|
A Brief History and some Facts
from Last Season
 Celtic
FC are a football club from Glasgow, Scotland, who currently play in the
Scottish Premier League, the highest form of competition in Scotland.
The
full name of the club is The Celtic Football club. Until 1994, the
club's
full name was The Celtic Football and Athletic Company Ltd.
They
play home games at Celtic Park(commonly referred to as Paradise) which
has a capacity of 60,832, making it the largest football stadium in
Scotland.
In
2006-07,it attracted an
average attendance of 57,543, Together with their rivals, Rangers F.C.,
they form the Old Firm which is one of the most famous and most fierce
rivalries in sport.
The
Club has traditionally been linked with its founding roots which
originate from the Irish immigrant community in Glasgow.
 In1967,
"The Hoops" became the first northern European team to win the European
Champions Cup, which had previously been the preserve of Italian,
Portuguese and
Spanish clubs.
The
Club won every competition that they entered that season: the Scottish
League, the Scottish Cup, the Scottish League Cup, the European Cup and
the GlasgowCup.
They
are the only
club ever to win the trophy with a team composed entirely of home-grown
talent; as all of the players in the side were Scottish, and all were
born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park.
They
again reached the European Cup final in1970, only to be beaten by
Feyenoord in extra time. In 2003 Martin O'Neill led the team to the
UEFA
Cup final in Seville where they lost3-2 to F.C. Porto after extra time.
Over 80,000 supporters traveled to Seville for the final - the largest
traveling support ever to have assembled for a single game, according
to UEFA and not ONE Arrest.....!
The
club's traditional playing colours are green and white hooped shirts
and white shorts with white socks.
The
Bhoys
have an estimated fan base of nine million.
They
won Scottish Premier League on the last day of the Season in 2007-08.
Celtic F.C. 2007-08
The last Old Firm clash of the season
resulted in 3:2 victory for
Celtic.
Celtic
started the 2007-08 season looking to retain the
Scottish Premier League title and the Scottish Cup. They also competed
in the Scottish League Cup. The team accepted an invitation to take
part in the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game for 2007, as part
of a pre-season tour of the USA,
Switzerland and England. On October 9, Celtic opened their new training
facilities at Lennoxtown.
Domestic campaign
The
season with a 0-0 draw at Home against
Kilmarnock. They then won their next five league matches
scoring 5
goals in 3 consecutive matches and topped the league for most of the
first half of the season. At the end of 2007 The Hoops were
still t the atop of
the SPL standings. The Old Firm derby on January 2, 2008 and a match
against Motherwell was postponed due to the death of former
player and Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell, who died on December 29.
During the break in fixtures, the team slipped to second place behind
Rangers.
On
April 27, Rangers were defeated by 3 goals to 2 to go 5
points
clear in the
SPL, however Rangers had played three matches fewer. The Bhoy's chances
of winning the title improved over the following weeks when Rangers
failed to win all their matches in hand, and the clubs were tied on
points going into the the last day of the league season.
Dundee
United were defeated 1-0 away at Tannadice Park while Rangers
were
defeated by Aberdeen 2-0 at Pittodrie
Park, giving Celtic their third successive title, Gordon
Strachan being only the third manager ever to do so. The victory was
dedicated to the memory of Tommy Burns,
former player and manager, who had died earlier that week. Victory in
the league also secured automatic entry to the group stages
of
the UEFA Champions League in season 2008/09.
The
club were less successful in the season's domestic cup
competitions. They exited the Scottish League Cup at the quarter final
stage, after suffering a 2:0 defeat to Hearts. They lost at the same
stage of the Scottish Cup, losing to Aberdeen in a replay.
UEFA
Champions League campaign
The
Club was drawn against Russian side Spartak Moscow in the
third round of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League 2007-08.
The first leg was played at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, the venue
for this year's Champions League final, and ended in a 1-1 draw, with
Paul Hartley getting his first goal for the club after joining from
Heart of Midlothian
eight months ago. In the return leg Celtic emerged victorious after a
1-1 draw, with Scott McDonald scoring his first goal for the club. The
game ended in a penalty shootout,
with Artur Boruc saving twice.
A.C.
Milan and S.L.
Benfica and FC Shakhtar Donetsk were drawn
out,
in the UEFA Champions League group stages. Celtic lost the first group
match, away to Shakhtar in Ukraine, 2-0. But they rebounded with a 2-1
win over defending champions Milan at Home , leaving them in
second position in the group after 2 matches. Following McDonald's
match-winning goal, Robert McHendry ran onto the pitch and
tapped Milan goalkeeper Dida
on the face as he ran past his goal; Dida initially gave chase, then
fell to the pitch and was stretchered off. McHendry later surrendered
to police and was banned for life from Parkhead, and Dida received a
two-game suspension for breaching UEFA's policy of “principles
of loyalty, integrity and sportsmanship”, which was reduced
to one match on appeal. Celtic were found guilty of “lack of
organisation and improper conduct of supporters” and were hit
with a £25,000 fine, half of which was suspended for two years.
The
third match day saw them drop to bottom in the game
against
Benfica. Celtic lost 1-0 with the goal coming in the 86th minute. Next
up again was Benfica, this time at home. They won this 1-0,
with a goal from Aiden McGeady before half time. In the next
game
at Home, they came back from 1-0 down against Shakhtar Donetsk to
win 2-1 thanks to a winner from Massimo Donati
with the last kick of the game, which moves them up to second in the
group, guaranteeing Post-Christmas European Football, and leaving them
needing 1 point from the last game in Milan to be sure of qualifying
for the last 16. Despite losing 1-0 in Milan, however, Celtic qualified
as Benfica won 2-1 in Donetsk. In the knockout stage, Celtic drew FC
Barcelona. They lost the first leg at home 3-2, the second leg at the
Nou Camp was lost 1-0.
Transfers
In:
| Player |
From |
Fee |
 Scott McDonald |
Motherwell |
£700k |
 Tomislav Pavlov |
CSKA
Sofia |
Free |
 Scott Brown |
Hibernian |
£4.4m |
 Chris Killen |
Hibernian |
Free |
 Massimo Donati |
AC
Milan |
£2.5m |
 Laurence
Gaughan |
Liverpool |
Free |
 Jean-Joël
Perrier-Doumbé |
Stade
Rennais FC |
Free |
| Luca
Santonocito |
Inter
Milan |
Undisclosed |
 Andreas Hinkel |
Sevilla |
£1.9m |
 Koki Mizuno |
JEF United Ichihara Chiba |
Undisclosed |
 Ben Hutchinson |
Middlesbrough |
Undisclosed |
 Georgios Samaras |
Manchester City |
Loan |
| Barry Robson |
Dundee United |
Undisclosed + loan for James
O'Brien |
Out:
| Player |
To |
Fee |
| Neil
Lennon |
Nottingham Forest |
Free |
| Alan Thompson |
Leeds |
Free |
 Kjartan Finnbogason |
Åtvidabergs |
Loan |
| Craig Beattie |
West Brom |
£1.25m |
| David Marshall |
Norwich City |
£1m |
| Andrew Traub |
Clyde |
Free |
| Adam Virgo |
Colchester United |
Loan |
| Gary Irvine |
St. Johnstone |
Undisclosed |
| Dean Richardson |
Bohemians |
Undisclosed |
 Thomas Gravesen |
Everton |
Loan |
| Kenny Miller |
Derby County |
£3m |
| Michael Gardyne |
Morton |
Undisclosed |
| Paul Lawson |
Ross County |
Undisclosed |
| Craig Reid |
Stirling Albion |
Loan |
| Rocco Quinn |
St.
Johnstone |
Loan |
| Mark Nolan |
Released |
|
| Scott Fox |
Ayr
United |
Loan |
| Teddy Bjarnason |
Lyn
Oslo |
Undisclosed |
| Craig Reid |
Queen of the South |
Undisclosed |
| James O'Brien |
Dundee United |
Loan |
 Jiří Jarošík |
Krylia Sovetov Samara |
£747,500 |
 Maciej Żurawski |
Larissa |
£500,000 |
Fixtures and results
2007/08
(Celtic
Score First)
| Date |
Venue |
Opponents |
Score |
Competition |
Celtic scorers |
Match Report(s) |
| 5 July 2007 |
Stadium
Brühl |
FC Basel |
1-0 |
UC |
Miller |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 7 July 2007 |
Stadium
Brühl |
BSC Young Boys |
1-4 |
UC |
Jarošík |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 13 July 2007 |
London Road Stadium |
Peterborough United |
2-1 |
F |
McDonald; O'Brien |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 15 July 2007 |
Loftus Road |
Queens Park Rangers |
5-1 |
F |
Capone; Brown; Vennegoor of
Hesselink (2);
McDonald |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 19 July 2007 |
Dick's Sporting Goods Park |
MLS All-Stars |
0-2 |
MLAS |
|
Celtic
F.C. |
| 22 July 2007 |
Toyota Park |
Chicago
Fire |
1-1 |
F |
Riordan |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 26 July 2007 |
St James' Park |
Newcastle United |
1-4 |
F |
Brown |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 29 July 2007 |
Home |
Parma |
1-0 |
F |
McGeady |
Celtic
F.C. |
| 5 August 2007 |
Home |
Kilmarnock |
0-0 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 11 August 2007 |
Falkirk Stadium |
Falkirk |
4-1 |
SPL |
Miller; Nakamura; Vennegoor of
Hesselink |
BBC |
| 15 August 2007 |
Luzhniki Stadium |
Spartak Moscow |
1-1 |
CL |
Hartley |
BBC |
| 19 August 2007 |
Pittodrie Stadium |
Aberdeen |
3-1 |
SPL |
Donati; Miller (2) |
BBC |
| 25 August 2007 |
Home |
Hearts |
5-0 |
SPL |
Donati; Brown; Vennegoor of
Hesselink
(pen); Nakamura |
BBC |
| 29 August 2007 |
Home |
Spartak Moscow |
1-1 aet (4-3 on pens) |
CL |
McDonald |
BBC
Wikinews |
| 2 September 2007 |
St. Mirren Park |
St. Mirren |
5-1 |
SPL |
Brown, McDonald, Vennegoor of
Hesselink,
McManus |
BBC |
| 15 September 2007 |
Home |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
5-0 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink (2),
Donati, Nakamura |
BBC |
| 18 September 2007 |
RSK Olimpiyskyi |
Shakhtar Donetsk |
0-2 |
CLD |
|
BBC |
| 23 September 2007 |
Easter Road |
Hibs |
2-3 |
SPL |
McGeady, Caldwell |
BBC |
| 26 September 2007 |
Dens Park |
Dundee |
2-1 |
SLC |
McDonald, Vennegoor of Hesselink |
BBC |
| 29 September 2007 |
Home |
Dundee United |
3-0 |
SPL |
McDonald (3) |
BBC |
| 3 October 2007 |
Home |
AC
Milan |
2-1 |
CLD |
McManus, McDonald |
BBC |
| 7 October 2007 |
Fir Park |
Gretna |
2-1 |
SPL |
Killen, McDonald |
BBC |
| 20 October 2007 |
Ibrox |
Rangers |
0-3 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 24 October 2007 |
Estádio da Luz |
Benfica |
0-1 |
CLD |
|
BBC |
| 27 October 2007 |
Home |
Motherwell |
3-0 |
SPL |
McDonald (3, 1 pen) |
BBC |
| 31 October 2007 |
Home |
Hearts |
0-2 |
SLC |
|
BBC |
| 3 November 2007 |
Rugby Park |
Kilmarnock |
2-1 |
SPL |
McDonald (2) |
BBC |
| 6 November 2007 |
Home |
Benfica |
1-0 |
CLD |
McGeady |
BBC |
| 24 November 2007 |
Home |
Aberdeen |
3-0 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink,
McGeady, McDonald |
BBC |
| 28 November 2007 |
Home |
Shakhtar Donetsk |
2-1 |
CLD |
Jarošík, Donati |
BBC |
| 1 December 2007 |
Tynecastle |
Hearts |
1-1 |
SPL |
McDonald |
BBC |
| 4 December 2007 |
San Siro |
AC
Milan |
0-1 |
CLD |
|
BBC |
| 8 December 2007 |
Home |
St. Mirren |
1-1 |
SPL |
Riordan |
BBC |
| 11 December 2007 |
Home |
Falkirk |
4-0 |
SPL |
McDonald (pen), McGeady (3) |
BBC |
| 16 December 2007 |
Caledonian Stadium |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
2-3 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink (2) |
BBC |
| 22 December 2007 |
Home |
Hibs |
1-1 |
SPL |
Jarošík |
BBC |
| 26 December 2007 |
Tannadice |
Dundee United |
2-0 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink, McManus |
BBC |
| 29 December 2007 |
Home |
Gretna |
3-0 |
SPL |
Brown, McDonald, McGeady |
BBC |
| 12 January 2008 |
Home |
Stirling Albion |
3-0 |
SC |
Vennegoor of Hesselink,
McDonald, Nakamura |
BBC |
| 19 January 2008 |
Home |
Kilmarnock |
1-0 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 27 January 2008 |
Falkirk Stadium |
Falkirk |
1-0 |
SPL |
McDonald |
BBC |
| 2 February 2008 |
Rugby Park |
Kilmarnock |
5-1 |
SC |
McDonald (2), Caldwell,
Vennegoor of
Hesselink, Samaras |
Sky
Sports News |
| 10 February 2008 |
Pittodrie Stadium |
Aberdeen |
5-1 |
SPL |
Nakamura, McGeady, McDonald (2,
1 pen),
Robson |
BBC |
| 16 February 2008 |
Home |
Hearts |
3-0 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink,
McDonald, Hinkel |
BBC |
| 20 February 2008 |
Home |
FC Barcelona |
2-3 |
CL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink, Robson |
BBC |
| 24 February 2008 |
St. Mirren Park |
St. Mirren |
1-0 |
SPL |
Nakamura |
BBC |
| 27 February 2008 |
Home |
Inverness Caledonian Thistle |
2-1 |
SPL |
McDonald, Samaras |
BBC |
| 1 March 2008 |
Easter Road |
Hibs |
2-0 |
SPL |
Naylor, Samaras |
BBC |
| 4 March 2008 |
Camp Nou |
FC Barcelona |
0-1 |
CL |
|
BBC |
| 9 March 2008 |
Pittodrie Stadium |
Aberdeen |
1-1 |
SC |
Vennegoor of Hesselink |
BBC |
| 12 March 2008 |
Home |
Dundee United |
0-0 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 18 March 2008 |
Home |
Aberdeen |
0-1 |
SC |
|
BBC |
| 23 March 2008 |
Almondvale Stadium |
Gretna |
3-0 |
SPL |
McDonald, Vennegoor of
Hesselink, Samaras |
BBC |
| 29 March 2008 |
Ibrox |
Rangers |
0-1 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 5 April 2008 |
Home |
Motherwell |
0-1 |
SPL |
|
BBC |
| 13 April 2008 |
Fir Park |
Motherwell |
4-1 |
SPL |
McManus, McDonald, Vennegoor of
Hesselink
(2) |
BBC |
| 16 April 2008 |
Home |
Rangers |
2-1 |
SPL |
Nakamura, Vennegoor of Hesselink |
BBC |
| 19 April 2008 |
Home |
Aberdeen |
1-0 |
SPL |
Samaras |
BBC |
| 27 April 2008 |
Home |
Rangers |
3-2 |
SPL |
McDonald (2), Robson (pen) |
BBC |
| 3 May 2008 |
Fir Park |
Motherwell |
2-1 |
SPL |
McDonald, Samaras |
BBC |
| 11 May 2008 |
Home |
Hibs |
2-0 |
SPL |
McManus, McDonald |
BBC |
| 22 May 2008 |
Tannadice |
Dundee United |
1-0 |
SPL |
Vennegoor of Hesselink |
BBC |
Player
statistics
NOTE: Friendly matches not included
| Shirt No. |
Player |
Apps (Subs) |
Goals |
YC |
RC |
| 1 |
Artur Boruc |
45 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| 2 |
Andreas Hinkel |
19 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
| 3 |
Lee Naylor |
47 |
1 |
5 |
0 |
| 4 |
Adam Virgo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 5 |
Gary Caldwell |
50 (1) |
2 |
3 |
1 |
| 6 |
 Dianbobo Balde |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 7 |
Maciej Żurawski |
1 (7) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 8 |
Scott Brown |
45 (3) |
3 |
13 |
0 |
| 9 |
Kenny Miller |
1 (1) |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| 9 |
Georgios Samaras |
5 (16) |
6 |
2 |
0 |
| 10 |
 Jan Vennegoor of
Hesselink |
44 (2) |
20 |
8 |
0 |
| 11 |
Paul Hartley |
34 (5) |
1 |
6 |
0 |
| 12 |
Mark Wilson |
12 (4) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 14 |
Derek Riordan |
3 (8) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 15 |
Evander Sno |
5 (16) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 16 |
Thomas Gravesen |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 17 |
Steven Pressley |
6 (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 18 |
Massimo Donati |
34 (7) |
4 |
10 |
0 |
| 19 |
Barry Robson |
10 (6) |
3 |
3 |
0 |
| 20 |
Jiří Jarošík |
11 (2) |
2 |
2 |
0 |
| 21 |
Mark Brown |
9 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 23 |
Ben Hutchinson |
0 (2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 24 |
Jean-Joël
Perrier-Doumbé |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 25 |
Shunsuke Nakamura |
33 (3) |
7 |
2 |
0 |
| 26 |
Cillian Sheridan |
0 (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 27 |
Scott McDonald |
49 (3) |
31 |
7 |
0 |
| 29 |
Koki Mizuno |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 33 |
Chris Killen |
3 (24) |
1 |
1 |
0 |
| 41 |
John Kennedy |
11 (3) |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| 44 |
Stephen McManus |
53 |
5 |
6 |
0 |
| 45 |
James O'Brien |
0 (2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 46 |
Aiden McGeady |
48 (3) |
8 |
11 |
0 |
| 47 |
Michael
McGovern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 48 |
Darren O'Dea |
5 (5) |
0 |
1 |
0 |
| 52 |
Paul Caddis |
2 (2) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 54 |
Ryan Conroy |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 55 |
Paul McGowan |
0 (1) |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 56 |
Teddy Bjarnason |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
FIXTURES