The story of Celtic visiting United States and Canada

CELTIC IN THE USA – 1981

Celtic went to the USA to play in the NASL Transatlantic Cup. Playing in New York and Seattle, the Bhoys lost their first two games but beat Southampton 2-1.

A Celtic team far from being match fit lost to New York Cosmos and Seattle Sounders, although they did beat Southampton who were also touring the US.

CELTIC IN CANADA – 1982

A year after the US journey, Celtic were back in North America for another tournament. This time, it was the Bhoys’ first such visit that involved only Canada without any American games.

In July 1982, they went to Toronto to play in the Labatt’s International Soccer Tournament. It proved to be a disastrous and embarrassing affair.

In the opening game, Celtic lost 4-1 to the amateur side Toronto Italia. Roy Aitken called it a “disgrace” and said it was the worst game the club had ever played. A small segment of pride was restored about beating Toronto Hellenic 7-0.

In the final game, Celtic were due to face Dinamo Zagreb. However, the Yugoslavian side had already won the competition, so the Celts declined to play the game.

CELTIC IN CANADA – 1985

The disappointment in 1982 did not stop the Celts from repeating their ‘Canada-only’ visit, and three years later they were back in the land of the maple leaf. This time it was for another competition, the B.C. Place International Soccer Tournament, which was held in June 1985 in Vancouver.

In the semi-final of the four-team tournament, Celtic beat Pacific Rim Soccer League All-Stars 2-1, whilst the other European entrants, Ajax were knocked out.

In the final, Celtic faced local side North Shore Colts, but fell to a 2-1 defeat. The Canadian men had guests such as Peter Beardsley in their team.

CELTIC IN CANADA – 1994

In June 1994, Celtic played games against Hearts and Aberdeen. This does not seem particularly unusual, apart from the fact that the matches were held in Canada, more than 3000 miles away from Scotland.

The teams all featured in the Hamilton Cup, a mini-tournament which was held to celebrate Scottish links with Canada. In the semi-final, Celtic drew with Hearts before disposing of the Edinburgh men in a penalty shootout.

This set up a final showdown with Aberdeen, who had beaten local team Montreal Impact in the other semi-final. In this match, a Paul Byrne goal gave Celtic the win.

Although this is hardly a major tournament, it was the first competition won by the Celts following Fergus McCann’s Celtic takeover earlier in 1994.

Continues on the next page…