The Celts first played Red Star Belgrade in 1968. It was a European Cup match that became indelibly linked with one famous Celt. Jimmy Johnstone was well-known for being scared of flying, so Jock Stein made him a deal. If Celtic finished the tie in the first leg in Glasgow, Jinky would not have to travel for the second leg.
The man voted Celtic’s Greatest Player put in a stunning performance to help his team claim a 5-1 win. Even when the Belgrade manager begged Stein to bring Johnstone to Yugoslavia to show his skills to local fans, the ‘Wee man’ says he hid to avoid travelling for a game that ended 1-1.
Playing at the Olympic Stadium in Melbourne, Celtic twice more faced Red Star. Thanks to a late Celtic equaliser – and despite being down to ten men – the first of these matches ended 1-1.
The second game was held after Celtic had also met Arsenal and an Australian XI. In the final game of the tour, the Celts cheered a 2-0 victory with goals from Roddie MacDonald and ‘Shuggie’ Edvaldsson.
After playing in the 1960s and 1970s, Celtic renewed their acquaintance with Red Star in the 1980s. On Boxing Day in 1988, almost 22,000 fans were attracted to Celtic Park for a friendly that ended 2-2. It was an entertaining game against a Red Star side that went on to win the 1991 European Cup and featured star names such as Robert Prosinecki and Dragan Stojkovic.
On Wednesday night, Celtic will once again play in Belgrade, this time in the Europa League. However, this city is now classed as being in Serbia, unlike in 1968 when it was officially Yugoslavia.
Of course, the Bhoys have had another notable Belgrade trip, against a different team. In 1989, Celtic lost 2-1 to Partizan Belgrade in the away leg of a Cup-Winners’ Cup tie. The home tie saw ‘Jacki’ Dziekanowski score four and the Celts win 5-4, but exit on away goals.