The European Cup 1969-70
The one competition that remained was the European Cup. Celtic’s continental campaign began in September 1969, and it involved a trip to Switzerland to face Basel.
This trip brought happy memories for the Hoops; Basel were the first team that Celtic beat in European football, with a 10-1 aggregate score in the Cup-Winners’ Cup in 1963.
Given this previous victory, Celtic were expected to have no problems in disposing of the Swiss side, although it did not prove as simple as expected. The first leg involved a packed stadium in Switzerland, with fans watching Celtic dominate but failing to score. In the end, it finished 0-0, but the Bhoys were confident of addressing this back in Glasgow.
Any nerves that the Celts might have had were very quickly dispelled. Within 65 seconds, Harry Hood put the home team ahead, and after this they had control of the game. However, they faced a Basel ‘keeper in inspired form and it took until the 65th minute for a Tommy Gemmell strike to seal victory.
Celtic were through to the next round. And this would prove to be a much more difficult encounter, with a very unusual ending to the tie.
Celtic 3 Benfica 0, European Cup, 12 November 1969. Celtic View feature on the game.
“Benfica were fed to the Lions!”
The Hoops were drawn to face Portuguese side Benfica. Although they were a top team, it looked at first as though Celtic would have no problems. The first leg – in November 1969 – was held in Glasgow’s east end. Quite simply, it was an outstanding Celtic performance, a real treat for the fans.
The near 75,000 supporters who crammed into Celtic Park cheered within two minutes as Tommy Gemmell continued his fine scoring record in Europe. 12 minutes later, Stevie Chalmers doubled the Bhoys lead, and a huge score looked to be in prospect.
Minutes later, John Hughes thought he had made it 3-0, although the goal was disallowed. Instead, Celtic had to wait until the 70th minute when Harry Hood made it three, and gave the Bhoys a massive lead to take to Portugal. One newspaper headline summed up Celtic’s dominance – and alluded to the club’s European history – by saying “Benfica were fed to the Lions!”
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