Celtic in the Eighties – Celtic v Juventus, European Cup, September 1981

Celtic played Diosgyoeri Miskolc of Hungary in the Qualifying Round and won 6-1 on aggregate. The tie was effectively won in the first leg at Celtic Park, when an excellent attacking performance in the second half produced six goals.

In the First-Round proper against Politechnica Timosoara of Romania, a similar scoreline looked on the cards at Celtic Park as Celtic raced to a two-goal lead by half-time. However, a poor second half performance allowed Politechnica to grab a crucial away goal. Two weeks later, on 1 October 1980, a 0-1 defeat in Romania ended Celtic’s European football for the season.

The game in Romania was notable because both Roddy McDonald and Frank McGavey were sent off, and because of the incredibly biased refereeing in favour of the home side. Regardless of these factors, Celtic were eliminated on away goals in a tie which should never have been in doubt. European football was over the beginning of October.

In 1980/81, Celtic ended up winning the League comfortably, finishing seven points clear of Aberdeen. They also set new records for points won (56), most wins (26) and most goals scored (84). All this was achieved after an inconsistent first half of the season which, by the end of 1980, left them three points behind Aberdeen, who also had a game in hand. The change in the early months of 1981 was quite remarkable, with Celtic achieving a high level of consistency and stringing together win after win. The season also saw the emergence of a certain Charlie Nicholas, who scored several memorable goals and impressed fans with his all-round play.

In the First Round of the European Cup, Celtic were drawn against Juventus

In the First Round of the European Cup, Celtic were drawn against Juventus. Feelings were mixed. There was huge excitement at the prospect of another match against one of the giants of European football in front of a packed Celtic Park. However, there was also an air of realism about how difficult it would be to eliminate a Juventus side containing six stars from the previous World Cup. Allied to this was the fear that an early exit from Europe was the most likely outcome.

Additional glamour was provided by the presence of Irishman Liam Brady

Additional glamour was provided by the presence of Irishman Liam Brady in the Juventus side. He had joined Juventus from Arsenal in the close season of 1980 and had already helped the Italian side win the Scudetto in his first season in Turin. Brady was unquestionably one of the finest midfield players of his generation. The Irish dimension was also intriguing, with Brady himself and his Dublin family assumed to be Celtic supporters. Indeed, Brady arranged for a coach load of family members to travel to Glasgow for the first leg.

Celtic responded superbly to the frenzied backing received from the crowd

The match was all-ticket, and just over 60000 watched an enthralling match on 16 September 1981. As usual, Celtic responded superbly to the frenzied backing received from the crowd and charged forward, setting the pace during the first half hour. As Alex Cameron put it in the Daily Record the next day: “The Celts hurled themselves at the all-blue Juventus with a fury which clearly took them by surprise”.

The Italians were masters at ‘game management’

However, the Italians were masters at what would now be described as ‘game management’. Celtic’s attacking moves were choked by Juve’s predictable defensive tactics. They were quite happy to soak up pressure and hit quickly on the break. They came more into things as the first half progressed, with Brady at the centre of everything. Tommy Burns played a similar role for Celtic, and both he and Brady were the stars of the match. Burns was involved in a couple of chances in the first half, making both crosses to Tom McAdam which were headed over.

Celtic Park erupted, with scenes of jubilation all around the stadium

Despite Celtic’s exuberance and energy, clear-cut chances were limited by Juve’s composure in defence. The single goal came in the 65th minute. A corner from Davie Provan was cleared as far as Roy Aitken. His shot rebounded out to Murdo MacLeod, whose fierce low shot was deflected past Dino Zoff. Celtic Park erupted, with scenes of jubilation all around the stadium.

However, Celtic could not fashion another clear-cut opportunity in the remainder of the match and had to be careful not to concede. The closest Celtic came to a second goal was when they had claims for a penalty dismissed by the referee near the end of the match. George McCluskey appeared to have been bundled from behind by Brio inside the penalty area, but play was waved on.

Celtic had an advantage – albeit slender – to take to Turin

The first leg ended 1-0 to Celtic. Most fans and media observers recognised this as a very good result against a top-class side. Celtic had an advantage – albeit slender – to take to Turin and had also avoided conceding an away goal. However, no one was under any illusions about the scale of the task which remained in the second leg, with many feeling that Juventus were still favourites to go through.

Celtic’s display had been commendable, but had been characterised by energy and determination rather than by any real creativity. As Mike Aitken summed it up in The Scotsman: “Tenacity and sheer grit helped Celtic manufacture the most fragile of leads at Parkhead to take to Turin in a fortnight’s time”.

Read about the second leg in Turin on the next page…