Seventies Euro Specials – Celtic v Atletico Madrid, 1974

SEVENTIES EURO SPECIALS- CELTIC v ATLETICO MADRID, 1974…

When Celtic were drawn against Atletico Madrid in the European Cup Semi-Final in 1974, most Celtic fans looked forward to watching The Bhoys take on a quality side…

Celtic had previously played against Spanish opposition in European competition on two occasions, both in the Inter Cities Fairs Cup. In 1962/63, in their first-ever match in European competition, Celtic lost 2-4 in Valencia and drew the return match 2-2. On the second occasion, the Celts lost 1-3 in Barcelona but managed a 0-0 draw in Glasgow.

Celtic had also played two high-profile friendlies against Real Madrid, the first in 1963 at Celtic Park and the other in 1967 at the Bernabeu when, as newly-crowned European Champions, Celtic provided the opposition in Alfredo di Stefano’s testimonial. Although Celtic had never defeated Spanish opposition in competitive matches, many fans were excited by the challenge which would be presented by Atletico.

Little was known about Atletico at that time. As Spanish champions, they would obviously be worthy of the utmost respect.

Notably, they had won all THREE of their away matches in the European Cup that season, at difficult places such as Galatasaray, Bucharest and Belgrade. The side was packed with international players- indeed, the side which would start against Celtic had NINE internationals- four from Spain, four from Argentina and one from Paraguay.

In footballing terms, Atletico would be in a different class from any of the sides Celtic had faced that season.

A few concerns were raised before the first leg about Atletico’s Argentinian connection. The first of these was regarding the Atletico coach, Juan Carlos Lorenzo, who had managed Argentina at the 1966 World Cup and whose team was remembered chiefly for the notorious quarter-final match against England.

The behaviour of the Argentinian players during the match prompted Alf Ramsey to say that the Argentinians had chosen to “act as animals” rather than play football.

A second concern was Celtic’s first-hand experience of playing Argentinian opposition in the shape of Racing Club in the World Club Championship matches in the autumn of 1967.

The three matches in Glasgow, Buenos Aires and Montevideo were characterised by violent tackles and cynical foul play. In the deciding match in Uruguay, Celtic’s players did retaliate, resulting in FOUR Celts and TWO Argentinians being sent off.

In addition to the manager and Celtic’s previous experience of playing an Argentinian team, was also added the sizeable number of players from Argentina in Atletico’s squad in 1974.

One of the first people to point this out was Jock Stein, who quipped before the first leg: “Well, they’ve got half a dozen Argentinians in their pool, and the manager’s one – so that means a riot for a start!” (Tom Campbell and Pat Woods, Dreams and Songs to Sing).

Stein was presumably half-joking, but he was certainly aware of how cynical both Lorenzo and the Argentinian players could be.

Privately, before the match, he had warned his players not to react to any provocation. Stein’s greatest fear was that his players would be dragged into a battle similar to that which had erupted in Montevideo nearly seven years previously, and which had severely damaged Celtic’s reputation.

Publicly, Stein played down concerns about Atletico’s Argentinian influence. In an interview with Ian Archer in the Glasgow Herald the day before the game, Stein referred to the match in which they had both watched the Spaniards and said: “There was nothing about the Atletico play in the match we both saw last week to cause any concern, was there? The Spaniards looked disciplined and did not panic. That’s important for it’s panic that makes games go astray.”

Tragically, Stein’s initial fears proved correct, but even he would have shocked about what transpired on 10 April 1974 in the first leg at Celtic Park.

A crowd of 73,000 witnessed what must go down as the most cynical, violent, unscrupulous and ruthless display ever seen at Celtic Park.

The Spaniards made their intentions crystal clear from the outset. Within the first 12 minutes, THREE Atletico players were booked, with a fourth joining them after 20 minutes.

The wild nature of some of the tackles was sickening, with Jimmy Johnstone being a special target for the fouls. Repeated wild lunges and thigh-high kicks were commonplace as the Spaniards prevented Celtic from establishing any kind of rhythm to their play.

The best chance of the match came within the first ten minutes of the game. Tommy Callaghan’s clever pass beat Atletico’s offside trap and found Harry Hood, who rounded goalkeeper Reina and passed the ball back across goal where Kenny Dalglish had a simple tap-in. The goal was disallowed because it was ruled that the ball had run out of play before Hood cut it back.

In Matt Corr’s book Harry Hood: Twice as Good, Harry recalled: “The ball was most certainly not over the line.” While not scientifically definitive, a photograph taken close to the goal line would later strongly support Hood’s claim.

You can order Matt Corr’s official Harry Hood biography directly from Celtic Star Books for just £10 plus P&P. Click HERE TO ORDER.

Had the goal stood, who knows how the game may have progressed?

Celtic would have had an early lead and, roared on by the enormous crowd, may have continued to press forward and seek to add to it. Instead, after such a huge let-off, Atletico simply continued to kick and hack at any Celtic player who came close enough.

Unsurprisingly, the Bhoys struggled to build any fluency or create any clear-cut chances. ITV commentator Brian Moore’s half-time summary was: “A rather sad and seedy first half of thirty free kicks, four yellow cards, some cynical play by Atletico Madrid and a lack of penetration, really, from Celtic.”

The second half continued in much the same vein, with Celtic continuing to press forward through an obstacle course of wild tackles, hacking and tripping.

Within 11 minutes of the restart, Atletico were down to nine men. Ruben Ayala was sent off in 55 minutes for a two-footed lunge from behind on Davie Hay and then, a minute later, he was joined by Ruben Diaz for a vicious high tackle on Jimmy Johnstone. Celtic now had almost 35 minutes left to play against only NINE men.

Surely, they could make the numerical advantage count? Sadly, the answer was no.

Celtic were criticised after the match for failing to score against nine men but given the level of provocation it is perhaps understandable.

As Tom Campbell and Pat Woods explain in The Glory and the Dream: “The sheer mayhem and intimidation practiced by the Spanish champions proved the most important factor in Celtic’s frustration because of the frequent, prolonged stoppages in play.”

In the remainder of the match, Celtic lacked creativity and Atletico had another FOUR players booked. Quique, who had come on as a substitute in 70 minutes, lasted only 13 minutes on the field before he too was sent off.

The match finished 0-0. The Atletico players celebrated wildly, which was infuriating enough.  Even worse was to come, however, as the teams left the field. James Sanderson described the scenes in The Daily Express:

“As Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone stepped onto the track from the field he was viciously smashed in the stomach by the powerful…Eusebio, not the famous Portuguese star. At once there was a maelstrom of fists and boots as Spanish players attacked Celtic. The bewildered Scots gathered around Johnstone, semi-conscious on the ground, and fought off the Spaniards while police rushed in, watched by 73 000 horror-stricken fans.”

In fact, the fighting continued into the tunnel, with Celtic’s players and the Glasgow Polis extracting some element of revenge for the brutality received during the previous 90 minutes.

Afterwards, condemnation of Atletico’s behaviour was near-universal, with widespread calls for the Spaniards to be expelled from the tournament and for the tie to be awarded to Celtic.

Others argued that at the very least the second leg should be switched from Madrid. Only in Spain was there any support for Atletico, where the local media had claimed that Atletico had been the victims of police brutality in Glasgow.

In the end, UEFA’s action was pitiable, charging Atletico with a minimal fine and automatically banning the three players sent off in Glasgow from playing in the second leg. Of those three players, only Ayala was a recognised first-team regular.

Atletico’s objective of leaving Celtic Park without defeat had been achieved, costing them little other than damage to the club’s reputation.

Perhaps the final word on the infamous first leg should go to Ruben Diaz who, forty years later the eve of the Champions League Final recalled:

“I cursed myself for years about the tackles but I can’t change anything. I meant no malice, I did it for the team, but it stopped me playing in the final. But those tackles were worthy of more than a red card- I should have been locked up in jail!” (Daily Record, 22 May 2014)

Celtic would now face a second leg in Madrid, in a cauldron of hate which had been stirred by the Spanish press…

To be continued on Celtic Shorts as Celtic travel to Madrid for the second leg of the 1974 European Cup semi-final…

James McDevitt

HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below…

Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!