da heads bet: Our bar staff and landlord here in the Transfer Tavern like to keep our punters well informed about all things football from around the globe.
da jogodeouro: For a club the size of Celtic, some of punters below the border aren’t quite as well informed as they probably should be when it comes to the Hoops.
One of the proudest institutes in the European game, their struggles on the continental front have perhaps seen them cast into a relative shadow to those not supporting the club.
You never know when you may find yourself sat in the pub doing a pub quiz in the city center of Glasgow, having a few pints and the topic of Celtic comes up!
Then, you can thanks us for the insight.
With that all in mind, let’s have a bit of a history lesson and find out SIX facts that you probably didn’t know about Celtic Football Club…
Splashing the cash
On the 11th of July 2000, a record was broken at Celtic, to which has still yet to be beaten!
That is their record-breaking transfer fee paid for English striker Chris Sutton as he made the switch from Chelsea to the high-flying Scottish side for a fee of £6 million!
Back in the year 2000 that was quite a big sum in comparison to today’s market where players go for £20-30 million and no one batters an eyelid.
5 year wait!
When you think Celtic, the first thing to pop into mind is Scottish champions, because for as long as many can remember it seems they continue to bring the Scottish League title home year on year.
However, did you know that their very first league title came all the way back in 1893?!
That’s 5 years after the club was originally founded.
Busy, Busy, Busy!
Would you believe it if we told you that there was once 146,433 fans in one stadium at one time?
You’d probably laugh at us right?
With all the rules and regulations these days it’s rare that a stadium is actually at its full capacity.
But in 1937 they were a little more lapse on the situation.
Celtic broke the record for a club game in Europe when in fact an estimated 146,433 turned out to watch them face Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup final; that is an astonishing amount of fans in one stadium!
Coronation Cup
In 1956 Celtic defeated Hibernian 2-0 in the final of the Coronation Cup, which was held to celebrate the crowning of Queen Elizabeth II.
The teams invited included the best in Scotland football and English football at the time, and the final attracted a crowd of 117,000 at Hampden Park.
Quite the turn out for the Royal Family.
It’s amazing to think only 60 years ago there were more than 100,000 fans allowed into a stadium, how times have changed.
England Man
Did you know that Mr. England himself, famous for his rapping abilities, Mr. John Barnes was once the boss at Celtic Park?
Back in 1999, the former England and Liverpool striker was the head coach with Kenny Dalglish in an executive role.
However, it didn’t last long unfortunately! When Celtic found themselves on the end of a surprise defeat to Inverness in the Scottish Cup.
When Celtic found themselves on the end of a surprise defeat to Inverness in the Scottish Cup, Barnes was bounced out.
Lenny Legend
Neil Lennon became quite the fan favorite and many called for him to replace Ronny Deila and return to Celtic Park before the appointment of Brendan Rodgers.
But Mr. Lennon found himself leaving Celtic with quite the achievement by becoming only the fourth Celtic manager, after Willie Maley, Jock Stein and Gordon Strachan, to win three league titles in a row, as the Hoops dominated the SPFL.
We want to hear from you, Celtic punters or not, let us know if you knew these facts already or if you find yourself knowing more about the club than ever before… Comment below