Jock Stein - The father of Scottish football

The most astonishing part of his legend, though, was that he did it with players who were all Scottish. To be more specific, he won the European cup with players who had all been born with a dozen miles of Celtic park. Only one player, Bobby Lennox, was an outsider and he too lived only at a distance of 30 miles (48 kms) from Celtic park. Now the world has seen talent produced by Ajax during the 1970s, Fergie’s Fledglings in the 1990s and are seeing the talent produced by La Masia take the world by storm. But it all pales in comparison to what Stein did. He essentially won the European cup with a Glasgow district eleven. Never before or after in the history of football has such a prestigious trophy been blitzed away by such concentrated local talent.

“There is not a prouder man on God’s Earth than me at this moment. Winning was important, aye, but it was the way that we have won that has filled me with satisfaction. We did it by playing football. Pure, beautiful, inventive football. There was not a negative thought in our heads. Inter played right into our hands; it’s so sad to see such gifted players shackled by a system that restricts their freedom to think and to act. Our fans would never accept that sort of sterile approach. Our objective is always to try to win with style.” - (Jock Stein, 1967)

Style was indeed Jock’s buzzword. If there were two things Jock’s Celtic always had, it was style and temperament. He won 25 trophies during his 12 seasons in charge and led Celtic to another final in 1970 but lost to Feynoord. Sadly though, he was neglected by the Celtic administration and in desperation, had to go seek employment at Leeds. But here too he left after 44 days.

Stein was then made coach of Scotland and he led them to two world cups. In 1982, they were unlucky to be eliminated in the group stage of the finals, on goal difference. The quest for qualification to the 1986 world cup came down to a match against Wales at Cardiff. Scotland only needed a draw to get through and they achieved it. But tragedy struck and Jock Stein, the greatest British manager at that point in time, collapsed on the pitch with a heart attack that took his life. Stein had lived for the game and it was perhaps fitting that he breathed his last on a football field.

Scottish football had lost its greatest servant, and even though Stein passed away, his ideas found many followers. His views emphasizing on wing play, on playing two strikers upfront, on retaining possession, on playing at a high tempo with quick players lived on and to this day build the cornerstone of successful teams, Manchester United being the most notable amongst them. Ferguson was the assistant to Stein for the qualifiers to the 1986 world cup, and Stein’s imprint on United is obvious for the world to see. Ferguson summed Stein’s death perfectly in his autobiography – he wrote, “the silence was as if the king had died. In footballing terms, the king had died”.