footballsfootball.com/WeknowSFA/jock-stein-tribute-celtic-scotland-legend/Jock Stein – Tribute to a Celtic and Scotland legend
25 years on from his sad passing – still amongst the greats of football
Today, 10 September 2010, is the 25th anniversary of the sad passing of Jock Stein and the world of football, but especially Scottish football, should take some time to reflect on the achievements from one of Scottish football’s giants.
If you are reading this site, it is likely you will have an awareness of Stein’s achievements in the game, the silverware he won but also of the style of play he developed. His name will be forever linked with Celtic but you ask any Dunfermline fan for their opinion on Stein the manager and the praise will be swiftly forthcoming. Equally, his achievements when managing the national team should be retold for many generations to come. All of these triumphs are well recorded and others with first hand experience of watching Stein’s teams are better placed to recount them.
Therefore, responsibility for our tribute to Stein has been placed in the capable hands of one our team who recalls September 1985 and the impact it had on their football supporting life.
Being 7 years old, a midweek school night shouldn’t have been the time to be worrying or getting overly excited about the football…but even at that age, I was football daft. I can still recall the televised coverage of the away qualifier in Iceland a few months prior to this game and being upset at a penalty being awarded against Scotland.
Of course, the penalty was saved and Scotland grabbed a late winner through Jim Bett…meaning that the game against Wales was a major event.
The night itself was a big occasion – it wasn’t that common to have live football on TV and the importance of the game was evident. Mind you, the promise of a pie and Bovril at half-time in the house was probably as enticing as the game itself, the young me no doubt wondering how food only ever eaten at the actual football itself was going to be had in the house!
By the time the pie was served up (with the Bovril poured over it, no eating it with my hands like it was on a Saturday), Scotland were already 1-0 down and it was a really tense night. As everyone knows, Davie Cooper came off the bench to equalise with a penalty and Scotland were in the play-offs for the World Cup final.
I remember the commotion by the side of the pitch but I was ushered off to my bed before anything dawned on me and it wasn’t until the next morning that I learned that Jock Stein passed away. Even at that age, I knew of Stein’s name and the way he was revered by Celtic fans. You can’t support the club without a knowledge of their history and I was lucky enough to have a family that taught me all about the club’s history and triumphs from a young age.
I was sad, any death would have an impact on a child but also sensing that others I cared about were upset about Stein’s passing was upsetting. However, the real impact for me came on my next trip to Celtic Park.
The next game at Celtic Park came on the Saturday following Stein’s death`. I may still have been just seven years old but I was in the fortunate position of having been a regular attendee for a couple of seasons and a trip to the stadium was no one-off treat…it was part and parcel of the routine of life.
However, this day was very different. The opposition alone marked the occasion out as a big affair, Aberdeen, league champions on the past two occasions and the biggest rival for Celtic in their own pursuit of the league. The overplaying of Aberdeen and Dundee United’s dominance, especially in respect to that of Celtic has been massively overstated by the media but it was still a monumental game in the league race.
It was also the first game I can recall a minutes silence and black armbands being worn. For someone so used to football stadiums being noisy and raucous locations, this was a huge moment. The shrill whistle from the referee was heard more clearly than ever before and then a hush took over the stadium.
Even when Celtic lost a goal there would be a pocket of cheers from the opposition and groans from the home support but never silence. It was this moment more than anything else which really drove home how much Stein meant to people, how over 50,000 people could not utter a word in a place where they would usually be at their most vocal.
Celtic were leading 1-0 with a few moments to go, but Aberdeen bundled home an equaliser after what, from young eyes anyway, appeared to be a foul on Pat Bonner. Aberdeen had an earlier goal chopped off for a foul on the Irish keeper but this was allowed to stand and anguish was the over-riding emotion. Losing a lead in any game is annoying, losing one late on to title rivals is greatly upsetting but this was bigger than that. It was almost as if people needed a win that day, they needed something to life them and here was another blow. Not anywhere near as harsh a blow as the loss of Stein but when you’re already low, any other bolt can do some damage.
And then….the crowd swiftly galvanised and roared their backing to the crowd. The Scottish Cup final in May 1985 had been my first real taste of how a Celtic crowd can roar their bhoys onto victory but this was even more poetic. Perhaps the older fans were recalling Stein’s great teams, perhaps even the Celtic players had a point to prove but virtually from kick-off, Celtic charged up the right-hand side and won a corner.
The ball was swung in (possibly by Davie Provan) and there was Brian McLair to grab his second goal of the game and give everyone the result they needed.
Celtic Park was bedlam when that goal went in, there appeared to bodies everywhere as joy mixed with relief and no doubt a few tears were shed. It’s easy to dismiss football as being unimportant in the greater scheme of things but sometimes it matters more than anything. The only thing that was going to ease many people’s pain of Stein’s loss was an emotional victory and it had been delivered to perfection.
It’s not as if the manner of victory helped me get over the loss, at that age I still wasn’t too deeply affected but there is no doubt that day had a massive impact. The way that people can be brought together by football, is something that should never be overlooked or forgotten.
It was fitting that Celtic faced Aberdeen, the two top teams in the country and with Davie Hay, a Stein player and Alex Ferguson, who stood beside Stein in Cardiff, in charge of their clubs. It was a huge football day, with a massive crowd, great names and managerial and one that was very fitting for Jock. And of course, with Celtic eventually clinching the title on goal difference, the extra point gained from the late winner would turn out to be vital!
Even now, 25 years after Stein’s death, Billy Shankly’s words still ring true….
John, you’re immortal now