Tommy Gemmell. Scorer in Lisbon in a European Cup Final for Celtic. Tommy Gemmell. Scorer in Milan in a European Cup Final for Celtic. Humbly put Tam, I only dream of dreaming of those heights with Celtic. Do you know just how much you mean to the Celtic family?
Yes and I’m very grateful, too. I’ve had a lot of respect from the Celtic family almost from day one. The supporters were great to me very early in my career and I’m delighted I may have been able to pay them back in some manner. I think I was fairly consistent throughout my Celtic career and I was also lucky enough to score a few spectacular goals. If I gave you and fellow-Celtic fans a happy memory or two, then I did my job.
Can you give us some comparison on the current Celtic players versus the Lisbon Lions? Do present-day Celtic supporters get better value for money now or in your day?
I believe the Lisbon Lions are incomparable and I hope I don’t sound conceited in saying that. The Lions simply gelled and, when we sparked, I believe we were the best club side in the world. As regards value for money, I think it was more exciting and entertaining in my day. But it is also fair to say that players such as Wee Jinky, Bertie, Bobby Murdoch, Caesar and Faither in goal only come along once in a lifetime. It was a happy coincidence we were all at Celtic at the same time.
Big Tam, you scored 63 goals in 418 games for Celtic. That’s a better ratio than some of current strikers! Could you have played centre-forward?
The quick answer is ‘No’. A huge percentage of my goals came from long distance when I backed up the forwards. So, although I scored a few goals, they weren’t the type of strikes you would associate with guys such as Stevie Chalmers, Bobby Lennox, Willie Wallace or Joe McBride. They did their best work in and around the penalty box. I was happy to leave the goalscoring to the guys who knew what they were doing.
King Lud or Era Bar?
Great question! Two pubs in Craigneuk when I was growing up. I didn’t have a favourite – I was far too young to drink! However, I do recall collecting empty beer bottles and returning them to the pubs. I think you got a penny on the empties. I made an absolute fortune in that area!
How do you see the future of Celtic and Scottish football generally and what action can be taken to ensure a fairer distribution of TV revenues are received by Scottish clubs?
That’s up to the authorities to decide. The SFA and the League need to negotiate the best deals for our football clubs in general. There’s a lot to be considered, crowd money, TV deals, sponsorship and so on. As for Celtic’s future, it would be highly intriguing if they ever got the opportunity to play in England. That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? At the moment, though, I think we should concentrate on building a team that will rule domestically and perform consistently well in Europe. Just like the good old days!
Can you tell us about your party piece? The German Song?
Oh, you mean, ‘Fritz a Grand Old Team To Play For’? Yes, I have been known to belt that out at parties. Normally, I start off with a bit of Sinatra, but it’s not long before the ‘German Song’ gets an airing!
Serious question this time. Wee Deedle Henderson claims you cheated when playing against him. Is it true you breathed on his contact lens before and during the game to restrict his vision?
Yes, of course, I did – anything to give Celtic an advantage over the old enemy! Seriously, though, Wee Willie was a marvelous winger and we had some memorable jousts. He was lightning quick and he never gave me a minute’s peace when we were facing each other. I think Wee Willie would be the first to admit that I played him hard, but fair. Do you know we are still pals to this day? He was at my 70th birthday party last year.
What’s the story with Jinky’s night out with a young Gordon Strachan while they were both at Dundee and you were the manager? I think Wee Gordon became teetotal after that night!
Actually, I’ve talked about this impromptu drinking double-act in the book (All The Best). Yes, I had to give the current Scotland manager a bollocking. I told him, ‘Don’t go near that little bugger again!’ For the sake of his liver, I don’t think he ever did. Jinky? What could I say to my wee mate? He would just smile back and that was the end of the matter.
Tommy and the Lions gave the Celts more pleasure than all the tea in China ever could. No need for alcohol, drugs, cigarettes or anything else. Just watch that game. Happy days. How lucky the older generation were to have that team to watch. What was your most memorable match domestically as a Celt?
There is little doubt the 3-2 success over Dunfermline in the 1965 Scottish Cup Final was a major turning point in Celtic’s history. Before that game, the last trophy the club had won was the League Cup when we beat Rangers 7-1 in season 1957/58. That was quite a gap that had to be filled. We did that against a very good Fifers team in that Final. The victory gave us confidence and kicked off a very enjoyable winning habit. That was a big win for Celtic and the support.
Mr Gemmell, what was the feeling of the Celtic team of that era regarding the lack of International recognition of Celtic players? Did they care or was it just accepted as typical of the regime and their referees!
We always had the feeling back then that the SFA was very definitely Rangers orientated. And I mean that as no disrespect to the Rangers players who were chosen to represent their country – they weren’t the ones doing the selecting, after all.
However, it got to such a situation that the SFA couldn’t ignore what we were achieving at Celtic. They HAD to bring our players into their squads and teams. All of the Lisbon Lions won full caps with the curious exception of Wee Bertie. That still amazes me to this day. My little chum was undoubtedly one of the finest left-sided midfielders of my era and, on his day, was simply mesmerising. But Bertie, of course, was never slow to speak his mind and maybe the blazers at Park Gardens thought they had enough on their plate dealing with Wee Jinky!
Obviously, in hindsight, Big Jock cannot be criticised for his team selection on that day in 1967, but on the day prior to kick-off when the team was announced, was there a player who’s exclusion from the line-up raised eyebrows in the dressing room amongst his fellow team-mates and you?
The outcome of the European Cup Final tells you Big Jock got his team selection spot on. Remember, this was the same line-up that had earned the goalless draw against Dukla Prague in Czecholsovakia to get us to Lisbon. Also, it was the same selection that had beaten Aberdeen 2-0 in the Scottish Cup Final only a few days after Prague. So, it was a fairly settled formation. Players such as John Hughes, in particular, Willie O’Neill, Charlie Gallagher and Joe McBride made solid contributions earlier in the competition, but the team that beat Inter Milan was obviously the right one for the occasion.
Henrik Larsson at his peak, would he have got into the starting line-up for Lisbon 1967?
You only need to read this book to discover how highly I rated Henrik. But, no, I wouldn’t have had dropped anyone to get him into the Lisbon team. Here’s a good wee story, though. Jim Craig was working for Celtic TV at the time and he was interviewing Wee Bertie. He asked Bertie the same question. He thought for a moment and said, ‘Let’s see now. I think I would have chosen Simpson, Larsson and Gemmell.’ Not sure if Cairney saw the funny side!
Tommy, who were the biggest cheats that you played against? Also, how good was that Benfica side which we demolished 3-0?
Easy answer to the first question – Racing Club of Buenos Aires by a mile. I talk about these poor excuses for sportsmen elsewhere, but all I would add is Sir Alf Ramsey got it right after England had played Argentina in the World Cup quarter-final in 1966. Alf didn’t hold back when he was asked about the performances of his country’s opponents that day. He branded them ‘animals’. Which is a bit of an insult to the wild life out there.
On the second question, that Benfica team was one of the best we had ever played. Any line-up with Eusebio in it is bound to be handy. We were brilliant the night we beat them 3-0 and my goal, as you will undoubtedly know by now, is still one of my all-time favourites. They gave us a bit of a doing in Lisbon, though. They really went at us and it was 2-0 with only a minute to go when they tied the game 3-3 on aggregate. We managed to get through a fairly hectic thirty minutes in extra-time before Cesar called it right when it came to the toss of the coin. Thank goodness!
Question for Tommy, straight from the hip. A relative of mine travelled on the team plane to the Feynoord Final. He told me all was not well on the flight over and that he thought you and Jinky at one stage threatened not to play until a bonus dispute was resolved. Is that true? And, if so, could it have affected performances in the Final?
Absolutely not true! Someone’s definitely got their wires crossed. Does your relative enjoy Duty Free before flights! There’s no truth in that whatsoever. Jinky and I refusing to play in Milan? Are you kidding? If that had been the case, Big Jock would have booted us off the plane while we were a few thousand feet up in the air.
Yes, I’ve heard so many stories about a bonuses row before the game, but if it happened I wasn’t aware of it. We never knew what sort of extra payment we would get from the club. That was left with the directors. For instance, if we won the Scottish Cup we would probably find an extra £250 in our wage packet the following week. Pay advice would tell you what the extra money was for.
We were beaten by a very good Feyenoord side in that Final. Give them credit for the performance of a lifetime. They caught us totally unawares and were a far superior team than we expected. End of story.
Tommy, how did the team prepare for the Final in Milan and how did this compare to the preparation for Lisbon? In particular, how did both the players and manager’s approach differ regarding the build-up to these two Finals?
Sadly, I have to say it was night and day. We were well primed for the 1967 game against Inter Milan. Big Jock left absolutely nothing to chance. Three years later it was a different story. Possibly, we thought we were as good as European champions after our home-and-away wins against the seemingly ‘invincible’ Leeds United in the semi-final.
I wouldn’t say we were complacent against Feyenoord, but we might just have been a bit over-confident. The pre-match planning just wasn’t the same and it was most unlike Big Jock to under-rate opponents. On this occasion, alas, that’s exactly what he did. And that got through to the players.
Don’t forget the calibre of the Dutch side on the night. Don’t take anything away from them and a lot of people wouldn’t have realised this, but they actually won the Intercontinental Cup – aka World Club Championship – when they beat Argentina’s Estudiantes 3-2 on aggregate later that year. They won 1-0 in Rotterdam and drew 2-2 in La Plata.
Actually, they came from two goals down in that game to force the draw, so that surely underlines how good they were. Take my word for it, though, we would still have beaten them in a replay.
Do you think that the Lisbon achievement helped the wider Scottish public accept Celtic and its supporters more than was previously the case?
Definitely. I knew Rangers supporters who applauded our European victory. Privately, of course. Their players, too, talked about our achievement. Scottish football benfited greatly from Celtic’s presence. We showed the world we could play in a sporting and praiseworthy manner. We were good for Scotland and, of course, our supporters are now, rightly, recognised as among the best in the world – if not THE best.
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