club is a
Scottish football club based in the
Parkhead area of
Glasgow, which currently plays in the
Scottish Premier League. Since the club's formation in 1888, Celtic have won the Scottish championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the
2007/08 season, and the
Scottish Cup 34 times. They won the European Cup in 1967, beating
Internazionale in the final. Celtic's home stadium is
Celtic Park, the biggest football stadium in
Scotland, with a capacity of 60,832. Together with their Glasgow rivals,
Rangers, they form the
Old Firm, one of the most famous and fierce
rivalries in sport. The club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts with white shorts and white socks.
In
1967, Celtic became the first British team to win the European Cup and are one of only two clubs (with
Steaua Bucharest) to have won the competition with a team composed entirely of players from the club's home country.
[1][2] All of the players, subsequently known as the
Lisbon Lions, were born within a 30-mile radius of Parkhead. Celtic won every competition they entered that season: the
Scottish League Championship, the
Scottish Cup, the
Scottish League Cup, the
European Cup and the
Glasgow Cup, the only team to achieve this. Celtic also reached the
1970 European Cup Final, but were beaten by
Feyenoord.
In 2003 Celtic reached the
UEFA Cup final, where they lost 3–2 to
FC Porto. Over 80,000 Celtic supporters travelled to Seville, despite many lacking match tickets. Celtic fans received awards from
UEFA and
FIFA for their behaviour throughout the tournament.
[3][4][5] The club has an estimated fan base of nine million people, including one million in North America.
[6]
Contents
[
hide]
[edit] Formation and history
Main article:
History of Celtic F.C.
Celtic were formally founded in St. Mary's Church Hall on East Rose Street (now Forbes Street),
Calton, Glasgow, by
Brother Walfrid, an Irish
Marist brother, on 6 November 1888.
Brother Walfrid's move to establish the club as a means of fund raising for his charity, The Poor Children's Dinner Table, was largely inspired by the example of
Hibernian who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population thirteen years earlier in
Edinburgh. Walfrid's own suggestion of the name
Celtic was intended to reflect the club's Irish and Scottish origins, and was adopted at the same meeting.
On 28 May 1888, Celtic played their first official match against Rangers and won 5–2 in what was described as a "friendly encounter". Celtic had 8 guest players from Hibernian playing that day. The club's first ever goal was scored by Neil McCallum in this match. During these formative years, Celtic played in a white shirt with a green collar and a red
Celtic cross on the breast, then switched to green and white vertical stripes around 1890. They made the switch to their iconic green-and-white hoops in 1903.
[edit] Recent seasons
[edit] 2006-07
Main article:
Celtic F.C. season 2006-07
Such was the good form of Celtic and the lack of a clear rival in the early stages of the
2006/07 season, that bookmakers
Paddy Power paid out on Celtic as the winners of the SPL on 4 November 2006, only 13 games into the season.
[7] By mid-November Celtic were 11 points clear of their nearest challengers.
Having qualified automatically for the group stage of the
Champions League, Celtic were drawn with
Benfica,
FC Copenhagen, and
Manchester United. Although Celtic lost their 3 away games, a 100% record at home earned them qualification to the knockout stage for the first time since the group format was introduced in 1992/93. Their opponents in the last 16 were
AC Milan. After both legs of the tie ended 0–0, Celtic's Champions League run was ended by a solitary Milan goal in extra-time by
Kaká.
During the January 2007
transfer window Celtic signed Scotland internationals and former
Hearts players
Steven Pressley and
Paul Hartley, full-back
Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé from
Rennes on loan and goalkeeper
Mark Brown from
Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
On 22 April 2007 Celtic won their second consecutive league championship, and 41st overall. The title was secured by an injury-time free-kick from
Shunsuke Nakamura in a 2–1 victory against Kilmarnock.
[8] The result left Celtic 13 points clear of
Rangers with four matches remaining. They finished the season 12 points above Rangers.
On 26 May 2007 Celtic won the Scottish Cup for a record 34th time after
beating Dunfermline 1–0. The winner was scored by Jean-Joël Perrier-Doumbé in the 84th minute.
[edit] 2007-08
Main article:
Celtic F.C. season 2007-08

Last Old Firm clash of the season results in 3:2 victory for Celtic.
Celtic bolstered their side for the 2007/08 season, signing
Scott Brown,
Chris Killen,
Scott McDonald and
Massimo Donati. Skipper
Neil Lennon left for
Nottingham Forest after seven years with the club, with
Stephen McManus taking over the club captaincy.
[9] However Lennon returned to the club later in the season as a coach.
Wikinews has related news:
UEFA Champions League 2007-08: Celtic 1-1 Spartak MoscowCeltic were drawn against Russian side
Spartak Moscow in the third round of qualifying for the
2007/08 Champions League. The tie ended in a
penalty shootout, with
Artur Boruc saving twice to ensure Celtic's passage to the next round. This was Celtic's first European penalty shootout victory.
[10] They competed against AC Milan,
Benfica and
FC Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stages, who they beat 2–1, 1–0, and 2–1 respectively at home, but lost all their away matches. They finished second in their group, ensuring qualification to the knockout stage for the second year in succession. Celtic were drawn against
FC Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. The first leg, played at Celtic Park, saw them defeated 3–2, after being ahead 1–0 and 2–1. In the second leg Barcelona grabbed an early goal through
Xavi and held on for a 1–0 win on the night and 4–2 on aggregate.
The club's first signing of the winter transfer window was
Andreas Hinkel. They followed up by signing Japanese youngster
Koki Mizuno,
Barry Robson from Dundee Utd as well as young striker
Ben Hutchinson from
Middlesbrough and also Greek striker
Georgios Samaras on loan from Manchester City.
Although leading for the early part of the season, Celtic found themselves 7 points behind Rangers having played a game more with only seven weeks of the season left. However, the club made a remarkable comeback, winning their last 7 games, including two victories over rivals Rangers at Celtic park 2–1 and 3–2, and won the league on 22 May 2008, the last day of the season with a 1–0 win over
Dundee United. Meanwhile Rangers lost to Aberdeen at
Pittodrie. The victory was dedicated to the memory of Celtic's coach
Tommy Burns, who had died the previous Thursday. The result also meant Gordon Strachan became only the third Celtic manager to win three consecutive League Championships.
[edit] 2008-09
Main article:
Celtic F.C. season 2008-09
Celtic signed winger
Pat McCourt from
Derry City, and Greek international striker Georgios Samaras, who had spent the second half of the 2007/08 season on loan, signed on a permanent basis. Celtic also added the signings of
Marc Crosas,
Glenn Loovens and the return of
Shaun Maloney from
Aston Villa before the closure of the summer transfer window.
As SPL Champions, Celtic gained automatic entry to the
UEFA Champions League, but after being drawn with
Manchester United,
Villarreal, and
AaB Aalborg, they finished fourth in their group.
In the January transfer window, Celtic signed winger
Niall McGinn from Derry City, left back
Milan Mišůn from
FK Příbram, and midfielder
Willo Flood from
Cardiff while also agreeing a deal to sign Dundee United goalkeeper
Łukasz Załuska on 1 June 2009.
Celtic won the
League Cup Final against Rangers at
Hampden Park on 15 March 2009. This victory marked the end of a 20 year gap since Celtic last defeated Rangers in a domestic cup final. That occasion was the Scottish Cup Final on
20 May 1989.
On the final day of the season, Celtic failed in their quest for a fourth successive title, with Rangers defeating Dundee United 3-0 at Tannadice to win the Championship and Celtic playing out a 0-0 draw with Hearts. The following day, manager
Gordon Strachan resigned from the club.
[edit] Celtic media
The Celtic View, the oldest football club magazine in the United Kingdom.
In 1965 Celtic began publishing
The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football
[11].
In 2004 Celtic launched its own digital TV channel
Celtic TV available in the UK through
Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. Since 2002 Celtic's Internet TV channel,
Channel67 (previously known as Celtic Replay), has broadcast Celtic's own content worldwide, offers live match coverage to subscribers outside the UK, and now provides 3 online channels.
[edit] Old Firm and sectarianism
Main article:
Sectarianism in Glasgow
Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish extraction, who are both predominantly
Catholic. Fans of rivals Rangers tended to come from Scottish
Protestant backgrounds and were supporters of
British Unionism. As a result both clubs attracted the support of opposing factions in the
political difficulties of Northern Ireland, which intensified the rivalry in Scotland.
In recent times both clubs have taken measures to combat sectarianism. Working alongside the
Scottish Parliament, church groups and community organisations, the Old Firm has clamped down on sectarian songs, inflammatory flag-waving and troublesome supporters, using increased levels of policing and
surveillance.
[12][13] In 1996 Celtic launched their
Bhoys Against Bigotry campaign, later followed by
Youth Against Bigotry to "educate the young on having ... respect for all aspects of the community - all races, all colours, all creeds", according to then chief executive Ian McLeod.
[14] For example, the club acted swiftly when it banned a supporter who was pictured waving a pro
IRA banner at an Old Firm match at Ibrox Park on 9 May 2009.
[15]
[edit] Records
- The Scottish Cup final win against Aberdeen in 1937 was attended by a crowd of 146,433 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which remains a record for a club match in European football
- Celtic currently hold the UK record for an unbeaten run in professional football: 62 games (49 won, 13 drawn), from 13 November 1915 until 21 April 1917 - a total of 17 months and four days in all (they lost at home to Kilmarnock on the penultimate day of the season)
- Celtic hold the SPL record for an unbeaten run of home matches (77), spanning from 2001 to 2004
- Record home attendance: 92,000 against Rangers on 1 January 1938. A 3–0 victory for Celtic
- Most capped current player: 83, Shunsuke Nakamura
- Most capped player (Scotland): 102, Kenny Dalglish
- Record appearances: Billy McNeill, 790 from 1957–1975
- Most goals in a season (all competitions): Jimmy McGrory, 59 (1926/1927) (49 League/10 Scottish Cup)
- Most goals in a season (league only): Jimmy McGrory, 50 (1935/36)
- Record scorer: Jimmy McGrory, 468 (1922/23 - 1937/38)
- Most goals scored in one Scottish top-flight league match by one player: 8 goals by Jimmy McGrory against Dunfermline in 9–0 win on 14 January 1928
- First British club to reach the final of the European Cup
- Only Scottish, and first British team to win the European Cup
- First club in history to win the European Cup with a team made up only of players from the club's home country (in Celtic's case, all born within a 25 mile radius of Celtic Park)
- The highest score in a domestic cup final: Celtic 7–1 Rangers, Scottish League Cup Final 1957[16]
- The highest attendance for a European club competition match: Celtic v Leeds United in the European Cup semi-final, 15 April 1970 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Official attendance 136,505
- Fastest hat-trick in European Club Football - Mark Burchill vs Jeunesse Esch in 2000, a record at the time.[17]
- Earliest SPL Championship won. Twice won with 6 games remaining, against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2004 and Hearts on 5 April 2006
- First weekly club publication in the UK, The Celtic View
- Biggest margin of victory in the SPL. 8–1 against Dunfermline Athletic, February 2006 and 7-0 against St Mirren on 28 February 2009
- Celtic and Hibernian hold the record for the biggest transfer fee between two Scottish clubs. Celtic bought Scott Brown from Hibernian on 16 May 2007 for £4.4m[18][19]
- First European club to sign a player from the Indian sub-continent
- Appeared in 14 consecutive League Cup finals, from season 1964/65 to 1977/78 inclusive, a world record for successive appearances in the final of a major football competition
[edit] National honours

Trophy case at
Celtic Park