Country Bhoys Denmark

Celtic’s Danish connections

 CELTIC Football Club is a name known throughout the football world, while in just about any country you care to mention, you’re guaranteed to find Celtic supporters proudly wearing the green and white Hoops.

And as well as having universal appeal, the Celtic first-team squad has a global look to it, with players from 13 countries playing their part in the historic success the club has enjoyed in recent seasons.

Over the course of this season we’ll be taking a closer look at these countries and their current Celtic links, as well as other nations who have played their part in our unique story.

This week it’s Denmark …

AND IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY

The first competitive encounter in Denmark was in 1965 in what was the club’s fourth season of European football and Jock Stein’s first foray on to foreign soil as Celtic manager. Their opponents in the European Cup-Winners’ Cup were amateur side Aarhus, with Celtic having comfortably disposed of Go Ahead Deventer in a 7-0 aggregate win in the first round. At that stage Danish football was jealously guarding its amateur status and would continue to do so late into the next decade, but this did not mean an easy tie against Aarhus. A Joe McBride goal sealed a 1-0 win away from home on November 3, with the players having to fight tooth and nail for a 2-0 victory in the return leg. Celtic went on to reach the semi-finals of the Cup-Winners’ Cup that season, where they were narrowly beaten by Liverpool.

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