Here, 67 Hail Hail look back on the three major European finals Celtic have competed in throughout their history.
All European finals Celtic have played in
1967 European Cup Final
- Celtic 2-1 Inter Milan
- May 25, 1967
- Estádio Nacional, Lisbon
Celtic’s greatest ever achievement. One of the most important matches in the club’s entire history. The day the Lisbon Lions were crowned.
Their previous best performances in Europe came in 1964 and 1966 in the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, as Celtic reached the semi-finals on both occasions, losing to MTK Budapest and Liverpool respectively.
The 1967 European Cup final was Celtic’s first European final in their first ever season of competing in UEFA’s flagship club competition.
| Round | Opponent | Home Leg | Away Leg | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | FC Zürich | 3–1 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Second Round | Nantes | 3–1 | 3–1 | 6–2 |
| Quarter-Final | Vojvodina | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 |
| Semi-Final | Dukla Prague | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 |
| Final (Lisbon) | Inter Milan | – | – | 2–1 |
They lost just one game on their way to the final, which came against Yugoslavian side FK Vojvodina away from home.
In the final, Inter Milan opened the scoring after seven minutes through Sandro Mazzola’s penalty, as Celtic went into the half-time interval 1-0 down.
But Tommy Gemmell equalised after 63 minutes and striker Stevie Chalmers scored the winner to make Celtic the first British team to lift the European Cup.
Incredibly, every member of the 15-man squad was born within 30 miles of Celtic Park in Glasgow, with 13 of them born within 10 miles of the stadium.
1970 European Cup Final
- Feyenoord 2-1 Celtic (AET)
- May 6, 1970
- San Siro, Milan
Celtic surpassed Basel, Benfica, Fiorentina and Leeds United on their way to the 1970 final, with the winner of the Benfica tie decided by a coin toss after a 3-3 aggregate scoreline!
The semi-final home leg against Leeds United was played at Hampden Park. Why? Hampden boasted a bigger capacity than Parkhead and Celtic were keen to maximise their support and revenue.
With 136,505 fans attending the occasion, it remains the most attended European Cup/Champions League game in history.
| Round | Opponent | Home Leg | Away Leg | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | Basel | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Second Round | Benfica | 3–0 | 0–3 (aet) * | 3–3 (won coin toss) |
| Quarter-Final | Fiorentina | 3–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| Semi-Final | Leeds United | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Final (Milan) | Feyenoord | – | – | 1–2 (aet) |
The 1970 final came three years after beating Inter Milan, with Celtic playing at the Italian club’s home stadium against Dutch giants Feyenoord.
Future Celtic manager Wim Jansen started for Feyenoord in the final, while the Hoops XI was largely made up of Lisbon Lions.
Celtic’s Tommy Gemmell opened the scoring at the San Siro after a cleverly worked free-kick routine. Gemmell remains one of only three British players to score in two European Cup finals.
Two minutes later, Feyenoord levelled the game via Rinus Israël’s goal. The match went to extra-time and agonisingly for Celtic, they conceded in the 117th minute as Ove Kindvall netted the winning goal.
2003 UEFA Cup Final
- Celtic 2-3 Porto (AET)
- May 21, 2003
- Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville
In 2003, Celtic reached their third and most recent European final as they were pitted against Jose Mourinho’s Porto.
In 1966/67 and 1969/70, the Bhoys only had to navigate their way through four rounds before the final. In the 21st century, the road to Seville was harder.
Celtic entered the UEFA Cup right at the start and played six two-legged rounds before the final. They were convincing against Suduva and Blackburn Rovers, but could only squeeze past Celta Vigo on away goals.
| Round | Opponent | Home Leg | Away Leg | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Round | Suduva | 8–1 | 1–0 | 9–1 |
| Second Round | Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 |
| Third Round | Celta Vigo | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 (away goals) |
| Fourth Round | Stuttgart | 3–1 | 2–3 | 5–4 |
| Quarter-Final | Liverpool | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Semi-Final | Boavista | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Final (Seville) | FC Porto | – | – | 2–3 (aet) |
Then it was Stuttgart, Liverpool and Boavista who were all left in Celtic’s wake, before approximately 80,000 Bhoys fans invaded Seville for the final.
The final itself was a belter, certainly from a neutral point of view. Celtic went behind twice in normal time but Henrik Larsson’s brace pegged Porto back.
Porto were unsportsmanlike in their conduct throughout the clash and were criticised afterwards by Celtic manager Martin O’Neill and several Hoops players for diving, feigning injury and time-wasting.
The game finished 2-2 after 90 minutes and thus extra-time loomed. It was a sickener for Celtic as Derlei netted a 115th-minute winner to seal victory for Porto.
19 years later, O’Neill reflected on the final with The Scottish Sun. He said: “Seville was a fantastic occasion but a big, big disappointment. It still rankles, even now all these years on. And I don’t think I’ll ever feel any differently about it.
“I’ve talked to some of the ex-players about it and they feel exactly the same. It wasn’t so much that we lost to Porto, who went on to win the Champions League the next year. That wasn’t the issue.
“It was just the manner of the defeat. Henrik Larsson was simply sensational on the night and I thought we could and should have won it. But it wasn’t to be.
“So when I think back on it, I think about the occasion and 75,000 Celtic supporters descending upon Seville.
“They got there by hook or by crook and it was wonderful. Celtic fans always find a way. But then that quickly turns to a feeling of real disappointment.
“A defeat like that, in a final, is pretty difficult to get over. We did so much work to get there and beat some great sides on the way.”
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