Rod Stewart’s Berlin tribute to Billy McNeill

On the day of Billy McNeill’s funeral Rod Steward paid a special tribute to Celtic’s greatest ever team while on tour in Berlin.

The audience would have anticipated some references to the singer’s footballing affection and were greeted by a backdrop completely devoted to the Lisbon Lions.

Fifty two years ago Jock Stein was preparing his squad of players for a day that was about to transform their lives and revolutionise football.

A special group of players was going in against the might of Inter Milan in the heat of Lisbon after becoming the first non-Latin club to reach the final.

Led by Stein and Billy McNeill, Celtic turned in an incredible performance that hasn’t been embellished by time, the legend grows naturally as fresh light is thrown on the triumph.

In Glasgow fans both mourned and celebrated the life of Big Billy, in Berlin no one was left in any doubt about the impact his group of players made on a young singer growing up in London.