1967 European Cup Final vs Celtic

Lore & Background

Inter scored after seven minutes, when Sandro Mazzola converted a penalty. Celtic equalised when Tommy Gemmell scored at the 63 minute mark. Stevie Chalmers then put Celtic in the lead after 84 minutes. The match finished 2–1 to Celtic. It was said to be a victory for football because Celtic's attacking football overcame Inter's catenaccio defensive style, which was considered to be a less attractive way to play the game. Celtic manager Jock Stein and his team received acclaim after the match and were given the nickname the 'Lisbon Lions'; this is considered to be the greatest side in the club's history. The victory made Celtic the first British team and first team from northern Europe to win the European Cup.

In Their Own Story

Under the scorching Lisbon sun, a cold dread settled over the Nerazzurri ranks as a deafening sea of green and white drowned out Italian chants. Jair da Costa had just danced through Celtic's defense to equalize, his celebration cut short by the unsettling realization that momentum was slipping away. On the touchline, Herrera stood frozen, his face an impenetrable mask of stone, hands gripping the railing as if he could physically arrest time. Then came Chalmers' second goal—a curling strike that found the net with surgical precision. In the silence that followed Facchetti's despair, the dream of three consecutive European titles evaporated into the Portuguese air, leaving only the echo of a broken dynasty.

Reader's Guide

Inter had won the European Cup in two of the previous three seasons, 1964 and 1965. Pre-match talk focused on Inter winning a famous tripletta of European Cups and they were considered strong favourites going into the game. Inter were very well known for using a defensive tactic, the Catenaccio, which meant that they won many matches by slim scorelines and rarely conceded. Their manager, Helenio Herrera, was the highest paid in Europe and was considered to be the catalyst of their success. By contrast Celtic were an attacking team. Before the match their manager Jock Stein said that, 'Celtic will be the first team to bring the European Cup back to Britain... we are going to attack as we have never attacked before.' Inter's most important player, Spanish international and Ballon d'Or winner Luis Suarez, missed the match with an injury. He was replaced by veteran Mauro Bicicli, a player with very few appearances in the season, and the loss of their star in the middle of the field would prove decisive in shaping Inter's destiny in the match, and also Jair missed the match for injury. One of Celtic's most important players, striker Joe McBride was to miss the match. He had suffered a long-term knee injury and his last match of the season was on 24 December 1966. McBride would definitely have played had he been fit. He was in such good form for Celtic that, despite missing half the season, McBride finished as the top scorer in Scotland that year with 35 goals in 26 appearances. Both Inter and Celtic had been performing well domestically throughout the season. Only a few days before the final Inter had been on the verge of winning a historic treble but losses in their last two games knocked them out of the semi-finals of the Coppa Italia and cost them the Scudetto. The European Cup was the last chance for them to redeem what had initially been such a promising season. Celtic came into the final having already won the Scottish Division One, the Scottish Cup and the Scottish League Cup as well as the Glasgow Cup earlier in the season.

Did You Know?

• Inter's goal in the final was scored by Sandro Mazzola from a penalty, not by Jair da Costa.
• The match was the first European Cup final not to feature a team from the Iberian Peninsula.
• Celtic's victory made them the first British team and first team from northern Europe to win the European Cup.