The son of a coal miner, Jimmy Johnstone was born in 1944 in Lanarkshire. Signed by Celtic in 1963, his dazzling dribbling skills earned him the nickname Jinky. He made 515 appearances for Celtic, scoring 129 goals in the process, won 23 caps for Scotland and in 2002 was voted Celtic's greatest ever player by the club's supporters. His ability to outwit defenders, particularly English ones, endeared him to football followers everywhere - even Rangers fans - and he was a vital part of the team that won nine consecutive Scottish league titles between 1965 and 1974.

But the undisputed highlight of his career came in Portugal on 25th May 1967 when the team that became known as the Lisbon Lions came from a goal behind to defeat Inter-Milan 2-1 to become the first British club to win the European Cup.

Jinky was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2001, after which he became a tireless campaigner for stem cell research to find a cure for the disease. He died in March 2006.

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Published 06/03/2008

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