CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers has called for the Lisbon Lions to receive wider recognition of their achievements after the death of legendary full-back Tommy Gemmell this week, and he has backed them to be included on the Honours List.
Gemmell passed away on Thursday at the age of 73, with the sad news coming on the back of his teammate and captain Billy McNeill’s family going public about his ongoing battle with dementia.
These events have brought into focus for Rodgers the need to appreciate what Jock Stein’s side achieved in 1967 all the more in this, the 50th year since their famous triumph over Inter Milan at the Estadio Nacional.
“Life moves too quickly,” Rodgers said. “It is a sign that we are getting older when these people that we admire and are our heroes really are taken away all of a sudden. It is really about cherishing the lives of these great players.
“I have got to say that I find it hard to understand why they haven’t been commemorated in a greater way. For a Scottish team to win the European Cup, they really set the trail for every other British club. What they inspired of others to go on and down – managers and coaches – they really pointed the way. They put the signpost in.
“[Tommy Gemmell’s death] was very sad news. I woke up on Thursday morning on the back of what was a very good performance and I was told what happened. It was a real sadness for the football club because we have lost one of the truly great footballers in the history of Celtic.
“He was an iconic player for this club. Everyone talks about the modern full-back and how they get forward but he was doing that in the 60s. For a full-back to score in two European Cup finals and defend how he defended really tells you everything about the guy as a football player.
“It was guys like Tommy and the Lions who really set this club on the pathway to what it is as one of the world’s biggest clubs. Without him and the others we would never be sat where we are today.”
For Rodgers, as the first British side to lift the European Cup, each member of Celtic’s most iconic team are deserving of the highest accolades that the country can offer.
“Absolutely,” he said. “For what they done? You see these things handed out left, right and centre now but these guys are true icons and they put the signpost in the ground for British football.
“At that time for 11 players from within a 30-mile radius from Celtic Park to achieve that, it just doesn’t happen.
“Look at the way they carry themselves. I was at a function last night at the club for the foundation and Bobby [Lennox] was there, John Clark, Bertie [Auld], these are guys that have lived the life of a Lisbon Lion. They’ve played that role with great honour and esteem for the club.
“So, it is a sad week but I also look at it as a chance to celebrate that memory of Tommy and the guys who are here. There is a real duty on us this season in particular to shine a light on their achievements.”
Of course, winning a treble and going through the domestic season unbeaten would be the perfect way to bookmark what is already a historic year for the club.
Rodgers says though that he doesn’t feel any extra pressure to deliver on those fronts because of the anniversary, instead stressing that the way his team approaches their matches is the highest tribute he can pay to the legends of the past.
“The greatest honour we can give that team is to play the Celtic way, which was Tommy’s way and is our way of working,” he said.
“Hopefully we can entertain, and if we can entertain even half the way they done, then the Celtic supporters I’m sure can accept that.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here