Celtic Football Club is based in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, and is one of the country’s biggest clubs.
In the Sixties and Seventies, the club won nine consecutive league titles as well as the coveted European Cup. It has now won the Scottish League title 52 times, the last of which was in the 2021-22 season. Furthermore, the club has also won the Scottish Cup 40 times and the Scottish League Cup 20 times.
The club’s global fanbase was estimated in 2003 at nine million with more than 160 fan associations in 20-plus countries.
1887
Celtic was founded in 1887 in Glasgow. Its first match was against arch-rivals Rangers FC, with whom it often competes for the Scottish league title. This match is known as The Old Firm and regarded as one of the most fraught derbies in the world.
First prizes
Celtic achieved its first successes early on. In 1892 the first Scottish Cup was won, and the first league title arrived the following year. In total, Celtic have been champions of Scotland 52 times. This puts the club close behind Rangers, which have won it 55 times.
First winner
Celtic is the only Scottish team to have won the European Cup, beating Internazionale in the final in 1967. It also finished runner-up to Feyenoord in Milan’s San Siro stadium in 1970. In more recent years it was runner-up in the 2003 UEFA Cup final, losing to FC Porto in Seville.
Record holder
Scott Brown, former captain, played for the club for 14 years and holds the record for the most games played in European competition by a Scotsman – and also by a Celtic player.
Celtic thwarted
In the 2020/21 season Celtic didn’t win any titles, something that had not happened since 2010. Any bets fans placed on their favourite club at non GamStop bookmakers during that season were therefore lost. Celtic was on course to break a record in that season by winning the national championship ten years in a row, but Rangers threw a spanner in the works: Steven Gerrard’s team went undefeated all season and recorded the earliest championship in league history. Amid a season-long COVID shutdown, Celtic were also knocked out of the Scottish Cup by Rangers before the quarter-finals. To make matters worse, it finished bottom of its Europa League group behind AC Milan, Lille and Sparta Prague.
Signing from Japan
Kyogo Furuhashi is one of Celtic’s most exciting players. The Japanese arrived from Vissel Kobe in 2021 and has a great scoring record for The Bhoys. He is the club’s top scorer this season.
Style
Postecoglou, the man who revived Celtic after the dreadful 2020-21 season, sets out his teams with aggressive high pressure, quick passing and attacking football.
Paradise
The home of Celtic is Celtic Park, which is popularly called ‘Paradise’. That is a reference to the old cemetery next to which the stadium is built. With a capacity of 60,411, it is the largest football stadium in Scotland and is considered by many to be one of the most atmospheric in the world.