Organisers are hopeful of arranging a friendly between Racing Club de Avellaneda and Celtic in 2017 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of their meeting in the 1967 Intercontinental Cup. The proposal would see the sides play over two legs in July 2017, once in Glasgow and then in Avellaneda, in the same way that the Intercontinental Cup was scheduled back then. This is someway off but Celtic President, Ian Bankier has responded to the proposal positively.

The 1967 Final is of great importance to Racing, as they became the first Argentine side to become the world champions with the victory over Celtic. Racing had just won the Copa Libertadores and the Celtic side were the famous ‘Lisbon Lions’ who had defeated Internazionale to become the first British European Cup winners.

The Intercontinental Final was a fiercely contested affair that required a third match in Montevideo after the scores ended level. Celtic win 1-0 in Glasgow but lost the return leg in Argentina 2-1.

With away goals not counting at this stage, the two sides travelled to Montevideo to play for a  third time. This match came to be known as the Battle of Montevideo as a total of 6 red cards were brandished. Trouble that had spilled over after the Racing win in Buenos Aires continued in Uruguay and after Juan Carlos Cárdenas’ goal had given Racing the title, the players needed to stay in the middle of the pitch as Uruguayan Celtic fans showered the pitch with anything they could throw.

It would be a great idea to commemorate a match of such historic significance and as they say time is a great healer so hopefully should the two sides meet again in 2017 there would be no repeat of such scenes.