Blue Sky
Player Valuation: £8m
We could go back to this....
November 26, 1969
Benfica 3 Celtic 0
THIS was the fabled tie that was ultimately settled on the toss of a coin. It had looked to be a straightforward affair for Celtic after they enjoyed a 3-0 win over Benfica in the first-leg of the tie at Celtic Park.
Goals from Tommy Gemmell, Willie Wallace and Harry Hood put the esteemed Eusebio in the shade as Celtic ran rampant.
A John Hughes 'goal' was wrongly chopped off, otherwise they would have taken a more emphatic win to Lisbon. As it was, they were in for a shock in the return leg.
By the time the interval rolled around, Benfica had hauled it back to 2-0 and they continued to press for the rest of the second period.
On the cusp of the full-time whistle, they levelled and although confusion reigned, the game ultimately had to be settled by the toss of a coin.
Dutch referee Laurens van Ravens summoned Billy McNeill and Mario Coluna of Benfica, into his dressing room. Their respective managers went with them. The two linesmen and a handful of pressmen also squeezed into the room, while other members of the club packed the corridors of Estadio da Luz.
McNeill would recall that he would "rather be anywhere else at that moment". He asked Stein what he should call only for the manager to shout: "You're on your own."
McNeill called "heads" and won. The referee then informed him this was just to see which of the captains would have the right to spin the coin.
He handed the Scot the silver Dutch two guilder piece to toss into the air to determine which club would win the tie. "I stuck with my hunch and called heads again," McNeill said.
The coin landed on the floor, rolled, hit the referee's foot and lay still. As everyone bent down to get a look the Celtic captain punched the air when he saw he had made the right call.
November 26, 1969
Benfica 3 Celtic 0
THIS was the fabled tie that was ultimately settled on the toss of a coin. It had looked to be a straightforward affair for Celtic after they enjoyed a 3-0 win over Benfica in the first-leg of the tie at Celtic Park.
Goals from Tommy Gemmell, Willie Wallace and Harry Hood put the esteemed Eusebio in the shade as Celtic ran rampant.
A John Hughes 'goal' was wrongly chopped off, otherwise they would have taken a more emphatic win to Lisbon. As it was, they were in for a shock in the return leg.
By the time the interval rolled around, Benfica had hauled it back to 2-0 and they continued to press for the rest of the second period.
On the cusp of the full-time whistle, they levelled and although confusion reigned, the game ultimately had to be settled by the toss of a coin.
Dutch referee Laurens van Ravens summoned Billy McNeill and Mario Coluna of Benfica, into his dressing room. Their respective managers went with them. The two linesmen and a handful of pressmen also squeezed into the room, while other members of the club packed the corridors of Estadio da Luz.
McNeill would recall that he would "rather be anywhere else at that moment". He asked Stein what he should call only for the manager to shout: "You're on your own."
McNeill called "heads" and won. The referee then informed him this was just to see which of the captains would have the right to spin the coin.
He handed the Scot the silver Dutch two guilder piece to toss into the air to determine which club would win the tie. "I stuck with my hunch and called heads again," McNeill said.
The coin landed on the floor, rolled, hit the referee's foot and lay still. As everyone bent down to get a look the Celtic captain punched the air when he saw he had made the right call.
