Billy McNeill
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | William McNeill[1] | ||
Date of birth | 2 March 1940 | ||
Place of birth | Mossend, Scotland | ||
Date of death | 22 April 2019 | (aged 79)||
Place of death | Newton Mearns, Scotland | ||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Defender | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
–1957 | Blantyre Victoria | ||
1957–1975 | Celtic | 486 | (22) |
International career | |||
1960–1962[2] |
Scotland U23 | 5 | (0) |
1961[3] | SFA trial v SFL | 1 | (0) |
1961–1967 |
Scottish League XI | 9 | (0) |
1961–1972 | Scotland | 29 | (3) |
Managerial career | |||
1977 | Clyde | ||
1977–1978 | Aberdeen | ||
1978–1983 | Celtic | ||
1983–1986 | Manchester City | ||
1986–1987 | Aston Villa | ||
1987–1991 | Celtic | ||
1998 | Hibernian (caretaker) | ||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
William McNeill
A defender, McNeill played for Celtic for his entire senior career, and holds the club record for most appearances, a total of 822 games over 18 seasons. He was captain during their most successful era in the 1960s and 70s. The club won nine consecutive Scottish league championships and thirteen other major domestic trophies in this time, and in 1967 became the first British club to win the European Cup. He also played 29 times for Scotland.
McNeill managed Celtic for nine seasons, from 1978 to 1983 and 1987 to 1991, winning four Scottish league championships. This included a league and cup double in 1987–88, the club's centenary season. He also managed Clyde, Aberdeen, Manchester City and Aston Villa. In 2015, Celtic installed a statue outside Celtic Park of McNeill holding aloft the European Cup, an iconic image in their history.
Early life
McNeill was born on 2 March 1940 in
He moved to Motherwell and excelled playing football as centre-half at Our Lady's High School. His schoolboy performances led to him signing for the junior team Blantyre Victoria.[5]
Playing career
McNeill was signed by Celtic for £250 in 1957 after then reserve team coach Jock Stein saw him playing for Scotland schoolboys against England.[6] He was given the nickname Cesar after the actor Cesar Romero.[7]
In his early career, Celtic endured some of their most difficult times, and did not win a trophy for eight years. After Stein became manager in 1965, however, the club's fortunes improved. In the 1965 Scottish Cup final, Celtic defeated Dunfermline 3–2, with McNeill scoring the winning goal. In that season he was named Scottish Footballer of the Year, the first year it was awarded.[8]
With McNeill as captain, Celtic enjoyed their most successful period, dominating Scottish football and regularly competing in the latter stages of European competitions. They won nine Scottish League championships in a row, as well as seven Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups.[9]
Celtic's greatest season was in
Following another domestic treble in
McNeill retired as a player in 1975, having made a club record 822
Managerial career
After retiring as a player, McNeill began coaching
Aberdeen
McNeill was appointed Aberdeen manager in June 1977, having been recommended by Jock Stein.[19] He succeeded Ally MacLeod.[20] In his one season in charge, 1977–78, McNeill led Aberdeen to runners-up finishes in the league and Scottish Cup, and enjoyed a positive working relationship with the club's chairman, Dick Donald.[19] Their performance in the league was their best since 1972, and three places above Celtic. During his season with Aberdeen, McNeill signed Gordon Strachan, Steve Archibald and Neil Simpson.[20] When Stein retired as Celtic manager, he identified McNeill as his successor, and McNeill accepted the club's offer. He was succeeded at Aberdeen by Alex Ferguson.[19]
Celtic
McNeill returned to a Celtic side who had finished in fifth place in 1977–78. He immediately improved the club's fortunes, as they won the league championship in 1978–79. Celtic clinched the title in their final match of the league season by beating Rangers 4–2, despite having had Johnny Doyle sent off.[21]
His five years in charge saw Celtic win three League championships, in 1978–79, 1980–81 and 1981–82, the Scottish Cup in 1979–80 and the League Cup in 1982–83.[22] This period saw Celtic's greatest competition come from the New Firm clubs – Aberdeen, who won the League championship in 1979–80, and Dundee United, who won the title in 1982–83.[23]
McNeill is credited with developing young players for Celtic, such as Paul McStay and Charlie Nicholas, and making signings such as Murdo MacLeod and Davie Provan who became key players for the club through the 1980s. However, McNeill found working with Desmond White, Celtic's chairman, very difficult, and felt underpaid and underappreciated. Despite Celtic's successes, by 1983 he was being paid less than the managers of Aberdeen, Dundee United, Rangers and St Mirren. When White sold Nicholas to Arsenal, against McNeill's wishes, McNeill looked for the first available way out, and took up the offer to manage Manchester City.[19]
Manchester City and Aston Villa
On 30 June 1983 he moved to England to manage Manchester City. Two years before being appointed by City, he had been strongly linked with the manager's job at their city rivals Manchester United, when Ron Atkinson was appointed instead.[24] McNeill secured promotion for City after two seasons in charge (in 1984–85), and oversaw survival in their first season back in the First Division (1985–86).[6]
He started the
Return to Celtic
He then returned to Celtic, and in his first season,
The following two seasons were disappointing, and Celtic did not win a trophy. They lost the
After leaving Celtic he turned down several offers to return to management, including from Dundee, and worked in the media instead. He remained bitter about the manner of his departure from Celtic, until he was asked to become a club ambassador in 2009.[19]
Hibernian
McNeill had a brief spell as
Books
McNeill wrote three autobiographies:
- McNeill, Billy (1966). For Celtic and Scotland. The Sportmans Book Club.
- McNeill, Billy; Cameron, Alex (1988). Back to Paradise. Mainstream. ISBN 978-1851581887.
- McNeill, Billy (2004). Hail Cesar. Headline. ISBN 978-0755313167.
Awards and recognition
McNeill was awarded the MBE in November 1974. In 2002 he was voted Celtic's greatest ever captain, and a member of Celtic's greatest team, by the club's fans.[34] He was inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame in 2002[35] and the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2004.[36]
In December 2015 Celtic installed a statue at the entrance to the Celtic Way outside Celtic Park, created by sculptor John McKenna. The statue, in bronze on a granite base, shows McNeill holding aloft the European Cup, an iconic image in the club's history.[37]
In 2019, he was recognised with the "One Club Award" by Spanish club Athletic Bilbao for his achievements and loyalty to Celtic.[38][39]
A short time after his death, the new sports pitch at his former school, Our Lady's High, was named in his honour.[40]
In 2019, the Billy McNeill Commemoration Committee was created in Bellshill, and campaigned to raise funds to build a bronze sculpture of McNeill at the pedestrian area of Bellshill Cross.[41] The statue was unveiled in November 2022.[42]
Personal life
McNeill's maternal grandparents were from Lithuania, [43] while his father was of Irish descent.[44] He was Catholic.[45][46]
McNeill married Liz Callaghan, a dancer on the TV variety show The White Heather Club in 1963. They had five children.[6]
McNeill, along with former Rangers player Eric Caldow, stood as a candidate for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election.[47] In 2008, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow.[7]
During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum McNeill was a supporter of the Better Together campaign against Scottish independence.[48]
It was reported in February 2017 that McNeill was suffering from dementia and was very limited in his speech.[49] He died on 22 April 2019, aged 79.[6][50][9]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Scottish Cup | Scottish League Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Celtic | 1957–58 | Division One
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | |
1958–59 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 0 | |||
1959–60 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 32 | 0 | |||
1960–61 | 31 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 43 | 1 | |||
1961–62 | 29 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 41 | 1 | |||
1962–63 | 28 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 42 | 1 | |||
1963–64 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 46 | 0 | |||
1964–65 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 36 | 1 | |||
1965–66 | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 1 | – | 49 | 1 | |||
1966–67 | 33 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 1 | – | 58 | 3 | |||
1967–68 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 50 | 6 | ||
1968–69 | 34 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | 56 | 6 | |||
1969–70 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 0 | – | 55 | 7 | |||
1970–71 | 31 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | 54 | 3 | |||
1971–72 | 34 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 55 | 4 | |||
1972–73 | 30 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | 51 | 2 | |||
1973–74 | 30 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | 53 | 0 | |||
1974–75 | 30 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 45 | 1 | |||
Career total | 486 | 22 | 94 | 7 | 137 | 4 | 69 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 789 | 37 |
- ^ Appearances in the World Club Championship
NB These totals do not include appearances in the Glasgow Cup, which at the time was a senior trophy.[53]
International
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Scotland | 1961 | 6 | 0 |
1962 | 2 | 0 | |
1963 | 3 | 0 | |
1964 | 2 | 0 | |
1965 | 6 | 1 | |
1967 | 1 | 0 | |
1968 | 2 | 0 | |
1969 | 4 | 2 | |
1972 | 3 | 0 | |
Total | 29 | 3 |
- Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each McNeill goal.
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 13 October 1965 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Poland | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
|
2 | 3 May 1969 | Racecourse Ground, Wrexham, Wales | Wales | 1–0 | 5–3 | 1968–69 British Home Championship |
3 | 17 May 1969 | Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland | Cyprus | 2–0 | 8–0 | 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Managerial statistics
Team | Nat | From | To | Record | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
Clyde[55] | April 1977 | June 1977 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 50.00 | ||
Aberdeen[56] | June 1977 | August 1978 | 50 | 31 | 11 | 8 | 62.00 | ||
Celtic[22] | August 1978 | May 1983 | 258 | 165 | 40 | 53 | 63.95 | ||
Manchester City | June 1983 | September 1986 | 150 | 60 | 41 | 49 | 40.00 | ||
Aston Villa | September 1986 | May 1987 | 41 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 21.95 | ||
Celtic[22] | May 1987 | May 1991 | 197 | 108 | 41 | 48 | 54.82 | ||
Total | 654 | 346 | 140 | 168 | 52.91 |
Honours
Player
- 1966–67
- Scottish League champions (9): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1973–74
- 1974–75
- 1974–75
- Drybrough Cup: 1974–75
- Glasgow Cup: 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65 , 1966–67, 1967–68
Scotland[58]
- British Home Championship: 1961–62, 1963–64 (shared), 1971–72
Manager
- Scottish League champions: 1978–79, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1987–88
- 1988–89
- 1982–83
- Glasgow Cup: 1981–82[60]
Aberdeen[20]
- Scottish Premier Division: runner-up 1977–78
- Scottish Cup: runner-up 1977–78
Manchester City
- 1984–85
- 1985–86[61]
Individual
- SFWA Footballer of the Year: 1964–65[62]
- Scottish Manager of the Season: 1977–78 (SFWA precursor)[63]
- SFWA Manager of the Year: 1987–88[64]
- Glasgow Sportman of the Millenium: 1999[65]
- Scottish Football Hall of Fame: 2004[66]
- 2017 (as part of the Lisbon Lions)[67]
- Scottish Sports Hall of Fame: 2002[68]
- One Club Award: 2019[39]
Notes
- ^ This total is sometimes given as 790. 822 includes 32 games in minor competitions, including the Glasgow Cup, Drybrough Cup and the Anglo-Scottish Cup.
- ^ McNeill's position at Hibernian has been described in different sources as "football development manager", "football development officer" and "director of development".
See also
References
- General sources
- McNeill, Billy (October 2004). Hail Cesar. Headline Book Publishing (4 October 2004). ISBN 978-0-7553-1315-0.
- MacPherson, Archie (2007). Jock Stein: The Definitive Biography. Highdown. ISBN 978-1-905156-37-5.
- Specific citations
- ^ a b c Billy McNeill, londonhearts.com
- ^ Scotland U23 player McNeill, Billy, FitbaStats
- ]
- ^ McNeill, B., 2014. Hail Cesar
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Billy McNeill obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Bhoy racer". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
"Billy's nickname is Cesar," the prof told the audience. "However, this doesn't come from any Roman connections, rather from a movie. In the original Ocean's 11, Cesar Romero drove the getaway car.
- ^ Brown, Alan (6 December 2018). "Scotland – Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Billy McNeill: Former Celtic captain & manager dies aged 79". BBC Sport. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Archie Macpherson (18 December 2015). "Billy McNeill: The 'Luke Skywalker of his age'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Who has won a treble, including domestic league and cup titles, plus the European Cup or UEFA Champions League?". UEFA. 10 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Jensen, Neil Fredrik (1 June 2022). "Celtic 1967 – the only quadruple winners". Game of the People. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "A 4-0 Hampden defeat by Celtic ended Sir Alex Ferguson's time at Rangers - this Ibrox team's careers are on the line", The Herald, 17 April 2018
- ^ Ross, James M. (4 June 2015). "European Competitions 1969-70". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b c "Celtic player Billy McNeill". FitbaStats. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "SFL player William McNeill". London Hearts Supporters' Club. Retrieved 27 November 2011.
- ^ "Billy McNeill". Clyde FC. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Grant, Michael & Robertson, Rob. 2011 The Management: Scotland's Great Football Bosses
- ^ a b c "In Memoriam: Billy McNeill". Aberdeen FC. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Sullivan, Joe (21 May 2012). "When 10 men won the league". Celtic FC. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b c d e "Celtic manager Billy McNeill". FitbaStats. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Harris, Daniel (19 April 2017). "The forgotten story of ... Dundee United's glory years under Jim McLean". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Davidson, Alan (19 May 1981). "McNeill – I'm so flattered". Evening Times. p. 32. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Heald, Dan (25 April 2012). "Aston Villa's form under Alex McLeish as bad as that of the relegated squad under Billy McNeill". The Telegraph. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Old Firm finals down the years". BBC Sport. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ Traynor, James (22 May 1989). "Tension and fear spoil show-piece". The Glasgow Herald. p. 22. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Obituary: Billy McNeill, legendary Celtic captain and manager". The Herald. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
- ^ "Alan McRae pays tribute to Billy McNeill". Scottish Football Association. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Billy McNeill". Hibernian FC. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Football: Millar two hot for Hibs". The Independent. 25 January 1998.[dead link]
- ^ "Football: Miller helps Miller to wind up Hibernian". The Independent. 8 February 1998.
- ^ Pia, Simon (16 July 1998). "Article: McNeill's departure inevitable". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012.
- ^ "Jinky best-ever Celtic player". BBC Sport. 9 September 2002. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "The names in the Hall of Fame". BBC News. 30 November 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "2004". Scottish Football Museum. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
- ^ "Celtic unveil statue in honour of legend Billy McNeill". Celtic FC. 19 December 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Celtic: Billy McNeill awarded Athletic Bilbao honour". BBC Sport. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ a b "Billy McNeill and Malin Moström, awarded by Athletic as One Club Awards". Athletic Bilbao. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
- ^ School sports park named after football great Billy McNeill, Motherwell Times, 10 June 2019
- ^ Meikle, David (23 July 2020). "Campaign for Celtic legend Billy McNeill statue in his hometown smashes £70k fundraising target". The Daily Record. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ Billy McNeill statue unveiled as Celtic icon remembered in hometown with Lisbon Lion memorial, Mark Pirie, 26 November 2022
- ISBN 978-1-4722-2699-0.
My Albanian grandparents boarded an immigrant ship believing that they were bound for the New World, but instead of landing in New York they disembarked at Leith
- ^ A national hero in Scotland… and Lithuania: Vilnius hails Celtic legend Billy McNeill’s family roots in Eastern Europe, Stacey Mullen, Sunday Post, 5 May 2019
- ^ "Billy McNeill obituary".
- ^ Obituaries, Telegraph (23 April 2019). "Billy McNeill, giant of Scottish football and Celtic captain who led the 'Lisbon Lions' to European glory – obituary". The Telegraph.
- ^ "'Old' firm legends seek votes". BBC News. BBC. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
- ^ Torcuil Crichton. "Independence referendum: Football legends unite to back Better Together campaign - Daily Record". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- ^ "Family of Billy McNeill confirm he has dementia". BBC News. BBC. 26 February 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
- ^ "Family's immense sadness as Celtic legend Billy McNeill passes away". Celtic FC. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ISBN 0-85976-173-8, Published 1986.
- ^ a b Billy McNeill at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ Glasgow Cup Archived 17 August 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Football Historical Archive
- ^ "Billy McNeill – Scotland – Scottish FA". www.scottishfa.co.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "Clyde manager Billy McNeill". FitbaStats. Retrieved 26 February 2017.
- ^ "Aberdeen manager Billy McNeill". FitbaStats. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB 1960 TO 1969".
"CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB 1970 TO 1979". Retrieved 29 April 2021. Celtic Football Club. - ^ "Billy McNeill". SFA. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
- ^ "CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB 1980 TO 1989".
"CELTIC FOOTBALL CLUB 1990 TO 1999". Retrieved 29 April 2021. Celtic Football Club. - Glasgow Herald. 14 May 1982. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "1985/86 SEASON REVIEW". City Till I Die. 21 June 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
- ^ "SFWA Player of the Year". SFWA. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Billy McNeill's significant one-season impact as Aberdeen manager". The Scotsman. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
"Can Steve Clarke be manager of year if Celtic win treble?". The Scotsman. 2 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2019. - ^ "SFWA Manager of the Year". The Gem. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Many Happy Returns Cesar!". Celtic FC. 2 March 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
- ^ "Billy McNeill, 2004 Inducteew". SFHoF. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
- ^ "Lisbon Lions inducted into Scottish Football Hall of Fame". HeraldScotland.
- ^ "Billy McNeill, 2002 Inductees". SSHoF. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2021.
External links
- Media related to Billy McNeill at Wikimedia Commons
- Billy McNeill at the Scottish Football Association
- Billy McNeill at the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame