THE author sits in the Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris sifting though reports in French, Italian and Portuguese of a dramatic cup final victory.
The author sits in a dressing room aware that what he does will be part of history but unsure of how the greatest day of his professional life will turn out.
They collaborate to produce a book of two halves. The labours in the library produce a fresh perspective on Celtic's victory in the 1967 European Cup final for Pat Woods, an innovative and assiduous chronicler of the club. Jim Craig, full-back in the 2-1 victory over Internazionale, provides first-hand testimony of matters on the field.
The viewpoints form an idiosyncratic, original and intriguing history of Celtic that focuses not only on triumph but on defeat, even despair, and wanders with purpose far from Lisbon. "We picked two items from each of Celtic's 13 decades but we wanted to reflect on the ups and the downs because it is an extraordinary history," explains Craig.
Thus Craig and Woods investigate a 8-0 defeat by Dumbarton on January 1, 1892; the Glaswegian fate of Charging Thunder, a member of Buffalo Bill's travelling show; the premature death that stalked three members of the 1931 side; and revelations over the European Cup final loss against Feyenoord in Milan in 1970.
The Dumbarton defeat was the result of Celtic arriving at the game with a team, rather than a bus, that was "well-oiled". Charging Thunder, a member of Buffalo Bill's touring show, found Glasgow similarly intoxicating in 1892, drawing 30 days' imprisonment for an assault when drunk. These episodes testify to the eclectic content of Celtic: Pride and Passion but it is a tale marked by scholarly, professional and sober assessment. It is as a result a captivating read.
The deaths of John Thomson, from an on-field accident, Peter Scarff, from tuberculosis, and Bertie Thomson, a player who fatally had "become increasingly fond of drink", ensured that by 1937 three of the cup-winning team of 1931 had passed on. This episode is the strongest sign that Craig and Woods do not shrink from tragedy or loss.
Their take on Lisbon 1967 is appropriately individual, given that one of the authors was on the playing surface on the best day in Celtic's history and the other was in the stands. Two comments are particularly Glaswegian. When Craig conceded the penalty against Inter (the author uses the term "adjudged to have fouled Renato Cappellino"), the right-back's father exclaimed: "I've came all this bloody way to see that!"
Woods was told by his mother on his departure from Glasgow that she "would keep an eye out for him the crowd".
Lisbon is viewed rather as a watershed for European football. "The important thing about the final was the impact it had in Europe," says Craig. Catenaccio was exposed as a flawed defensive system and Europe slowly moved to the athletic, total football that Celtic espoused. "One of the most factors was beating Real Madrid in [Alfredo] Di Stefano's testimonial just 10 days after Lisbon," says Craig. "This made people sit up and say that Lisbon was not a one-off."
Woods, helped by the solicitous staff at the Bibliotheque Nationale de Paris, also uncovered evidence of the widespread acclaim for Celtic in Europe from Le Parisien Libre, through Portuguese magazines, to the Gazette de Lausanne. This is not just to praise Celtic but to place the victory in a European context where Inter's strategy of containment was undone by Jock Stein's intelligence and the energy and technique of his players. "We pressed before anyone spoke of pressing," says Craig.
He is also revelatory on the primitive facilities that Celtic players laboured under. "I have this vivid picture," he says. "We had just won in Lisbon. I can remember in loosening up in the foyer at Parkhead and Jock was on the phone to find us somewhere to train because Barrowfield had flooded as it could not cope with two days of rain. We regularly had to train at pitches at Colville's in Motherwell or Mount Vernon dog track.
There is a resigned humour in these recollections but Craig is blunt on the defeat in the European Cup final of 1970. Craig, who was on the bench as Feyenoord won in extra time, answers clinically the much-asked questions that followed the defeat in Milan. He points out that Stein woke the entire squad in the early hours of the morning after players had been discovered "in the company of some young ladies" in Fraserburgh. He maintains this episode "did not do much for team spirit or morale" as the innocent protested at being disturbed unnecessarily.
He also believes Stein was wrong not to substitute Jim Brogan when the player was clearly suffering from an injury but emphasises, with quotes from such as Billy McNeill and Bertie Auld, that the Dutch were much the better side on the night.
In those days it seemed inevitable Celtic would be back in a European Cup final, ready to atone for the defeat for Milan. This prospect is distant in 2013. "It is money," says Craig simply of the barrier to success for teams outside the big leagues. We buy second-rate players. I am sorry to say that but that is where we are at. Occasionally, we will get a gem but then he goes. We are only hiring him," he says.
He hopes Michael Platini, the president of UEFA, must push to make sure sides such as Celtic, Ajax and Benfica can return to the top of the European game. He also says the Scottish government and other authorities have a duty to provide indoor facilities, and not just for football. "The future for all sports will only be made better by what we do now," he says.
But he does allow another question about the past. Who was the best player he faced? "Gento has to be mentioned and I was pretty pleased with the way I dealt with him in Di Stefano's testimionial, though he was 37 and not as quick as he was," Craig says. "I played against George Best and survived. But Willie Johnston was always a difficult opponent," he adds of the Rangers player. "He was absolutely direct, quick and an excellent crosser."
n Celtic: Pride and Passion by Jim Craig and Pat Woods is published by Mainstream at £14.99
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