Ronnie Simpson, the former Celtic goalkeeper, died yesterday following a heart attack. He was 73.
Simpson was a member of the Celtic side which became the first British club to win the European Cup when they defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon in 1967.
In the same year, he kept goal for Scotland in the 3-2 win over England at Wembley, a victory all the sweeter for the thousands of fans who made the journey to London, as England were the world champions at the time.
Billy McNeill, who was the captain of the Celtic side which were dubbed the Lisbon Lions, said: "When Bobby (Murdoch) died three years ago it was particularly hard because we lost our invincibility. Now Ronnie has joined him and it is a very sad day for me. Ronnie was a lovely man, great company, a terrific colleague and the perfect goalkeeper for us.
"He was as much a footballer as he was a goalkeeper. Anything that went in behind us defenders, Ronnie would come out and do something about it.
"He had this wonderful habit of pulling off terrific saves when they were needed. Everything about him was terrific. He was a lovely man and a great player."
The ex-Rangers player, John Greig, who played in the famous win over England in 1967, also paid tribute to his former Scotland colleague.
"He was a great guy and we always had a good relationship. That day at Wembley was simply fantastic and Ronnie played his part. He was a very good goalkeeper and we remained on very good terms after we stopped playing."
Simpson represented Britain in the 1948 Olympics and won the FA Cup twice with Newcastle United. He made his debut for the Glasgow amateur club Queen's Park a month before his 15th birthday in 1945 and, after doing his National Service in Catterick, joined the now defunct Third Lanark in 1950. He moved to Tyneside where he won the two FA Cup winners medals in 1952 and 1955.
He returned to Scotland in 1960 when he joined Hibernian, where he stayed before Jock Stein sold him to Celtic four years later. But Stein teamed up with him again within a year when he became the manager of Celtic.
Simpson made his debut for Celtic in the Nou Camp against Barcelona, where the Glasgow side were beaten 3-1. But it was in 1967 when Simpson joined the ranks of Celtic legends for his part in helping them win the European Cup.
Simpson retired from football in 1970, but made one final appearance at Parkhead the following year when the Lisbon Lions played together for one final time. He took over as manager of Hamilton Academical, but stayed at the club for less than a year.
