As Scotland prepare to visit World champions Italy, a new book recalls the first time the Scots were faced with such a fearsome prospect in a European Championship qualifying game at Wembley in April 1967 when they humbled World Cup holders England with Jim Baxter performing a famous bout of "keepie-uppie" still fondly remembered forty years on.
Just over a month later Scottish football reached an all-time high when international success was followed by Celtic becoming the first British club to win the European Cup. These are just two of the events covered by Scottish football historian David Ross in his new book "Very Heaven" an account of the thrilling 1966-67 season.
While the Scots at Wembley and Celtic in Lisbon were the undoubted high points of this amazing season, Scotland's other European representatives added to the sense of renewal after the failure to make the 1966 World Cup finals. Rangers reached the final of the Cup-Winners Cup and Kilmarnock the semi-finals of the Fairs Cup. Dunfermline also performed with distinction but at European club level the sensation of the season was Fairs Cup debutants Dundee United¹s stunning double success over the holders Barcelona.
Ross covers these campaigns in great detail but doesn't neglect the domestic scene. For this was also the year when the Scottish Cup produced the biggest shock result in its history when Berwick Rangers eliminated their Glasgow counterparts. With a close-fought domestic championship, battles for European places, struggles against relegation and an intriguing promotion race, "Very Heaven" brings to life the days when Scottish football ruled the world. In England over 100 Scots played in the top flight and managers like Matt Busby, Bill Shankly and Tommy Docherty vied for supremacy.
But amidst all the glory of this incredible campaign there were tears and heartbreak too as Scottish football lost one of its oldest clubs when Third Lanark¹s 95-years-old existence came to an end.
"Very Heaven" covers their sad story too as well as some of the lesser-known events of this memorable time. Like Scotland's amateurs reaching the first UEFA amateur final and the SFA's successful global tour at the end of the season.
If the names of Baxter, Law, Bremner, Mackay, Johnstone, Henderson, McNeill and Greig bring back precious memories then "Very Heaven" is where you'll be when you re-live those wonderful days. And if those names are ones you've only heard uttered by your parents or grandparents then this is your chance to find out what all the fuss was about and discover a time when to be young, Scottish and a football fan was indeed "Very Heaven"
"Very Heaven" by David Ross is priced at £11-95 but is available for just £9-50 (including first class UK postage and packing), from the author's website http://www.scottishleague.net/book.html
