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Sinclair, Graeme |
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On September 19, 1982, Celtic met Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands after a memorable first leg in Glasgow in which the Dutch side somehow contrived to let their opponents scrape a 2-2 draw, with goals from Charlie Nicholas and Frank McGarvey.
Sinclair, fresh from Boghead, trooped on to the lush turf of Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium with the job of marking no less a personage than Johan Cruyff.
"And I remember it well," said the man universally known as Sinky, "because he ended up breaking my nose. It was an accident, of course, but I don't think he liked the attention.
"Cruyff was out of this world in that first game at Parkhead. The touch he showed to lay off the ball for Jesper Olsen to score was just incredible.
"When Billy McNeill originally told me I was down to mark Jesper Olsen, I thought he was winding me up. I was hardly in the door, and Olsen had given Danny McGrain a really hard time in the first leg - he said it was his best-ever game.
"But Billy changed his mind in the days before the game, and I had to go everywhere with Cruyff. That suited me, because I had my instructions, and I knew what to do.
"And, of course, Danny McGrain roasted Olsen that night - it was difficult to know who was the right-back and who was the left-winger, as Olsen just couldn't cope." Ajax boasted three great Danes in Soren Lerby, Jan Molby and Olsen, who would later play for Manchester United.
"And when you find out the two subs they had on the bench," said Sinclair, "you realise what a team they had - Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, no less." Ajax switched the tie to the Olympic Stadium because they were convinced that Celtic would draw a huge crowd - the move may have backfired on them, because Scottish support arrived in numbers.
Sinclair, who now owns a thriving newsagent's shop in St James's Court, Paisley, recalls almost every detail of a game in which he was "superb", according to Billy McNeill.
It was Sinclair's pass which set up Nicholas's 34th-minute wonder goal. Champagne Charlie promptly waltzed past two men, played a one-two with McGarvey, and coolly lobbed Dutch international goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers.
"When Charlie scored that amazing goal, we began to think the impossible could happen," said O'Hare. "But they equalised, and it was looking like we were out." Celtic threw everything at Ajax, but their efforts appeared to be in vain until big George McCluskey popped up with the winner in the last minute, shooting low under Schrijvers from the corner of the box. Celtic were through, though Real Sociedad put them out in the next round.
Graeme Sinclair now suffers from arthritis, but he is as cheerful and uncomplicated as he was that night he played Johan Cruyff off the park.
"Ajax were a great team," said Sinclair, "but we had some terrific players, too, like Charlie, Murdo, George, Danny, big Pat Bonner, and one of our subs that night was Davie Moyes. It was a great night, and I'll never forget it."
Sinclair, fresh from Boghead, trooped on to the lush turf of Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium with the job of marking no less a personage than Johan Cruyff.
"And I remember it well," said the man universally known as Sinky, "because he ended up breaking my nose. It was an accident, of course, but I don't think he liked the attention.
"Cruyff was out of this world in that first game at Parkhead. The touch he showed to lay off the ball for Jesper Olsen to score was just incredible.
"When Billy McNeill originally told me I was down to mark Jesper Olsen, I thought he was winding me up. I was hardly in the door, and Olsen had given Danny McGrain a really hard time in the first leg - he said it was his best-ever game.
"But Billy changed his mind in the days before the game, and I had to go everywhere with Cruyff. That suited me, because I had my instructions, and I knew what to do.
"And, of course, Danny McGrain roasted Olsen that night - it was difficult to know who was the right-back and who was the left-winger, as Olsen just couldn't cope." Ajax boasted three great Danes in Soren Lerby, Jan Molby and Olsen, who would later play for Manchester United.
"And when you find out the two subs they had on the bench," said Sinclair, "you realise what a team they had - Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard, no less." Ajax switched the tie to the Olympic Stadium because they were convinced that Celtic would draw a huge crowd - the move may have backfired on them, because Scottish support arrived in numbers.
Sinclair, who now owns a thriving newsagent's shop in St James's Court, Paisley, recalls almost every detail of a game in which he was "superb", according to Billy McNeill.
It was Sinclair's pass which set up Nicholas's 34th-minute wonder goal. Champagne Charlie promptly waltzed past two men, played a one-two with McGarvey, and coolly lobbed Dutch international goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers.
"When Charlie scored that amazing goal, we began to think the impossible could happen," said O'Hare. "But they equalised, and it was looking like we were out." Celtic threw everything at Ajax, but their efforts appeared to be in vain until big George McCluskey popped up with the winner in the last minute, shooting low under Schrijvers from the corner of the box. Celtic were through, though Real Sociedad put them out in the next round.
Graeme Sinclair now suffers from arthritis, but he is as cheerful and uncomplicated as he was that night he played Johan Cruyff off the park.
"Ajax were a great team," said Sinclair, "but we had some terrific players, too, like Charlie, Murdo, George, Danny, big Pat Bonner, and one of our subs that night was Davie Moyes. It was a great night, and I'll never forget it."
