Celtic on this Day in 1967 were in to Buenos Aires to face Racing Club in the second leg of the mammoth Intercontinental Club Cup…
Jock Stein’s side had won the ferocious first leg at Hampden Park 1-0 thanks to Billy McNeill’s leaping header. The match in Glasgow was marred in controversy as Racing Club players kicked and spat the European Cup winners but could not stop Stein’s immortals on the park who flew to South America just needing to avoid defeat.
Celtic Confidence was high
Confidence was high amongst Celtic’s ranks as they had come off the back of defeating Dundee in the Scottish League Cup final four days prior. Domestic dominance had been run of the mill for Celtic in the late sixties, and despite competing in a national cup final, Stein and the players had one eye on the clash with Racing Club. Meanwhile, the Hoops opposition had not only lost four successive matches heading into the battle with Celtic but had failed to score in any of those games.
No help from Scottish Football League
Celtic had requested a 10-day break to the Scottish Football League Association in order to prepare for the second leg in Argentina. Initially agreeing, events changed, and the Hoops ended up having to fulfil their league fixture with Motherwell in Glasgow’s East End on 24 October which was followed by the League Cup final at Hampden a few days later. Therefore, the highly anticipated encounter with Racing Club had been Celtic’s third competitive match in the space of 10 days. No time for celebration post-Dundee, Stein’s focus quickly shifted to the second leg against the Argentinians.
106 dedicated Celtic supporters travelled
A party of 18 players flew out on an Aerolineas Argentina Jet from Prestwick via Paris and Madrid with the Celtic players and staff boarding a long-haul 20-hour light. For the 106 dedicated supporters who travelled, their journey was slightly longer. The 7000-mile trip to South America stopped in the Canary Islands, then Sal in the Cape Verde Islands, before making the short trip to Recife in Brazil which finished off in Buenos Aires. Not only was it a crazy 29-hour journey, but it was also a costly one too. At £200 per person, match tickets were priced at a feasible rate of eight quid.
Jimmy Johnstone was available to play
Personnel wise, Jimmy Johnstone was available to play. Under a 21 day domestic suspension, the SFA caved in and allowed Jinky to compete in the World Club Championships. A major reason for this was because Racing Club star Humberto Maschio had been in the exact same position, but the Argentinian Football Association allowed him to compete in games against Celtic. The Intercontinental Cup was not overseen by FIFA therefore it was up to respective associations to decide whether suspended players could play or not.
120,000 hostile fanatics crammed into the El Cilindro
Before the match, Stein had to make a drastic late change to his starting XI. With 120,000 hostile fanatics crammed into the El Cilindro, Ronnie Simpson had been struck by an object which split his head open along the top. Various historians in the past have said that it was a piece of medal, a stone or indeed a bottle that hit Simpson, although it is not definitive of what connected with the Celtic goalkeeper. John Fallon had to replace Simpson as a result.
An open encounter
Officiated by Uruguayan Esteban Marino, the second leg was played in a less chaotic spirit than the first. Racing Club players had also abandoned their park the bus approach and decided to attack Celtic [not literally this time} which made it an open encounter.
Despite Tommy Gemmell’s early penalty, the Argentinians fought back, equalising through Norberto Raffo’s header. Jaun Carlos Cardenas quickfire strike after the restart was the games winning goal. Subsequently, no champion was crowned on the night due to no away goals rule and a third match had to take place.
The Celtic dressing room had been attacked by Argentinian supporters
However, a debate between Stein and Celtic’s hierarchy around whether to play a third game ensued. The Hoops dressing room had been attacked by Argentinian supporters after the match which quite rightfully enraged Stein. All the while, fighting broke out outside the stadium between Racing Club fans and Uruguayans who had made the journey to Buenos Aires to support Celtic. It all became a tad mental.
Chairman Bob Kelly was insistent on flying home as he did not want to play a third World Club Championship tie. But, Secretary Desmond White, alongside fellow board member James Ferrell wanted to compete in a third contest which was to be played in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Celtic should have listened to Chairman Bob Kelly
Displeased with actions both on and off the park, Jock Stein told reporters that, “we don’t want to go to Montevideo or anywhere else in South America, for another game. But we know we have to.”
Reluctantly, the two teams would face off against each other three days later. Sadly, Celtic would go onto lose the final match 1-0, but all three encounters versus Racing Club are firmly enriched in the club’s history books.
Jock Stein’s Celtic starting XI in Buenos Aires 57 years to the day; Fallon, Craig, Gemmell, Murdoch, McNeill, Clark, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, O’Neill, Lennox.
Conor Spence
