Billy McNeil
McNeill as Celtic manager in September 1982
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William McNeill | ||
| Date of birth | 2 March 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Bellshill, Scotland | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –1957 | Blantyre Victoria | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1957–1975 | Celtic | 486 | (22) |
| National team | |||
| 1961–1972 | Scotland | 29 | (3) |
| 1961–1967 | Scottish League XI | 9 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| 1977 | Clyde | ||
| 1977–1978 | Aberdeen | ||
| 1978–1983 | Celtic | ||
| 1983–1986 | Manchester City | ||
| 1986–1987 | Aston Villa | ||
| 1987–1991 | Celtic | ||
| 1998 | Hibernian (caretaker) | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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William "Billy" McNeill MBE (born 2 March 1940) is a former Scottish footballer and manager. He is best known for captaining Celtic to the European Cup triumph in May 1967 and he later went on to manage the club on two occasions. He is now the official Club Ambassador at Celtic.
McNeill, nicknamed Cesar, was voted the greatest ever captain of Celtic by the club's fans in 2002. He was signed by Celtic from nearby junior team, Blantyre Victoria, in 1957 as a defender. As captain he won nine Scottish League championships, seven Scottish Cups, and six Scottish League Cups. He also led the team to victory in the European Cup in 1967, as part of the "Lisbon Lions", and was the first British footballer to hold aloft the European Cup. He retired as a player in 1975 after 790 appearances for Celtic, in which he played every minute, never having been substituted. He won 29 caps for Scotland. McNeill also represented the Scottish League XI.
He began his management career at Clyde in April 1977 before moving to Aberdeen in June. However, in 1978 he returned to manage Celtic. He was succeeded at Aberdeen by Alex Ferguson. His five years in charge saw Celtic win three League Championships, one Scottish Cup and one League cup.
On 30 June 1983 he moved to England to manage Manchester City. He secured promotion for City after two seasons in charge, and oversaw survival in their first season back. Two years before being appointed by City, he had been strongly linked with the manager's job at their cross city rivals Manchester United, but the job had gone to Ron Atkinson instead. The man that had succeeded him at Aberdeen would end-up succeeding Atkinson.
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