TOMMY GEMMELL (1943-2017)
Tommy Gemmell, a member of the Celtic ‘Lisbon Lions’ team that won the 1967 European Cup, has died at the age of 73 after a long illness. A marauding left-back who played his football long before marauding left-backs were fashionable, Gemmell scored a quite astonishing 63 goals in 418 appearances for Celtic across a 10-year spell at the club. He won six league titles, three Scottish Cups and four League Cups to go with the European Cup won by a famously local Celtic team comprised exclusively of players from Glasgow and its surrounding area. His thunderous surface-to-air screamer against Inter in 1967 was the highlight of a career in which he also scored another European Cup final goal, this time in defeat three years later as Celtic lost against Feyenoord in Milan’s San Siro.
“The whole Celtic family is mourning his passing, and everyone associated with the club sends their thoughts and prayers to his family, his fellow Lions and his many friends at this desperately sad time,” said a statement issued by the club. “Tommy Gemmell is a true Celtic legend, part of the greatest side in the club’s history and a man who played a pivotal role in our greatest ever triumph when, in Lisbon’s Estádio Nacional, 11 men all born within a 30-mile radius of Celtic Park, beat Inter Milan to win the European Cup.”
Despite winning just 18 caps for Scotland, Gemmell played in the famous 3-2 victory over World Cup winners England at Wembley in 1967, but it was for international exploits of a more amusing kind that he is perhaps best remembered. In a 1969 World Cup qualifier against Germany, “Big Tam” got the proper radge on after being tripped by Helmut Haller, chased down the terrified German, and booted him up the backside in a scene the player subsequently agreed to re-enact for the Phoenix From The Flames segment of the popular Fantasy Football League show. Despite his advancing years, Gemmell managed to hurt both presenters, David Baddiel and Frank Skinner, during filming. “Tommy must have had a fantastic day,” said Skinner. “We flew him all the way down from Scotland, gave him a couple of cans of beer and he got the chance to kick two Englishmen.”
Despite being noted for his good humour, Gemmell did have his limits. After retiring as a player, he took over as manager of Dundee and opted to pair his fellow Lisbon Lion Jimmy “Jinky” Johnstone with a young Gordon Strachan in his midfield. The owner of the Commercial Hotel in the village of Errol at the time, Gemmell was unimpressed to learn that two of his players had pitched up at a nearby saloon on the tail end of an epic pub crawl. “Jinky and who else?” he asked his informant, before heading off to confront the drunken duo. Johnstone escaped, but Gemmell reduced a tired and emotional Strachan to uncontrollable sobs with the subsequent pep-talk.
Gemmell had been suffering from dementia and since the announcement of his death, fans have gathered at Celtic Park to leave jerseys, flowers and messages of support. “I’m devastated, absolutely heartbroken,” said his fellow Lion Bertie Auld. “Tommy was one of my favourite people, a great colleague and a genuine pal.” May he rest in peace.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Look, I am a mixed-race, West Indian Turk from east London. I speak three languages, I’ve won three league titles, three Super Cups and have a bronze medal from the Euros. For someone who comes from where I come from, to have seen and done what I have, is a fantasy” – Colin Kazim-Richards gets his chat on with Nick Ellerby in this belter of an interview, in which he touches on racism, terrorism, his love of Turkey and his incredible journey that has taken him to Corinthians.
FIVER LETTERS
“I noticed that the Fiver is creatively spelling b@nter and b@ntz, presumably to avoid super-strict email filters (yesterday’s Fiver). If this level of scrutiny continues, I probably need to update my filter to screen out tea-timely emails that include the words Fiver, F!ver, Fiv3r, and M0rris-d@ncing” – Mike Wilner.
“Re: Mark Robinson’s Ranieri anagram, (yesterday’s Fiver letters). Challenge Accepted! How about this: “Ranieri Out! An ace firing, leveling Ed. Free Python! Throw a chip! Porn night room?” It makes just as much sense as any other clue in the Guardian crossword” – Tim Birdsall.
“Here in Leicester we’ve guarded the secret of the Foxes’ unlikely success for almost a year. But now you go and blow it all by revealing ‘the monks … of the Buddhist kidney’. For goodness sake don’t go telling about the Hindu liver or Zoroastrian gizzard – or even Liverpool might end up winning the Premier League one day” – Caroline Welch.
“Not to be a pedant, but ‘Wat Traimit Withayaram Woraviharn Temple’ is redundant, a wat being a temple. Hopefully the monks will save us from the endless cycle of your tea-time emails. Leicester City is only an illusion” – Stephen Raeside (and no other temple anoraks).
• Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Mike Wilner.
BOOKY WOOK EXTRACT OF THE DAY
Seeing as it’s world book day, here’s Mesut Özil in an excerpt from his upcoming autobiography, The Magic of the Game, in which he recounts a steamy episode with José Mourinho at Real Madrid.
‘Mourinho said: “You think two beautiful passes are enough. You think you’re so good that 50% is enough?” He pauses. Stares at me with his dark brown eyes. I stare back. Like two boxers at the stare-down before the first round. He shows no emotion. Just waits for a response from me. How much I hate him right now. And I love Mourinho actually.” Mourinho’s tirade continued: “Oh, are you giving up now? You’re such a coward. What do you want? To creep under the beautiful, warm shower? Shampoo your hair? To be alone? Or do you want to prove to your fellow players, the fans out there, and me, what you can do.”’
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NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Luis Enrique has booked himself a one-way ticket from the Camp Nou to Destination Do One. “I won’t be at Barcelona next season. I need to rest,” he sniffed, after his side’s 6-1 victory over Sporting Gijón that took them top of La Liga.
Meanwhile, Arsène Wenger has poured a jug of tepid water over the idea that he could slot into the Luis Enrique-shaped hole at Camp Nou this summer. “Would I be interested in the Barcelona job? No,” he said. Other people who aren’t interested in the Barcelona job include John Beck, Granny Fiver and the small Chuckle brother.
Andy Carroll could have had China in his hands but neither West Ham nor the knack-prone striker raised an eyebrow when clubs came sniffing, according to Slaven Bilic. “They fell in love with Andy. We turned down an offer. It happened,” cooed the Hammers boss.
A crowdfunding appeal is to be set up for five people whose relatives died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, after a judge ordered them to pay the £28,000 legal costs of former South Yorkshire police chief constable David Crompton.
And Sergio Agüero wants to know what his future holds at Manchester City, but instead of being sensible and visiting the Fiver’s favourite psychic Dr Phony Tony to discover his fate, he’ll talk direct with Pep in the summer instead.
STILL WANT MORE?
Luis Enrique may have stunned Barcelona by announcing that he is to do one at the end of the season, but there won’t be many tears shed, pens Sid Lowe.
Pour a brew and treat yourself to Matt McGinn’s story of how two brothers retraced the steps of their distant relative, Herbert Kilpin, the whiskey-swigging Nottingham man who founded Milan.
This week’s Classic YouTube features the late Everton great Alex Young, and Dunfermline taking Big Vase football by storm.
Might Arsène Wenger be swapping north London for Barcelona, the Emirates for Camp Nou, Theo Walcott for Leo Messi? The Rumour Mill speculates.
And Matthew Hall ponders just why the MLS season goes on so long.
Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!
