A poll run by the BBC has resulted in the Lisbon Lions being voted as the greatest club side of all time.
The poll ended at 5pm this afternoon with a host of the best teams ever to grace the game involved. These included the likes of Pep Guardiola’s 2011 Barcelona side and Ajax treble-winning class of ’72.
However, Celtic have ended up coming out on top having taken 34% of the total vote. The closest side to them being Barcelona who took 24% of the tally.
It may not be a major trophy win, but it’s a sign of just how well-respected and admired Jock Stein’s Lions are to this day.
Let’s not forget that Celtic won absolutely everything on offer in the 1966-67 campaign. The European Cup stands highest amongst all of the achievements that year, but they secured that whilst also winning the league, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, and the Glasgow Cup. A quintuple.
Celtic are the only club to this day to have ever won 4 major trophies in the same season. Well worthy then of winning today’s poll.
Lisbon Lions’ achievements won’t ever be forgotten
There a reason the Lions are still widely loved and spoken about even now. We’re just over 55 years from winnning the European Cup in that famous 2-1 win over Inter in Portugal. But the magnitude of the achievement deserves constant recognition and adulation.
It’s not just about the trophy wins either, it’s the style and the manner in which they managed it. The fact the squad was all born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park makes it even more incredible.
The Lisbon Lions weren’t a team that played kick and rush football either. The sheer notion of smash and grab never entertained their thought process. They were a fluid, relentless, attacking outfit. They played a brand that was easy on the eye and stuck to their principles regardless of the opposition.
Granted, there are plenty of fantastic footballing sides in today’s poll. Pep’s Barcelona were out of this world with their tiki-taka style almost reinventing football utopia as we knew it. Bayern Munich’s class of 2012-13, meanwhile, were devastating under Jupp Heynckes.
But it’s the Lions who take the award in this one. No doubt backed by plenty of Hoops supporters who will have voted for their idols.
We’ll never see an achievement on that scale ever again.
In other news, Czech club invite Lubo Moravcik to pre-season friendly vs Celtic
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