Celtic’s 1998-99 season was nowhere near as fruitful as their season prior, but there were still many fun memories to be had as they continued to show their excellence in Europe.
Wim Jansen’s men had broken theRangers’ ten-in-a-row title quest at the final hurdle, with the Dutchman winning the hearts of the Celtic support for his exploits. However, after an inability to work with Jock Brown, he resigned just hours after winning the league – leaving Celtic fans bewildered.
Josef Venglos was his replacement and despite producing some strong results in his time at Paradise and signing brilliant players such as the wonderful Lubo and Johan Mjallby, the Slovakian didn’t win any major honours.
After being knocked out of the Champions League by Dinamo Zagreb, Venglos’s men had the chance to progress in another tournament via the UEFA Cup, facing Vitoria Guimaraes.
A nervy 2-1 win in Portugal gave Celtic the upper hand in Glasgow, but there was still a job to be done.
Alan Stubbs eased Celtic nerves with his 38th minute opener. With the Scouser giving the Hoops’ fans many memorable moments by popping up with vital goals throughout his career, this was no different as Celtic aimed to gain European glory for the second time in their history.
The game was one again made nervy as Guimaraes pulled one back with just three minutes remaining as the 38,000-strong crowd braced themselves for failure.
But that man again – and boy he always was reliable – Henrik Larsson wrapped the game up in stoppage time to seal a memorable but scrappy win in Europe.
The team that day was: Gould, Mahe, Rieper, Stubbs, Burley, Brattbakk, Donnelly, Lambert, Larsson, Hannah, McKinlay.
29th September 1998, Celtic 2:1 Vittoria Guimaraes.
Stubbs and Larsson. No footage of Stubbs freekick. pic.twitter.com/Q18X3HrcJU
— Li’l Ze (@LilZe_7) September 28, 2021
