Overview
The Celtic Opus comprises 838 beautifully-written and illustrated pages including…
- The Secrets of the Lisbon Lions Jim Craig gives an insider's view of his team-mates in Celtic's most famous team
- Homage to the Master Sir Alex Ferguson on the legendary Jock Stein
- 'The Huddle' A colourful tapestry inspired by acclaimed Glasgow artist Jilli Blackwood displayed exclusively in the Opus
- The Return of the Prodigal Son Celtic Opus brings George Connelly back to Celtic Park
- We. Were. There Award-winning writer Michael Tierney relives the fans' magical journey to Seville for the 2003 UEFA Cup Final
- Leap of Faith An extraordinary two-metre wide gatefold – one of three in the Opus – summing up the drama of Celtic in dance!
- Tributes to Legends including the Maley brothers, Patsy Gallacher, Jock Stein, Jimmy Johnstone and Kenny Dalglish
- The Dream Factory Leading photographer Angela Catlin goes behind the scenes at Celtic's state-of-the-art training centre
- The Little Prince The finest sportswriter of his generation Hugh McIlvanney profiles Jimmy 'Jinky' Johnstone
- The Celtic Hall of Fame 50 legends, as chosen by an expert panel, are inducted into the club's hall of fame
- Exclusive interviews Billy McNeill, Dixie Deans, Lou Macari, Martin O'Neill, Fergus McCann, Neil Lennon, Henrik Larsson, Shunsuke Nakamura, Aiden McGeady, Artur Boruc and many more
- The Road to Paradise A beautiful photo essay by top documentary photographer David Gillanders capturing all the passion of matchday at Celtic Park
- Portrait Gallery Stunning giant polaroid images of stars from past and present taken on a rare 20 x 24 Polaroid Studio camera.
- Hoops memorabilia From cigarette cards to match programmes, the Opus is sprinkled with images of historic items
Reading Room
Flip through the Celtic Opus
Flip through the complete Celtic Opus in the Opus Reading Room.
Chapters
Click on the pages to enlarge
INTRODUCTION
A foreword by former chairman Brian Quinn, a medley of classic images and an essay by Brian Wilson identifying the key characteristics of the club.
IN THE BEGINNING
Special features exploring the club's origins, profiles of Michael Davitt, Dan Doyle and Jimmy Quinn and Celtic's six consecutive championship wins from 1905 to 1910 are celebrated.
HALL OF FAME
An expert panel of Celtic observers choose 50 inductees – including two famous Celtic families – for the Hall of Fame.
BETWEEN THE WARS
Including the moving story of John Thomson, profiles of Jimmy McGrory, Patsy Gallacher and the Maley brothers and Celtic's triumph in the 1938 Empire Exhibition Cup.
THE OLD FIRM
The history of the Celtic-Rangers rivalry, including contributions from Murdo MacLeod, Rangers stalwart Sandy Jardine, writer Hugh MacDonald and the cartoons of the late Rod McLeod.
THE LOST TRIBE
1945-64: Including interviews with John Divers Jnr on his family's Celtic dynasty, Pat Crerand on his heartbreaking exit and John Hughes on the 'Kelly Kids'.
THE POWER & THE GLORY
PART I THE AWAKENING The first three cups; the road to Lisbon; Joe McBride interview.
PART II THE LIONS OF LISBON Includes: Jim Craig revealing the secrets of his team-mates (plus gatefold image); interviews with Billy McNeill, the players' wives, Bertie Auld and Bobby Lennox.
PART III STEIN Includes: tributes to Jock Stein from Archie Macpherson and Sir Alex Ferguson.
PART IV JINKY Includes: a profile of Jimmy Johnstone by Hugh McIlvanney, 'The Johnstone Mysteries', and an interview with the widow of a football genius, Agnes Johnstone.
NINE IN A ROW
The full story of Celtic's nine consecutive league triumphs, 1966-74, including a celebration of the 'Quality Street Gang', an in-depth profile of Kenny Dalglish and interviews with George Connelly, Lou Macari and Danny McGrain.
CELTIC IN EUROPE
Ten of Celtic's most thrilling European matches ever; Bobby Murdoch and the 'Battle of Britain'; behind the scenes at Celtic Park on a Champions League night and much more
PORTRAIT GALLERY
Photographed on the rare Polaroid 20 x 24 camera, a gallery of Celtic players past and present as you've never seen them before.
LIFE AFTER STEIN
1975-87: The inside story including Brian McClair's memories of the extraordinary 1985/86 league title win plus Davie Provan interviews Charlie Nicholas and Frank McAvennie.
THE AGE OF NINE BOSSES
1987-2000: featuring interviews with the club's saviour Fergus McCann, Roy Aitken, the late Tommy Burns, Wim Jansen and John Barnes.
THE BLESSED MARTIN
Martin O'Neill recalls five great years at the club while John Hartson, Paul Lambert, Henrik Larsson and Neil Lennon relive their contributions to the success.
GREEN AND WHITE ARMY
A celebration of Celtic supporters including profiles of 14 fanatics from around the world, classic memorabilia and a stunning matchday photo essay.
MODERN TIMES
Featuring interviews with Gordon Strachan, Shunsuke Nakamura, Artur Boruc, Aiden McGeady, Scott McDonald, Dermot Desmond, Peter Lawwell and John Reid.
STATISTICS
Comprehensive season-by-season match statistics from 1888 to 2008, a summary of club honours and records and special features.
Words
In order to make the Celtic Opus the definitive publication on the club, Kraken engaged the services of a selection of Scotland's finest sportswriters, ensuring unmatched originality and quality of content. Together they contributed over 200,000 words, conducting over 50 exclusive interviews with managers, coaches and players from the past and present, and producing short stories, profiles and features on iconic events.
Pictures
Furthermore, with over 1,100 images, many rare or previously unpublished, plus specially commissioned shoots, artworks and illustrations, Celtic Opus brings the colourful history of one of Europe's biggest clubs to vivid life.
Our researchers scoured picture agency archives and private collections worldwide in search of photographs capturing iconic moments, insider shots of Celtic stars through the ages and significant Red memorabilia dating back to the club's inception in the late nineteenth century. For every picture selected for inclusion, hundreds were discarded ensuring unparalleled quality throughout. Furthermore, we employed the latest reproduction techniques allowing us to display these images on an epic scale and create an unprecedented visual experience.
Full list of photographers, illustrators and choreographers contributing to the Celtic Opus
Gatefolds
This stunning photographic montage featuring all the surviving Lisbon Lions, by top photographer Simon Murphy, is displayed as a two-metre wide gatefold, one of three such gatefolds images that appear in the Celtic Opus.
