Celtic players will all wear the number 5 on their shorts in honour of the late, great Billy McNeill during the Scottish Cup Final against Hearts on May 25th, as confirmed by the club earlier this evening.
The legendary captain of course famously wore that number throughout his Hoops career.
The tribute will be reminiscent of when the Celtic first-team wore Jimmy Johnstone’s number 7 on their shorts during the 2006 Scottish League Cup final against Dunfermline Athletic shortly after he passed away.
Rather fittingly, the May 25th falls on the date that McNeill lifted the European Cup in 1967 after Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions beat Inter Milan 2-1 in Portugal.
There’s a rather poetic symmetry at play here that is sure to set the scene for an emotional 90 minutes for the club and for our supporters.
Hopefully Neil Lennon’s side can honour his memory with a great performance against the Jam Tarts, in the same manner Lennon’s team did against Dunfermline in 2006, when he captained the club to a trophy for the first time.