Celtic in Europe: Continued, a long talk with Tommy Gemmell (part 7)

LAST week before the Rosenborg game at Celtic Park we carried a series of articles which were very popular and featured a supporters’ Q&A I organised with the late, great Tommy Gemmell back in 2013.

Tommy of course was a specialist for Celtic when it came to the big European night. He used to love reminding everyone that he scored in not one but two European Cup finals for the Hoops. Never arrogant or boastful, he always made the point in a playful manner.

Anyway as it brought us luck last Wednesday, here’s some more of the Q&A with Tommy for you to enjoy.

If you missed the articles from last week, use the search function and type in Long talk with Tommy Gemmell and you’ll find them there.

‘When you chased that German to boot him up the bahoochie, was it the fastest you had ever run and the hardest you had ever kicked?’ And was it the fastest Haller had ever run?

I don’t know if it was the quickest Haller had ever run, but it was certainly the loudest he ever squealed! I would have chased him out of the stadium and into Hamburg city centre to give him that boot up the backside. Don’t think it was the hardest I ever kicked, but it must have come close!

We hear much moaning about honest mistakes from Scottish referees in recent years. But I am sure there were plenty of the same in your era. Any specific incidents of this nature stick in your mind? Also who was the best goalkeeper you faced? Thanks for the many great memories Tam. We even forgive you for leading Dundee to League Cup glory against us…well almost.

Bobby Davidson’s display in our 3-1 defeat from Aberdeen in the 1970 Scottish Cup Final was the worst I have ever seen. That’s not sour grapes and it’s not just my opinion. Every Celtic player in the Hampden dressing room that day could hardly believe that performance from the match official.

There was talk he wasn’t particularly fond of Big Jock. Or Celtic, for that matter. He proved it that afternoon!

It was a game in which you knew you would be punished for anything. The slightest show of dissent and you would have been in the book. You wouldn’t have to be an expert in lip-reading if you saw my reaction to his award of a penalty-kick for the Dons after the ball hit Bobby Murdoch in the midriff. Presumably, he didn’t hear me or I might have been off the pitch!

Mainly, though, most referees were consistent and I thought the majority were fair. Tiny Wharton was a good match official and he had a bit of inter-action with the players. He would jog past you and say, ‘Now, now Mr.Gemmell, I saw that late tackle. Don’t do it again or you know what will happen.’ He always addressed players as Mister. In return, I called him Mr.Wharton. Tiny’s real Christian name was Tom, but he was 6ft 4in, so, of course, he had to be nicknamed Tiny.

Apart from Faither in training, the best goalkeeper I’ve ever faced has got to be Giuliano Sarti, of Inter Milan. His performance in Lisbon was simply awesome. We were beginning to wonder if we would ever get the ball behind him. Thankfully, I managed it and Stevie did it, too. But Sarti was immense that day. He didn’t deserve to be in a losing team. Thank God he was, though.

If, instead of scoring with that thunderbolt, your shot had bounced off the post and Inter had broken away and scored a second, what would Jock have done? Also, could we have come back from 2-0 if that had happened?

Jock would have booted my backside all the way back to Glasgow! The golden rule was that if I was up in attack Jim Craig remained in our half and vice-versa. So, when Cairney slid that ball across their penalty area the last player who should have been coming onto it was me. Could we have come back from 2-0? It’s speculation, of course, but we were an extremely fit team and there would have been the guts of half-an-hour still to play. I believe we could have – but you might have expected me to say that.

Do you remember smashing a clearance out of play in 1968 and almost decapitating a young bhoy in the old enclosure in front of the stand? I’m still dizzy by the way!

Glad you survived and lived to tell the tale! Thankfully, I normally took my frustration out on rival goalkeepers.

If you had been born in another time and unable to play in the Lions era, which other Celtic era/ team would you now choose to play in and why?

Honestly, can’t think of one because I was just so happy to be associated with the Lisbon Lions. It might have been interesting to play in Big Billy’s Centenary Double-winning side where Anton Rogan and Derek Whyte shared the left-back duties during the memorable 1987/88 season. And it would have been intriguing to have played in a Martin O’Neill team too. I wouldn’t have minded having a go at Porto in Seville. The nearest I got was a seat in the stand. But, no, I will always be more than satisfied to be a Lion.

You played in two of the greatest-ever Scottish teams in 1967 – the Lisbon Lions and the Wembley Wizards. Had the two been able to face each other, who’d have won and would you have managed to crack one past Faither in the Scotland goal?

Well, of course, Celtic would have won because it would have been 11 versus 7. Scotland would have been without me, Faither, Wispy and Bobby Lennox. Wouldn’t have been fair. I’m sure I could have stuck a few into an empty net!

If you hadn’t converted to being a full-back, what kind of winger would you have made and do you think you would still have had a career as a pro footballer?

I started my career as an outside-right with Coltness United, would you believe? To be honest, I might still have had a career in the game, but I believe I would have been a pretty average winger. I would never have played in two European Cup Finals and won a barrowload of medals, that’s for sure.

Martin O’Neill made a big effort to get the Lions back involved at Celtic Park on Matchdays. How was this appreciated by the Bhoys? And do you think previous custodians could and should have done more to honour the Lions’ remarkable achievement?

Martin took the Lions for a dinner at an Italian restaurant on the south side of Glasgow just a week or so after joining the club. That was greatly appreciated and he came across as being a big fan of Celtic. I think the custodians, as you call them, have done their bit. They’ve got a club to run and a present to take care of and a future to plan for. No complaints on that score.

The first time I saw the Hoops, I was five years old and have never forgotten that experience. It will stay with me forever. My auld maw tells me I was struck dumb for hours afterwards, when I eventually spoke, the first words I said…Bobby Lennox…wow…The Lisbon Lions…true genius in abundance! Tommy, Love you Big Man! My question is, ‘How good was the Buzz Bomb?’

Bobby Lennox was grease lightning. Once he got past a defender they were in serious trouble. There was just no catching Bobby. Wee Bertie used to say, ‘See that Lennox – he’d chase paper on a windy day!’ He was a wonderful goalscorer, too, and a great team-mate. In fact, I think his goal tally would have been greater if he hadn’t been so fast! He used to get into positions so quickly that the referee and lineman must have thought he had to be offside. And we rarely got the benefit of the doubt in those days.

If Joe McBride would have been fit would he have been in the starting line-up in Lisbon and, if so, who would have been left out?

Impossible to answer that one, of course. I can’t think of anyone who would have been left out. Joe played in Stevie Chalmers’ position as the spearhead of the attack, but, remember, Stevie played in every European Cup game that season. He was in the team at the start of the campaign when Joe was fit. And, of course, he did hit the winner against Inter Milan, didn’t he?

As you and the Lions lifted the Big Cup, did it ever dawn you that you had started the downfall of our rivals – as they never could accept we had won it and they never could? All I can say is – fantastic work and very much appreciated.

Rangers were fairly far removed from anyone’s thoughts around Lisbon time. We concentrated completely on Celtic. However, I think it merely underlines our feats when you look at the Rangers team in 1967. It was strong enough to get to the European Cup-Winners’ Cup Final where they played Bayern Munich in Nuremberg only a week after our triumph over Inter Milan. They lost 1-0 in extra-time to a very good Bayern line-up. I didn’t think they could ever have won the European Cup in my days because you had to be champions to play in the premier tournament back then. And, of course, the Scottish League title was the exclusive property of Celtic at the time.

When Billy had to go out alone at Lisbon to lift the Big Cup, were you all a bit sad that you couldn’t go with him or just relieved to be in the safety of the dressing room?

It would have been marvelous to have done a lap of honour, but there’s no way we can blame the fans for their over-exuberance. By the time I got off the pitch and up the tunnel, Billy had already been handed the European Cup. I didn’t even see the presentation. At the end of the day, we were all just delighted to have won and to have left our magnificent support with a memory to cherish.

To be continued, maybe next week ahead of the AEK Athens game (fingers crossed).

About Author

The Celtic Star founder and editor, who has edited numerous Celtic books over the past decade or so including several from Lisbon Lions, Willie Wallace, Tommy Gemmell and Jim Craig. Earliest Celtic memories include a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email editor@thecelticstar.co.uk

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