Celtic in Europe in the Eighties – Epilogue And The Winds of Change

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The Celtic Star

·4 February 2026

Celtic in Europe in the Eighties – Epilogue And The Winds of Change

EUROPE IN THE EIGHTIES- EPILOGUE…

Johnny Doyle scores against Real Madrid in the European Cup quarter final at Celtic Park on 5 March 1980. Photo The Celtic Wiki.

In the early Eighties, Celtic had come agonisingly close against sides who went on to reach the European Cup semi-finals (Real Madrid and Real Sociedad), Cup Winners’ Cup finals (Rapid Vienna and Atletico Madrid) and the UEFA Cup semi-final (Nottingham Forest).

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After the loss to Atletico Madrid in 1985, Celtic suffered successive early exits to Dynamo Kiev, Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Partizan Belgrade. NONE of the latter sides reached the final of the competition, with only Dynamo Kiev reaching a semi. Celtic’s relative decline in Europe was becoming increasingly obvious during the late 80s, but how did this end?

Celtic v Partizan Belgrade – Darius Dziekanowski scores Celtic’s fifth goal in the ECWC at Celtic Park on 27 September 1989. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Depressingly, from 1989 to 1995, Celtic’s decline in Europe was matched by a precipitous decline at home. If the late ’80s were years of decline in European competition with limited success at home, the early 90s saw a collapse in Celtic’s domestic performances and an increasing inability to compete even within Scotland.

Between the defeat to Partizan Belgrade in September 1989 and the end of season 1994/95, Celtic would endure one of the worst periods in their entire history. They would finish FIFTH in 1990 and fail to challenge for the League for the next FIVE seasons, finishing THIRD in 90/91, 91/92, and 92/93 and FOURTH in 93/94 and 94/95.

Celtic – Scottish Cup winners -1995. Celtic 1 Airdrie 0. Photo The Celtic Wiki

The only trophy won in the first half of the decade was the Scottish Cup in 1995. It is therefore no exaggeration to summarise the period 1990-1995 as an atrocious one for Celtic.

As for Europe, Celtic would fail to qualify in 1990/91 and 1994/95. Season 1991/92 proved memorable for the worst result in Celtic’s European history, when they lost 1-5 to Neuchatel Xamax in Switzerland in the second round of the UEFA Cup.

Neuchatel Xamax 5 Celtic 1 – The Celtic support was there in numbers to watch a humiliation. Photo The Celtic Wiki

In the following season, Celtic produced a memorable performance in the first round to defeat Cologne 3-0 at Celtic Park and progress 3-2 on aggregate. In the next round, creditable performances both home and away against Borussia Dortmund ultimately ended in a 1-3 defeat on aggregate.

In 1993/94, a 1-0 aggregate win over Young Boys of Berne in the first round was followed by a 1-2 aggregate elimination at the hands of Sporting Lisbon. Changed days indeed from the heady days of only a decade earlier, when Celtic were highly competitive against Europe’s best.

Not even second best in Scotland and rapidly becoming nonentities in Europe. How can the collapse in Celtic’s stature be explained?

One crucial point is that the first half of the 90s was a period of rapid and intense change both in Scotland and Europe as a whole. Football was in the process of being transformed into a packaged form of entertainment, with the commercial potential offered by TV, corporate hospitality and merchandising growing more important with each passing year.

Michael Kelly at Celtic Park September 1994

The Celtic Board of 1990-94 was hopelessly ill-equipped to understand what was taking place, far less adapt to it. In addition to this change in the overall environment, Celtic faced several unique challenges but proved unable to respond to any of these.

The first and most pressing challenge was presented by the rejuvenated Rangers. Between the summers of 1991 and 1994, Rangers spent millions buying players like Andy Goram, Trevor Steven, Gordon Durie, Brian Laudrup and Basile Boli – the latter directly from 1993 European Cup winners, Marseille.

The financial advantage held by Rangers at this time is best illustrated by looking at the example of Duncan Ferguson. In July 1984, Rangers spent £4 million to purchase Ferguson from Dundee United. The sum, a British record at the time, was greater than the total spent by ALL the other Scottish clubs put together that close season.

The Ibrox club’s strength was based in part on season ticket sales of more than 30 000 which guaranteed millions before a ball was even kicked. It was also based on the willingness of banks and investors to lend Rangers money based on chairman David Murray’s business stature.

As summarised by Tom Campbell and Pat Woods in Dreams and Songs to Sing: “The Ibrox club’s transformation had been symbolised by the rebuilding of their stadium and the expert marketing of their commercial potential. This energy and drive was regularly contrasted with Celtic’s comparatively naïve and anachronistic business ways.”

In stark comparison, in 1993 Celtic had fewer than 8000 season ticket holders, with most fans paying on a game-by-game basis. In addition, the club was by now saddled with a precarious level of debt, incurred by the heavy spending of both Billy McNeill and Liam Brady in the transfer market without commensurate success on the field.

UEFA Cup 1 FC Cologne Celtic Glasgow 15 09 1992 2 0 team manager Liam Brady Celtic in Background Jörg Berger Cologne HM. Photo Imago

Lack of success and general disillusionment among Celtic fans resulted in ever-reducing crowds, which itself fed the financial spiral further downward.

Added to the huge challenge presented by an ambitious Rangers were the requirements of the final Taylor Report of 1990 and UEFA rulings at around the same time. These made all-seated stadia imperative for major clubs by August 1994 and had a particularly devastating effect on Celtic, whose stadium had only 9000 seats in an overall capacity of 67 000. Celtic would now be required to spend millions at a time when the club was the most indebted it had ever been in its history.

These events ignited a bitter boardroom civil war which started in October 1990 with the removal of Brian Dempsey and lasted more than three years. They also provoked highly organised fan protests which started with the “Save Our Celts” meeting in February 1991 and culminated in the boycott of the home fixture against Kilmarnock on 1st March 1994.

The end for the old Board finally came on Friday 4 March 1994 with Fergus McCann’s takeover and Brian Dempsey’s memorable words: “The battle is over- and the rebels have won!” The rebels may indeed have won, but not before the old board had run the club to within EIGHT MINUTES of administration.

Quite rightly, McCann prioritised the financial restructuring of the club and the building of a new all-seater stadium. The share issue in December 1994 was an incredible success and gave the whole club a lift at a very difficult time.

In 1994/95, the first full season after the takeover, Celtic finished FIFTH in the league and lost the league Cup Final to Raith Rovers. They did however win the Scottish Cup in May 1995, the first trophy for SIX long years. It was the beginning of Celtic’s return to being competitive in Scottish football.

Paul McStay’s penalty is saved in the shoot-out at Celtic’s League Cup Final defeat to Raith Rovers at Ibrox on 27 November 1994. Photo The Celtic Wiki

As for becoming competitive in Europe again, this would have to wait until Celtic enjoyed regular success in Scotland. Hopes of making an impact in Europe would not be helped by wider political developments during the early 90s. The break-up of Yugoslavia in June 1991 was followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union in December of that year. Apart from the geo-political implications, in footballing terms this led to the expansion of European club competitions to accommodate another 19 new member associations.

The impact on Celtic is shown best by noting that the UEFA Cup expanded from 64 teams in 1993/94 to 117 in 1996/97. Celtic would now have to play more games than previously to make any progress at all in European competition. A good illustration of this was the UEFA Cup in 1997/98, when Celtic had to play a Preliminary Round and a Qualifying Round before meeting Liverpool in the First Round proper.

The 80s, which had started with so much promise and ended in bitter disappointment, were followed in the first half of the 90s by a period of dramatic deterioration which was halted only with the takeover of the club by Fergus McCann.

Tommy Burns, Rod Stewart and Fergus McCann at the re-opening of Celtic Park, Celtic v Newcastle, 8 August 1995. Photo The Celtic Wiki

Celtic’s decline, which had first become noticeable in the European matches of the late 80s, spread into domestic matches and accelerated during the early 90s. It impacted enormously on all aspects of the club and, by March 1994, it threatened the very existence of Celtic.

This Eighties Epilogue has been an unavoidably depressing read but will finish on a high note. By July 1995, in the words of Tom Campbell and Pat Woods, “Celtic had come back to life: back to Celtic Park and a brand-new stand; back as winners of the Scottish Cup (for a record 30th time); back to perform for their ever-faithful supporters, many of who were now shareholders; back to play before huge and enthusiastic crowds at the club’s spiritual home.” (Dreams and Songs to Sing).

James McDevitt

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order