1966–67 in Scottish football

The 1966–67 season was the 70th season of Scottish League football.

Overview

A number of significant events occurred during the season. The domestic campaign was dominated by Celtic, who along with winning all 5 tournaments they entered, became the first British team to win the European Cup; the great Celtic team who achieved this were later nicknamed the Lisbon Lions.

1966–67 was arguably Scottish football's best ever season in European football, with Rangers reaching the final of the Cup Winners Cup and Kilmarnock reaching the Fairs Cup semi-finals. In addition, Dundee United marked their European debut by eliminating Fairs Cup holders Barcelona.

It was also a season in which the Scottish national team recorded one of their most celebrated victories, beating greatest rivals and World Cup holders England 3–2 at Wembley in the British Home Championship.

The season also marked the final appearance of Third Lanark, one of the founder members of both the SFA and Scottish League, who went out of business in the summer of 1967, and the league debut of Clydebank.

cottish League Division One

Celtic were champions for the second season running, losing only two matches, both to Dundee United; these were Celtic's only defeats against Scottish opposition during the entire season.

Clyde finished third, which is their highest ever league placing as of 2008. Clyde did not qualify for Europe, however, because Rangers finished second and took the Fairs Cup place.

St. Mirren and Ayr United were relegated, meaning the former would be outside the top flight for the first time since 1936. Ayr managed only one league win during the whole campaign, and had to wait until April to record it.

cottish clubs in Europe

Celtic made their debut in the European Cup and exceeded all expectations by lifting the trophy with a memorable victory over Inter Milan in the final in Lisbon, thanks to goals from Tommy Gemmell and Stevie Chalmers. Their achievement ended the strangehold which Latin teams had hitherto exerted on the competition, as Celtic became not only the first Scottish champions of Europe, but indeed the first British and Northern European ones also. The Lisbon Lions, as they became known, remain the only Scottish side to have won the European Cup.

In a notably successful season for Scottish clubs in Europe, Rangers had the chance to win Glasgow's second continental trophy within a week after reaching the Cup Winners Cup final for the second time, only to narrowly lose out to Bayern Munich in Nuremberg. Earlier in May there had been the possibility of Scottish involvement in the final of all three European tournaments, but Kilmarnock lost out to Leeds United in their Fairs Cup semi-final meeting. Nevertheless, it remains the club's best European run.

Dundee United had a remarkable introduction to European football; drawn against Fairs Cup holders Barcelona, United eliminated the Spaniards with vlctories in both legs. Of Scotland's five representatives, only Dunfermline failed to make any great impact, losing to Dinamo Zagreb in the Fairs Cup second round.

Celtic

Dunfermline Athletic

Key:
* (H) = Home match
* (A) = Away match
* ECQG8 = European Championship qualifying - Group 8
* BHC = British Home Championship
* F = Friendly

Notes and references