Jimmy Johnstone

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Jimmy Johnstone
Jimmy Johnstone.jpg
Jimmy Johnstone, 1971
Personnel
Surname James Connolly Johnstone
birthday September 30, 1944
place of birth Viewpark , South Lanarkshire ,  Scotland
date of death March 13, 2006
Place of death Uddingston , Glasgow ,  Scotland
size 157 cm
position Right winger
Men's
Years station Games (goals) 1
1961-1975 Celtic Glasgow 308 (82)
1975 San Jose Earthquakes 10 0(0)
1975-1977 Sheffield United 11 0(2)
1977 Dundee FC 3 0(0)
1977-1988 Shelbourne FC 9 0(0)
1978-1979 Elgin City 18 0(2)
National team
Years selection Games (goals)
1964-1974 Scotland 23 0(2)
1 Only league games are given.

James "Jimmy" Connolly Johnstone (born September 30, 1944 in Viewpark / South Lanarkshire , Scotland , † March 13, 2006 in Uddingston , Scotland) was a Scottish football player .

The strong dribbling winger was nine times Scottish champions with Celtic Glasgow and was part of the team that won the European Cup in 1967 (" Lisbon Lions "). Later, the supporters of the Celtics voted him the best player in the club's history.

youth

Johnstone was born the youngest of five children in Viewpark, near Bothwell . The redhead spent his free time playing football in the streets of his hometown or romping around in the surrounding forests. When he was thirteen, talent scouts from Celtic Glasgow and Manchester United became aware of the dribble artist. The coach of his school team was a Celtic fan and influenced Johnstone to move to his favorite club.

Club career

Johnstone played his first professional game at the age of 19 on March 21, 1963 in a 6-0 defeat against FC Kilmarnock . The exceptional player's abilities were unmistakable, and in the following season he became a regular on the right wing.

Jimmy Johnstone statue in front of Parkhead Stadium

Only when Celtic got a new coach in the spring of 1965 with Jock Stein did the team start to improve again. Stein breathed new life into the players and formed a unit that would be Scottish champions nine times in a row from 1966 to 1974. An incredible record that only the Glasgow Rangers could match in the 1980s. The Celtics thrilled with intoxicating offensive football. The wingers Jimmy Johnstone (right) and counterpart Bobby Lennox (left) were decisive . The spectators in Celtic Park celebrated Johnstone at almost every home game. The only 1.57 m tall dribbler delighted the audience time and again with his hooks and fints. Because of his size and low center of gravity, the tall, sluggish Scottish defenders had great problems with the whirlwind. They nicknamed him "Jinky" . Coach Stein said Johnstone was "better than Stanley Matthews " .

Despite the nine championships in a row, only an international triumph made the players immortal and thus crowned the most successful era in the club's history. In 1967 they won the European Cup when the favored Inter Milan were beaten 2-1 in the final in Lisbon . Celtic became the first British club team to win the European Cup with a great offensive game. It is noteworthy that all players came from within 30 km of Glasgow . 1970 was Johnstone with the "Hoops" again in the semi-finals of the European Cup and met there on the English champions Leeds United . The press stylized this duel as the prestigious "Battle of Britain" . Johnstone was in the shape of his life and played football like someone from another planet, which is why his opponent Terry Cooper described the two games as "nightmare" . After two wins, the "Bhoys" were back in the final , where they lost to Feyenoord Rotterdam .

Despite his exceptional skills, Johnstone was not an easy character. On the field of play, the unrestrained temperament of the redhead coach Stein and his teammates sometimes caused headaches. In addition, his fear of flying often prevented him from playing away games that you had to fly to. Johnstone rarely said no to a glass of beer or whiskey either, which was nothing unusual in British football at the time.

Johnstone's hit at the Old Firm Derby in 1971, when he scored a goal against Glasgow Rangers in the 89th minute , achieved sad fame . Shortly thereafter, a mass panic broke out in Ibrox Park , killing 66 people ( Ibrox disaster ).

At the end of the 1974/75 season, "Jinky" announced his departure from the green-whites. He went to the United States for a short time and played for the San José Earthquakes in the NASL . He ended his career with Elgin City in 1978 at the age of 34 .

National team

Johnstone played his first international match in October 1964 against Wales . But as successful as his career at the club was, his time with the national team was unspectacular. Despite players like Billy Bremner , Peter Lorimer and the Lisbon Lions , Scotland did not qualify for the 1966 or 1970 World Championships . Furthermore, Johnstone's fear of flying often prevented him from flying to games on the continent.

It wasn't until 1974 that the “Bravehearts” went back to a world championship. But in May 1974, shortly before the start of the tournament in Germany , some national players got drunk in the team hotel, including Johnstone. The drunk "Jinky" went out into the Atlantic in a small boat and had to be rescued by the coast guard. National coach Willie Ormond did not delete him from the squad, but did not use Johnstone at the tournament. After this disappointment, Johnstone ended his career in the national team, for which he had only played 23 games.

End of life

In November 2001, Johnstone was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , for which there is still no cure. To fight the disease and to make it better known to the public, "Jinky" recorded a new version of the song Dirty Old Town with Jim Kerr of Simple Minds for charity purposes .

On March 13, 2006, Johnstone finally died after a long illness. His funeral was held four days later (March 17th, St. Patrick's Day ) in Celtic Park, where he was also paid tribute by Rangers fans. In his honor, the team from Celtic Glasgow wore Johnstone's number 7 on their pants at the next league game.

useful information

  • In 2004 the BBC aired a Billy Connolly documentary about Johnstone's life. The title was "Lord of the Wing" .
  • In total, Johnstone played 515 competitive games (130 goals) for Celtic Glasgow ( League 308/82; League Cup 92/21; FA Cup 48/11; European Cup 67/16).

successes

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Johnstone, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Johnstone, James Connolly; Johnstone, Jinky
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH September 30, 1944
PLACE OF BIRTH Viewpark , South Lanarkshire , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH March 13, 2006
Place of death Uddingston