Footballer and manager, born in Burnbank, South Lanarkshire, WC Scotland, UK. His managerial career began with Dunfermline Athletic, which won the Scottish Cup. A short spell followed with Hibernian, then he returned to Glasgow Celtic in 1965, the team winning nine championships in a row, the League Cup on five consecutive occasions, and several Scottish Cups, as well as the European Cup in 1967. He left Celtic in 1978 for a brief period as manager of Leeds United, but returned to Scotland to become national manager. Under him the Scottish side qualified for the World Cup Finals in Spain in 1982 and 1986.
John 'Jock' Stein CBE (5 October 1922 - 10 September 1985) was one of the most notable managers in British football history. He is mainly remembered for his time as manager of Celtic F.C., although he also had a serious record as manager of the Scottish national football team, and as the manager of some other teams and as a player.
He is considered one of the great quartet of Scottish football managers, along with Bill Shankly, Sir Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson and has been voted the greatest Scottish football manager. During his career as a manager he won six Scottish League Cups, ten Scottish League Championships, nine Scottish Cups and the European Cup.
Playing career
Born in Burnbank, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, Stein knew football would be his escape from the Lanarkshire coal mines.
In 1953 he captained Celtic to Coronation Cup success when they unexpectedly beat Arsenal 1-0, Manchester United 2-1 and Hibernian 1-0 to become unofficial champions of Britain and in 1954, he captained Celtic to their first League championship since 1938 and first League and Scottish Cup double since 1914. During Scotland's performances in the 1954 World Cup Finals, Jock Stein watched and learned.
In 1956, Stein was forced to retire from football after persistent ankle injuries. He built Dunfermline into a powerful force and guided them to their first Scottish Cup in 1961, ironically via a 2-0 replay victory over Celtic.
On 1 April 1964, he was appointed manager of Hibernian and within months of becoming manager he led them to Summer Cup success.
On 9 March 1965, Stein returned to Celtic as manager, following 8 successive years without a trophy for Celtic. He revitalised the team and, just six weeks after becoming manager, Stein led Celtic to Scottish Cup success after a 3-2 victory over Dunfermline.
European success
He managed Celtic to the domestic treble for the first time in the club's history, winning the Scottish League Cup, the League Championship and the Scottish Cup. He guided Celtic to victory in the final of the 1967 European Cup against previous champions and Italian giants Inter Milan.
In winning club football's most prestigious trophy, Stein became the first man not only to guide a Scottish club to champions of Europe, but also the first to achieve this honour with a British club.
The following season, Celtic won the League for the third time in a row and the League Cup for the third time in a row and in 1969 won the domestic treble for the second time in three years.
In 1970, Stein led Celtic to both the League and League Cup and they finished runners-up in the Scottish Cup.
The 1970s brought continued success on the domestic front and during this time Stein and Celtic won a record nine consecutive Scottish Championships, (a feat only matched during the 90s by rivals Rangers). In 1978 he left Celtic, he was given the offer the position of running Celtic Pools, a position he turned down as he felt he had something to offer football as a manager.
Scotland manager
Stein had been part-time national manager in 1965, but was now able to focus on the job full-time.
During qualification for the 1986 World Cup, Stein brought in Alex Ferguson - at the time Manager at Aberdeen - to be his assistant. On September 10, 1985 at Ninian Park, Cardiff, Jock Stein died from a heart attack during a game against Wales as Scotland equalised to gain the point needed to make qualification virtually certain to the 1986 World Cup Finals.
Famous quotes
"Celtic jerseys are not for second best, They don't shrink to fit inferior players" Jock Stein 1 "I don't believe everything Bill tells me about his players. Had they been that good, they'd not only have won the European Cup but the Ryder Cup, the Boat Race and even the Grand National!" - Jock Stein, Lisbon, 1967 (After winning the European Cup) 3 "Football is nothing without fans" 4 "Jock, you are immortal now" Bill Shankly on Jock Stein following Celtic's European Cup victory over Inter in 1967|
Preceded by: Miguel Muñoz |
European Cup Winning Coach 1966-67 |
Succeeded by: Matt Busby |
|
Preceded by: Jimmy McGrory |
Celtic F.C. managers 1965-1978 |
Succeeded by: Billy McNeill |
|
Preceded by: Ian McColl |
Scotland national football team manager 1965-1966 |
Succeeded by: John Prentice |
|
Preceded by: Jimmy Armfield |
Leeds United AFC manager 1978 |
Succeeded by: Jimmy Adamson |
|
Preceded by: Ally McLeod |
Scotland national football team manager 1978-1985 |
Succeeded by: Alex Ferguson |
User Comments Add a comment…