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| Full name | The Celtic Football Club | |||
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| Nickname(s) | The Bhoys (official), the Hoops, the Celts | |||
| Founded | 6 November 1887[1] | |||
| Ground | Celtic Park Glasgow Scotland (Capacity: 60,837) |
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| Chairman |  John Reid |
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| Manager |  Tony Mowbray |
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| League | Scottish Premier League | |||
| 2008–09 | Scottish Premier League, 2nd | |||
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 Current season |
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The Celtic Football Club (pronounced /ˈsɛltɪk/) (LSE: CCP) is a Scottish football club based in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, which currently plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have won the Scottish championship on 42 occasions, most recently in the 2007/08 season, and the Scottish Cup 34 times. 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, and only Scottish team, to win the European Cup:[2][3] the players, subsequently known as the Lisbon Lions, were all 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. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final, but were beaten by Feyenoord 2-1.
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 at the match.[4][5][6][7] In April 2008 the club was estimated to have a fan base of nine million people, including one million in North America.[8]
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 1887. 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, with 7 of Celtic's first eleven players signing from Hibs. 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".[citation needed] During their 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 green and white hoops in 1903.
1967 was Celtic's most successful ever year. The club won every competition they entered: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the European Cup. Managed by Jock Stein, and captained by Billy McNeill, the club defeated Inter Milan 2–1 in Lisbon, Portugal on 25 May 1967. Celtic thus became the first British team, and the first from outside Spain, Portugal and Italy to win the competition. They remain the only Scottish team to have reached the final. The winning players subsequently became known as the 'Lisbon Lions'. The East Stand at Celtic Park is dedicated to the Lisbon Lions, and the West Stand to Jock Stein. Celtic reached the European Cup Final again in 1970, but were beaten 2–1 by Feyenoord at the San Siro in Milan.
Stein managed Celtic to nine straight Scottish League wins from 1966 to 1974, establishing a world record which was not equalled until 1997.
In 2003, Celtic reached the final of the UEFA Cup, and around 80,000 Celtic fans travelled to watch the game in Seville in Spain.[9][10] Celtic lost the match 3–2 to FC Porto after extra time. The Celtic fans were awarded prestigious Fair Play Awards from both FIFA and UEFA "for their extraordinarily loyal and sporting behaviour".
See also List of Celtic F.C. seasons
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.[11] However Lennon returned to the club later in the season as a coach.
Celtic 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 twice saving a penalty to ensure Celtic's passage to the next round. This was Celtic's first European penalty shootout victory.[12] 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 United as well as young striker Ben Hutchinson from Middlesbrough and also Greek International striker Georgios Samaras on loan from Manchester City, who signed permanently at the beginning of the following season.
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.
Celtic signed winger Paddy 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 Aalborg, they finished fourth in their group.
As the new year of 2009 rolled in, The Hoops found themselves 7 points clear of their Glasgow rivals, just days after they had beat them 1-0 at Ibrox thanks to a second half strike from Scott McDonald. So far, they had proved formidable at home, the only defeat at Celtic Park being a 4-2 reversal to Rangers in August.
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, in extra-time, goals coming from defender Darren O'Dea, and a late penalty from Aiden McGeady. 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.
After a poor run of form in 2009, which saw them record only 2 away wins during the rest of their league campaign, they saw that 7-pont lead slip to just one point in early May. Although Celtic still looked favourites to retain the Championship, this league lead disappeared completely after a 1-0 loss to Rangers on 9 May.
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 and was replaced by former Celtic player Tony Mowbray, who had been manager of West Bromwich Albion, a few weeks later.
In the summer transfer window, Celtic signed Marc-Antoine Fortune for around £3.8million along with AS Nancy team mate Landry N'Guemo who arrived on a season-long loan, Daniel Fox from Coventry City for an undisclosed fee and Josh Thompson from Stockport County. Shunsuke Nakamura left the club to join Espanyol, and Paul Hartley joined Bristol City. Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Bobo Balde also left the club as their contracts had not been renewed. Celtic won their first game, and the Translink Cup, 3-0 against Brisbane Roar in Australia under Tony Mowbray. On 26 July, they added their second piece of silverware, lifting the Wembley Cup, after beating Egyptian and African Champions Al-Ahly 5-0 and Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 while fielding a side full of reserve players, to top the group.
In the third round of qualifying for the Champions League, Celtic faced Dynamo Moscow at Celtic Park on 29 July, losing 1-0, but won 2-0 in the second leg in Moscow. Celtic lost 0-2 at home against Arsenal in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off, with Arsenal becoming the first English team in 26 years to beat Celtic at Celtic Park. Arsenal won the second leg on 26 August 3-1. The loss meant that Celtic entered the group stage of the inaugural UEFA Europa League, and were drawn in Group C alongside SV Hamburg, Hapoel Tel Aviv and old European Cup Winners Cup rivals Rapid Vienna. Celtic finished 3rd in the group with 6 points and failed to reach the knockout stages.
In the January transfer window Celtic added to their squad by signing Ki Sung-Yong from FC Seoul[13], Jos Hooiveld from AIK Solna,[14] Norwegian teenager Thomas Rogne from Stabæk[15] and Morten Rasmussen from Brøndby.[16] On transfer deadline day Celtic added defender Edson Braafheid and strikers Diomansy Kamara[17] and Robbie Keane[18] to their squad on loan until the end of the season.
Defender Gary Caldwell was sold to Wigan Athletic,[19] Danny Fox moved on to Burnley,[20] while Barry Robson, Willo Flood, Chris Killen,[21] Stephen McManus[22] and Scott McDonald[23] joined former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan at Middlesbrough.
In the Scottish League Cup Celtic beat Falkirk 4-0 at home before losing 1-0 to Hearts in the quarter-final. Celtic started their Scottish Cup campaign with a 1-0 win away to Morton before beating Dunfermline Athletic 4-2.
By 28 February, Celtic were in second position in the SPL, 10 points behind leaders Rangers.
In 1965 Celtic began publishing The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football [24].
In 2004 Celtic launched its own digital TV channel Celtic TV available in the UK through Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. Due to the collapse of Setanta in the UK in June 2009, Celtic TV is no longer broadcasting, although the club are hoping to find a new broadcast partner soon. 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.
Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish extraction, who are both mainly Catholic. Traditionally fans of rivals Rangers came from Scottish or Northern Ireland 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.[25][26] 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.[27] In 2002 McLeod then wrote to all season ticket holders concerning chants at the clubs matches.[28]
* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2–2 draw
The Ferencváros Vase (also known as The Budapest Cup)[33] is a football trophy won by Celtic on a European tour in 1914.
Celtic arrived in Budapest and played Burnley in what evolved into a bad tempered affair. Ferencváros had agreed to award a trophy to the winner but the match ended in a draw and both teams refused to play extra time. A replay couldn't be organised in Budapest as Celtic were travelling back to Glasgow. After winning the coin toss to play the game at home, Burnley played host to Celtic. The visitors won 2-0 and part of the gate money was sent to the Hungarian Charity Fund, however Celtic were not presented with the trophy, which had been sold to raise funds for the war effort.
Seventy four years later, in 1988, Celtic were celebrating their centenary and Ferencváros remembered they owed the club a trophy. In the absence of the original trophy they brought a decorative white porcelain vase, fashioned in the traditional shape of a football cup, to Glasgow. It was presented at Celtic's centenary championship winning match against Dundee in April 1988.
The Victory In Europe Cup was a one-off football tournament won by Celtic on 9 May 1945.
To celebrate Victory in Europe Day in 1945, the Glasgow Charity Cup committee presented the Victory in Europe Cup to be awarded to the winners of a charity cup final. Rangers were invited to participate but declined as they had a forthcoming cup tie against Motherwell. This allowed Queen's Park to step in and play Celtic. The game was well contested in front of a large crowd and Celtic won only by the margin of a corner kick after the teams could not be separated by goals.
The winning Celtic team was: Miller, Hogg, P. McDonald, Lynch, Mallan, McPhail, Paton, M. MacDonald, Gallacher, Evans, McLaughlin and Dey.
After this win Celtic endured one of the worst periods in their history only avoiding relegation on the last day of the season in the 1947-48 campaign.
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy McGrory | 1922–1937 | 550 |
| 2 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979-1980 |
273 |
| 3 | Henrik Larsson  |
1997–2004 | 242 |
| 4 | Stevie Chalmers | 1958–1971 | 231 |
| 5 | Jimmy Quinn | 1900–1917 | 217 |
| 6 | Patsy Gallacher  |
1911–1926 | 192 |
| 7 | John Hughes | 1960–1971 | 189 |
| 8 | Sandy McMahon | 1891–1903 | 171 |
| 9 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 168 |
| 10 | Kenny Dalglish | 1969–1977 | 167 |
| Rank | Name | Career | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jimmy McGrory | 1922–1937 | 397 |
| 2 | Jimmy Quinn | 1900–1917 | 187 |
| 3 | Patsy Gallacher |
1911–1926 | 186 |
| 4 | Henrik Larsson |
1997–2004 | 174 |
| 6 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979–1980 |
167 |
| 6 | Stevie Chalmers | 1958–1971 | 159 |
| 7 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 144 |
| 8 | Sandy McMahon | 1891–1903 | 130 |
| 9 | Adam McLean | 1917–1928 | 128 |
| 10 | John Hughes | 1960–1971 | 115 |
| Rank | Name | Career | Apps |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Billy McNeill | 1957–1975 | 790 |
| 2 | Paul McStay | 1981–1997 | 678 |
| 3 | Roy Aitken | 1976–1990 | 669 |
| 4 | Danny McGrain | 1970–1987 | 661 |
| 5 | Packie Bonner |
1978–1995 | 642 |
| 6 | Bobby Lennox | 1961–1978 1979–1980 |
587 |
| 7 | Bobby Evans | 1944–1960 | 548 |
| 8 | Jimmy Johnstone | 1962–1975 | 515 |
| 9 | Jimmy McMenemy | 1902–1920 | 515 |
| 10 | Tommy Burns | 1975–1989 | 504 |
| Name | Scottish League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | European Cup | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willie Maley 1897–1940 |
16 | 14 | — | — | 30 |
| Jimmy McStay 1940–1945 |
0 | 0 | — | — | 0 |
| Jimmy McGrory 1945–1965 |
1 | 2 | 2 | — | 5 |
| Jock Stein 1965–1978 |
10 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 25 |
| Billy McNeill 1978–1983 |
3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| David Hay 1983–1987 |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Billy McNeill 1987–1991 |
1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Liam Brady 1991–1993 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Macari 1993–1994 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Burns 1994–1997 |
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Wim Jansen 1997–1998  |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
Jozef Vengloš 1998–1999  |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| John Barnes 1999–2000 |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kenny Dalglish 2000 |
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Martin O'Neill 2000–2005  |
3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Gordon Strachan 2005–2009 |
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Tony Mowbray 2009–present |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For Celtic's reserve and youth squads, see here
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Chairman | John Reid |
| Chief Executive | Peter Lawwell |
| Director of Finance | Eric J. Riley |
| Non-Executive Director | Ian Livingston |
| Non-Executive Director | Dermot Desmond |
| Non-Executive Director | Eric Hagman |
| Non-Executive Director | Thomas E. Allison |
| Non-Executive Director | Brian McBride[35] |
| Non-Executive Director | Brian Wilson |
| Commercial Director | Adrian Filby |
| Director of International Developments | Jason Hughes |
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Tony Mowbray |
| Assistant Manager | Mark Venus |
| First Team Coach | Peter Grant |
| Reserve Team Coach | Neil Lennon |
| Reserve Team Assistant Coach | Danny McGrain |
| Head of Youth and Academy | Chris McCart |
| Head of Intermediate Academy | John McLaughlan |
| Under 19 Coach | Stephen Frail |
| Under 17 Coach | Miodrag Krivokapić |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Stevie Woods |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Chris Hannah |
| Club Doctor | David Pugh[36] |
| Head of Sports Science | Dan Harris |
| Physiotherapist | Graham Parsons |
| Physiotherapist | Andrew Robson |
| Physiotherapist | Ross Harvie |
| Kit Controller | John Clark |
| Football Development Manager | John Park |
| Chief Scout | Tommy O'Neill |
As of January 2010, Celtic are sponsored by:[37]
See List of Celtic F.C. players for players with over 100 appearances, List of Celtic F.C. international footballers and Category:Celtic FC players
So far 18 Celtic players and managers have entered the Scottish Football Hall of Fame:[38]
In the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame 5 Celtic players have been selected, they are:
| Greatest ever Celtic team |
The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002:[41]
Ronnie Simpson Danny McGrain Tommy Gemmell Bobby Murdoch Paul McStay MBE Billy McNeill MBE - Voted Celtic's greatest ever Captain Bertie Auld Jimmy Johnstone - Voted Celtic's greatest ever player Bobby Lennox MBE Kenny Dalglish MBE Henrik Larsson MBE - Voted Celtic's greatest ever foreign player| Preceded by Real Madrid |
European Cup Winner 1967 |
Succeeded by Manchester United |
| Celtic | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | The Celtic Football Club | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Bhoys, The Hoops, The Celts | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1888 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity 60,832) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman | John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| League | Scottish Premier League | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008/09 | Scottish Premier League, 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Celtic F.C. is a football club in Scotland playing in the Scottish Premier League.
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   | Official club website - Celtic FC Splash |
| | BBC Sport Celtic portal - BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | C | Celtic |
| | E-Tims online fanzine - ETims Online Celtic Fanzine |
| | Not the View fanzine - not the view celtic fanzine online |
| | Kilmarnock 1-2 Celtic - BBC SPORT | Football | Scottish Premier | Kilmarnock 1-2 Celtic |
| | 1957 Celtic in Seventh Heaven - Lone Star Celtic Supporters Club - Dallas, Texas - Glasgow Celtic FC - 1888 |
| | Forest win race to capture Lennon - BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Nottm Forest | Forest win race to capture Lennon |
| | Profile of McBride - Amazon becomes its own best-seller - Telegraph |
| | Celtic to launch credit card for US fans - - Scotland on Sunday |
| | Open Football Celtic - Celtic Football Club News and Results Football.co.uk |
| | Glasgow University CSC - GUCSC Home Page |
 | Outrage after Celtic fans' champion defends pro-IRA chants at matches - - Scotsman.com News |
| | Celtic Trust in IRA war of words - BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Celtic | Celtic Trust in IRA war of words |
| | Official website - See the score? |
| | Rangers told to axe 'Billy Boys' - BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Rangers | Rangers told to axe 'Billy Boys' |
| | Guardian article on pronunciation of 'Celtic' - Has anyone scored a header from outside the box? | Football | guardian.co.uk |
| | Celtic FC news page on Carling.com - Celtic FC news and results from Carling |
| | Celtic fined for bottle throwing - BBC SPORT | Football | My Club | Celtic | Celtic fined for bottle throwing |
| | Full List - UEFA Team Ranking 2007 |
| | Full List - UEFA Country Ranking 2007 |
| | Celtic Fansite and Forums - planet-celtic.com |
| | Glasgow, GLG Arenas & Stadiums - Glasgow, GLG Arenas & Stadiums: Arenas & Stadiums in Glasgow, GLG, Scotland |
| | Vital Football Celtic - Celtic Football Club News. |
| | The top 10, and bottom 10 results in the history of Glasgow Celtic FC - The best and poorest results in the history of Glasgow Celtic Fc |
| | Did German MPs really encourage footballers to go topless? - Football: did German MPs really encourage footballers to go topless? | Football | guardian.co.uk |
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