During his playing days, Bertie Auld embodied the skill, passion and tenacity that typifies a Celtic legend and today (March 23) the Lisbon Lion celebrates his 83^rd birthday.

Auld first joined the club in 1955 as a 17-year-old made his first-team debut in a Charity Cup match against Rangers on May 1, 1957. Six years later, Auld was sold to Birmingham City where he spent almost four years. He returned to Celtic in 1965, just two months before Jock Stein returned to the club as manager.

The 1965 Scottish Cup triumph was a pivotal moment in Celtic’s history as, within a few weeks of being made manager, Jock Stein was leading his team to victory in the final at Hampden against Dunfermline.

It was a tough game against a side who had beaten Celtic in the final four years previously when Stein was manager of the Pars. The Fifers were twice ahead in the match but both times Bertie Auld scored to draw Celtic level. And then, with nine minutes remaining, Billy McNeill headed home a Charlie Gallagher corner to give Celtic a 3-2 victory.

Initially a left-sided midfielder during his first stint at the club between 1955-61, Auld eventually moved into the centre of midfield in 1966 where he formed a formidable partnership with Bobby Murdoch. The pair were instrumental in bringing so much success to the club, and there could have been few better midfield duos playing in football during the 1960s and early ‘70s than Murdoch and Auld.

Auld made a total of 257 appearances for the Hoops, scoring 78 goals during his two spells at Celtic. The club legend won a total of 13 major honours during his time with Celtic – five league championships, three Scottish Cups, four League Cups and, of course, the European Cup in 1967. In addition to his goals and medals, Auld will be forever remembered in the Celtic history books as the man who started singing The Celtic Song in the tunnel in Lisbon before the European Cup final in 1967, much to the bemusement of the Inter Milan players.

Happy birthday to Lisbon Lion, Bertie Auld