Great Players 1960-1970

Jimmy Johnstone
International debut – 3rd October 1964 V Wales
Number of Caps – 23
Goals – 4

On his day, defenders found Jimmy Johnstone to be unstoppable. He loved to have the ball at his feet, teasing opponents into an exasperated lunge, twisting one direction and darting to the other. After breaking into the Celtic first team in 1963, he went onto appear on over 300 occasions for them, also appearing in 17 domestic cup finals. He had many memorable moments with Celtic, especially the 1967 European Cup Final against Inter Milan. He ripped apart the Milan defence helping Celtic win the final 2-1. His best spell playing for the Scottish national side fell during the four matches leading upto the 1974 world cup finals. Johnston’s finest scoring run came in the 1966-67 final when he hit 12 goals in 25 league matches.

Denis Law
International debut – 3rd October 1958 V Wales
Number of Caps – 55
Goals – 30
Denis Law had an appetite for the big match atmosphere. He was a goal grabber who could snap up a half chance from the most unlikely positions. His razor sharp reflexes and phenomenal speed went hand in hand with reckless bravery and a snaring determination to give as good as he got against the toughest defenders in the planet. In total, for Scotland he scored 30 goals in his 55 appearances, averaging more than a goal in every other match. In 1974, he fulfilled his greatest ambition by starring for Scotland in the 1974 world cup finals. In 1964, Law was voted the European Football player of the year, despite his devastating form, Law never received the world wide acclaim that his talents deserved. During his 11 year spell playing for Manchester United, he scored a total of 171 goals in 309 appearances. He retired from playing at the end of 1974 after a short spell with Manchester City.

Billy Bremner
International debut – 8th May 1965 V Spain
Number of Caps – 54
Goals – 3
Billy Bremner captained Scotland during their 1974 World Cup campaign, as he was inspirational for his country. Scotland were eliminated on goal difference and were the only country to be eliminated being unbeaten. He made his league debut for Leeds in 1960, aged only 17. During his career at Elland road, the club won the title twice but astonishingly came runners up on five occasions and were defeated in three FA Cup Finals. Leeds defeated Arsenal in the 1972 FA Cup Final to award Bremner with his first FA Cup winner’s medal. Two days later, he led his side to at Molineux in search of the ‘double.’ Wolves went two goals up, but Bremner scored and battled brilliantly as Leeds vainly chased the draw that would turn them into league champions.