Ahead of last night’s 4-1 defeat to Benfica, Celtic once again rolled out the memory of the Lisbon Lions in the forlorn hope that some nostalgia might rub off on a group of players who are not fit to lace the boots of the men of 1967. It is actually becoming a parody now, in my opinion.
For modern Celtic players, the Lisbon Lions and 1967 have become nothing more than a burden - a PR gimmick used by a board looking to monetise everything it can and milk the supporters for every last penny.
I wrote about this back in June, after the third kit - inspired by tiles at the Estádio Nacional - was released as they once again milked the Lisbon Lions. I called out the board for monetising the 1967 European Cup triumph and using it as a marketing device once again. It has now gone beyond that. It has become a curse for every Celtic team that follows, a noose around their necks, because this board is more interested in making money from the Lions than in building teams capable of emulating or surpassing them.
Then there is the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon. A place of pilgrimage for Celtic supporters. For many Celtic supporters, it is a holy site - the way the Vatican is for Catholics around the world.
It is a nice photo opportunity for fans to visit once in a lifetime. But every time Celtic arrive in Lisbon, every time 25 May comes around, the club puts out content, unveils another piece of merchandise inspired by the stadium, or walks players around the ground as if they might somehow channel the spirit of the Lisbon Lions in an upcoming European tie.
It is tiresome. It is PR bullshit. And while this may anger many fellow Celtic fans, we need to get over it.
1967 will be 60 years ago on 25 May 2027. In those 60 years, what have Celtic achieved in Europe? Two more finals - in 1970 and 2003 - both defeats, followed by decades of underperformance, ineptitude, amateurism, and humiliation.
Celtic are not honouring the Lisbon Lions. They are pissing all over them - in the way the club is run, in the way it approaches European football every season, and in its apparent refusal to use the Lions’ memory as anything other than a means of bleeding supporters dry. And too many of my fellow Celtic fans are gullible enough to fall for it every single time.
I have met some of the Lisbon Lions over the years. I even had the pleasure of Jim Craig writing a regular column for Scotzine. I will always revere them as legends of the game, never mind Celtic Football Club. But what they achieved should be a blueprint for Celtic going forward - a standard to follow and inspire the club to make its mark in Europe once again.
Instead, the Lisbon Lions have been reduced to a piggy bank for this Celtic board and a noose around the neck of every Celtic team that has followed them. Celtic fans have every right to remember and memorialise what the Lions achieved. But it is time Celtic - as a club and as a support - stopped living in the past and started demanding excellence in the present.
Last night’s defeat to Benfica was humiliating and embarrassing. The game was over with at half time. To mention the Lisbon Lions and 1967 in the same breath as this current squad is a stain on their achievements.
If Celtic want to move forward, we need more than a change of board and an end to the Desmond cabal. We need proper structures, proper ambition and a proper plan. And we need to relegate the Lisbon Lions to the history books - where their achievements belong - rather than dragging them out every time Celtic play in Europe, travel to Portugal, or when the 25th May comes around every year.
Celtic have now played in Lisbon seven times since 1967 and have not won once. Last night simply confirmed what should already be obvious - nostalgia does not win football matches. It does not defend set pieces. It does not build a squad. And it certainly does not excuse another European humiliation.
My stance may be harsh. It may knock a few noses out of joint. But it is not an attack on the Lisbon Lions. It is an attack on a club that keeps borrowing their glory while offering none of its own.
The Lions earned their place in history. They won it on the pitch, with courage, quality and a belief that Celtic could beat anyone in Europe. What they should not be is a permanent shield behind which a board hides, a marketing hook to be wheeled out whenever the club needs to distract from another European failure, or a sentimental story used to excuse the present.
Remembering 1967 is not the problem. Weaponising and monetising it is.
If Celtic genuinely revered the Lisbon Lions, they would build teams in their image - ambitious, fearless, properly resourced and capable of making their own history rather than endlessly repackaging somebody else’s. Instead, we get another Lisbon trip, another defeat, another round of nostalgia and another reminder that the club is more comfortable selling the past than confronting the present.
The Lions deserve better than that. So do the supporters. And so does Celtic Football Club.
Absolutely brilliant article. Our club is being deliberately assat stripped and someone needs to hold these charlatans to account . It seems that the AGM could be virtual. If it is confirmed a zoomer the Celtic fans must immediately mobilise and take the protest to the front door of Celtic Park and attract lots of media coverage .
We need to show these parasites how serious we are. Talk is cheap , time for action.