Billy McNeill’s contribution to Celtic is to be recognised by a special award from Athletico Bilbao.
The legendary club captain achieved iconic status in 1967 when he raised the European Cup aloft with that achievement celebrated to this day by those that witnessed it and fans who were born long after McNeill retired from the game.
From his debut in 1958 through to 1964 McNeill failed to win a single domestic trophy but the decade that followed was the golden era for the club with the captain carrying out the instructions of Jock Stein.
Revealing details of the award the Celtic website stated:
A special presentation of the One Club Man trophy is to be made in Glasgow by an Athletic Club delegation – Jose Angel Iribar, Athletic’s legendary goalkeeper, who is their record appearance holder, and board member, Aitor Bernardo.
Previous recipients of the One Club Man Award have been Carles Puyol, Sepp Maier, Paolo Maldini and Matthew Le Tissier.
Athletic are a unique blend of English and Basque. Founded by Englishmen but for a long time only used players from the Basque region
After retiring from playing in 1975 McNeill returned to twice manage Celtic, winning four championships including the famous 4-2 victory in 1979 and Centenary Double in 1988.
