johnreid 
Getty Images/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Jimmy Johnstone has to be considered as one of Celtic’s greatest ever players. The winger was a key man for the club in the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s, winning a host of trophies including the European Cup Final in 1967.
What made Johnstone such a special player for the Hoops was his fearlessness.
He was more than willing to go on a run with the ball, get fouled, but then take the player on again and try to beat them, which he did more often than not. Johnstone was the kind of player that gets the fans out of their seats with excitement, and those are the kind of players that Celtic has been built on.
‘JInky’, as the player was nicknamed, made his Celtic first-team debut as a teenager by then manager Jimmy McGrory in 1963.
He featured fairly regularly for the Hoops, but that wasn’t the case when Jock Stein took over at Celtic. Stein left Johnstone out of the starting line-up for the Bhoys’ Scottish Cup Final win in 1965 – the first trophy won by the side in even years.
That must have been a real blow to the winger, to be left out of such an important game. However, Johnstone didn’t let his head go down, and he proved himself the following season, becoming a regular in the first-team once more and helping the Hoops win the league title.
YouTube: Jimmy Johnstone, Jinky [Goals & Skills]
Johnstone was now one of Celtic’s most important players, and he was key for the Hoops in the 1967 European Cup Final win against Inter Milan. His trickery caused the Inter defence all sorts of grief, and he was perhaps a tad unlucky not to find himself on the scoresheet.
Still, Johnstone’s performance was a great one, and he was well worthy of being on the winning team as the Bhoys became the first British side to become Champions of Europe.
It is just a pity that Johnstone and Celtic couldn’t repeat the feat three seasons later when the Bhoys took on Feyenoord in the European Cup Final.
After Johnston destroyed Leeds United in the semi-final, the Dutch side heavily marked the winger, who was unable to influence the game as much as he would have liked as the Bhoys lost 2-1.
Despite that disappointment, Johnstone continued to win plenty of honours with the Bhoys, despite not having the best relationship at times with manager Jock Stein.
In his time with the Hoops, Johnstone won 19 major honours, winning nine titles in a row for the club. ‘Jinky’ left Celtic in 1975, and had spells at the likes of Sheffield United and Dundee before retiring.
After retiring, Johnstone was often at Celtic Park, where he always received a fantastic ovation from the club’s support, which was more than deserved after all that Johnstone had done for the club as a player.
Tragically, Johnstone died at the age of only 61 in 2006, after being diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease five years earlier. The great and good of World football lined up to praise Johnstone after his untimely death.
Johnstone’s legacy at Celtic was preserved forever when the club unveiled a statue to the player, in a typical pose as he prepared to go on yet another mazy run, in 2008.
When you consider that the only other statues at Celtic Park are of Brother Walfrid, Jock Stein and Billy McNeill, that shows the stature that Johnstone, who was once voted Celtic’s greatest ever player, is held in at the club. For as long as people are discussing the best players to pull on a green and white hooped jersey, Johnstone will be talked about.
