Fifteen years ago tonight Celtic fans were going through one of the most agonising nights in their life.
Thousands of holidays had been booked across Spain and Portugal covering the 22nd of May but one vital factor had still to be settled- getting Celtic into the UEFA Cup Final.
For the first time in a generation Celtic were still in Europe beyond Christmas, after knocking out Stuttgart and Liverpool ‘only’ mid table Portuguese side Boavista stood between Martin O’Neill’s side and the final in Seville.
No Celtic fan had the faintest idea about Seville but it was in Spain, reachable through budget airlines and sounded like the best way possible to spend a week.
A 1-1 home draw put a spanner in the works but unusually for Celtic this run had been fashioned on the back of performances away from Celtic Park.
Less than 2,000 Celtic supporters were inside the do Bessa Stadium which was in the middle of renovation work for the following year’s European Championship Finals.
It was an awful match, utterly honking, nothing was going right with players struggling to keep the ball on the park. Fortunately Boavista were just as bad and ultimately paid the price for trying to get a 0-0 draw.
John Hartson played in Henrik Larsson, with 12 minutes left the ball was in the net and Celtic were on the verge of a European final.
Four long minutes of injury time followed but at the final whistle all thoughts turned towards Seville and a week that none of the 80,000 fans present will ever forget.
RAB DOUGLAS
The run to Seville was one of the highlight’s of the keeper’s career with memorable performances away to Celta Vigo and Liverpool.
He had little to do in Boavista, like others he had to look in willing something to happen as time seemed to slip away.
After Larsson scored he found himself a little busier but gave Boavista no encouragement, on his 46th birthday he is still on the books of Arbroath with one appearance to his name this season.
JOHAN MJALLBY
A giant in defence who shirked nothing and summed up the spirit of that Celtic side.
Signed by Dr Jo Venglos as a central midfielder his career really took off under O’Neill who recognised his ability and desire to succeed was best used.
Like Joos Valgaeren injuries were to hamper his career, he did return to Celtic to assist Neil Lennon with the first of three titles in the current winning run.
BOBO BALDE
Celebrated mightily at the final whistle, his commitment was second to none with few strikers prepared to mix it with the giant African.
Martin O’Neill was delighted to sign Balde after his first season in charge, as a bonus no fee was required due to wages problems with Toulouse.
Sadly his Celtic legacy is likely to be the five year contract he signed in O’Neill’s final season, when ‘austerity’ kicked in under Gordon Strachan the contract became a real issue ending in a low key departure in 2009.
JOOS VALGAEREN
Was an essential element of O’Neill’s three man defence, 15 years on they still seem fearsome.
The Belgian was very much O’Neill’s type of defender, he did his job effectively with little interest in the silkier side of the game.
Sadly there wasn’t much more to his career post Seville as injuries kicked in. He joined Brugges in the summer of 2005 but never made a single appearance with his career over before the age of 30.
DIDIER AGATHE
Enjoyed many great European nights with Stuttgart away up among his finest 90 minutes as the hoops made their way into the last 16 of the UEFA Cup.
The story of his career is almost unbelievable as he moved from Raith Rovers to Celtic via Hibs in just six months to become a key figure in a team re-born in Europe.
Like a few others his career nose-dived without O’Neill, he is now back in the Reunion Isles but in close contact with Celtic.
NEIL LENNON
Put in a heroic shift against Boavista, mopping up at the back and trying to push forward against the massed ranks of chequered shirts in defence.
It took Martin O’Neill six months to get him out of Leicester with Celtic getting sterling service from the midfielder who captained the hoops under Gordon Strachan.
Life has never been dull for Lenny, he won three titles for Celtic, beat Barcelona and is now turning Hibs into the second force in the Scottish game.
STAN PETROV
The European run brought out the best in Stan, building on his extensive experience with Bulgaria.
There was a chemistry about the way he operated alongside Paul Lambert and Neil Lennon, a real box to box operator.
After Celtic he went on to star in the top half of the EPL with Aston Villa before his career was cut short by leukaemia, fortunately he made a full recovery and still keeps a close eye on events at Celtic.
PAUL LAMBERT
Only lasted 35 minutes before giving way to injury but had a pivotal role in the march to Seville- five years after winning the Champions League with Borussia Dortmund he was back in a European final.
Lambert carried out O’Neill’s instructions on the park, Celtic’s first ever holding midfielder read the game brilliantly and executed instructions just as well.
There wasn’t much more to come in his playing career but he has had an eventful time in management with mixed results at Norwich, Aston Villa and now with Stoke City.
ALAN THOMPSON
He could be relied upon to put in a 7 out of 10 performance every week, when it came to European matches and games against Rangers (IL) he found an extra gear.
Playing on the left of a strong midfield trio he had licence to push forward and provided plenty of assists for Henrik Larsson.
Under Strachan his Celtic career came to a grinding halt, later on he returned to assist Neil Lennon and Johan Mjallby but he left under a cloud after winning the 2012 title.
HENRIK LARSSON
The man that made it all happen, no one has ever driven a run on more than the Swede’s determination to lift the UEFA Cup.
Among 242 goals as a Celtic player it’s doubtful if there was a more memorable or celebrated goal than his 78th minute strike against Boavista.
There was heartbreak for Larsson in Seville but three years later he was a Champions League winner as Barcelona beat Arsenal in his final appearance for the Catalan side.
JOHN HARTSON
Sadly there wasn’t to be much more from the Welshman in this campaign, a back injury meant that he had to watch the final from the stand.
European defenders didn’t enjoy facing the former Wimbledon striker and he loved to play on that fear with his physique.
He had one season under Gordon Strachan that took him onto a century of goals before moving on to West Brom. He is a popular figure in the media with some coaching stints thrown in at Livingston.