Tributes have been pouring in to Billy McNeill, the first British player to lift the European Cup as captain of Celtic’s all-conquering 1967 side, who has died at the age of 79 after a battle with dementia in his later years.
In addition to making a record 822 appearances for Celtic as a player McNeill was twice manager of the club, either side of a brief spell in England, amassing a haul of 31 trophies over the course of his career. He will always be most closely associated with the Lisbon Lions’ success under Jock Stein, when Celtic not only beat Internazionale 2-1 in Portugal to become the first British team to win the European Cup, but the first ever winners of the now recognised treble.
Written by Paul Wilson
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/23/billy-mcneill-career-player-manager-celtic under the title “‘His career was incredible’ … Billy McNeill was a winner as player and manager”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
