Billy McNeill
Billy McNeill was born in Bellshill, Scotland, United Kingdom on March 2nd, 1940 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 79, Billy McNeill biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 79 years old, Billy McNeill has this physical status:
William McNeill (born March 1940 – April 20, 2019) was a Scottish football player and boss.
He had a long association with Celtic, dating back to more than sixty years as a player, boss, and club ambassador.
McNeill led Celtic's 'Lisbon Lions' to their European Cup victory in 1967 and then spent two years as the club's manager.
He has won 31 major awards with Celtic as both a player and manager. McNeill, a defender, starred for Celtic for his entire senior career and set the club record for most appearances in a total of 822 games over 18 seasons.
He was captain during the 1960s and 1970s when the company was in their most lucrative period.
In this period, the club won nine consecutive Scottish league titles and thirteen other major domestic trophies, and in 1967, became the first British club to win the European Cup.
He has also played 29 times for Scotland. McNeill coached Celtic from 1978 to 1989, winning four Scottish league championships from 1978 to 1991.
In 1987–88, the club's centennial season, there was a league and cup double.
He has worked with Clyde, Aberdeen, Manchester City, and Aston Villa.
Celtic Park in McNeill, where the European Cup is hosted, has a statue that was unveiled in 2015, marking a monumental image in Celtic history.
Early life
McNeill was born in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, on March 2nd, 1940. His father served in the Black Watch and later the Army Physical Training Corps. McNeill, a nine-year-old boy, moved to Hereford, England, where his father was posted, and stayed for two and a half years. Despite that he already loved football, he loved rugby union in his time there.
As a center-half at Our Lady's High School, he moved to Motherwell and excelled in playing football. He was drafted into the junior team Blantyre Victoria because of his schoolboy exploits.
Personal life
McNeill's maternal grandparents were from Lithuania, while his father was of Irish descent. He was a Jesuit.
In 1963, McNeill married Liz Callaghan, a dancer on the TV variety show The White Heather Club. They had five children.
In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election, McNeill, as well as former Rangers player Eric Caldow, ran as a candidate for the Scottish Senior Citizens Union Party. He was given an honorary degree from the University of Glasgow in 2008.
McNeill, a supporter of the Better Together campaign against Scottish independence during the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, was a supporter of the campaign against Scottish independence.
McNeill had dementia and was very limited in his speech when it was revealed in February 2017. He died on April 22, 2019, aged 79.
Playing career
McNeill was signed by Celtic for £250 in 1957, but reserve team coach Jock Stein saw him playing for Scotland schoolboys against England against England. After actor Cesar Romero, he was given the name Cesar.
Celtic suffered through some of the worst times in their history, but not win a trophy for eight years. However, the club's fortunes have increased since Stein became manager in 1965. Celtic defeated Dunfermline 3–2, with McNeill scoring the winning goal. In that year, he was named Scottish Footballer of the Year for the first year.
Celtic enjoyed their most fruitful season with McNeill as captain and regularly competing in European championships in the second phase. Nine Scottish Championships have been won in a row, as well as seven Scottish Cups and six Scottish League Cups.
Celtic's best season came in 1966-1967, when they won every tournament they entered, and they became the first team to win five trophies in a single season. McNeill led the team to victory in the 1967 European Cup Finals, as well as a domestic treble and the Glasgow Cup. The team, nicknamed the 'Lisbon Lions,' defeated Inter Milan 2–1 and McNeill (whose last minute goal, a characteristic header from a set piece, was the first British footballer to lift the trophy against Vojvodina Novi Sad in the quarter final) was the first British footballer to lift the trophy.
Celtic defeated Rangers 4–0 in the Scottish Cup Final in 1968-1969, the first domestic treble in 1968–69, in which another McNeill headed goal set his team on the way to a 4–0 triumph.
McNeill joined Celtic as a player in 1975 after making a club record 822 appearances and never being recalled. He won 29 caps for Scotland, scoring 3 goals, and also played 9 times for the Scottish League XI.
Management career
McNeill began coaching Celtic Boys Club's under-16 team after retiring as a player. He began his Clyde management career in April 1977 before heading to Aberdeen two months later. McNeill won four games, three draws from eight league games, and a total of 11 points at Clyde. Celtic defeated Celtic in a Glasgow Cup semi-final, which Celtic won 4–2. He was his last game in charge.
After being recommended by Jock Stein, McNeill was appointed Aberdeen manager in June 1977. He succeeded Ally MacLeod. In his one season as manager, 1977–78, McNeill led Aberdeen to runners-up finishes in the league and Scottish Cup, as well as a positive working relationship with the club's chairman, Dick Donald. Their best since 1972, and three spots above Celtic, according to their results. McNeill signed Gordon Strachan, Steve Archibald, and Neil Simpson during his time with Aberdeen. McNeill was named as his successor after Stein's resignation as Celtic boss, and McNeill accepted the club's bid. Alex Ferguson had him succeed him at Aberdeen.
McNeill made his return to a Celtic team that had finished fifth in 1977–78. As the club won the league championship in 1978–79, he immediately improved the club's fortunes. Celtic clinched the title in their last match of the league season by defeating Rangers 4–2, despite having Johnny Doyle sent off.
Celtic won three League championships in 1978-79, 1980-81, 1981–82, and 1981–82, 1982–83, according to his five years as manager. Celtic's best competition came from the New Firm clubs – Aberdeen, who won the League championship in 1979–80, and Dundee United, who claimed the title in 1982–83.
McNeill is credited with helping young players for Celtic, such as Paul McStay and Charlie Nicholas, as well as those who came from Murdo MacLeod and Davie Provan, who were key players for the team in the 1980s. However, McNeill found it difficult to work with Desmond White, Celtic's chairman, and felt underpaid and underappreciated. Despite Celtic's fame, by 1983, he was earning less than the administrators of Aberdeen, Dundee United, Rangers, and St Mirren. McNeill, the first available way out, as White sold Nicholas to Arsenal, defying McNeill's wishes, and took up the challenge to control Manchester City.
He migrated to England to lead Manchester City on June 30, 1983. He had been closely linked with the manager's role at Manchester United City's Manchester United, when Ron Atkinson was brought on instead. After two seasons as mayor (in 1984–85), McNeill won promotion for the city, and the city saw the First Division celebrate their first season (1985–86).
He began as boss of Manchester City in 1986, but he resigned in September 1986 to take over Aston Villa. McNeill was fired and was replaced by Graham Taylor after Villa finished last in the First Division in May 1987. During the season, Manchester City was also relegated.
He then returned to Celtic, winning the League Championship and Scottish Cup double in his first season, 1988-88. Celtic were known for scoring late goals this season, and in both the Cup semi-final and final, Celtic were able to win 2–1. Celtic triumphed the Scottish Cup in 1988-89, defeating Rangers 1–0 in the final.
Celtic did not win a trophy in the following two seasons, and the following two seasons were disappointing. On penalties, they lost the 1990 Scottish Cup Final to Aberdeen. Celtic's league results were particularly bad in 1988-89; they were third in 1989-1990 and third in 1990–91; however, they were only third in 1989-91 and third in 1990–91. Celtic's poor results and increasing financial instability began right at the start of the club's time before Fergus McCann took over in 1994. After four seasons as boss, McNeill was fired by Celtic on May 22nd, 1991 at the age of 51. He won eight trophies as Celtic boss in two spells – four league championships, three Scottish Cups, and one League Cup.
He turned down several bids to return to management, including from Dundee, and instead worked in the media. He was bitter about the way he was dismissed from Celtic until he was asked to serve as a club ambassador in 2009.
In the later part of the 1997-98 season, McNeill served as the Hibernian's football development manager for a brief period. When the club unsuccessfully attempted to reverse a loss of incomes, he was brought in as a mentor to boss Jim Duffy. Despite being out of football since leaving Celtic in 1991 and recovering from heart surgery, McNeill took over the team for one game after Duffy was dismissed. Hibernian left the 1997–98 season at Hibernian.
Career statistics
These include three appearances in the World Club Championship; 1 goal in the World Club Championship is included in the list.NB These figures do not include appearances in the Glasgow Cup, which at the time was a senior trophy.