Jock Stein and the Lisbon Lions

Jock Stein came to management from a modest playing career, having worked down the mines before making his way in the game. That background shaped him: he was direct, hard-working and deeply connected to ordinary supporters, with a gift for motivating players and reading the mood of a dressing room. When he took charge of Celtic in the mid-1960s, he brought a clarity of purpose and a bold attacking philosophy that would transform the club and, with it, the horizons of British football.

Stein believed football should be played on the front foot. His Celtic attacked relentlessly, pressing forward in search of goals and entertaining crowds even in the biggest matches. He trusted his players to express themselves and built a team of remarkable balance and spirit. Domestically they became utterly dominant, winning nine consecutive league titles, a run of sustained supremacy that stands among the greatest achievements in the British game and reflected the standards Stein demanded every season.

The crowning moment came in 1967, when Celtic won the European Cup, becoming the first British club ever to lift the trophy. They did it by beating Inter Milan, masters of a cautious defensive system, with wave after wave of attacking football, refusing to abandon their principles even against such opponents. Remarkably, the entire team had been born within a short distance of Glasgow, a group of local players who had conquered the whole of Europe. They were immortalised as the Lisbon Lions.

Stein's triumph opened a door: within a few years other British clubs followed Celtic onto Europe's summit, inspired by what he had shown was possible. He later managed Scotland, and his death in 1985, which came at the end of a match, was mourned across the game. He is remembered as a pioneering figure whose belief in bold, attacking football and in the value of a close-knit team left a mark on British football that has never faded.