In the various bier halles of Hamburg, there are probably still some local worthies of a certain vintage sipping the froth from the top of their steins and uttering the phrases ‘stiefel’ and ‘hintern’.

In the howfs of Glasgow’s east end, meanwhile, the words ‘boot’ and ‘erse’ are possibly being spouted in similar reflection. Whatever the language, the meeting between Scottish fitba boot and German body remains something of a talking point.

A seething Tommy Gemmell didn’t quite kick Helmut Haller up the backside – it was more an enraged thrash at the leg – but the retreating West German’s evasive, louping action possibly prevented him receiving the kind of tail end damage you’d get during a pile up on the Autobahn during dense fog.

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That World Cup qualifier of 1969 in Hamburg between the two countries descended into chaos when Gemmell ploughed his way forward, took umbrage at Haller’s swipe at his ankle before turning round and embarking on the kind of careering pursuit that was on a par with Steve McQueen’s famous car chase in the film Bullitt.

Aware of the raging Gemmell thundering towards him, Haller resembled a Pantomime dame being chased with a tickling stick – and was probably shrieking like one too - as he scurried for cover before feeling the full force of the Scotsman’s wrath and going down like a sack of spanners.

“Oh dear, that was uncalled for,” said Archie Macpherson from the commentary box before Gemmell was sent off. “Get in tae the wee …,” roared a watching nation in a baying fever.

Gemmell’s red mist moment was not one of the finest of his illustrious playing days but it remains iconic. The decorated Celt proved he was very much game for a laugh back in the 1990s when he re-created the episode in the Phoenix from the Flames segment of Fantasy Football League, the television caper from comedy double act, Frank Skinner and David Baddiel. "The European Cup final was one of the greatest moments of my career, and the Helmut Haller incident was one of the lowest moments," said Gemmell in an on-camera piece to Skinner. "Well yeah, but it was a lot funnier," replied the host, before the trio performed a series of re-enactments and absurdities which sees Gemmell give both Skinner and Baddiel a good kicking.

Read more: Tommy Gemmell: Lisbon strike far from the only highlight in legendary Celtic full-back's extraordinary career

For all the point-and-gawp chortles the footage still provokes, Gemmell always maintained the original incident proved to be a decisive moment in his Celtic career. “If it hadn’t been for Helmut Haller, there is every chance I would never have left Celtic,” he once said. “He had a huge influence in me having a massive fall-out with Jock Stein.”

Gemmell was a giant of a figure at Celtic in a European Cup-winning team that was full of them and his footballing majesty will continue to be celebrated in reflective reverence over the coming days. And as for booting old Helmut? Well, celebrate and cherish that too. It was from a time, after all, when Scotland’s footballers really did put their stamp on the game.