Mark I'Anson

Billy McNeill, 1940 - 2019. Footballer

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About this artwork

Billy McNeill joined Celtic in 1957 and started playing for the first team aged only nineteen. A talented defender, he spent his entire playing career with the club. As captain of Celtic he became the first British player ever to lift the European Cup when Celtic beat Inter Milan in the 1967 final in Lisbon. McNeill retired as a player in 1975, after over 800 appearances for Celtic and twenty-nine caps for Scotland. He went on to manage Clyde, Aberdeen, Celtic, and briefly Manchester City and Aston Villa, before returning to Celtic and winning both the League Championship and Scottish Cup in 1988. He left his role after four years in 1991. McNeill’s statue at Celtic Park, which depicts him holding the European Cup, was covered with flowers, Celtic shirts and scarves left by fans mourning his death in April 2019.

Updated before 2020

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Mark I'Anson

Mark I'Anson