The Road to Lisbon

by Charles McGarry, Martin Greig

In 1967, Celtic manager Jock Stein and his team stepped from the tunnel of Lisbon’s Estádio Nacional to face Inter Milan, the charismatic superstars of Italian soccer, in the European Cup final. This extraordinary novel delves into the very heart of that incredible season through the eyes of Stein—as he drags his team to the very pinnacle of European club soccer—and those of Tom, an idealistic young fan from the East End of Glasgow whose dreams of life beyond the decaying slums of the Gorbals are inextricably tied to those of his heroes. Proving that the Celtic Football Club represents so much more than just a sports institution, this is a story of when hopes and dreams align with self-discovery and triumph over adversity.

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 21, 2012

Reviews

[Bill McFadyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a novel , a fictional tale of a travelling band of supporters linked with a more factual report of Celtic’s journey to winning the 1967 European Cup mainly seen through the eyes of Jock Stein. The fictional thread is very cliched with the characters straight out of a kale yard Glasgow. The game and the building of the team through Jock Stein was to me - more interesting although the warts and all portrayal of Mr Stein is more warts than I would have imagined.
It is over 50 years since Celtic became the first UK team to lift the European Cup - it will not be forgotten for many years yet.

[Khalekan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good enough book but I though Jock Stein was portrayed as being rather an arrogant, boorish fellow and they nade the recently deceased Sean Fallon appear to be to Stein what Phil Neal came across as being to Graham Taylor in the TV documentary from some years ago.