THE BHOYS FROM SEVILLE

'The Bhoys from Seville' was the nickname given to the Celtic team that participated in the 2002-03 UEFA Cup campaign which culminated in Celtic's defeat in the final and 100,000 Celtic fans travelling to Seville in Spain to support their team.^[1][2]
The name "''The Bhoys from Seville''" is taken from a play on words from the book and film ''The Boys from Brazil'' and then adapted to incorporate the nickname of Celtic F.C. which is ''the Bhoys'' and the location of the UEFA Cup final. The team was compared to Celtic's European Cup winning team in 1967 called The Lisbon Lions, and was the first Scottish team for 16 years to reach a European final and the first Celtic team to reach a European final since the 1970 European Cup Final.^{[3][4][5][6][7]}

Contents

Background

First round v. FK Sūduva

Second round v. Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Third round v. Celta Vigo

Fourth round v. VfB Stuttgart

Quarter-final v. Liverpool F.C.

Semi-final v. Boavista F.C.

Celtic fans and Seville

The race for tickets

Travelling to Seville

The fiesta in Seville

The final v. F.C. Porto

The team for the final

Viewing figures

Celtic fans win award

Legacy of the Bhoys from Seville

Campaign results

See also

References

Background

During the 2003 Uefa Cup competition, goalkeeper Rab Douglas and defender Bobo Balde both featured in twelve matches, which led the team in that category. They both missed the 2nd leg of the first round against FK Sūduva. Douglas conceded twelve goals and had six clean sheets. Celtic outscored opponents 26 to 11 on their run to the final. Striker Henrik Larsson scored eleven goals, including a hat-trick in the first game against FK Sūduva.
The motto ''"V for Victory"'' was coined during the campaign as every team Celtic faced; FK Sūduva, Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, VfB Stuttgart, Liverpool, and Boavista, each had V in their name, with the exception of the team Celtic played in the final, Porto, although it was highlighted that the game would be in Seville.^[8][9][10]
In another reference to the V issues, for the days leading up to the game the ''Daily Record'', a Scottish tabloid newspaper, sent an open topped double decker bus to Seville with the slogan ''"Here 'V' Go"'' on the side of the bus.

First round v. FK Sūduva

The first game of the campaign was against Lithuanian team FK Sūduva. Suduva stated that they could not send a scout to Glasgow to spy on Celtic to prepare for their match and had to watch videotapes of Celtic.^[11]
Celtic all but won the tie in the first leg at home in Celtic Park on 14 August 2002 when they won the game 8-1, with Henrik Larsson scoring a hat-trick.^[12] Martin O'Neill rested a number of players for the second leg, with first team regulars such as Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon, Joos Valgaeren and Stilian Petrov all being left in Glasgow along with club captain Tom Boyd, whose wife had just given birth to a baby.^[13] Celtic won the second leg 2-0 and went through to the second round on an aggregate of 10-1.

Second round v. Blackburn Rovers F.C.

Celtic's next opponents were English side Blackburn Rovers, who at the time were managed by former Rangers player-manager Graeme Souness. The tie was dubbed the "Battle of Britain".
The first leg of the tie was at Celtic Park which resulted in a 1-0 win for Celtic, though some commentators stated that Blackburn had dominated the game. After the game Souness was quoted as saying that Blackburn show have won the game and that it was like watching ''"men against boys"'' and further stated before the second leg that if Celtic scored one goal then Blackburn would score three.Celtic went on to win easily 2-0 away from home in the second leg with goals from Larsson and Sutton to the joy of the 8,000 travelling fans.^[14][15][16]

Third round v. Celta Vigo

Martin O'Neill received a two game touchline ban after he was sent from the home dugout during Celtic 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo, this was later reduced to a one match ban after an appeal. The second leg finished 2-1 to Celta Vigo and Celtic went through on away goals.
^[17][18]

Fourth round v. VfB Stuttgart

The opponent for the Bhoys from Seville in the fourth round was German Bundesliga team VfB Stuttgart. As in every round before this Celtic had the advantage of playing the first leg of the tie at home. Celtic won the first leg but had to come from a goal down after Kevin Kuranyi scored in the 27th minute, but were 2-1 after 2 goals from Paul Lambert and Shaun Maloney at half-time. They won the game 3-1. In the second leg Celtic went 2-0 up after the first 14 minutes. But after a great comeback and a late goal VfB Stuttgart won 3-2. Celtic won 5-4 on aggregate.

Quarter-final v. Liverpool F.C.

The first leg of the much awaited quarter final game against Liverpool took place at Celtic Park on 13 March. This clash was again billed as the ''Battle of Britain''. The first leg ended 1-1 with Larsson scoring for Celtic but the away goal giving Liverpool the advantage going in to their home tie at Anfield. The game was marred after Liverpool player El-Hadji Diouf spat at a Celtic supporter. Diouf was later fined £5,000 at Glasgow's Sheriff Court for the incident.^[19]
The return match at Anfield took place the following week on 20 March. Celtic won 2-0, with the goals coming from an Alan Thompson free kick and a strike from John Hartson.

Semi-final v. Boavista F.C.

Celtic won the semi final to stop an all Portugal final. With Larsson scoring in both legs of the tie. In the first leg it looked like Celtic wouldn't make it to their first UEFA Cup Final going a goal down with an own goal from Joos Valgaeren in the 48th minute but Larsson pulled a goal back 2 minutes later but then he missed a Penalty in the 75th minute. The 1-1 draw was a special result for Martin O'Neill because it was his 50th unbeaten match at Celtic Park, a record of results that stretched back to Ajax in August 2001. 60,000 fans attended that match at Celtic Park.^[20]

Celtic fans and Seville

The race for tickets

Tickets for the match had been selling for £500 in the lead up to the game and Celtic fans were warned to avoid the estimated 700 fake tickets that were circulating before the game.^[21][22]

Travelling to Seville

There was a scramble to arrange travel to Spain for what was called ''"one of the biggest events in sporting history"'' and Celtic fans travelled by plane, car, bus, train and ferry in order to get to Seville on time.^[22]
Around 100,000 Celtic fans travelled to watch the club compete in the final at the Estadio Olimpico in Seville in southern Spain.^[24][25]

The fiesta in Seville

Thousands of Celtic fans partyed in Seville during the days leading up to the match. Many of the supports congregated in the Cathderal area of the of the city.

The final v. F.C. Porto

::''See main article 2003 UEFA Cup Final''
Celtic lost the final match 3–2 to Porto after Porto became the first team to win a trophy on the silver goal rule to claim their first UEFA Cup. The bad weather meant that the game was played at a relatively slow pace which seemed to favour Porto, and led to a number of rash challenges from Celtic, one of which led to Joos Valgaeren getting a yellow card on 8 minutes. After this it was very much a stoic affair, until 32 minutes into the first half when Capucho played in Deco, but he could do no more than fire his shot straight at Robert Douglas. Straight after this attack Celtic broke on the counter with Henrik Larsson putting Didier Agathe through on the right but his cross was too high for Chris Sutton. Larsson had a chance to make it 1-0 on 35 minutes, but he was unable to get enough contact on the ball. Porto came close on 41 minutes when Deco moved past Bobo Balde to go one on one with Robert Douglas, who saved Deco's shot with his legs. Porto finally found a way through on 45 minutes when, after some great work from Deco, Derlei followed up Dmitri Alenichev's shot which was saved by Robert Douglas, to give Porto a 1-0 lead on the stroke of half time and his 11th goal of the competition.
Porto's lead did not last long after the restart as Celtic equalised when Henrik Larsson met Didier Agathe's cross to send a looping header in over the helpless Vítor Baía to get his tenth goal of the tournament and his 200th Celtic goal. However within 5 minutes it was 2-1 when Deco's through ball found Dmitri Alenichev who scored. But just 3 minutes later
Celtic equalised once again through Henrik Larsson when he headed in Alan Thompson's corner. After this the game stagnated until a couple of minutes from time when Jackie McNamara's errant pass found Dmitri Alenichev, however he was spared when he shot over.
Normal time ended with the game at 2-2, the ensuing periods of extra time saw cagey football from both sides and Celtic were down to ten men when Bobo Balde was dismissed on 95 minutes after collecting his second yellow card. However they could not hold for long, as on 112 minutes Derlei reacted quickest to a Robert Douglas block and rounded McNamara to make it 3-2. Porto managed to hang on even after having Nuno Valente sent off, thus ensuring that Porto had ended their 16 year wait between European trophies.^[26][27]

The team for the final

{| width="100%"
|valign="top" width="50%"|
{| style="font-size: 90%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
|colspan="4"|'CELTIC:'
|-
!width=25| !!width=25|
|-

|GK ||'20'|| Robert Douglas
|-
|RWB ||'17'|| Didier Agathe
|-
|CB ||'5' || Joos Valgaeren || ||
|-
|CB ||'6' || Bobo Balde ||
|-
|CB ||'35'|| Johan Mjällby
|-
|LWB ||'8' || Alan Thompson
|-
|CM ||'14'|| Paul Lambert
|-
|CM ||'18'|| Neil Lennon (c) ||
|-
|CM ||'19'|| Stiliyan Petrov || ||
|-
|CF ||'9' || Chris Sutton
|-
|CF ||'7' || Henrik Larsson
|-
|colspan=3|'Substitutes:'
|-
|GK ||'21'|| Magnus Hedman
|-
|DF ||'4' || Jackie McNamara
|-
|DF ||'16'|| Ulrik Laursen || ||
|-
|MF ||'3' || Mohammed Sylla
|-
|MF ||'39'|| James Smith
|-
|FW ||'12'|| David Fernández
|-
|FW ||'29'|| Shaun Maloney || ||
|-
|colspan=3|'Manager:'
|-
|colspan=4| Martin O'Neill
|}

Viewing figures

The viewing figures for the cup final were as followed:

★ Match average - 8.3 million, 34.8% audience share;

★ Programme average - 7.8 million, 33.6% audience share;

★ Viewing peaked at 10 million for the quarter-hour 10.00-10.15pm.
The BBC Head of Football, Niall Sloane said: "We're delighted that so many people tuned in to follow a British team's progress in the final. We're only sorry that Celtic didn't win."^[28]

Celtic fans win award

The exemplary conduct of the thousands of travelling Celtic supporters received widespread praise from the people of Seville (not one single supporter was arrested) and the fans were awarded prestigious Fair Play Awards from both FIFA and UEFA "for their extraordinarily loyal and sporting behaviour".^[29][30]
UEFA also expressed disappointment at the jeering by the Celtic support during the presentation of the cup to Porto.^[31]
After the match Henrik Larsson said in an interview that he was disappointed to have scored two goals in the final and still come away with a runners up medal. He was named man of the match.
The Porto manager, José Mourinho led his team to the Champions League title the following year, before moving to Chelsea.
Seville FC fans travelling to the 2007 UEFA Cup in Glasgow noted that the visiting Celtic fans left them with a "great impression" of Glasgow. ^[32]

Legacy of the Bhoys from Seville

The support of the Celtic supporters that the teams performance during the campaign provided the inspiration for a number of books, television programmes and DVDs. This included a book called ''Over and Over'' which documented the experience of the travelling fans, the official DVD produced by the club was entitled ''The Road to Seville''^[33] and a television programme and subsequent DVD produced by ITV took its name from the team and was called ''The Bhoys from Seville''.
''The Bhoys from Seville'' DVD focused on the fans and their endeavours to get to Spain and see the final. The DVD also contained broadcasts from Scottish news programmes from Seville and a tribute piece to the Lisbon Lions.^[34][35]

Campaign results

{| class="wikitable" width=100%
|-
!colspan=7|UEFA Cup 2002-03
|-
!Date
!Venue
!Opponents
!Score
!Round
!Celtic scorers
|-
|19 September, 2002
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
| FK Sūduva
|align=center|8-1
|First round, 1st leg
|Larsson (3), Petrov, Sutton, Lambert, Valgaeren, Hartson
|-
|2 October, 2002
|Sūduva stadium, Sūduva (A)
|FK Sūduva
|align=center|0-2
|First round, 2nd leg
|Fernandez, Thompson
|-
|31 October, 2002
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
| Blackburn Rovers
|align=center|1-0
|Second round, 1st leg
|Larsson
|-
|14 November, 2002
|Ewood Park, Blackburn (A)
|Blackburn Rovers
|align=center|0-2
|Second round, 2nd leg
|Larsson, Sutton
|-
|28 November, 2002
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
|| Celta Vigo
|align=center|1-0
|Third round, 1st leg
|Larsson
|-
|12 December, 2002
|Estadio Balaídos, Vigo (A)
|Celta Vigo
|align=center|2-1
|Third round, 2nd leg
|Hartson
|-
|28 November, 2002
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
|| VfB Stuttgart
|align=center|3-1
|Fourth round, 1st leg
|Lambert, Maloney, Petrov
|-
|12 December, 2002
|Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (A)
|VfB Stuttgart
|align=center|3-2
|Fourth round, 2nd leg
|Thompson, Sutton
|-
|20 February, 2003
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
|| Liverpool F.C.
|align=center|1-1
|Quarter-final, 1st leg
|Larsson
|-
|27 February, 2003
|Anfield, Liverpool (A)
|Liverpool F.C.
|align=center|0-2
|Quarter-final, 2nd leg
|Thompson, Hartson
|-
|13 March, 2003
|Celtic Park, Glasgow (H)
|| Boavista F.C.
|align=center|1-1
|Semi-final, 1st leg
|Larsson
|-
|20 March, 2003
|Estádio do Bessa, Porto (A)
|Boavista F.C.
|align=center|0-1
|Semi-final, 2nd leg
|Larsson
|-
|21 May, 2003
|| Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla, Seville (N)
|| F.C. Porto
|align=center|2-3
|Final
|Larsson (2)
|}

See also

★ History of Celtic F.C.

★ UEFA Cup 2002-03

★ 2003 UEFA Cup Final

★ Hampden in the sun

References

1. "Celtic, Porto make overdue return to spotlight"
2. "Celtic did Scotland proud" Chick Young
3. "ROAR LIKE THE LIONS AND WE CAN MAKE HISTORY" JOE McHUGH
4. "If myth is an ancient tale of gods and heroes, then Celtic's Lisbon Lions are immortal" Magnus Linklater
5. "O'Neill scents Catalan spirit The dream draw sends Parkhead boss on a journey down memory lane - but the toughest test yet awaits his Bhoys from Seville " PETER JARDINE
6. "MARTIN'S LAST STAND"
7. "Hartson lion in wait" PAUL FORSYTH
8. "Douglas: It's V for victory Keeper's Seville superstition " JON WEST
9. "O'Neill the miracle worker" Chick Young
10. "European V-sign may be lucky omen for Celtic" Roddy Forsyth
11. "Scottish trip too much for FK Suduva"
12. "Celtic hammer Lithuanian side" Rob Wright
13. "O'Neill rests his big stars" Amanda Fennelly
14. "Celtic ready to take on Europe - Sutton" Greg McKevitt
15. "Celtic and Blackburn relish Uefa Cup showdown"
16. "If Celtic score one, we'll score three"
17. "Celtic to appeal O'Neill ban" Tom Grealis
18. "O'Neill ban reduced" Johnny Proby
19. "Diouf will not face assault charges"
20.
60,000 at Celtic Park
21. "Seville warning for Celtic fans"
22. "Carnival time as Bhoys invade Seville" DAN MCDOUGALL
23. "Carnival time as Bhoys invade Seville" DAN MCDOUGALL
24. "Celtic in Seville: A picture special" Andy Hall
25. "YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE; Seville The aftermath" Michael Grant
26. "Match Report"
27. "Fan Award"
28. Celtic's UEFA Cup final encounter against Porto peaks at 10 million viewers
29. "Celtic fans get Fifa award"
30. "UEFA FIFA Fair Play Award 2003 - Celebrating Celtic pride in the heart of Andalusia"
31. "UEFA condemn Celtic followers' jeers during trophy ceremony"
32. BBC News- "'Viva Espana' on Uefa Cup night"
33. "The Road to Seville; Celtic FC" Manfred Lurker
34. "The Bhoys From Seville; Scottish Television DVD" Manfred Lurker
35. "Scottish TV - Review of 2003"