Celtic open their Champions? League campaign on Wednesday against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Their UEFA Cup Final appearance in 2003 gave the current support a taste of European success that fans of earlier generations enjoyed for a number of years.

While I was watching The History of Football DVD it focused on the rise of Northern Europe in the game. This began at club level with Celtic?s 1967 European Cup win over Inter Milan.

Three years after their triumph in Lisbon, Celtic returned to the European Cup Final, this time in Milan to play Dutch champions Feyenoord. As I watched the goals from that match it dawned on me that although I had seen the 1967 success many times on TV, I had never seen the highlights from the 1970 game before.

As a result of this I thought now might be a time to have a look at the campaign that saw The Bhoys fall at the final hurdle in their quest for a second European trophy.

Their run to the 1970 final saw dramatic comebacks, sensational climaxes, records being broken, a ?Battle of Britain? and some truly memorable matches.

First Round - First Leg

September 17th 1969

FC Basel 0 - 0 Celtic (Att: 38,000)

Celtic opened their campaign in September of 1969 away to FC Basel of Switzerland, who were managed by the former German international Helmut Benthaus. At the time there were concerns that the Celtic team had lost their edge and perhaps a game against the likes of Real Madrid or AC Milan might see their tournament get off to a more dynamic start.

Manager Jock Stein however was confident that his side would be ready to rise to the occasion, having tested their ?European away game? against Aberdeen in the League Cup the previous week. Stein had set Celtic up as an attacking side, though in away ties in Europe he recognised that they had to drop their natural attacking instincts and become more defensive.

38,000 spectators watched a match that Celtic were always in command of, although they couldn?t find a way through to goal. As it was, they were very happy to come away with a no score draw, confident that they could finish the job back in Glasgow.

First Round ? Second Leg

October 1st 1969

Celtic 2 ? 0 FC Basel (Agg 2-0) (Att: 52,000)
(Hood 1, Gemmell 70)

Jimmy Johnstone carved the Basel defence up, almost from the kick off, providing the pass for Harry Hood to hammer the ball into the Swiss net.

That was about the last time Johnstone had things his way on this autumn evening as the Celtic goal seemed to galvanise Basel and their defence shut down the winger?s potent threat.

The Basel team was filled with Swiss internationals and for much of the night their defence played like one of the best in Europe.

In particular goalkeeper Marcel Kuns was outstanding, keeping out a succession of shots and headers from the Celtic attack. In the end Celtic?s pace, individuality and imaginative moves made the difference and Tommy Gemmell fired home a decisive second goal.

The second round draw paired Celtic with 1962 champions Benfica. This meant that they would go back to Lisbon, the scene of their own European Cup triumph in 1967.

After the draw was made Jock Stein said, ?We made many friends in Portugal and we are happy about meeting a side of the calibre of Benfica. They will undoubtedly attract a full house at Celtic Park when they come to Glasgow?.

Although Celtic came out of the draw first, meaning the first leg would be at home, Rangers were also drawn at home in the first leg of their European Cup Winners? Cup tie with Gornik Zabrrze.

Rules stated that clubs who are located less than 56km (31 ? miles) apart could not play at home on the same night. This meant that a ballot had to be drawn to decide which of the Glasgow clubs would have their first leg tie switched. As it was Celtic were allowed to play at home and Rangers moved their first leg match to Poland.

Second Round ? First Leg

November 12th Celtic Park

Celtic 3-0 Benfica (Att: 76,000)
(Gemmell 2, Wallace 14, Hood 70)

At a lunch given by Celtic on the eve of the match Benfica director Joaquim Marques Alexandre announced, ?We are looking forward to a beautiful game of football.?

It was certainly that for Celtic and their fans.

A sold out crowd packed into Celtic Park to see the side nicknamed ?O Glorioso?, five times European Cup finalists. With only two minutes on the clock Celtic had a free kick just outside the Benfica penalty area. Bertie Auld surveyed the wall, but with the Portuguese expecting a shot Auld flicked the ball back, as Tommy Gemmell came storming forward. The defender hit it with all he had from 30 yards out. Henrique in the Benfica goal flapped helplessly as it flew into the net.

A few minutes before half-time a lucky bounce put the ball in Willie Wallace?s path. He shrugged off a tackle and lashed the ball home from a narrow angle.

In the 70th minute Harry Hood glanced a header into the net from a Bobby Murdoch cross. Unbelievably it was 3-0 Celtic. Although a lot of fans in attendance now say the only unbelievable thing about the result was that it wasn?t by more goals.

The man Benfica were looking toward to turn the tie in their favour, Eusebio, pulled a muscle in the first half and he was replaced at the interval by Augusto. A disappointing Diamantino was also replaced by Jorge.

When the Portuguese side did threaten to get back into the game, John Fallon in the Celtic goal kept them out with a string of fine saves.

The main talking point after the match was why Italian referee Concetto Lo Bello chalked off an apparently perfectly good headed goal by Celtic?s John Hughes midway through the first half. Everyone on the pitch seemed to think the goal was a good one.

The referee, who had taken charge of Benfica?s 1968 final with Manchester United, attempted to clear up the confusion. ?There was no offside,? he said. ?But a Celtic player fouled a Benfica man before the ball was netted?. Oddly, he could not elaborate upon who the guilty Celtic man was.

The capacity crowd at Celtic Park roared Celtic home from kick-off to final whistle. ?They were absolutely magnificent,? Jock Stein said of the fans. ?Their support was fantastic and it was worth an extra man to the team. I thought they were just great?.

Of the result Stein said, ?It is good to be going to Lisbon with three goals to the good, although you can never really get enough goals. But naturally I am confident that we can win through?.

The victory suddenly had many people talking about Celtic winning a second European Cup.

Second Round ? Second Leg

November 26th 1969

Benfica 3-0 Celtic (AET) (Att: 80,000) (Agg 3-3; Celtic won on the toss of a coin)
(Eusebio 35, Graca 40, Diamantino 90)

Although the talk from the Benfica camp after the first match was that Eusebio would be out for three weeks, he duly lined up for the second leg. Only 50,000 of the expected 80,000 fans had turned up, such was the overwhelming nature of Celtic?s first leg victory.

However, Benfica were a changed side from the first match and came roaring at the Hoops from early on.

Celtic?s hero was keeper John Fallon who pulled off a series of near miraculous saves to keep Benfica at bay. Jorge hit the post before Fallon held a rocket from Eusebio in the 21st minute. It was clear the side from Lisbon were by no means out of the tie.

In the 35th minute they got their reward for their constant pressure when a Eusebio header put them one up. A few minutes later Graca went through the Celtic defence on his own, dispatching the ball into goal from off the post.

Two-nil Benfica and the contrast of the tie had changed completely.

The next bit of action saw Bertie Auld on the receiving end of a bad tackle. A melee followed and Jimmy Johnstone was butted by Silva. The referee decided to take no action and the situation, which looked likely to boil over, quickly settled down.

The second half brought about the early retirement of Eusebio, who was replaced by Martins.

Jimmy Johnstone missed Celtic?s best chance of the match. Jinky found himself with only keeper Henrique to beat, but the man nicknamed Z? Gato, came racing out of his goal to make the save.

Celtic managed to play with more poise and cohesion as the second half progressed. They began to show more attacking prowess, although their Portuguese opponents were never less than threatening.

With Celtic desperately clinging on to their one goal aggregate lead deep into injury time, the men from the Stadium of Light were awarded a corner kick. Substitute Diamantino, a different proposition from his lacklustre first leg display, headed the subsequently crossed ball into the Celtic net. As he did so the referee blew for full-time. Players and fans were uncertain for a moment if the goal would stand; several Celtic defenders were positive that the game was over before the kick was taken.

The delirious Benfica supporters were in no confusion however as they poured onto the pitch. At this point Laurens Van Ravens, the Dutch referee, led the teams off the field and into the dressing room. Police and soldiers had to come on to the pitch in order to clear it of spectators. Five minutes after the ball had hit the net it was announced the scoreline was 3-all and the game was into extra time.

Celtic?s players and the Scottish media were baffled by the three minutes plus of injury time played. With no major injuries throughout the game, this was an unusually long time to add. Extra-time was played out with no further goals and some match reports indicate that the second period was actually brought to a close one minute early.

In 1969 a drawn tie was not settled by a penalty shoot-out. The deadlock would be broken by the tossing of a coin. The normal practice in this situation was for the referee to lead the two captains to the centre circle, toss the coin into the air so that instantly the spectators would see from the triumphant captain?s reaction who had progressed. It was obvious to all in attendance this night that Van Ravens had a cavalier manner all of his own and so it was as he executed this task.

He took the two captains, Celtic?s Billy McNeill and Mario Coluna of Benfica, into his dressing room. Their respective managers went with them. The two linesmen and a handful of pressmen also squeezed into the cramped room, while club officials packed the corridors of Estadio da Luz.

The ref asked the Celtic captain to call. McNeill revealed years later in his autobiography ?Hail Cesar?, that on this occasion his stomach was churning and he felt that he would ?rather be anywhere else at that moment?. He turned to his manager and asked him what he should call. Stein?s reported reply was ?You?re on your own.?

McNeill called ?heads? and won the toss. The referee then informed him this was just to see which of the captains would have the right to spin the coin. He handed the Scotsman the silver Dutch 2 ? guilder piece to toss into the air to determine which club would win the tie. ?I stuck with my hunch and called heads again,? McNeill said in ?Hail Cesar?.

The coin landed on the floor, rolled, hit the referee?s foot and lay still. As everyone bent down to get a look the Celtic captain punched the air when he saw he had made the right call. ?When I spun the coin,? McNeill said to reporters later, ?I couldn?t believe that I would win again. But I did and it was the greatest relief of my life.?

McNeill was allowed to keep the coin, worth six shillings in pre-decimal Britain, as a souvenir.

The 50,000 people on the terraces waited anxiously for the outcome. When the message came back that Celtic had progressed to the quarter-finals the Scots in the crowd went wild, while some Portuguese supporters openly wept.

Elsewhere in the European Cup that same night Turkey?s Galatasaray also won on the toss of a coin, knocking out Spartak Trnava of Czechoslovakia after a 1-1 aggregate draw.

On the chartered plane back to Glasgow Celtic?s Chairman Sir Robert Kelly told of his displeasure of winning such an important tie by these means. He indicated that Celtic would press UEFA to have new legislation introduced.

?We won this toss and this is the right time to take up the case,? he said. ?It is a most unsatisfactory way to end such a vital tie in any competition. Certainly we would not have said anything about this if we had lost the toss to Benfica. But now that we are through, perhaps our words will carry some weight.?

Several years earlier, as president of the Scottish Football Association, Sir Robert, then plain Bob Kelly, made a complaint to UEFA about the practice of coin tosses settling ties.

?Tossing a coin is not part of the game,? he continued, ?But corner kicks are. I feel that the team with the most corner kicks in extra time should be the winners. If the teams are equal, corners gained during the whole game should count.?

At this point in time that system was already in use in the Glasgow Charity Cup.

Manager Jock Stein was relieved to have made it through to the Quarter-Finals but was disappointed with the performance. ?I thought we could have played much better,? he told reporters after the match. ?We became careless after the first 30 minutes. A team of our European experience should not have lost the second goal, scored by Graca by the old one-two.?

Despite the win this trip to Lisbon was not as happy for Celtic as their 1967 visit had been. On the coach journey back to the hotel, six Celtic players and one official discovered that they had been robbed of money, from their clothes left in the dressing room during the match.

The draw for the quarter-finals was made at St. Gotthard Hotel in Zurich.

Jock Stein, who refused to travel to Switzerland, due to the unpredictable nature of airline travel in the month of December, spoke of his wishes for the draw. ?We would prefer to avoid Leeds at this stage,? he said. ?Obviously it would be great if we could make it to an all-British final.?

Celtic were the only former winner of the trophy remaining in the competition and the two British sides were seen as the ones to avoid.

Fiorentina?s Argentine coach Bruno Pesaola made it clear how he wanted the draw for the last eight to pan out. ?At this stage in the competition I don?t want either Celtic or Leeds. The English club looks the strongest in the competition, but Celtic appear to be improving.?

The betting had Celtic at 7-2 behind Fiorentina at 5-2 and the favourites Leeds United at 2-1. Feyenoord were being written off by the bookies at 10-1.

The draw paired the Celts with Italian champions Fiorentina, at that time lying in second spot in Serie A.

Afterwards Jock Stein seemed happy. ?Playing against a Latin team is always exciting,? he said. ?They have that bit of extra glamour. Obviously they are good. You have to be to win the Italian league.? Stein went on to say, ?The only side we wanted to avoid was Leeds. For we would rather meet them later ? in the final if we can.?

Celtic were confident of progressing, as their rivals Rangers had played and defeated Fiorentina the previous summer. In the Toronto Challenge Cup the Glasgow side won 3-2 in New York, although they lost 2-0 in the second game in Toronto. Their performance in the first game was enough to show Celtic that the Italians had exploitable weaknesses.

Quarter-Finals ? First Leg

Wednesday 4th March 1970, Celtic Park

Celtic 3-0 AC Fiorentina (Att: 80,000)
(Auld 30, Carpenetti 49 og, Wallace 89)

Before the first leg Celtic had a slight worry about Tommy Gemmell, who had picked up a knock on his shin in the previous weekend?s game with Airdrie. At this time Gemmell was Celtic?s top scorer in the European Cup and it was a worry that his injury may affect his famous ?Big Bertha? shot.

?I?m sure I?ll be okay,? he said as he packed his bags for Celtic?s Seamill retreat. ?The injury is still rather painful, but it should clear up. It?s a pity it?s ?Big Bertha?, but I?m sure there will be no twinges when I?m shooting against Fiorentina.?

?He?s still a wee bit doubtful,? his manager said. ?He?ll have a tough test today.?

Fiorentina coach Pesaola, earning a widely reported ?30,000 a year, rejected claims that his side played in a style similar to their Scottish opponents. ?We are a highly technical side. More so than Celtic. Our play is not like them at all. The fans will see this tomorrow night and I?m sure they will agree that we are value for money.?

He couldn?t have been more wrong.

Celtic, with Gemmell fit and in the starting line up, began in their now customary whirlwind fashion, worrying Superchi in the Fiorentina goal straight from kick-off.

The hero of the night was 30 year old Bertie Auld, considered the ?veteran? of the side. Out of the team for six weeks after picking up an injury, he learned only 30 minutes before kick-off that he would be in the starting line up. In the 30th minute of the match, he received the ball from the right, 22 yards out. He calmly looked up and sped a sweet shot that whizzed past Superchi?s despairing dive.

Fiorentina players were on ?1,500 a man to win the match. This was an unprecedented sum at the time. Any hope of picking up that win bonus disappeared 4 minutes after the break when Auld made Celtic?s second goal. Auld sent over a cross which defender Carpenetti attempted to clear. He only succeeded in sending it above the head of his advancing goalkeeper and into the net.

With a minute to go Bertie Auld sent another cross into the box. Harry Hood headed the ball on and Willie Wallace was there to knock it over the line.

The Italian media blamed the result on Fiorentina concentrating too much on defence, but that did a disservice to Celtic who had rarely looked so commanding in their European career.

?Bertie could not have done more for us,? manager Jock Stein said afterwards. ?I have got to single him out for the way he played there tonight.?

Stein?s opposite number Pesaola spent almost an hour after the match ensconced in the dressing room explaining the heavy defeat to furious club directors. When he emerged he said ?Auld was the master tonight. He was the great midfield player for Celtic.?

Auld himself was more modest, saying, ?The rest of the lads carried me for the last 20 minutes. After being out of first team football for six weeks I felt just about jiggered.?

Quarter-Finals ? Second Leg

Wednesday 18th March 1970, Communale Stadium

AC Fiorentina 1-0 Celtic (Celtic win 3-1 on aggregate)
(Chiarugi 37)

The second leg in Florence was played at a less frenetic pace than the previous match a fortnight earlier. Celtic?s midfield got on top of their opposition and the Italians failed to make enough chances for their forwards.

In the 34th minute Fiorentina were awarded an indirect free-kick inside Celtic?s penalty area. Inexplicably, the experienced Chiarugi blasted the ball straight into the net. Fiorentina players and fans exploded with delight. The Celtic keeper Evan Williams simply placed the ball for a goal kick as the Italians realised the goal would not stand.

Moments later Fiorentina got themselves back into the tie. Celtic, for the only time on the night, failed to clear their lines and the ball fell to that man Chiarugi again. He hit a low shot which gave Williams no chance.

Unlike in Lisbon when Benfica began their fightback, there was not a hint of panic in the Celtic defence. They simply tightened up at the back, as Fiorentina became dejected.

Auld and Johnstone stood out in the middle of the park; Williams in goal had a sound game while Billy McNeill and George Connelly were at their best in defence.

The final whistle sounded on a 1-0 win for the Italian champions, but it wasn?t enough and Celtic were in the semi-finals.

Although they went through Jock Stein was furious in the dressing room afterwards. ?I have never known worse refereeing in all the games I have seen in Europe. I?m not surprised that British teams find it almost impossible to win in Italy.? He wasn?t finished there. ?Everything was for the Italians, nothing for us. He played four minutes over time. I thought the game was never going to end, and some of his decisions could have cost us goals. In these circumstances I rate this as our finest performance in Europe.?

No British club had ever knocked an Italian side out of the European Cup over two legs, until this aggregate victory.

Where next for Celtic with the semi-final draw looming? Jock Stein had this to say, ?Now I?ll settle for Feyenoord in the semi-finals and then look for a final against Leeds in Milan.?

But it was not to turn out that way.

In Part Two ? ?The Battle of Britain?.

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