Celtic

Celtic crest
Full name	The Celtic Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Bhoys, The Hoops, The Celts
Founded	1888
Ground	Celtic Park Glasgow, Scotland (Capacity: 60,832)
Chairman	Ian Bankier
Manager	Neil Lennon
League	Scottish Premier League
2011–12	1st
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Celtic Football Club (/ˈsɛltɪk/; LSE: CCP) is a Scottish football club based at Celtic Park in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premier League. The club was established in 1887, and played its first game in 1888. Celtic have a fierce rivalry with Rangers; the two Glasgow clubs are collectively known as the Old Firm.

Celtic have won the Scottish League Championship on 43 occasions, most recently in the 2011–12 season, the Scottish Cup 35 times and the Scottish League Cup 14 times. In 1967 Celtic won the European Cup, becoming the first British team to do so.^[1][2] Celtic won every competition they entered that season: the Scottish League Championship, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the European Cup and the Glasgow Cup. Celtic also reached the 1970 European Cup Final, and the 2003 UEFA Cup Final.^[3][4][5][3]

History[link]

Celtic Football Club was formally constituted at a meeting in St. Mary's church hall in East Rose Street (now Forbes Street), Calton, Glasgow, by Irish Marist Brother Walfrid^[6] on 6 November 1887, with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the East End of Glasgow by raising money for the charity Walfrid had instituted, the Poor Children's Dinner Table.^[7] Walfrid's move to establish the club as a means of fund-raising was largely inspired by the example of Hibernian who were formed out of the immigrant Irish population a few years earlier in Edinburgh. Walfrid's own suggestion of the name 'Celtic' (pronounced Seltik), was intended to reflect the club's Irish and Scottish roots, and was adopted at the same meeting. The club has the official nickname, "The Bhoys". However, according to the Celtic press office, the newly established club was known to many as "the bold boys". A postcard from the early 20th century that pictured the team, and read "The Bould Bhoys", is the first known example of the unique spelling. The extra 'h' imitates the spelling system of Gaelic, where the letter B is often accompanied by the letter H.

Brother Walfrid, founder of Celtic FC

On 28 May 1888, Celtic played their first official match against Rangers and won 5–2 in what was described as a "friendly encounter".^[8] Neil McCallum scored Celtic's first ever goal. The squad that played that day was largely composed of players signed from Hibernian.

Celtic's first kit consisted of a white shirt with a green collar, black shorts, and emerald green socks. The original club crest was a simple green cross on a red oval background.

In 1889 Celtic reached the final of the Scottish Cup, this was their first season in the competition, but lost 2-1 in the final. Celtic again reached the final of the Scottish Cup in 1892, but this time were victorious after defeating Queen's Park 5-2 in the final. Several months later the club moved to its new ground, Celtic Park, and in the following season won the Scottish League Championship for the first ever time.^[8] In 1895, Celtic set the League record for the highest home score when they beat Dundee 11-0.^[9]

In 1897 the club became a Private limited company and Willie Maley was appointed as the first 'secretary-manager'. Between 1905 and 1910, Celtic won the Scottish League Championship six times in a row.^[8] In both 1907 and 1908 Celtic also won the Scottish Cup, this was the first time a Scottish club had ever won the Double.^[8] During World War I, Celtic won the league four times in a row, including 62 matches unbeaten between November 1915 and April 1917.^{[10] [8]}

Ex-player and captain Jimmy McGrory took over in 1945. Under McGrory, Celtic defeated Arsenal, Manchester United and Hibernian to win the Coronation Cup, a one-off tournament held in May 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.

On 19 October 1957, Celtic trounced Rangers a record 7–1 in the final of the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park in Glasgow, retaining the trophy they had won for only the first time the previous year. The scoreline remains a record win in a British domestic cup final.

Former Celtic captain Jock Stein succeeded McGrory in 1965. Stein guided Celtic to nine straight Scottish League wins from 1966 to 1974, establishing a world record which was not equalled until 1997.

1967 was Celtic's annus mirabilis. The club won every competition they entered: the Scottish League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the Glasgow Cup, and the European Cup. Under the leadership of Stein, the club defeated Internazionale 2–1 at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon, on 25 May 1967. Celtic thus became the first British team, and the first from outside Spain, Portugal and Italy to win the competition. They remain the only Scottish team to have reached the final. The players that day subsequently became known as the 'Lisbon Lions'. Jimmy Johnstone, Bobby Lennox and Bobby Murdoch formed part of that famous team, and now rank among the greatest ever Celtic players. The following year Celtic lost to Racing Club of Argentina in the Intercontinental Cup.

Celtic reached the European Cup Final again in 1970, but were beaten 2–1 by Feyenoord at the San Siro in Milan.

Despite further domestic success in the 1980s, the Bank of Scotland informed Celtic that it was calling in the receivers on 3 March 1994 as a result of the club exceeding a £5 million overdraft. However, expatriate businessman Fergus McCann wrested control of the club, and ousted the family dynasties which had controlled Celtic since its foundation. According to media reports, McCann took over the club minutes before it was to be declared bankrupt.^[11] McCann reconstituted the club business as a public limited company - Celtic PLC - and oversaw the redevelopment of Celtic Park into a 60,832 all-seater stadium. In 1998, under Dutchman Wim Jansen Celtic won the title again and prevented Rangers from beating Celtic's 9-in-a-row record.^[12]

Martin O'Neill, a former European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, took charge of the club in June 2000.^[13] Under his leadership, Celtic won three SPL championships out of five^[14] and in his first season in charge, the club also won the domestic treble,^[15] making O'Neill only the second Celtic manager to do so after Jock Stein.^[16]

In 2003, around 80,000 Celtic fans travelled to watch the club compete in the UEFA Cup Final in Seville.^[17][18] Celtic lost 3–2 to FC Porto after extra time, despite two goals from Henrik Larsson during normal time.^[19] The exemplary conduct of the thousands of travelling Celtic supporters received widespread praise from the people of Seville (not one supporter was arrested) and the fans were awarded prestigious Fair Play Awards from both FIFA and UEFA "for their extraordinarily loyal and sporting behaviour".^[3][4]

Gordon Strachan was announced as O'Neill's replacement in June 2005 and after winning the SPL title in his first year in charge,^[20] he became only the third Celtic manager to win three titles in a row. He also guided Celtic to their first UEFA Champions League knockout stage in 2006-07^[21] and repeated the feat in 2007-08^[22] before departing the club in May 2009, after failing to win the SPL title.^[23] Tony Mowbray took charge of the club in June 2009,^[24] and he was succeeded a year later by Neil Lennon.^[25] In November 2010, Celtic set a Scottish Premier League record for the biggest win in SPL history defeating Aberdeen 9-0 at Celtic Park.^[26]

Current season[link]

Celtic's first signings of the 2011–12 season were Adam Matthews^[27] and Kelvin Wilson^[28] on free transfers from Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest respectively. Youth player Dylan McGeouch also joined from Rangers on a free.^[29] Celtic signed Kenyan international Victor Wanyama from K. Beerschot AC for £900,000.^[30] Mohamed Bangura also joined the club in a £2.2 million deal from AIK Stockholm.^[31] Badr El Kaddouri^[32] and Fraser Forster^[33] joined on loan deals from Dynamo Kyiv and Newcastle United.

Celtic started their pre-season with a three match tour of Australia, losing against Central Coast Mariners then beating Perth Glory and Melbourne Victory.^[34] Celtic then finished second in the Dublin Super Cup after losing 2–1 to Internazionale on 30 July then beating a League of Ireland select side, 5–0, the next day. The other team competing was Manchester City who won the competition.^[35] Celtic also played friendlies against Premier League teams Wolves^[36] and Swansea City,^[37] as well as Championship side Cardiff City.^[38]

Celtic's U19 squad played in the inaugural tournament of the NextGen series.^[39] Celtic were drawn in Group 1, alongside Barcelona, Marseille and Manchester City.^[40]

Celtic were drawn against Swiss Cup winners FC Sion in the play-off round of the Europa League.^[41] Sion won 3–1 on aggregate, however were found guilty of fielding ineligible players by UEFA and were excluded from the competition. As a result of this Celtic took their place in the group stage along with Atlético Madrid, Udinese and Stade Rennais.^[42]

Celtic's first SPL match of the season was against Hibernian at Easter Road on 24 July.^[43] Celtic won 2–0 thanks to goals from Stokes and Ki Sung-Yueng.^[44]

Celtic drew Ross County in the third round of the League Cup.^[45]

Crest and colours[link]

For Celtic's first season they wore a white top with black shorts and black and green hooped socks. This kit featured a green Celtic cross inside a red circle. Next season they changed to a green and white vertically striped top and for the next fourteen years this remained unchanged. In 1903 Celtic adopted their famous green and white hooped tops.^[46]

Stadium[link]

Celtic's stadium is Celtic Park, which is in the Parkhead area of Glasgow. Celtic Park, an all-seater stadium with a capacity of 60,832,^[47] is the largest football stadium in Scotland and the sixth-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, after Murrayfield, Old Trafford, Twickenham, Wembley and the Millennium Stadium. It is commonly known as Parkhead^[48] or Paradise.^[47][49]

Celtic first laid out a ground in the Parkhead area in 1888.^[50] The club moved to a different site in 1892, however, when the rental charge was greatly increased.^[51] The new site was developed into an oval shaped stadium, with vast terracing sections.^[52] The record attendance of 83,500 was set by an Old Firm derby on 1 January 1938.^[51] The terraces were covered and floodlights were installed between 1957 and 1971.^[51] The Taylor Report mandated that all major clubs should have an all-seated stadium by August 1994.^[53] Celtic was in a bad financial position in the early 1990s and no major work was carried out until Fergus McCann took control of the club in March 1994. He carried out a plan to demolish the old terraces and develop a new stadium in a phased rebuild, which was completed in August 1998. The total cost of the new stadium was £40 million.

For the 1994–95 season Celtic played at the national stadium Hampden Park, this cost the club £500,000 in rent.^[54]

Celtic Park has often been used as a venue for Scotland internationals and Cup Finals, particularly when Hampden Park has been unavailable.^[55] Before the First World War, Celtic Park hosted various other sporting events, including composite rules shinty-hurling,^[56] track and field and the 1897 Track Cycling World Championships.^[51] Open-air masses,^[51] and First World War recruitment drives have also been held there.^[57] Celtic Park has occasionally been used for concerts, including performances by The Who and U2.^[58]

Supporters[link]

In 2003 Celtic were estimated to have a fan base of nine million people, including one million in the USA and Canada.^[59] There are over 160 Celtic Supporters Clubs in over 20 countries around the world.^[60] In 2009 marketing agency, Sports Revolution estimated that there were 7 million Celtic fans in Japan, mainly due to the influence of Shunsuke Nakamura.^[61]

In 2003, an estimated 80,000 Celtic supporters, many without match tickets, travelled to Seville in Spain for the UEFA Cup Final,^[3][4][5] The club's fans subsequently received awards from UEFA and FIFA for their behaviour at the match.^{[3][4][17][18]}

In the 2010–11 season, Celtic had the highest average home attendance of any Scottish club.^[62] They also had the 12th highest average attendance out of all the football clubs in Europe.

Old Firm rivalry[link]

Celtic's traditional rivals are Rangers; collectively, the two clubs are known as the Old Firm. The two have dominated Scottish football's history; between them, they have won the Scottish league championship 97 times since its inception in 1890 – all other clubs combined have won 19 championships. The two clubs are also by far the most supported in Scotland, with Celtic having the third highest home attendance in the UK.^[63] Celtic have a historic association with the people of Ireland and Scots of Irish descent, who are both mainly Roman Catholic. Traditionally fans of rivals Rangers came from Scottish or Northern Ireland Protestant backgrounds and support British Unionism.

The clubs have attracted the support of opposing factions in the political difficulties of Northern Ireland, which intensified the rivalry in Scotland.^[64] Anti-sectarian charity Nil by Mouth notes that some supporters use songs, chants and banners on match days to express abuse or support towards the Protestant or Catholic faiths and proclaim support for Northern Irish based paramilitary groups such as the IRA and UVF.^[65] A study in 2008 by the University of Strathclyde found that the Old Firm rivalry was "strongly linked to the conflict in Northern Ireland".^[64]

There have been nearly 400 Old Firm matches played as of 2011. The games have been described as having an "atmosphere of hatred, religious tension and intimidation which continues to lead to violence in communities across Scotland."^[65] The rivalry has fuelled many assaults and even deaths on Old Firm Derby days. Admissions to hospital emergency rooms have been reported to increase ninefold over normal levels^[66] and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, and hundreds of assaults.^[66][67]

Both sets of fans fought an on-pitch battle in the aftermath of Celtic's 1–0 victory in the 1980 Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park.^[68] There was serious fan disorder during an Old Firm match played in May 1999 at Celtic Park; missiles were thrown by Celtic fans, including one which struck referee Hugh Dallas, who needed medical treatment, and a small number of fans invaded the pitch.^[69]

Sectarianism[link]

Celtic have taken measures to reduce sectarianism.^[64] In 1996, the club launched its Bhoys Against Bigotry campaign, later followed by Youth Against Bigotry to "educate the young on having ... respect for all aspects of the community — all races, all colours, all creeds".^[70]

In March 2008, UEFA investigated Celtic fans for alleged sectarian singing at a match against Barcelona.^[71] However, the case was dropped before the end of the month due to a lack of evidence.^[72]

Irish republicanism[link]

Some groups of Celtic fans express their support for Irish republicanism and the Irish Republican Army by singing or chanting about them at matches.^[73][74] Although offensive this has been described as being not sectarian by various people and journalists.^{[75][76][77][78][79]} UEFA head of communications William Gaillard, when talking about the matter in 2006, said that IRA chanting was a nationalist issue and was similar to fans of other clubs, such as Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, who support nationalist movements in their own countries. He also stated that only in Balkan countries, where some fans show support for organisations that had engaged in ethnic cleansing, was the situation different because these organisations were by their nature discriminatory. He said that this did not apply to the IRA.^[80]

In 2008 and 2010, there were protests by small groups of fans over the team wearing the poppy symbol for Remembrance Day, as it is a divisive symbol in Ireland.^[81][82] Celtic expressed disapproval of these protests, saying they were damaging to the image of the club and its fans, and pledged to ban those involved.^[73][82][83]

In November 2011 UEFA launched an investigation into Celtic about alleged "illicit chanting" during their Europa League tie against Rennes on 3 November 2011.^[84] The hearing took place on 9 December 2011,^[85] and the club was fined £12,700 for the offence.^[86] Also in November 2011, the Scottish Premier League announced an investigation into Celtic over "pro-IRA" chanting by fans during a match against Hibernian the previous month.^[87] The investigation concluded on 5 December 2011, with the SPL stating that "It is not disputed that a small number of Celtic fans engaged in singing and chanting in support of the IRA". However, Celtic were deemed to have taken all "reasonably practicable steps" to try and prevent the behaviour so no action was taken against them. The SPL also stated that repeated condemnation of the chants by manager Neil Lennon as well as chief executive Peter Lawwell had been taken into consideration.^[88]

Celtic media[link]

In 1965, Celtic began publishing The Celtic View, the oldest club magazine in football.^[89]

In 2004, Celtic launched their own digital TV channel called Celtic TV, which was available in the UK through Setanta Sports on satellite and cable platforms. Due to the collapse of Setanta in the UK in June 2009, Celtic TV stopped broadcasting, although the club hoped to find a new broadcast partner.^[90]

Since 2002, Celtic's Internet TV channel Channel67 (previously known as Celtic Replay) broadcast Celtic's own content worldwide and offered live match coverage to subscribers outside the UK. It also provided three online channels.

In 2011, Celtic TV was relaunched as an online service and replaced Channel 67.^[91][92]

Celtic and charity[link]

Celtic was initially founded to raise money for the poor in the East End of Glasgow and the club still retain strong charitable traditions today.^[93]

On 9 August 2011 Celtic held a testimonial match in honour of former player John Kennedy. Due to the humanitarian crisis in East Africa, the entire proceeds were donated to Oxfam. An estimated £300,000 was raised.^[94]

In 1995 the Celtic charity fund was formed with the aim of "revitalising Celtic's charitable traditions" and to August 2011 has raised over £3 million.^[95][96]

Celtic hold an annual charity fashion show at Celtic Park. In 2011 the main beneficiaries were Breast Cancer Care Scotland.^[96]

Yorkhill Hospital is another charity with whom Celtic are affiliated and in December 2011 the club donated £3000 to it. Chief Executive Peter Lawwell said that; "Celtic has always been much more than a football club and it is important that, at all times we play an important role in the wider community. The club is delighted to have enjoyed such a long and positive connection with Yorkhill Hospital."^[97]

Ownership and finances[link]

Private company[link]

Celtic were formed in 1888 and in 1897 the club became a Private Limited Company,^[98] this was owned and run by several family "dynasties".^[99] These directors had a reputation of being very niggardly and authoritarian, as well as not showing loyalty to their players or managers. In particular they were known for continually selling their top players and not paying their staff enough, they also lacked ambition and many managers had run-ins with them due to this. Three of Celtic's most legendary figures Billy McNeill, Jock Stein and Jimmy McGrory all suffered from this. The board tried to sell McGrory, Celtic's greatest ever goalscorer, to Arsenal in 1928. Knowing how loyal he was to the club, they lured him to London under false pretences and despite his unhappiness at this, and Arsenal's offer of making him the highest paid player in Britain, he refused to move. As well as this, throughout his whole career he was paid £8 a week, £1 less than the rest of the team. As a manager McGrory was also unhappy with the board as they controlled team selection, he considered resigning three years into his management as the club had almost been relegated. Despite scoring 550 goals in 547 games, although not being as succesful as a manager, throughout his 35-year playing and managing career with the club they were generally unsuccesful and were always in Rangers' shadow.^[100][101]

Stein, who had also played for Celtic, took over the management of the club from McGrory in 1965 and revolutionised the team. He won nine succesive league titles and the 1967 European Cup, as well as being runners-up in 1970,^[102] with largely the team that McGrory had left behind.^{[citation needed]} By the mid-70s Celtic were declining and Stein was struggling to replace the Lisbon Lions. He had also been seriously injured in a car crash in 1975 which had been said to have affected him badly. Stein rebuilt the squad and achieved a double in 1976-77.^[103] However, the next season went poorly and the ability and commitment of many of these players was called into question.^[104] The board decided to replace Stein in 1978. The recently appointed Chairman, Desmond White, and Stein had a poor relationship and Stein left the club in a bad manner. Celtic's official history was released at that time and Stein was criticised in the book for losing the 1970 European Cup. White and the directors had contributed to the book and Stein was unhappy with this criticism. Stein was offered a place on the Celtic board after he left, however, they wanted him to revive the ticket sales at the club. Stein felt this demeaning and he said was; "a football man, not a ticket salesman". He declined this offer and decided to stay in management. The board's treatment of Stein was very poor considering his contribution to the club.^[105][102]

McNeil, the European Cup winning captain under Stein, was brought in to replace him. After five seasons he asked for a contract with a wage rise, Celtic's previous manager's had "gentleman's agreements" with the club, however, McNeil wanted more security as he had a young family. He had been the most succesful manager in Scotland during his tenure and it was revealed that he earned less than his counterparts at Aberdeen, Dundee United and Rangers. McNeil also publicly asked the board for more money to invest in the playing squad. The following day the board announced they had unanimously rejected his requests and McNeil moved to manage Manchester City as staying at Celtic would have humiliated him.^[102]

McCann takeover and transition to plc[link]

Throughout the 1960s and 70s Celtic had been one of the strongest clubs in Europe. However, the directors failed to accompany the wave of economic development facing football in the 1980s. In 1989, the club's annual budget was £6.4 million, about a third as much as Barcelona, with a debt of around 40% and on-field success deteriorating.^[106] In the early 1990s the situation began to worsen, in 1993 fans began organising pressure groups to protest aginst the board, one of the most prominent being "Celts for Change". They strongly supported a takeover bid fronted by Fergus McCann and Brian Dempsey. Football writer Jim Traynor likened McCann's attempt to buy the club from the board as being like "good against evil".^[107]

On 4 March 1994, McCann bought Celtic for £9 million.^[108] When he bought the club it was reported to be within 24 hours of entering receivership due to a £5 million overdraft.^[99][109] He turned Celtic into a Public limited company through a share issue which raised over £14 million, the most successful share issue in British football history.^[99][110] He also oversaw the building of a new stadium, the 60,000 seater Celtic Park, which cost £40 million and at the time was Britain's largest capacity stadium.^{[111][112] [99]} This allowed Celtic to progress as a club because over £20 million was being raised each year from season ticket sales.^[99]

McCann had maintained from the outset that he would only be at Celtic for five years and in September 1999 he officially announced that his 50.3% stake in Celtic was for sale. McCann had always wanted the ownership of Celtic to be spread as widely as possible and gave first preference to existing shareholders and season-ticket holders. This was to stop a new consortium taking over the club.^[113] 14.4 million shares were sold by McCann at a value of 280 pence each. McCann made £40 million out of this meaning he left Celtic with a £31 million profit. During his tenure turnover at the club rose by 385% to £33.8m and operating profits rose from £282,000 to £6.7m.^[112] McCann was often criticised during his time at Celtic and many people disagreed with him over building a stadium which they thought Celtic couldn't fill, not investing enough in the squad and being overly focused on finance. However, McCann was responsible for the financial recovery of the club and for providing a very good platform fot it to build on. After he left Celtic, the club were able to invest in players and achieved much success such as winning The Treble in 2000-01 and reaching the 2003 UEFA Cup Final.^[99][112]

After McCann's exit, Irish billionaire Dermot Desmond was left as the majority shareholder. He purchased 2.8 million of McCann's shares to increase his stake in the club from 13% to 20%.^[114]

In 2005, Celtic issued a share offer designed to raise £15 million for the club, 50 million new shares were made available priced at 30p each. It was also revealed that majority sharholder Desmond would buy around £10 million worth of the shares. £10 million of the money raised was for building a new state-of-the-art training facility and youth academy, expanding the club's global scouting network and investing in coaching and player development programmes. The rest of the money was to be used to reduce debt. Building a youth academy was important for Celtic to surpass both Hearts and Rangers who had superior youth facilities at the time.^[115] The share issue was a success and Celtic had more applicants than shares available,^[116] Celtic's new Lennoxtown training centre was opened in October 2007.^[117]

Celtic have been ranked in the Deloitte Football Money League six times. This lists the top 20 football clubs in the world according to revenue. They were ranked between 2002 (2000-01 season) and 2006 (2004-05 season) and 2008 (2006-07 season).^[118][119]

Celtic's financial results for 2011 showed that the club's debt had been reduced from £5.5 million to £500,000 and that a pre-tax profit of £100,000 had been achieved. In comparison the previous year which had a loss of over £2 million. Turnover also decreased by 15% from £63 million to £52 million.^[120]

In May 2012, Celtic were rated 37th in Brand Finance's annual valuation of the world's biggest football clubs. Celtic's brand was valued at $64 million (£40.7 million), $15 million more than the previous year. It was the first time a Scottish club had been ranked in the top 50. Matt Hannagan, Sports Brand Valuation Analyst at Brand Finance, said that Celtic were contstrained by the amount of money they got from the SPL and that if they were in the Premiership then, due to their large fan base, could be in the top 10 clubs in the world.^[121][122] Later that month David Low, the financial consultant who advised Fergus McCann on his takeover of Celtic in 1994, said that Celtic's 'entrprise value' (how much it would cost to buy the club) was £52 million.^[123]

Current squad[link]

First team squad[link]

As of 1 February 2012^[124][125]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Fraser Forster (on loan from Newcastle United) 2 DF Adam Matthews 3 DF Emilio Izaguirre 4 MF Efraín Juárez 5 DF Daniel Majstorović 6 DF Kelvin Wilson 8 MF Scott Brown (captain) 9 FW Georgios Samaras 10 FW Anthony Stokes 11 DF Cha Du-Ri 12 DF Mark Wilson 14 FW Mohamed Bangura 15 MF Kris Commons 16 MF Joe Ledley 17 FW Paweł Brożek (on loan from Trabzonspor) 18 MF Ki Sung-Yueng 19 FW Morten Rasmussen 20 MF Paddy McCourt

No. Position Player 21 DF Charlie Mulgrew 22 DF Glenn Loovens 23 DF Mikael Lustig 24 GK Łukasz Załuska 25 DF Thomas Rogne 32 FW Tony Watt 33 MF Beram Kayal 39 DF Andre Blackman 40 MF Rabiu Ibrahim 44 DF Marcus Fraser 46 MF Dylan McGeouch 47 GK Dominic Cervi 49 FW James Forrest 56 MF Filip Twardzik 58 MF Patrik Twardzik 67 MF Victor Wanyama 88 FW Gary Hooper

Out on loan[link]

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 27 FW Daryl Murphy (at Ipswich Town) 28 FW James Keatings (at St. Johnstone) 28 GK Nick Feely (at Clyde) 30 MF Paul Slane (at Milton Keynes Dons) 31 MF Richie Towell (at Hibernian)

No. Position Player 38 DF Josh Thompson (at Chesterfield) 45 DF Lewis Toshney (at Kilmarnock) 48 DF Darren O'Dea (at Leeds United) — MF Niall McGinn (at Brentford)

Reserve and youth squads[link]

For Celtic's reserve and youth squads, see Celtic F.C. Reserve and Youth squads

2011–12 transfers[link]

Click here for a list of Celtic transfers in season 2011–12

Non-playing staff[link]

Board of directors[link]

Management[link]

Honours[link]

Domestic honours[link]

Trophy case at Celtic Park

^[133]

• Scottish League Championships: 43

1893, 1894, 1896, 1898, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1926, 1936, 1938, 1954, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1988, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012

• Scottish Cup: 35

1892, 1899, 1900, 1904, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1914, 1923, 1925, 1927, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1951, 1954, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2011

• Scottish League Cup: 14

1956–57, 1957–58, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1974–75, 1982–83, 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09

European honours[link]

• European Cup: 1

1967
1970 (runners-up)

• UEFA Cup:

2003 (runners-up)

Minor and special honours[link]

• Glasgow Cup: 31 (Contested by under 18 youth teams from 2008)

1891, 1892, 1895, 1896, 1905, 1906, 1907, 1908, 1910, 1916, 1917, 1920, 1921, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1939, 1941, 1949, 1956, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1975*, 1982, 2008, 2011

• British League Cup: 1

1902

• Ferencvaros Vase: 1

1914

• Navy and Army War Fund Shield: 1

1918

• Empire Exhibition Trophy: 1

1938

• Victory In Europe Cup: 1

1945

• Saint Mungo Cup: 1

1951

• Coronation Cup: 1

1953

• Alfredo di Stefano Trophy: 1

1967

• CNE Cup of Champions: 1

1968

• France Football European Team of the Year: 1

1970

• Drybrough Cup: 1

1974

• Translink Cup: 1

2009

• World of Soccer Cup: 1

1977

• Feyenoord Tournament: 1

1981

• Dubai Gold Cup: 1

1989

• Wembley Cup: 1

2009

• Fenway Football Challenge: 1

2010

• Jock Stein Friendship Cup: 5

2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Youth honours[link]

• Scottish Youth Cup: 11

1984, 1987, 1989, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011

• Under 18 Scottish Premier League: 2

2000, 2003

• Under 19 Scottish Premier League: 5

2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011

• Under 21 Scottish Premier League: 3

2002, 2003, 2004

• Reserve Scottish Premier League: 8

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009

Other awards[link]

• BBC Sports Personality of the Year Team Award: 1

1967

• France Football European Team of the Year: 1

1970

• FIFA Fair Play Award: 1

2003 (awarded to the fans of Celtic FC)

• UEFA Fair Play Award:

1

* 1975 trophy shared with Rangers after a 2–2 draw

Managers[link]

Name	Nationality	From	To	Scottish League	Scottish Cup	Scottish League Cup	European Cup	Total
Maley, WillieWillie Maley	Scotland	1897	1940	16	14	—	—	30
McStay, JimmyJimmy McStay	Scotland	1940	1945	0	0	—	—	0
McGrory, JimmyJimmy McGrory	Scotland	1945	1965	1	2	2	—	5
Stein, JockJock Stein	Scotland	1965	1978	10	8	6	1	25
McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill	Scotland	1978	1983	3	1	1	0	5
Hay, DavidDavid Hay	Scotland	1983	1987	1	1	0	0	2
McNeill, BillyBilly McNeill	Scotland	1987	1991	1	2	0	0	3
Brady, LiamLiam Brady	Ireland	1991	1993	0	0	0	0	0
Macari, LouLou Macari	Scotland	1993	1994	0	0	0	0	0
Burns, TommyTommy Burns	Scotland	1994	1997	0	1	0	0	1
Jansen, WimWim Jansen	Netherlands	1997	1998	1	0	1	0	2
Vengloš, JozefJozef Vengloš	Slovakia	1998	1999	0	0	0	0	0
Barnes, JohnJohn Barnes	England	1999	2000	0	0	0	0	0
Dalglish, KennyKenny Dalglish	Scotland	2000	2000	0	0	1	0	1
O'Neill, MartinMartin O'Neill	Northern Ireland	2000	2005	3	3	1	0	7
Strachan, GordonGordon Strachan	Scotland	2005	2009	3	1	2	0	6
Mowbray, TonyTony Mowbray	England	2009	2010	0	0	0	0	0
Lennon, NeilNeil Lennon	Northern Ireland	2010		1	1	0	0	2

Records[link]

Club records[link]

• The Scottish Cup final win against Aberdeen in 1937 was attended by a crowd of 147,365 at Hampden Park in Glasgow, which remains a world record gate for a national cup final^[134]
• Highest attendance for a European club competition match: Celtic v Leeds United in the European Cup semi-final, 15 April 1970 at Hampden Park, Glasgow. Official attendance 136,505^[134]
• Record home attendance: 92,000 against Rangers on 1 January 1938.^[135][136] A 3–0 victory for Celtic^[137]
• UK record for an unbeaten run in professional football: 62 games (49 won, 13 drawn), from 13 November 1915 until 21 April 1917 – a total of 17 months and four days in all (they lost at home to Kilmarnock on the penultimate day of the season)^[138][139]
• SPL record for an unbeaten run of home matches (77), from 2001 to 2004^[140][141]
• 14 consecutive League Cup final appearances, from season 1964/65 to 1977/78 inclusive,^[142] a world record for successive appearances in the final of a major football competition^[143]
• Most goals scored in one Scottish top-flight league match by one player: 8 goals by Jimmy McGrory against Dunfermline in 9–0 win on 14 January 1928
• Highest score in a domestic British cup final: Celtic 7–1 Rangers, Scottish League Cup Final 1957^[144]
• Fastest hat-trick in European Club Football – Mark Burchill vs Jeunesse Esch in 2000; 3 minutes (between 12th minute and 15th minute), a record at the time^[136][145]
• Earliest SPL Championship won. Twice won with 6 games remaining, against Kilmarnock on 18 April 2004^[146] and Hearts on 5 April 2006^[147][148]
• Biggest margin of victory in the SPL. 9–0 against Aberdeen, 6 November 2010^[149]
• Celtic and Hibernian hold the record for the biggest transfer fee between two Scottish clubs. Celtic bought Scott Brown from Hibernian on 16 May 2007 for £4.4m^[150]
• Most expensive export from Scottish football, Aiden McGeady to Spartak Moscow, August 2010^[151]
• First weekly club publication in the UK, The Celtic View
• First European club to sign a player from the Indian sub-continent^[152]
• First British club to reach the final of the European Cup, and the only Scottish, and first British team to win the European Cup

Individual records[link]

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

• Record appearances: Billy McNeill, 790 from 1957–1975
• Most capped player: 102, Kenny Dalglish
• Record scorer: Jimmy McGrory, 468 (1922/23 – 1937/38)
• Most goals in a season (all competitions): Jimmy McGrory, 59 (1926/27) (49 League/10 Scottish Cup)
• Most goals in a season (league only): Jimmy McGrory, 50 (1935/36)

All players are from Scotland unless otherwise stated.

Top Goalscorers

Rank	Name	Career	Goals
1	Jimmy McGrory	1922–1937	468
2	Bobby Lennox	1961–1978 1979–1980	273
3	Henrik Larsson	1997–2004	242
4	Stevie Chalmers	1958–1971	231
5	Jimmy Quinn	1900–1917	217
6	Patsy Gallacher	1911–1926	192
7	John Hughes	1960–1971	189
8	Sandy McMahon	1891–1903	171
9	Jimmy McMenemy	1902–1920	168
10	Kenny Dalglish	1969–1977	167

Top League Goalscorers

Rank	Name	Career	Goals
1	Jimmy McGrory	1922–1937	397
2	Jimmy Quinn	1900–1917	187
3	Patsy Gallacher	1911–1926	186
4	Henrik Larsson	1997–2004	174
6	Bobby Lennox	1961–1978 1979–1980	167
6	Stevie Chalmers	1958–1971	159
7	Jimmy McMenemy	1902–1920	144
8	Sandy McMahon	1891–1903	130
9	Adam McLean	1917–1928	128
10	John Hughes	1960–1971	115

Most Appearances

Rank	Name	Career	Apps
1	Billy McNeill	1957–1975	790
2	Paul McStay	1981–1997	678
3	Roy Aitken	1976–1990	669
4	Danny McGrain	1970–1987	661
5	Packie Bonner	1978–1995	642
6	Bobby Lennox	1961–1978 1979–1980	587
7	Bobby Evans	1944–1960	548
8	Jimmy Johnstone	1962–1975	515
9	Jimmy McMenemy	1902–1920	515
10	Tommy Burns	1975–1989	504

Notable former players[link]

See List of Celtic F.C. players for players with over 100 appearances, List of Celtic F.C. international footballers and Category:Celtic FC players

Greatest ever team[link]

The following team was voted the greatest ever Celtic team by supporters in 2002:^[153]

• Ronnie Simpson
• Danny McGrain
• Tommy Gemmell
• Bobby Murdoch
• Paul McStay MBE
• Billy McNeill MBE – Voted Celtic's greatest ever captain
• Bertie Auld
• Jimmy Johnstone – Voted Celtic's greatest ever player
• Bobby Lennox MBE
• Kenny Dalglish MBE
• Henrik Larsson MBE – Voted Celtic's greatest ever foreign player

Scotland Football Hall of Fame[link]

To November 2011, 21 Celtic players and managers have entered the Scottish Football Hall of Fame:^[154]

• Bertie Auld^[155]
• Paddy Crerand^[156]
• Kenny Dalglish MBE
• Jimmy Delaney^[155]
• Bobby Evans
• Tommy Gemmell
• Jimmy Johnstone
• Maurice Johnston^[157]
• Paul Lambert^[155]
• Henrik Larsson
• Bobby Lennox
• Willie Maley^[155]
• Danny McGrain
• Jimmy McGrory
• Billy McNeill
• Paul McStay^[158]
• Bobby Murdoch
• Jock Stein CBE
• Ronnie Simpson^[156]
• Gordon Strachan^[159]
• John Thomson